Code red for humanity. Change is needed, now…
Yesterday, the IPCC report came out, the results? Bleak. In fact, it has been declared that we are in a state of ‘code red for humanity’.
Let me start with who the IPCC are…
They are a body of the world’s leading climate experts, formed in 1988. They study and provide reports on the state of our climate. Needless to say this latest report to be released has been the most comprehensive, and the most overwhelming. There were a number of very important details highlighted in the report, for example, between 1990 and 2021, humans have released almost as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as we had since 1750.
What does that mean? It means that we could be just 10 years from heating our planet by more than 1.5 degrees celsius. If this happens, it will bring more frequent fires, droughts, floods, cyclones and other types of natural disasters, and more often. What it boils down to, is that the weather will wreak havoc on humanity. It means that this past year — the record heatwaves, the floods, the fires — are an example of what’s to come. In fact, some of the record heats experienced this year may be some of the coolest we will experience in the years to come, unless we start making changes, and now.
After I read through a few articles, I felt myself feeling overwhelmed. Anxious. Desperate. Sad.
You can see why reading through these types of reports would cause someone to turn a blind eye or tuck their head in the sand. Unfortunately, the time for that, is not now. It is time for action. It is time to take important steps, and make a few sacrifices for the good of our planet. Don’t lose hope, we can come together, start making changes, and combat these predicted outcomes.
By now you may be wondering what you have the power to do right now, where you can start implementing changes and helping our planet, here are just a few ideas of what you can do...
Contact your local government and tell them you want to see changes made within your community.
Look into who provides your electricity, switch to a green alternative! Currently, burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transport, is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Drive less. Why? Refer to the point made above…
Reduce your meat consumption, instead of just meat-free Monday, how about adding a Wednesday or Thursday? Greenhouse gas emissions caused by animals waste [animals raised for human consumption] is the second largest culprit.
Avoid packaging whenever you can. National Geographic estimates that 91% of plastic produced, does NOT get recycled [focusing on plastic, but there are shocking statistics around other recyclable materials]. Since we started producing plastic, more than 8.3 billion metric tons have been produced, most of which ends up in the bin. In fact, it’s estimated that only 9% of that has actually been recycled. The majority of that plastic has ended up in landfills or has been littered, either on land or into our oceans.
Use what you have! Manufacturing new items requires a lot of resources, resources that are simply not needed if we use what we already have. Don’t bother with the flashy new upgrade, if something breaks, see if you can repair it before rushing out to replace, see if you can find one second hand [I know these options are not always applicable, but it’s worth the effort before tossing].
Wear what you have! Fast fashion leads to both resource and waste pollution. Most of these garments get thrown out [even if you’re taking them to second hand shops, they are inundated with donations, therefore dispose of it for you — just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening]. When textiles end up in landfill they contain chemicals such as heavy metals, carcinogens, ammonia, and so on, which can leach into the ground, eventually into our food and water. Not to mention wastewater from clothing factories often gets dumped directly into rivers, directly into our precious water sources…
Change banks! Look at what your bank invests in on your behalf, if they aren’t investing in the right things, they are not helping the problem.
Same goes for your retirement fund, shop around and make the switch. Let’s put some pressure on these organisations to start making drastic changes on behalf of us all. Big corporations need to feel pressured into making a change, we can assist in that by voting with our dollars [this applies to more than just your retirement fund].
What it boils down to, is we need to start being more conscious of our choices, and we need to consume less [reflect on your own patterns and find where you can make some change]…
I will leave the list there, for now. There are so many areas that we can make changes, until suddenly these make up our ‘new normal’. We are all in this together, and I have hope that we can bring ourselves through on the other side. We need to remain diligent and focus on the planet we want to have in 10 years.
Thank you for reading, if you have suggestions, comments, questions, anything, I am here and ready for these conversations 🧡
