How Time Flies

I have been writing my blog since July 2021. That seems a long time to be thinking about the problems of the world and Climate Change in particular. I have enjoyed doing it, although it would be wrong to say that I have never had days without hope of a good outcome. Of course I did. Almost all scientists do.

Nevertheless, I still feel hopeful that humanity will come to its senses in time for us to escape the very worst of the problems we are creating for ourselves. I feel optimistic when I see all the good things that have happened since I started to write my blog.

That does not mean that I don’t worry about our future.

Where Are We Now?

I want to use this blog at the beginning of 2026 to review the problems we face right now and in the future if we don’t change our habits and values. (It doesn’t make for great reading I’m afraid.)

Then I want to look at our successes, why we should have hope, and what you can do to make a difference. Please read right to the end, as I truly believe that we can change our ways of being to live a happier and more fulfilling lifestyle. Yes, it is depressing, but as a world we have faced difficult battles before, for example ending slavery, fixing the hole in the ozone layer and creating votes for women.

What Are the Issues We Face?

Humanity is threatened by numerous issues right now. First among them is Climate Change and its resulting challenge of Global Warming. Others include Loss of Biodiversity, Inequality, Pollution, Poverty, Global Health, Food Insecurity, Loss of Democracy, Wars, and in my opinion Artificial Intelligence (AI). There are, of course, other challenges to be added to that list. My favourite “extra” problem is the media and their publication of constant negative news. There is good news. I want to know why they don’t print it! It would encourage more people to be active.

I am only going to discuss the challenges of Climate Change in this blog, but most of these threats are inter-connected and should be dealt with together. For example, in many cases Climate Change will cause or worsen poverty. Poverty in its turn affects health and pollution.

There is no doubt that if we don’t act then our futures will be very bleak. We need to examine our lifestyles and ask ourselves: is this what I want? Obviously, there are many other players in the world that must take action. It is not all on our shoulders, but we can be the lubricant that oils the wheels of change. If the global population declare very loudly and in large numbers that they want a better world, then others will listen.

Climate Change

We have known about manmade Climate Change for a long time now. We know that the burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and other Greenhouse Gases like methane into the atmosphere where they build up. This process dramatically changes the climate and is the cause of Global Warming, which brings its own threats.

The fossil fuel companies have known for many years that their products are harming the planet and mankind and yet they continued to do it. An article in Science shows this:

In 2015, investigative journalists discovered internal company memos indicating that Exxon oil company has known since the late 1970s that its fossil fuel products could lead to global warming with ‘dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050.’

Other sources of Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere are caused by Deforestation, Agriculture and change of land use.

When Did The World Start to Take Climate Change Seriously?

An article in the Guardian talks about an American climate scientist James Hansen who testified to Congress in 1988 on global heating saying “that the world was moving towards a ‘new climate frontier’ with temperatures higher than at any point over the past million years, bringing impacts such as stronger storms, heatwaves and droughts.”

Apparently, it was the first high profile revelation of global heating.

The first COP meeting of the UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) was held in Berlin in 1995.

COP21, held in Paris in 2015 brought some serious progress when the Paris Agreement was adopted by 195 UNFCCC member States and was considered a major breakthrough that created the possibility of avoiding the most severe effects of Climate Change. These countries committed themselves to try and keep the global temperature rise to under 2°C and make efforts to keep it to 1.5°C. This was a level that was thought to avoid the worst effects of a changing climate.

Sadly, we have not done that. CO2 levels are still rising and countries are still disagreeing over responsibility, finance and who needs to do what. Oil companies are still fighting desperately to retain their profits.

BUT!

Now The Good News!

There is no doubt that things are grim. However, as I have said all along in my blogs, people are fighting back: not fast enough, but that is where you come in!

Have a look in my old blogs and you will see a lot of good things are happening big and small and worldwide.

I have recently joined a magazine for good news called Imagine5. Do look them up. It will lift your spirits!

 For example, they quote a story about a Kashmiri lake: “The story of lotus flowers returning to Kashmir’s Wular Lake for the first time in 30 years – an entire ecosystem bouncing back after a five-year conservation effort that helped undo the damage of three decades of pollution.” Perhaps it doesn’t sound much but when one thinks of the commitment behind that, just think of all the people that need to care for that to happen.

They also talk about bison. After an absence of 200 years, European bison now roam the wilds of Romania’s Southern Carpathians, breathing new life into both the landscape and the local community.

A recent article in the Guardian talks about deforestation in the Darien Gap (the land bridge between South and Central America) and how determined action by the Panamanian government has reduced both deforestation and illegal poaching. Do read the article: it is very inspiring.

These are only a few good news stories but if you look you will find an increasing number. Some of them may look small, but to me they are a symbol of people waking up and starting to become involved. Moreover, some of the stories are indeed important. We need that very much.

What Can You Do?

Working Together

There are many things that each of us can do to make a difference either alone or with other people. We don’t need to feel we are powerless. In fact, we need everybody to make a contribution to the battle ahead.

• Get mad! If you want to get mad, get mad at the oil companies, investors and politicians. Let them know what you think!
• There are many ways we can use our money. Check if your bank or other investments invest in fossil fuels. If they do, change for something better and tell them why.
• Use your purchasing power. If you don’t like what a company is doing, write and tell them you are going elsewhere and why.
• Buy quality clothes if you can and a lot less of them. Fast fashion is very bad for the environment.
• Eat less meat, especially beef.
• If you have a garden, make your own compost.
• Make your garden insect-friendly and certainly don’t use insecticides.
• Vote for politicians who you know care about the environment.

Above all, talk about Climate Change. Invite the neighbours in for coffee and talk together about what you could do in the community. Talk to everybody you know about it.

Educate yourself about the problems and what we need to do. Learn how Democracy works and how we need to keep it strong. Learn what other countries need and how the rich countries should be helping them.

Look for new ideas about ways to help.

Don’t ignore what is happening and think it will get better miraculously. It won’t.

This is a time of great urgency, and we need to get involved no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel.

We can be encouraged by Martin Luther King: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

So let’s get cracking!

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Photos by Towfiqu barbhuiya, Vitaly Gariev and Randy Fath on Unsplash