‘Protecting the Environment’, like ‘Climate-change’, is one
of those heart-sink phrases that paralyse us with the sheer enormity of the
task to be tackled. It seems there is little that we, as individuals, can do in
the face of seismic change: the global decimation, pollution and destruction of
natural resources everywhere.
We laughed when the
bee said to the farmer, ‘I’m too
small to help you grow crops’, but we can all do our bit.
small to help you grow crops’, but we can all do our bit.
But to bracket all climate change-contributory factors as
projects too big for any of us to tackle is not merely defeatist but
untrue. Each and every one of us can
change our way of life, our consumer choices to a greater or less extent. No-one is asked to wear sackcloth and eat
grass! But if we all change our choices by whatever degree feels possible, not
only would it have an accumulative effect but it would change the mind-set of
populations across the globe.
This has been true throughout history when enough people
lived their beliefs. It used to be
unthinkable that women would be given the vote or that apartheid would be
abolished, to name just two examples.
The pioneers were derided, tortured and outlawed, but gradually the mind-set
changed. The same is slowly happening now with climate change and the
degradation of the planet. So every tiny
thing we can do to halt this, we should do, as its example and ethos will not
be wasted.
Buy and use less plastic
One of the simplest changes we can make is to buy and use less plastic! We’ve spent the last 200 years digging oil
out of the ground and now it is lying all around us, in one form or
another. Like the genie, it cannot be
put back into the lamp. We have grown so
used to every little thing being made of plastic, that we no longer see it is
for what it is – rubbish (with a very short lifespan) that is going to clog
landfill sites, poison the rivers, pollute the oceans and never decompose.
There is nothing so insidious as the item that makes life
easier. Takeaway food and drink and convenience
snacks (all in throwaway plastic containers), cling wrap, disposable diapers –
all make life so much easier for people who don’t think beyond the immediate
gratification. But let’s not forget that
almost everything that is made of plastic is designed to make money for
business, it is not there to help the poor or improve quality of life for us or
the planet. Even oranges have been sold
ready-peeled in a sealed pack which –
unlike orange peel – will never ever decompose.
Because we all want life to be easy, especially if we have enough money
to pay for it, we do not stop to think of the harm we are doing by encouraging
this cycle of supply and demand.
Only 5% of plastic is
effectively recycled
Only 5% of plastic is
effectively recycled. The rest lies around on our roads and motorways, on
the coast where the tide has ejected it and everywhere, including the ocean,
where it can harm or kill wildlife. One
recent statistic says that the amount of plastic in the oceans will be greater
than the amount of fish, by weight, around 2050.
There are alternatives
available
This mess has been caused by each and every one of us. We may be recycling where we can, but the
only long-term solution is to buy less plastic. There are alternatives
available – hemp products, seaweed and mushroom packaging are beginning to
be available, for instance. But we will
drown in a sea of plastic – on land or water – if we do not stop buying it now. A recent article in The Guardian states that
plastic production is set to quadruple by 2050, with 8 million tonnes of
plastic leaking into the ocean every year.
So make one resolution this month
So make one
resolution this month. It may be to stop buying takeaway coffee (unless you
take your own container); or stop buying drinks with plastic straws; or stop
buying snacks or soft drinks and then binning the wrapper or bottle. Whatever it is, take this one step. It will lead to other steps; your mind-set
will change and your example will spread.
Many years ago, author Vladimir Bukovsky, a Russian
dissenter, said “… power rests on nothing other than a people’s consent to
submit to tyranny, and each person who refuses to submit to tyranny, reduces it
– even if only by one 250-millionth.”
We are now tyrannised by plastic and by the big business
that sees only the profit involved. But we are also being tyrannised by our own
inertia and selfish desire for an easy life.
So do your bit to reduce that tyranny – even if it is only by one seven-billionth!
PS – I’ve just bought a bamboo toothbrush…
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