Climate change is something that we hear so much about, and it can be worrying. And indeed, it should be. We only are a few years off from irreversible climate change, which is why Greta is so angry, as the powers that be won’t listen to her. They just pat her on the head, and send her on her way. But the reason she’s angry is because she has much better scientific knowledge than them. If more action is not taken soon (putting the planet before economic growth and encouraging people to ‘buy and spend to help the economy’), we will have a world full of drought, wildfires and floods.
Species will go extinct, we ourselves will lose a huge chunk of our planet to rising sea levels, and life will never be the same as we know it (COVID is just a fraction of what would happen).Although our earth has naturally heated at times, 97% of climate scientists (and it’s been found the other 3% had vested interests) say that the earth has now warmed by 1°C since the Industrial Revolution, due to human activity.
- Greenhouse gases are emitted from all beings (apart from trees, they take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen). The huge meat consumption of humans means that there are over 1.5 cows often on factory farms. On land that is cleared of trees, to provide beef for fast food and other restaurants.
- Deforestation happens in the Amazon rainforest (the ‘lungs of the planet’). But also trees are torn down in Indonesia (to provide cheap palm oil plantations, which kills orangutans). And the northern Boreal forests are chopped down for timber and to make toilet paper). All this means less oxygen (trees gone) and more carbon dioxide (greenhouses gases).
The rising temperatures means we are losing around 9% of Arctic sea ice each year (so it will all be gone in 10 years). This means polar bears will go extinct, as they will have no ice to live on. And rising temperatures also mean more droughts and floods, which cause harvests to fail. This means more chemicals on food, and an increase on the 1.7 million children already dying yearly, due to climate change consequences.
Most governments and big business just want to carry on as normal, but create different kinds of energy to fossil fuels (so they retain profits). Others want us to eat lab-grown meat, and others want the changes to only come at a slower rate, than climate scientists say is necessary (the UK Conservative’s aim of zero carbon by 2050 is way too late). So in summary, living a simple lifestyle is the best way to help:
- Have less children
- Eat less meat
- Walk more, drive less
- Save energy & water
- Fly less
Books to Stop Climate Change
Things You Can Do (how to fight climate change and reduce waste) makes small changes to live a greener life and reduce your carbon footprint in this stunning illustrated book by award-winning climate journalist Eduardo Garcia. No lectures, just tips to slash emissions with over 350 illustrations by painter Sara Boccaccini Meadows. Each chapter digs into choices to cut carbon emissions then delivers things you can to eat a climate-friendly diet, reduce food waste, save energy and adopt zero waste practices.
For beauty/cleaning recipes, avoid essential oils near pets or children, and for pregnancy/breastfeeding. For gardening, see make your garden safe for pets to know toxic plants and other items to avoid.
Save the World: There Is No Planet B is a nice little book packed with ideas on how to help, without scaring or being doom-and-gloom. The simple tips can be incorporated into daily life, and shows just how small tips can have a huge positive effect on the world around us. Also read There is No Planet B by greenhouse emissions expert Mike Berners-Lee (including 14 ways MPs can help). This book combines expert advice with a really entertaining read, you’ll be stoked by the end of this book.
- How to Save Your Planet (one object at a time) is a nice little book by environmental scientist Dr Tara Shine. It’s packed with tips to save the planet, by making simple daily swaps. Rather than feel overwhelmed, learn how sustainable living can be fun and convenient.
- Being the Change is by climate scientist Peter Kalmus, who uses satellite data to study the rapidly changing Earth, focusing on ecological forecasting (in other words, he’s brainer than most of us). After becoming alarmed at climate change stats, he took up cycling, grew his own food and took a crash course in meditation. Today, he and his family have the same lifestyle, but live on a 10th of the average fossil fuels.
- Saving Us is a book by climate scientist Christian Katharine Hayhoe who has been called one of the most effective communicators on climate change by the New York Times. A Canadian living in Texas, she says we need to find shared values to connect and collect action. A layered look at science, faith and human psychology, she shows that small conversations can have astonishing results.
How to Save the World for Free is an upbeat book that has a very unique table of contents, and is sure to get you inspired to make a difference. Every tip is quick and easy to implement. Author Natalie Fée is an award-winning environmentalist, author, speaker and founder of City to Sea, which is helping to stop plastic pollution.
This book will galvanise you to think and live differently, covering all key areas from food and travel, to politics and sex. You will feel better, live better and ultimately breathe better with the knowledge that each small change, contributes towards saving our world. Examples of Natalie’s tips include:
- Voting with climate change policies in mind
- Carrying a reusable coffee cup or water bottle
- Buying zero waste groceries and toiletries
- Ditching plastic feminine care
- Choosing an ethical bank
The book also addresses the big barriers to change like broken political systems, capitaliam and consumerism – and gives practical and engaging ways to disrupt them.
Natalie Fee is an environmental activist whose campaigns have included stopping plastic buds being dropped in the ocean. She is founder of City to Sea, a nonprofit that runs campaigns to stop plastic pollution in our oceans (10% of profits from the book are donated to it).
Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist is a thoughtful book by writer Paul Kingsnorth, who has written two excellent books on alternatives to the big bad corporate world: One No, Many Yeses and Real England: The Battle Against the Bland. He writes beautifully yet quite sadly on how he gave up the fight as an environmental activist, due to realising that most people simply don’t care to give up consumerism.
Passionate, lyrical, haunting and furious, this book gathers essays to go much deeper than the normal ‘going green books’. This sad lament of a world given up – may just make you start to care!
Rather like the ecological writer Satish Kumar, Paul does not believe the answer to saving the planet is going to come from Green New Deals and wind farms – but with a renewed balance and respect for Nature.
To accept that we are not superior as humans. It’s a hopeful book ultimately, but asks difficult questions on what we must do, in order to survive (to help all of Nature around us survive too). Paul has a unique way of writing that cuts to your heart:
I would like to tell you a few things about this virus. Fish have returned to the Venetian canals now that humans have stopped polluting them. The clouds of air pollution over Italy and China have dissipated since people were prevented from causing them with their cars, planes, factories. Up to 80,000 premature deaths which would have been caused this way have probably been prevented in China by the shutdown of the economy. Carbon monoxide levels in the air above New York have collapsed by 50 percent in a single week. Lift your gaze, humans. We can learn from this.
