The Time To Change is Now
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that our daily conveniences come with a price. It’s easy to go about our days and forget the impact each one of us has on this planet with every action we take.
But then we hear of a 16 year old sailing to the US and testifying in front of congress and the UN urging them to listen to the scientists and urging them to help preserve the future for her generation and those that follow.
Then we see millions of people across the globe, many of which are children, taking to the streets and using their voices to remind us all that they want to be able to appreciate, see, and use Mother Earth and her resources when they grow up. Reminding us that at their age they are supposed to be in school, not fighting for the future of the planet. They want there to still be a livable planet for them to inhabit.
Then we read of ice melting.
Then we hear of our Great Lakes rising. We hear predictions of Lake Michigan rising 4 inches next summer.
We are reminded why each of our actions are valuable. We are reminded why we need to use our voices, that we are so privileged to have, to advocate for the betterment of our planet. We are reminded why we should be voting with our dollar, a huge power move in such a consumer focused daily life.
We are reminded that this planet is not ours alone. This planet belongs to the the generations behind us and those who will follow behind them. This planet belongs also to those in the island nations, whose home will be underwater completely with the direction we are headed. This planet belongs to the voiceless- the trees being cut down, the sea life who are mistakenly consuming plastic bags instead of jelly fish, the animals that are being driven to starvation and extinction. The Amazon is burning, the oceans are producing storms that are decimating nations in their paths, and parts of the world are raining plastic. We have to open our eyes and see that Mama Earth is quite literally crying for help.
The reminders are becoming ever present.
Mountain of trash at the market in Ubud, Bali
I am in no way perfect. I find myself conflicted by the temptation of convenience versus the extra time spent now to create a small ripple effect of change in the long run.
An example where I found myself feeling hypocritical is when I found myself writing things like this, but then shooting photos on a disposable camera- a very thing with single use and convenience practically built into the name (more about that in my next post).
I am far from perfect in terms of my habits and the environmental impact they have, but I am trying. I keep it as close to the forefront of my mind as I can. With the recent climate strikes, I find myself evaluating what more I can do. Here's how I plan to implement more change into my life:
Cutting meat out of my diet
For the last year or so I have been trying to consciously cut back on my meat consumption because of the environmental consequences eating meat can cause. I've decided now is the perfect time to eliminate meat from my diet completely, in part thanks to my girl Rachel Hollis and her "Last 90 days" community challenge.
Focus on quality
One huge thing that has been on my to-do list is tackling the large job of cleaning and organizing the disaster that is my closet. How does this relate to the environment you may ask? Well, I know I am guilty of buying more than I need. My plan is to purge my closet, donate the things that I really don't wear and then focus on bringing in less. Fast fashion plays such a huge roll in using an abundance of resources and creating waste, so once the closet is purged I want to focus on bringing in things that are of quality, that will last. I want to become better at buying second hand. I want to focus on bringing in things that are created with our planet in mind. I want to remind myself to take a moment before making a purchase and really ask myself if I need whatever it is I am about to spend my money on. If you haven't already, I highly recommend the book Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. I am not finished with the book yet, but it does an amazing job of illustrating the importance of quality over quantity in regards to our clothing. (It's also super fascinating to get an in depth look into the policies and philosophies behind Patagonia as well as how they approach being environmentally friendly in a corporate setting. The book makes me want to apply for a job there ASAP).
Educate myself more
I know the basics. I know the effects of plastic and micro plastics in our planets waters. I understand that we as a society are a consumer society which has proved to be unsustainable for the planet. There is so much I do not know though. I know so little about things like our carbon foot prints or what the consequences of a heating planet really means to us as inhabitants of this planet. Here's to more books, more news, more podcasts. Here's to using the abundance of free information the internet has made available to us.
While action is the biggest step forward we can take I believe that talking about creating change is a huge step forward as well, so go ahead and start the conversation. Challenge your parents or your peers on their wasteful habits and help them to look for alternatives. It may take bringing up a few times but you can usually get through to people (my dad for example, it took us a good long while, but we finally got him on the reusable water bottle train!).
With this being said I also think it is so important to not discount the changes other are making no matter their size. We have to ditch the ideas that it's all or nothing, go big or go home. It's pretty common to see people on social media being told that their change isn't enough or that someone else is doing it better.
You stopped using plastic straws? You go girl! You hit up Goodwill before checking the mall? Way to make a difference dude! We have to celebrate change, even the small ones, because if we don't it makes it hard for people to be inspired to continue to create more changes.
I don't think that any of us will ever be perfect, but we surely can make conscious changes to help preserve our home for ourselves and for the others who inhabit it.