I am always astonished that there are still people out there who do not believe climate change is occurring, and more so than that, they do not believe that the human species has anything to do with it...
To me it seems to be a simple and logical equation.
Humans take away the things that help keep our climate stable (rainforest's, well really all kinds of forests) and humans add things that build up to change our climate (pollution, Co2 etc), humans maintain this pattern for a period of time without interruption and hey presto we change the climate.
Why are there still people out there that think we can just keep trashing the planet without there being consequences in the future?
Tackling climate change is such a big issue and because of this individuals often feel hopeless wondering how their individual contribution can really make any difference.
What we forget is that great ideas and solutions throughout history have often been those of individuals. People such as Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton and Alexander Graham Bell. Some of these people had theories and ideas that were laughed at and dismissed at the time, but are things that changed the world as we know it.
Yesterday over at the greening of Gavin Gavin was talking about the craziness that is the Victorian governments proposed changes for planning laws. It astounds me that these so called educated politicians are making decisions that are in no way supportive of moving towards a better future for us all, however these people are put in power by us so I think we need to choose more carefully.
We all have the opportunity to make climate change a topic of conversation with those around us. To talk about it, read about it, write about it, ponder it over a cup of tea, heck every 4 years we even get to vote about it.
At the end of the day I cannot tell you what the answer is. I am sure greater minds than mine have put far more effort into thinking and learning about the topic than me and so I will leave the education up to them.
But this is what I do know.
I know that ideas are like seeds. You plant them and they grow but if you feed and nurture them they grow stronger and faster.
I know that the more something is spoken about the more widely accepted it becomes.
I know that I have the ability to do many small things that all add up to help create the type of world I want to live in.
And I believe that we all need to do our bit. For some that might be protesting and lobbying governments, or talking to their friends and families about what they can do, or it might be teaching others how to grow their own food.
Over all I believe that even if we take measures to tread more lightly on this earth, and we work towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way of living, we will never be worse off than if we do nothing.
well put, and I totally agree, I can't see how anyone can miss the connection between the damage we humans have done and the changes that are occurring in the climate, it seems pretty obvious to me that we are on an unsustainable trajectory and I don't want to find out where it ends. I also don't know what the solution is, but I'm sure doing more to produce what we need and cut down on what we don't need is a good place to start!
ReplyDeleteFiona, I agree with it all. It scares me to think of the damage that has been done over such a short time and that so many people don't see the connection. The changes to food production even just since the end of the second world war are frightening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Talking about these issues is so important. I see dialogue trending according to the media - we seem to talk about what we're told to talk about - but keeping the momentum of our conversations keep us thinking. And like you said, the more we think, the brighter our ideas become! Thanks for sharing!
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