exploring the news & events that connect us all
We've often seen buzzwords like 'carbon footprint', 'offsetting' and 'net zero' used by companies touting their eco-friendly efforts; but what, if anything, does this mean in terms of their climate action? I'll give you a hint; it's not always as beneficial as some would have us believe.
As individuals, we've been urged to do our bit to help combat climate change. By adjusting our everyday habits to use less plastic, reduce food waste and try out cleaner/greener energy, for example; we can become part of the solution. But are these actions enough?
Reducing household waste can seem like an inconvenience or something that requires specialized skills to do effectively. The truth is there are many ways to decrease the amount of refuse we accumulate and throw away that doesn’t require much prior planning or knowledge.
We should all be concerned about the environment and the impact we have that contributes to climate change. Undoubtedly, we must act now and continue to make adjustments in our everyday lives -- but there is an urgent need to motivate our community, corporate and political leaders to take action and defend the planet.
The effects of climate change are measurable and being felt today. It’s not a theoretical or distant cataclysm that can be put off being dealt with — we have to act now. And we have to start listening to the Indigenous communities who are on the front lines of protecting our natural world because they are among the first to feel its impact. We must help them safeguard what should be sacred to us all.
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, who has been embraced by the world's media as the face of youth environmental activism, is deserving of the attention and accolades she’s received, but there are many other youth activists who have not caught the media's attention for their outstanding work. And they deserve to be as well-known within this movement as she is.
President Bolsonaro of Brazil campaigned on a promise to roll back indigenous rights and protections for the Amazon. He ran on a promise to open up the Amazon rainforest for resource exploitation by the agribusiness sector. When he became president in January 2019, he gave control over the regulation of indigenous land reserves, via executive order, to the Ministry of Agriculture which is heavily financed by powerful agribusiness lobbyists.
If you think the natural world isn’t in crisis, you haven’t been paying attention.
