.If you can manage to pull back from the deafening media roar, the climate change furor sounds a little like the story of Chicken Little - "the animals are disappearing, the animals are disappearing..." I am certainly not a hater of animals and I value the great diversity of life on the planet, so of course it is hard not to get caught up in the tempest the media is creating, after all with some 97% of scientists apparently agreeing that there is a change happening, it all sounds compelling, doesn't it?
I have become a bit more wise with age though and I watch people's actions. If this is a crisis, why are the governments not changing their "business as usual" or more properly, why are the corporations not changing their "business as usual"? Trucks are driving rather than trains, oil is still being pumped and sold and fracking continues unabated. All of these things are supposedly contributing and far more than your vehicle or mine (even in combination). They are changing nothing.
We of course, are being asked to pay a tax to help correct climate change. I certainly do not mind contributing. But, what may I ask, are we contributing to? Is there an actual plan? Other than getting more money from us, I mean. What is the government going to do with all the tax money they are going to get, that is going to help avert a disaster for the people? After all they currently get 40% of the price of a litre of gas before the carbon tax. Clearly none of that has been put to any use against climate change or to stop the disappearance of the diversity of the planet.
Don't forget that these are the same people who made the irresponsible decisions to bring plastic on the market, knowing that there was no good solution, that it was not really recyclable and that was in the 1960's, almost 60 years ago. While some feeble attempt to recycle plastic is being made in the West, they have known for a long time that none is being made inveloping countries. They simple dump their trash into the nearest waterway. After 60 years, we now have a disaster in the seas, which is threatening sea life of all sorts. What can we do?
We are addicted to plastic and it is killing us.
We need an intervention and it is something that we need to do individually and collectively.
Start small but start:
1. Not using plastic straws is easy - do that first. there are glass, metal, paper alternatives. Make that change first and feel good about it.
2. Next is preserving food. There are now alternatives to plastic sandwich bags. You can even make your own by infusing cotton or muslin fabric with beeswax. This can be done and they can be used for quite a while.
3. Choose alternative containers or containers with less plastic.
We can quite simply stop buying plastic. And make no mistake, you have power. The next time you are in the supermarket, call for the manager of whatever department you are in and ask where the alternative to the plastic packaging is. You don't have to be aggressive or rude, just make a point. You bet that that person, if they are worth their salt will ask their higher-ups for a solution.
When that alternative comes in - buy it. And tell your friend. And get them to buy it. If the plastic does not sell, it will be gone.
We used to have alternatives and we can again.
The human race can be free of the plastic scourge. And if the plastic goes, we save lots of animals. And the oil industry has less sway.
Stay tuned for part two of The Tempest - Save the Animals - coming soon.
I have become a bit more wise with age though and I watch people's actions. If this is a crisis, why are the governments not changing their "business as usual" or more properly, why are the corporations not changing their "business as usual"? Trucks are driving rather than trains, oil is still being pumped and sold and fracking continues unabated. All of these things are supposedly contributing and far more than your vehicle or mine (even in combination). They are changing nothing.
We of course, are being asked to pay a tax to help correct climate change. I certainly do not mind contributing. But, what may I ask, are we contributing to? Is there an actual plan? Other than getting more money from us, I mean. What is the government going to do with all the tax money they are going to get, that is going to help avert a disaster for the people? After all they currently get 40% of the price of a litre of gas before the carbon tax. Clearly none of that has been put to any use against climate change or to stop the disappearance of the diversity of the planet.
Don't forget that these are the same people who made the irresponsible decisions to bring plastic on the market, knowing that there was no good solution, that it was not really recyclable and that was in the 1960's, almost 60 years ago. While some feeble attempt to recycle plastic is being made in the West, they have known for a long time that none is being made inveloping countries. They simple dump their trash into the nearest waterway. After 60 years, we now have a disaster in the seas, which is threatening sea life of all sorts. What can we do?
We are addicted to plastic and it is killing us.
We need an intervention and it is something that we need to do individually and collectively.
Start small but start:
1. Not using plastic straws is easy - do that first. there are glass, metal, paper alternatives. Make that change first and feel good about it.
2. Next is preserving food. There are now alternatives to plastic sandwich bags. You can even make your own by infusing cotton or muslin fabric with beeswax. This can be done and they can be used for quite a while.
3. Choose alternative containers or containers with less plastic.
We can quite simply stop buying plastic. And make no mistake, you have power. The next time you are in the supermarket, call for the manager of whatever department you are in and ask where the alternative to the plastic packaging is. You don't have to be aggressive or rude, just make a point. You bet that that person, if they are worth their salt will ask their higher-ups for a solution.
When that alternative comes in - buy it. And tell your friend. And get them to buy it. If the plastic does not sell, it will be gone.
We used to have alternatives and we can again.
The human race can be free of the plastic scourge. And if the plastic goes, we save lots of animals. And the oil industry has less sway.
Stay tuned for part two of The Tempest - Save the Animals - coming soon.
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