It’s Earth Day!

For several weeks I have been thinking a lot about climate change. It feel like suddenly I see stories everywhere about how harmful single use plastic straws are, how dangerous balloons are to animals when they are released, how much trash we generate every day, how precious water is to all of us…  I am not sure if I am just listening more carefully, or if people are talking more and making more noise. I hear things that frighten me. And I think my kids hear it too. We hear that, if humans continue littering, polluting, burning through resources, poisoning the ground, the water, the air, showing no respect for our home planet, we will soon outstay our welcome here. We hear that, if we continue the way we are, ice caps will melt, (see this article in The Telegraph) releasing large quantities of methane currently trapped in the ice, causing further warming. Of course there will also be countless creatures in danger from the disappearing ice, rising ocean levels, and who knows what else! This video of a polar bear faced with melting ice and lack of food should be enough to melt most hearts…

I have never worried too much about these things. I have tried to be responsible, but I have not gone much out of my way to help the earth.  Maybe I believed that the government would take care of the big decisions, so I just needed to stay within their guidelines. Maybe I was ignorant. Maybe things just weren’t that bad before? But now, my husband comes home from work events full of tales of doom and talks of having to move to Mars. My son is studying endangered animals and tells us all the horrible things people are doing to destroy habitats, pollute the air, and poison crops and food sources. My sister lives in Cape Town, the first modern city to possibly run completely out of water, in a disaster that has been likened to 9/11 in it’s impact and severity (Business Insider). Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest water users in Cape Town are in the ‘leafy suburbia’ (University of Cape Town news). The wealthy somehow either believe the rules don’t apply to them; or they are just happy to pay fines or higher rates for resources. Which is why perhaps those rates have to be high enough to fund alternative sources of water or sustainable energy…

But how can we achieve major change? We are a well educated family, trying to be thoughtful about our planet, with kids learning about the environment at school, and passionately working to help nature and animals. But, we live in a big house, which we heat and cool to a comfortable temperature for much of the year. We all bath or shower (pretty much) everyday. We run dishwashers, washing machines, humidifiers. We leave the lights on when we run out in a mad flurry in the mornings. We have two cars, and drive almost everywhere. We order from Amazon regularly. We buy too much food, and ending up with waste. And yet, we are not the worst offenders either.

We recycle, we compost, we do art projects with egg boxes and science experiments with leftover cabbage. We talk to our children about the earth and we take them outside. They have learned to love nature and animals. They brush their teeth with the water turned off and take lunch to school in cloth sandwich bags and reusable containers. We pass on kids’ gear and games, donate old clothes and pots, and support the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. But if we are going to turn things around on this planet, people like us, ordinary citizens who are not zealots or activists or extremists, will have to change our behavior even more.

I can’t see us making huge changes just because someone says our planet is in danger and the damage we are doing may be irreversible soon. I can’t see millions of people around the world changing their familiar daily routines without some serious incentives or a good hard push. A lot has to change, and quickly – time is of the essence here. Just talking about the dangers and educating people about climate change is not going to do it. Though we should keep doing this as much as possible, and go boldly into uncomfortable conversations and disagreements. But I am not a policy maker, lobbyist or politician. And I don’t know enough about what needs to change to advocate intelligently. I do believe we need change at a macro level – new policies, prices and perspectives. Meanwhile, what I can do, is continue to educate my children, and do my best within our family and community.

The boys and I recently read a book together in which children take up a challenge to change their own behaviors and to educate their families, creating ripples of positive change to help the earth (Ready Freddy: Save the Earth – by Abby Klein) My boys were inspired by the story, and we have created our own “Green Team Challenge”, to work on changing behaviors at home, and spreading new ideas to our friends, class mates, and teachers.

Together, we will work to use less water. We will work to burn less fuel. We will work to turn off the lights every time we leave a room. We can learn new patterns with our children, and listen closely to what they have to teach us.

I am excited that my children are taking up the challenge and leading the charge to be more conscious of our planet. Will you join me, as I follow the children’s lead, and learn from them?