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Twelve years to save Nemo
We have twelve years in which to reduce our carbon emissions by 45% or face catastrophic climate change.
It's not a topic people are comfortable talking about, because it requires us all to make difficult choices about our lifestyles, but it's a topic that we have to raise for our own sakes, let alone the sake of our children and grandchildren.
This is not some far distant future.
Drought in the UK this summer had a massive impact on crop yields (our allotment produced half what it normally does - and we watered as much as we could).
Fire in the USA had devastating results.
Floods last winter caused massive damage.
The Great Barrier Reef is dying from heat stress, much of it is dead already. If we can keep the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, then we will only (and I stress the word 'only') lose 90% of the world's coral reefs. If the temperature rises by 2 degrees, then we lose ALL the coral reefs.
We're past the point where recycling your rubbish will make a global impact. (It's useful and virtuous, but it can easily be mistaken for making a serious impact on the problem)
The big carbon issues are :Travel, Heat, Meat.
Cut out aviation and you will have made the single biggest change that you can make. The last time I flew to the USA was shortly after 9/11. I was damned if terrorists were going to stop me visiting my American friends. What terrorists could not achieve, environmental issues did. The next year, I did a carbon footprint calculation - I have never flown since I did that calculation. The cost was simply too high.
My annual carbon emissions are around 3 tons. One return transatlantic flight would add another ton to that.
It's not a topic people are comfortable talking about, because it requires us all to make difficult choices about our lifestyles, but it's a topic that we have to raise for our own sakes, let alone the sake of our children and grandchildren.
This is not some far distant future.
Drought in the UK this summer had a massive impact on crop yields (our allotment produced half what it normally does - and we watered as much as we could).
Fire in the USA had devastating results.
Floods last winter caused massive damage.
The Great Barrier Reef is dying from heat stress, much of it is dead already. If we can keep the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, then we will only (and I stress the word 'only') lose 90% of the world's coral reefs. If the temperature rises by 2 degrees, then we lose ALL the coral reefs.
We're past the point where recycling your rubbish will make a global impact. (It's useful and virtuous, but it can easily be mistaken for making a serious impact on the problem)
The big carbon issues are :Travel, Heat, Meat.
Cut out aviation and you will have made the single biggest change that you can make. The last time I flew to the USA was shortly after 9/11. I was damned if terrorists were going to stop me visiting my American friends. What terrorists could not achieve, environmental issues did. The next year, I did a carbon footprint calculation - I have never flown since I did that calculation. The cost was simply too high.
My annual carbon emissions are around 3 tons. One return transatlantic flight would add another ton to that.
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I have a lot of long-sleeved thermal underwear.
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Can you give up, or greatly reduce, your use of aircraft to go for the gold award?
History-Monk just scored gold for giving up flying in 2006.
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I've only flown twice in my life, both times on organised school trips where we had no other option ; I always vastly preferred land/sea travel even for transcontinental journeys. And since I haven't left the country since the 1990s and my passport expired long since, I think I can safely say I gave up aircraft before anyone else...
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Now post in your journal to encourage others to do likewise :)
Twelve years is a scarily short period of time, but it is possible.
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Hardly anyone took overseas holidays back then, so no aviation worth mentioning.
Car ownership was much much lower, so a lot less travel in general.
People ate less meat and we didn't import food with all the costs associated with frieghting it.
They owned a lot less 'stuff' and no electronic gadgets. Far fewer items of clothing and things were repaired rather than instantly buying a new one.
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What makes me hopeful is that you're not the only one.