What will you do to combat climate change?
Earlier this October, the United Nations IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published a special report on global warming that stated that if global temperatures rose two degrees Celsius or more (compared to pre-industrial levels), the global sea level would be at least 10 centimetres higher, and 70 to 90 per cent of coral reefs would die off. This is compared to the small chance that the world will be able to limit the global temperatures to a rise of only 1.5 degrees Celsius.
What does that all mean? It means that climate change is inevitable. It means that the optimistic result would be for the sea level to only rise a few centimetres instead of a full 10, and that at least some of the coral reefs will survive instead of all of them dying. It means that experts have already accepted that climate change is irreversible. The IPCC report states that achieving this technically possible 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature limit “would require rapid and far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society… [such as] transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities.” Governments and their citizens would have to change everything they know about their current lifestyles. Entire industries will have to become sustainable. This means using eco-friendly packaging, organic practices, renewable energy sources, and consuming little to no animal products, among other strategies.
Currently, eco-friendly and sustainable products aren’t readily available. I know this as a consumer who struggles to navigate grocery stores and malls to find sustainable options. For example, even though I became vegetarian to reduce my environmental impact, I have to buy tofu and other alternative food products that are packaged in plastic because there aren’t any other options. Since this summer, I started baking homemade bread just so I wouldn’t waste the bag that grocery store bread comes packaged in. I know that it’s not reasonable for me to expect other people to follow suit and bake their own bread, but I encourage everyone to do something to reduce their environmental impact.
Following a plant-based diet is one of the most helpful ways to reduce your environmental impact, due to the amount of freshwater, food, land, and other resources are being inefficiently used to farm meat.
But if you can’t commit to going veg, there are plenty of other ways to make a difference. Whether you start baking your own bread like me, or choose your own way to prevent climate change, just do something to help.
The burden shouldn’t land on consumers to seek out sustainable products — every product should just be sustainable. But the fact is, most companies will not make any changes if people still buy their products. Governments should provide accessible and well-organized public transit instead of people buying electric vehicles. Restaurants won’t stop packaging your takeout orders in Styrofoam if you keep ordering. Don’t wait for someone else to force you to be more eco-friendly and don’t complain about taxes that will fund sustainable practices.
Change starts with the individual. You can make a difference. For the sake of the world and everyone and everything that lives in it, please try.
You can reduce your environmental impact by:
- Ditching disposable plastics (bringing your own bag when you shop, using your own mug, saying no to straws,
bringing food containers for takeout/leftovers at restaurants, and/or using bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic) - Taking public transit or carpooling
- Shopping local (food and other products sourced from your neighbourhood produce less gas emissions because
they don’t need to be transported very far to get to you) - Eating organic (synthetic fertilizers and pesticides harm the ecosystem)
- Eating less meat (cutting out beef can greatly reduce your impact, even if you still eat other types of meat)
- Recycling (or better yet, reusing or completely reducing your use of the products you recycle. At the very least,
please learn how to sort your recyclables properly)
Feature photo courtesy of Pixar