One of the biggest concerns around climate change come from the plastics being dumped into our oceans. Almost eight million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year, which consequently destroys the environment, as well as the animal and plant life to which they play home.
More than 250 million people have engaged with Plastic Free July since 2011 to help clean up the streets and oceans, and there is plenty you can do at home too. Carbon specialist Siobhán Pereira chose to go plastic-free in her bathroom and is encouraging others to do the same. Switch your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo or biodegradable alternative for starters, as well as choosing an eco-friendly soap.
Advising people of her lifestyle change, Pereira wrote: “We’ve got so used to going into the supermarket, putting something into our baskets and coming home, but we haven’t considered what happens at the end of its life.” Supermarkets are working to reduce plastics in the fruit and veg aisle but with higher costs associated with eco choices, are we being priced out of saving the earth?
Take yourself off the grid
In a world where material possessions dominate social media channels, we often moan about intrusions into our life and crave an opportunity to put everything on hold. With everything available at the touch of a button, from switching your heating on at home before you have left the office for the day, to ordering clothes through your smart phone, technology is making everything more convenient for consumers. Get back to basics. Choose an off grid gas supply and strip back the factors that contribute to a rising carbon footprint to have a telling impact on the planet. Switch your oil heating for the more environmentally friendly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). LPG produces less carbon emissions when burned and can also be used for domestic tasks, including fuelling an oven, as well as your boiler. If you really want to, you can make change happen. Take a leaf out of Dr Alison Green’s book. The national director at Scientists Warning has opted to put her house on the market to downsize her carbon footprint. She plans to grow her own food, insert solar panels to source electric, and make a commitment to running an eco-friendly house.
After years of warnings and a lack of reaction, scientists are really pushing the boat out to demonstrate the changes we need to make to save our planet. Governments are finally starting to wake up to climate change, but until the everyday person is sold on the idea that life will be better for them, it seems we may be having the same conversations in 10 to 15 years’ time.
The options are out there, but affordability and human convenience mean we have been slow to react to climate change. Will you make the change today and give our planet the chance to survive?