"In nature everything is interconnected, and we are responsible now for past mistakes" (journal African Wildlife)
Blog Action Day: Climate Change'09. Climate change is the talk of the town. The future doesn't look promising. Facts are scary. We are moving towards annihilation. What are our chances to survive? Are those rumors true? Can we change it? Does it matter what I do as a person? Is it a conspiracy theory?
All those questions are ringing in my head after discussions with people representing different point of views. I must say I am confused myself and often ask myself how much difference does it make that I segregate my trash and buy organic food produced in Denmark, while there are thousands of factories, companies across the world that don't care at all about environment but their bottom lines. What influence one person's actions have for the Earth?
Well, it makes the difference that you and me make small things, it makes a difference that you and me care, but we need to do more that just being what I would call "selfish green" - just doing things that make us feel better and things that concern only our micro worlds. It struck me when I was last week in Poland.
I was walking through huge supermarket, passing by shelves groaning from the glass bottles that are thrown away as there is no infrastructure that would allow people to deliver those to special containers or shops. I was passing by the walls of plastic bottles that are also thrown away without giving a further thought what will happen with those tones of plastic afterward...You just don't pay for the glass or plastic bottles. It doesn't cost you anything, you use what's inside than throw the bottle away together with organic waste, paper, etc. I asked a few people whether they try to segregate their trash. They looked at me surprised and asked where should they throw away paper, glass, plastic when there is only one trash container in their backyards (in the area where my parents live there is no sign of glass container at all!) After a few conversations, I've realized that the only thing they were thinking was getting products at good price and saving the money. The latter one is also what I've noticed in Denmark, as soon as you get outside the big cities. Consumption, ignorance, focus on different set of needs...this is the inconvienint truth about humanity.
Doing things is one thing and I dare to say it is a minority who does something actively to reverse the climate change, which ism apart from other nature related phenomena, caused by human ignorance and materialism. That minority has a huge task of not only putting pressure on the authorities to start political initiatives that make climate change easier, more accessible and cheaper for people, but also educating and influencing people around them how to make things differently. It is about changing our way of thinking from begin 'selfish green' to being 'sharing green' and helping each other to make a difference. Small initiatives that can turn into small movements around the world. Ignite behavior and make other people to copy it. I taught my parents to drive long way in order to deliver glass, plastic and paper for recycling even though it costs them time and money and they pass on their behavior to their friends. This is how making difference can start... Make others to copy your selfish acts of green - this is my manifesto for stopping climate change :)
