12 years to save the world
10th October 2018
A small post about a big concern. Yesterday the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a landmark report saying urgent and unprecedented changes are needed in order to prevent global warming rising beyond 1.5ºc. Just half a degree over this will have a significant impact and bring extreme weather events such as drought, floods, extreme heat resulting in poverty, destruction and displacement for hundreds of millions of people.
Why am I writing about this? Isn’t this blog about sewing nice things and eating home grown food? Isn’t this up to the politicians to sort out?
Currently, consumption of the Earth’s resources exceeds it capacity to regenerate those resources (as demonstrated by the calculation of Earth Overshoot Day). Pollution by non-biodegradable materials is affecting our environment and our wildlife. A massive change of mindset is required of humankind to restore balance. This will take time, especially with climate change deniers in positions of power. I strongly believe that we all have to play a part and that changes we make as individuals will have an impact. History proves that this works.
I haven’t got all the answers. My lifestyle is far from perfect. But here are a couple of suggestions for small changes we can make as individuals which could have massive impact globally. And yes, they are about sewing and eating nice food.
Buy less
Ah those heady days when a shopping trip was a leisure activity! Search Earth Overshoot Day if you are not convinced. Use this buyerarchy of need if you do feel the need for stuff.
Eat less meat and dairy
A recent study (add it to the pile) in the journal ‘Science’ confirms that going vegan is the single biggest way to reduce our environmental impact on the planet.
Ok, maybe these aren’t small changes in your life, but maybe it’s something to consider before we buy that t-shirt or eat that burger.
Robert Swan, the British historian, explorer and activist, famously said, ‘the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
What will you do today to help save the planet?
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