Time of Change
I don’t think I’ve blogged about what I did for the International Day of Action on October 24th. I’ll save that for another day. For now I’ll post my thoughts, what I felt, while preparing for the activities and actions we did that day. I’ll post the actual activities when I have more time. Here it is…
I think we’ve come to the point in our lives, and in the existence of the younger generation, where we have to stop talking about what climate change is and start talking about what we’re going do about it. We’ve reached that phase where climate change has come to be accepted as a fact. It’s common knowledge, and more importantly, it is the truth. It has become our reality. We don’t need convincing any longer. We’ve seen the damage that climate change and global warming has wrought. We’ve felt it and for a lot of people, even experienced it.
Now that we have woken up to reality, we can begin a new chapter in which we talk less about climate change and its definition and more about the solutions. Climate change is a problem, yes. Now let’s get to the answers. Let’s shed all the de rigueur concern and really commit to the issue. Pause all that unnecessary chatter and start working towards the alternatives that are out there, all for our taking. Let’s go one step further than spreading the word, let’s start acting like the change this planet desperately needs. How do we do that?, you might ask. Well, it can be as simple as switching off the lights in the mornings. Unplugging unused appliances. Walking to lunch instead of using your car. Choosing compact fluorescent bulbs. Nothing is ever easy when you’re giving up something, but I’d rather give up a cozy ride than the ancient forests of my country. I’d rather dim the lights than lose the beaches I love to rising sea levels. I’d rather get in a heated debate with some bigwig corporate suit than watch my planet go to waste. Forego some come comforts so that the Earth can have a voice, a fighting chance.
In ending this rant (although it’s more of a plea to everyone, asking them to stand up for our world, our home, and for the people we share it with), I’ll be using the words of a classic Greenpeace video that is played to the tune of “You Get What You Give” no less - and here they are: Don’t just sit there. Do something.