This is not usually the type of content I blog about but I feel it is important to talk about it now because of the California wildfires, the raging heatwaves testing the limits of survival across the world and the general state of the climate right now. With sea levels rising, ice caps melting, this post only touches the tip of the iceberg of the climate crisis.
The rising concern of the wellbeing of the environment on a global scale has only recently been recognised as a threatening problem to humans during the last twenty years, or so. As the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions (that will likely have detrimental effects on the health of the human race in the near future), humankind seem mightily uninterested in this crisis and how it will negatively transform our planet into a wasteland of incessant toxicity, unwavering in its efforts to be rid of its creator. If you are a Frankenstein fan, we can compare our situation to Victor Frankenstein’s: we are creating a monster that is out to kill us – and it will if we do not act. The infamous Greta Thunberg once said ‘I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is,’ and this is a phrase that should scare us all – it certainly scares me. To think that soon, one day, our generation will bring children into this pernicious world is scary. Collectively, this is a problem that must be tackled right here, right now.
You may sit here reading along this post and think ‘but what can I do to help?’ and it is exactly this kind of procrastination and mindset that means nothing is getting done. You are probably thinking ‘I’ll leave it to everyone else,’ or ‘I can’t do anything on my own,’ or if you are among the obnoxious type, you may say ‘the climate crisis isn’t real.’ After you have finished reading this post, I want you to look up the 2020 Australian bushfires that devastated over 3,500 homes. Look up the Oregon wildfires, the California wildfires, the flooding in Pakistan, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the thousands of dead fish washing up on shore in Iran, the Taiji mass dolphin slaughtering, Japan’s plan to release Fukushima’s radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean, the fact that our CO2 levels are the highest they have been in four MILLION years. The list is endless and all born from climate change, which in turn, is born from us. High-profiting businesses like oil mining, fracking and car manufacturers play a huge part in contributing to the climate crisis – but it isn’t just them. It is all of us. So, how can we help?
One of the things you can do is to donate. But wait. Research every single page you donate to – many of them do not use their donations on the causes they claim they are supporting. Some of the more pure pages you may wish to donate to are: the Rainforest Alliance, Earth Justice, Clean Air Task Force, and The Sea Shepherd. There are so many more but I do just want to make it clear that you must fully research your charities to make sure your money goes exactly where you expect it to go. Another thing you might chose to do if you lack the funds to donate is just do what you can. Make small swaps like swapping your plastic toothbrush for a wooden one or ditching disposable products like plastic cutlery or single use straws. Support renewable energy, reduce your carbon footprint by doing things like driving less and walking more, reduce your plastic waste by buying products that are loose or (if you have the option) grow your own and live off of your local food selection – and remember to always research. This problem cannot be ignored. If you are not the primary influence of your home, it is understandable that you are limited in your options but there is always something you can do. Educate others, organise clean-ups or just litter pick by yourself! You could even speak to your teachers of authority at school and try to organise some sort of fundraiser for your local community. You do have options – you can choose whether or not to make decisions that may be harmful to our home or helpful.
Education on the subject is equally important. Some educational resources I recommend are:
- ‘Seaspiracy,’ ‘Chasing Coral,’ ‘Kiss the Ground,’ ‘A Life on our Planet’ and ‘Cowspiracy’ on Netflix
- @climatereality, @unclimatechange, @gretathunberg, @seaspiracy, @impact, @environment on Instagram and other social media platforms
-‘The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells,’ ‘This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein,’ ‘The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert,’ ‘No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg,’ ‘Earth Heroes by Lily Dye.’ These are all great books about the climate crisis
-TED Talks: ‘The Surprising Solution to Ocean Plastic by David Katz,’ ‘The Urgency of Climate Change by Al Gore,’ ‘The Science of Oceans in a Changing Climate by Joanie Kleypas
These are just a few resources to get started on learning about the climate crisis and what we can do to fight it together. This is all of ours problem and it is growing. Picture it like this: imagine you are being chased by a bull. You are wearing a bright red coat and all it can see is rage. It charges at you at full speed. What do you do? You can only run for so long before it catches you. Your only option is to drop your coat – but you love it. That coat represents all the comforts we have grown to rely on. Plastic, cars, petrol oil. Hypothetically, if you had the option to drop the coat you were wearing to save your life from an angry bull to save your life, you 100% would. So why aren’t we doing the same with this climate crisis? We are sugar coating our future to make it seem like we have one. Realistically, the way we are continuing and taking into account the habits we have taken up, we actually don’t have a future. So act. Research. Educate. Protest. Clean up, swap out, reduce waste, donate, pledge to charities, TALK ABOUT IT! For me, if this post even changes the way one person thinks, that’s a win. Even if it is only a tiny step towards a green future, it is still a step and if we all do something, anything, we can overcome this together. Everyone can do something.
So, to bring this post to a close, I want you to think about your favourite animal. Is it a polar bear or a penguin perhaps? They are endangered because of us. Or how about a tiger? They are endangered because of us. Perhaps it is a panda? They are endangered because of us. The point is, all of these habitats are constantly being destroyed, because of us. Rainforests, oceans, ice-caps, deserts, etc. Let us unite and act against this crisis. Bring these animals into the green zone of existence. They need us – they need you. In fact, YOU need YOU. Help us all and help yourself. And again, as the infamous Greta Thunberg once said, ‘the climate crisis is already solved. We already have the facts and solutions. All we have to do is wake up and change.’
Let’s squash this problem, one step at a time.
XOXO,
Lola
(I would also like to add that the issue of the climate crisis is not just environmental and that is does extend to human rights, political injustice, patriarchy, racism, fascism, etc. Stay tuned for a part two on this post to cover these topics too.)
Donation Website Links:
Rainforest Alliance - https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/support/
Earth Justice – https://act.earthjustice.org/a/give-today?ms=web_menu_header
Clean Air Task Force – https://catf.com/donate
The Sea Shepherd – https://seashepherd.org/donate/?amp=1
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