Call to arms

If we act now.

If.

Such a small word that excuses so much. As if we have a choice: face the problem or catch that plane and deal with it tomorrow. As if there is still time.

Climate change has been introduced as a concept and put forward as an issue for a long time, with early discoveries in the early 20th century, concerns in the 1960s and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) formed in 1988, to name a few key milestones. We have been told repeatedly the data from climate scientists, taught about how to change our ways and seen environmental damage documented over decades such as in the documentaries made by Sir David Attenborough. And yet 2020 was predicted to be one of the three warmest years on record and saw environmental disasters such as the Australian wildfires having a huge impact on people and wildlife. We no longer have the privilege of waiting to take action – climate change has already begun.

If you are anything like me, then reading this is very upsetting. I found it very hard to watch David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet and see the degradation that will occur each decade from now if we carry on the the same way. Quantifying something as big as climate change and being able to compare each moment of loss to birthdays and milestones makes it all feel a lot more real. Seeing the facts again and again can make you feel hopeless, frustrated, sad and angry. But I’m not here to make you feel worse – because together we can change.

Imagine climate change was treated in the same way as the covid-19 pandemic. Would we see adverts telling people to “Look climate scientists in the eye and tell them climate change is not real” or “Look climate refugees in the eye and tell them we are doing everything we can”? Would we take action with a little more urgency, knowing that each day is costing people’s lives and livelihoods? If we are trying to work towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals then why do we not feel that degree of urgency?

This is a complex issue, but if I were to take a guess, I would say that action is slow because it is inconvenient. Because we are not the ones seeing the direct consequences at this point, and so have the luxury of choosing to ignore it. But a time will come when we do not have that luxury anymore.

So what was the point in this post? To make you feel increasing despair and then spend the rest of the day in bed? Quite the opposite – we need change right now! Everyone and every action counts. We can no longer try and find solutions issue by issue, but must take an intersectional and inclusive approach: climate change, the covid-19 pandemic, social change, environmental issues, justice …….. everything is connected. It is the challenge of a generation – but one that we can meet. Maybe we won’t just survive, we’ll thrive. We can bring back our balance with nature through rewilding, we can halt increasing temperatures by ceasing to burn fossil fuels and we can create environmentally, economically and socially sustainable places for humans. We can live that life depicted in infographics of a ‘sustainable future’ – we just have to get there first.

My Call To Arms: change is needed right now. Today. And any change you make will have an impact. We need to pressure our governments and leaders to do more, accept that drastic action is necessary, change as individuals and most of all, do it together – no one left behind. It may be the challenge of a generation, but we can make it the solution of our generation too. We know what we need to do – no ifs or buts. Let’s change🌎