A changing world.

A heavy snowfall tends to make people say “Bah, global warming my arse!” while unseasonable warm in the winter makes people say “Yay! Global warming makes warms!”. Which is why I prefer the term Climate Change, because it has no implication of warmth.

Nature is a balancing act. The death of one kind of plant can result in a lack of food for a certain animal, or a loss of nesting location for a bird. Those birds or animals die out, and perhaps the trees the birds pollinate begin to die out.  One of the major factors in the survival of any plant or animal is climate. Everything has evolved to be exactly where it is, if that makes sense. Animals are designed to live in the conditions they live in, and while some kinds of animals are highly adaptable, others are far more delicate and a simple raise in temperature of even 1° can result in them being wiped out.

Yet while the icecaps melt and weather patterns change, creating floods, droughts and god knows what else, humans are remarkable in their ability to ignore the fact that we, as a species, are at fault.

Far from the delicate balancing act of mother nature, humans are happy to tramp any old place, adapting to conditions as needed and developing ways to make life more comfortable. In the developed world, that tends to be technology and central heating, big cars and disposable everything.  There seems to be a mass idea that living in a sustainable, low carbon way involves keeping your own cows, living in a yurt and never washing your armpits.

Bullshit! There’s a million things every single person in the developed world can do to improve their carbon footprint, to create less of a negative impact on the planet and perhaps slow the damage we’re doing to the environment. Here’s some:

- Instead of keeping your house hot hot hot all winter, turn the heat up enough to keep the chill out. Still cold? Try a jumper. It stuns me that people seem to think they should be able to walk around in a t-shirt all year round. A blanket, sweater or robe will warm you just as well as pumping up your heating.

- Buy local produce as much as possible. For a lot of people, this is not an easy option, but if you look around you may find a lot of your diet can be obtained from farms etc that are quite close to you. Less transport = less carbon emissions transporting things to you.

- Cut back on the disposables.  Instead of a 10 pack of throw away razors, get a good quality one with replaceable blades. It’ll cost more in the beginning, but eventually you will save money.  Spend a little extra on a refillable pen, use tea towels instead of paper towels. Buying quality reusable items costs less long term, and you’ll probably find they perform better too.

- Sell, donate or recycle your old technology. Got a 5 year old computer that no one wants? I’ll bet you’ll find someone through your community house or school that would love that machine. Sure it won’t run the latest games, but for wordprocessing and internet, it’s fine. Call around, or search the net to see if there’s a programme running in your area.  If all else fails, send it for recycling. There’s never any call for technology to end up in landfill.

- The Bottled Water Thing. In Australia, tapwater is high quality and drinkable. Plastic bottles of water are a huge impact, with the energy needed to make the bottles, transport them etc. Pick up a sports bottle for cheap and fill it from the tap. In places with less than delicious water, try and invest in a filter.

- Walk it, ride it, share it.  Walk more! It’s good for you, by the way. Grab a second hand bike and ride it places. I’m not saying you should walk to work (I know I couldn’t, it’s too far) but if you’re popping down to the corner store, do you NEED to drive? Probably not.

- Buy less shit. Okay so you’re awake at 2am and there’s an advertisement on for a toothpaste squeezer which seems like a grouse idea (esp at 2am). So you buy it. Now, do you NEED a toothpaste squeezer? Probably not. So now you have another plastic thing in your house, made from oils in a big old factory, shipped to your country, driven to your postoffice… it’s a waste of energy and time. I’m the last of the great impulse buyers, but I try to think three times about pointless crapola.

- Reuse. You know the best cleaning cloths? Old cotton underwear. I kid you not. Lint free, soft. They’re awesome on windows. So next time you find a hole in your underdaks, toss them in the wash then toss them in the cleaning rag pile. Same goes for t-shirts, awesome cleaning power in a shirt. Carpet underlay is a great weedmat on the garden. Before you toss stuff out, think about using it for something different. Okay you can’t wear your “Frankie Says Relax” shirt in public anymore, but you can most certainly dust with it.

In short, reducing your impact is not hard, and it’s not something anyone expects you to be 100% dedicated to. You don’t have to live in a tent with 17 dreadlocked people in order to show some kind of compassion for the planet. You can enjoy the same life style you have now, but an awareness of how things end up in your house, how they’re processed, developed, produced and delivered will help you make a choice about what you do or do not buy or take part in.  I’m not expecting anyone to change their lives as a result of this post, but I’d appreciate it if you’d give it some thought.