So I watched An Inconvenient Truth this afternoon, a film by Al Gore all about the ongoing global environmental crisis. It was very interesting, clearly presented the alarming facts about climate change. It even inspired me to get off my butt and write a blog post about it.
After watching the film I was struck by a feeling that if we don’t ALL start to do our part to combat this crisis, then by the time I have kids and they grow up, it will all be too late. It amazes me that some people can be so arrogant and complacent in even disputing the fact that global warming is even actually occuring. The facts are plain and simple, if we don’t do something now, then pretty soon we won’t have a planet to call home.
Over the past year I have certainly felt more obligated to do more to help the environment, but like many others, I don’t do enough. Yes we recycle here at home, we re-use carrier bags from the shops, we try not to leave electrical items on stand-by, I drive my car only once a week and use public transport as much as I can. But it is still not enough.
I think we all have an obligation to do our part, and it is hard when some people for whatever reasons, are too selfish to even consider recycling or changing their daily habits to help us all.
In my neighbourhood we now have compulsory recycling of paper, plastics and cardboard. This has forced local people to take ownership of their own situation, like it or not, which is a good thing. I agree that there is a fine balance between making people take ownership for their actions and forcing people to do things against their own free will, but people need to change their attitudes, and if a little coercion is required, then so be it.
I plan to start taking more of an interest in the environment and without sounding like a new born activist or something, to spread the word to the people I come into contact with about how they can make changes to their lifestyles to help the environment.
A simple example of this is my work colleagues. I think I am the only one in the office who feels guilty about going to Tesco at lunch and not reusing the carrier bag I was given the day before. People just seem apathetic and think that something so trivial makes no different. Well it does. Just say for example we have 20 people in our office, and we all use a new plastic bag every day when we go to the shops. On a weekly basis that is 100 carrier bags we throw away, on an average month that is 400 bags and over a year that is 4800 carrier bags we waste. This is quite scary when you think that this is only lunch.
I am not saying I am going to turn into the perfect citizen who emits a zero carbon footprint, but I am going to try to at least to start doing more to help, and if we all do a little bit, it will hopefully go a long way to help.
