Feature
Sustainability
Wednesday 20 December
"Do we have to wait until a disaster overwhelms us before we make the radical changes necessary to protect our world for future generations? That is the vital challenge of sustainable development. If we act now there is much that can be saved which will otherwise disappear forever."
John Gummer
It’s a big place, the Earth. We can be forgiven for once thinking that we could take from it and dump in it as we felt like. We’re a bit wiser now and we know that while it’s big, our planet is also delicate. We know the temperature’s rising, the ice-caps are melting and species are dying that we never even knew existed. Everyone knows these facts, but not many people are doing anything about it. This is the problem; because everyone has to do something about it or the Earth’s going to throw a great, big wobbly.
By that scientific term ‘wobbly’ we mean, for instance, that the sea will swallow much of the land and whatever’s on it (like Cardiff), forests will turn into desert, storms will ravage cities that once rarely saw rain and civilisation as we know it will come to a sudden, unpleasant halt. The Earth itself will recover, eventually, but millions of plants, animals and people will go the way of the dodo. This is going to happen and it’s going to happen soon. You’ll get to see it.
It doesn’t have to happen of course, it’s just currently going to. The reason for this is that we’re not looking after our planet. Ever heard of an ecological footprint? That’s the impact a person makes on the environment, just by living. The average person in Cardiff consumes and wastes three times more than the Earth can sustain, that’s three footprints instead of one, or one very big one. People, as a rule, aren’t interested and just want to get on with their lives as they always have done. Well, we’re terribly sorry, but that isn’t possible any more. To continue living the way we are, we’d need half a dozen back-up planets. We don’t have them.
Scientists aren’t sure exactly when the point of no return is. Some are saying that if we drastically reduce our waste and carbon emissions in 10 years, we’ll be okay. Others are saying it’s already too late and have started stockpiling tinned food and investing in home-security for when society collapses. We’re going to pretend the last lot are wrong.
The crazy thing is that living an environmentally friendly life will make you healthier, happier and richer. For example; turning the heating down by 1 degree (which you wouldn’t notice) would save your parents 10% of their heating bill. Not leaving electrical gizmos on standby can save up to £200 a year alone. Walking to nearby places, like school, instead of driving there will make you healthier and reduce vehicle emissions, as will eating more local, seasonal food, instead of stuff shipped thousands of miles to get to you. If being healthier, having more money and feeling in harmony with nature doesn’t make you feel happier, you should probably go somewhere and have a quiet word with yourself.
What else can a person do? Here are some suggestions; you may want to tell them to your parents:
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Reduce, Reuse and Recycle of course!
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Repair things, don’t chuck them out. If you’re going to ditch old stuff, take it to a charity shop, not the skip
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Walk or cycle places. Over short distances, it’ll probably be quicker than dealing with traffic anyway. Over long distances, car-share.
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Draught-proof your house. Close the curtains and turn the heating down that little bit. Think about insulating the walls and loft too, it saves loads of money in the long run.
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Don’t waste food, rotting food makes methane, a greenhouse gas. Eat it or compost it.
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Turn lights off and don’t leave things on standby
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Wash clothes at 30 degrees, it saves 40 % of the energy
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When washing (yourself or stuff), don’t leave the tap running water down the plughole.
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Shower, don’t bath.
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Don’t boil more water than you need to.
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Don’t let leaks leak. Get them fixed.
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In the summer, throw washing-up water onto the garden instead of using a hose-pipe so much
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Buy local and seasonal food.
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Use the local shop, not a superstore you have to drive to.
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Reuse carrier bags… and everything else come to think of it.
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If you’re getting new appliances, get energy efficient ones (ask if they are before you buy them) and, while you’re at it, chuck a few energy saving light bulbs around the house too.
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Sit your folks down, look them in the eye and say “If we lived green, we could save several hundred pounds a year and, while we’re at it, also save the world.”
In order to sustain our planet and our way of life, we need to make some basic changes. Our generation throws away more than every generation before us combined. This is simply not necessary and, frankly, it’s a little bit thick. Somewhere along the way, we forgot that we’re just a part of the Earth. Governments need to do as much as they can, but it has start on the ground, with us. The more of us trying to live a greener life, the better for everyone. Start today to guarantee a few more tomorrows. Actually, start yesterday.
"The future will be green, or not at all. This truth lies at the heart of humankind's most pressing challenge: to learn to live in harmony with the Earth on a genuinely sustainable basis".
Sir Jonathon Porritt
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