Turning my back on hyper-consumerism
Last week, my brother sent me a link to a conference that was happening about an hour after he shared it. Brew Dog brought together change makers from across the globe to speak at their online event ‘#ALTCOP. A free event that you can watch again and included thought provoking perspective from businesses included Patagonia, LUSH, Vice, Iceland and The Plastic Planet.
Dr Tara Shine hosted the event and welcomed James Watt & Martin Dickie to open the event. Their words were instantly so powerful. ‘We are sleepwalking off the edge of a cliff…huge change is needed right now…..fuck carbon negative by 2050, it is an absolute joke huge change is needed today…governments have shown themselves to be completely inept in facing the biggest crisis we as humans have ever faced. Action we need will be driven by business working hand in hand with cutting edge science. It is about mavericks, business leaders, scientists, coming together, no more talking, today is about action’.
This conference was a lot to process. It has disrupted me in a was that feels as powerful as waves. Over the last few years I have felt a growing unrest, uneasy about the trajectory we are on with our climate, I’ve made changes and am seeking more every day.
But most of all on this day of Black Friday, a comment from Sian Sutherland co-founder of A Plastic Planet absolutely got to the crux of my frustration of something I have been sensing for a while.
“Plastic is an enabler of hyper-consumption, and hyper-consumption has led to the climate crisis.”
It is a wicked problem with so many facets. But as citizens of the world we have to ask ourselves, do I need or want this. And if I need it can I make careful choices to buy from organisations that sustainably source, create and provide what I need. This is the only way forward from here.
Today, I have made a decision not to buy anything, as I do most days. There is nothing I need. I’ve decided to spend some money investing in people and organisations that are doing good work that leads us on a journey to a world that is better than then one we’re currently part of. It is a long road, but each day we have choices to make.
These folk include:
Marine Conservation Society – https://www.mcsuk.org/donate/ppe-plastic-pollution
Masks were only made mandatory in shops in England in July, but in just three months 30% of the beaches we cleaned during our Great British Beach Clean had PPE on them.
This is a massive cause of concern for us…because if left unchecked, that figure is only going to continue to rise as items travel from inland to sea. Almost 70% of our inland litter picks found PPE litter.
Disposable masks pose a huge threat to wildlife. Made from polypropylene that can take hundreds of years to break down, they shed microplastics that can be ingested by marine life whilst sea birds can become entangled in the ear straps.
Rianna Patterson – https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dementiaisledoc
My grandfather passed away with Dementia when I was only 16 years old. My grandmother has also passed away. I would like to highlight the elders of Dominica and share stories of other Caribbean countries including Barbados.
This film will focus on dementia, culture and my personal journey in creating an impact in the lives of elderly in Dominica. I want to highlight ageing and living well in a cultural context. I believe that media is a powerful tool that can have an effect on our beliefs and perspectives, one being mental health and ageism. I would like to highlight and celebrate the elderly, create a realistic as well as a positive approach to elderly in the media. I will explore holistic treatments for Dementia and engage in traditional dances in a quest to understand the recipe for a meaning, quality of life.
Icelandic Wetland Fund https://www.votlendi.is/carbon-offset
The Fund‘s primary objective is to contribute to the reclamation of wetlands and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Iceland, as well as to promote the recovery of biosphere, birdlife and improving aquatic resources. It has been estimated that the length of the drained trenches in Iceland is about 34,000 kilometres. The main focus is on cooperation with farmers, landowners, municipalities and the Icelandic state to restore the areas not used for cultivation or forestry. The restoration of wetlands is a relatively fast and cheap way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Iceland.
Ecologi – Tree planting & carbon offset https://ecologi.com/
Our collective home is in the process of being turned totally upside down which is leading to strife for almost all life on Earth.
We know it’s preventable. And we know it’s not going to save itself.
So, it is up to us to solve it. But what levers can we pull? Reducing our carbon footprint is entirely necessary, but the transition of change is far slower than the time we have remaining.
The tools that we associate with fighting climate change are inadequate. What if that changed and the billions of us who care became empowered?
There are enough climate solutions that are out there right now, that if we supported them, it’d undo 30 years of carbon damage by avoiding 1,500 billion tonnes of CO2.
This is our opportunity.
