It is not always easy.
Life is tough at the moment. But I don’t want to concentrate on the problems. I want to focus on what we can do about them. Not the airy fairy “we can probably do this in the future kind of promise”, but what each of us can do right now. All of us have power and we can use that power to do more good in the world. Certainly we have different skills, but the Earth needs that.
Let’s look at how different people use their power.
President Biden
This article from the White House Briefing room shows how the President has used his power to protect the entire US East Coast from offshore oil and gas drilling. President Biden has now conserved over 670 million acres of America’s land and waters for the future. This will be difficult for the incoming President to undo.
Unquestionably we are talking of the President of the United States and none of us has his power. But all of us need to be involved in this crisis. We can’t fix it if we stand back.
New York State
According to Reuters New York Governor Kathy Hochul has just signed into law a new bill that will allow New York State to fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate. The bill was sponsored by state Senator Liz Krueger.
London
Mayor Sadiq Khan has made fighting Climate Change, and in particular air pollution, one of his key priorities. He has created a very bold plan to fight air pollution in the city. He is also aiming to make London a National Park city by 2050 with more than 50% green space, and also to have many more buildings with “green” walls and roofs.
All these politicians have received a considerable amount of abuse over their plans and yet they have gone ahead and done what they set out to do. There is a huge number of brave politicians who have done that.
Rewilders
Scottish Highlands Rewilding Projects
Wildland and Affric Highlands
This Roadbook article shows some major work being done in Scotland to restore some of the ancient Caledonian forest (at present one of the most degraded landscapes in the UK). Wildland is made up of three privately owned estates with a 200-year vision including the planting of 5 million trees.
Similarly the Affric Highlands have a rewilding project with a thirty-year vision to restore a wide swathe of the Central Highlands. This will be a community-led effort. Rewilding Europe says that this will “transform the Affric Highlands into a wild refuge for many iconic species, enriching the local economy with nature-based initiatives that form more resilient ecosystems and communities. It is a partnership that will demonstrate the interdependence of nature, people and business.”
Regenerative Agriculture
Many farmers with large and small farms are now using regenerative agriculture. For example the owners of a small farm in Normandy have demonstrated its possibilities to improve the soil and make the whole farming process sustainable according to this article. With a reduced need to disturb the soil with ploughing The French National Institute for Agricultural Research has said that “the work on the farm could easily be equivalent or superior to that obtained on a classic farm”.
Individuals
Fridays for Future
There are many individuals out there putting themselves on the line every day. Many in very dangerous situations. Even in countries like the UK and in Europe it is no longer easy to protest about the climate. Their governments have changed the laws even though the right to freedom of expression and assembly is a right under the European Convention on Human Rights. There are a number of people serving severe sentences under these new laws. For example the co- founder of Extinction Rebellion Roger Hallam is in the process of serving a five-year sentence. But still the protests go on.
Berta Cáceres
In other countries the retribution can be a lot more severe. In South America for example: Berta Cáceres was an indigenous woman who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015 for a grassroots campaign that successfully pressured the world’s largest dam builder to pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam in Honduras. Unfortunately she was murdered for her work. Fellow activists are carrying on her legacy.
Chris Packham
Chris is British, a naturalist, film presenter and author. In my opinion he is also a brave and likeable activist. His recent television series Earth is well worth watching. He made a film asking if climate activists (himself included) must break the law to get across their message and to motivate people.
This article discusses some very impressive African women who were or are fighting for the climate.
Vanessa Nakate
Vanessa is a young Ugandan climate activist, initially inspired by Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future. She became a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has founded the Rise Up Movement to encourage African climate activists.
These are just a few examples of climate activists from all walks of life. I am sure that each and every one of them was nervous the very first time they were active. I certainly was! So everybody can do something. We are all brave in some areas, or if not, we can learn to be.
Questions to ask yourself
- How do I want my future to be ?
- How do I want my children’s/grandchildren’s future to be ?
- What can I do to make a difference?
- How can I do more good ?
- What will happen if I do nothing ?
Ideas of What Each of us Can Do
(obviously there are many, many more ideas)
- Talk about Climate Change often – Katherine Hayhoe, a Canadian climate scientist says, “the most important thing we can do is talk about the Climate.” See her book Saving Us : a Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.
- Consume less. Ask yourself “Do I really need this ?” next time you buy something. Learn about the world of fashion and how bad it is for the environment.
- Eat carefully. Certainly eat less beef and dairy. Think about how your food got to you. Did it come by plane ? Perhaps wait till it is in season near you.
- Think about your water use. Remember it all needs to be purified before it gets to you.
- Keep your politicians on their toes about their environmental promises.
- Don’t believe everything the newspapers say till you have checked it.
- Plant local plants in your garden and if you need to use compost use peat free. (It is difficult to find in France – possibly available in Bricomarché.)
- Encourage your local Council not to cut the verges, certainly in the spring and early summer.
- Please, please, please fly less.
Each of us has a special skill. Please find a way to use yours. Perhaps you could be a public speaker, or good at writing to the press or politicians. Maybe you could provide funding for environmental organisations or use your house for meetings on how to help our world. It might even be hosting coffee mornings to support useful organisations or to talk to the neighbours about what is happening in the world. We are capable of so much more than we are doing. If we show our love for our beautiful planet and teach our children to do the same, then that message could change the future. But we must ACT.
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Photos by Doreen Hosking and by Winston Tjia and Mika Baumeister on Unsplash