"When all the trees have been cut down,
When all the animals have been hunted,
When all the waters are polluted,
When all the air is unsafe to breathe,
Only then will you discover you cannot eat money."
—Cree Prophecy
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| Sunrise over Puerto Rico in 2007 |
Our world is warming up, the oceans are rising, island nations are struggling, weather is becoming more extreme and intense resulting in more major catastrophes. Scientific communities across the globe release report after report outlining how big of an issue global warming is and how action needed to be taken yesterday, etc. Meanwhile our elected politicians and leaders around the globe cannot get themselves to join together to make any actionable or meaningful changes that will make any significant impact to our important yet insignificant world that is whirling around in the infinite expanse that is the universe. What are we, as citizens of the world, able to do about any of this?
Anything and everything we can of course! Individuals, when banded together towards a common goal, can have a much bigger impact on their community, society, and the globe as a whole than any elected politician or struggling government can ever have. You (yes you), the everyday, average individual CAN and SHOULD be the drivers of change that our world desperately needs! So what are we to do?!
Fear not, your fearless veggienaut leader is here to show you the way as best as he knows how. Here are the top 7 actionable steps that YOU can take to help save the world!
0. Get Up Off Your Butt - Yup, you're going to have to get up off the couch and away from your precious TV for a bit in order to help save the world. In our current world it is not possible to save the world while watching your favorite tv show from your couch. With the way virtual reality is advancing perhaps in the future it will be possible to save the world from your couch, but we're not there yet. Feel free to keep wearing your sweatpants though, who cares what you look like, that does not matter for saving the world (nor does it matter for anything)! After you get up off the couch, be sure to stretch, lots of stretching is great for you and will surely get you warmed up to save the world!
1. Grow a garden or urban farm (duh) - Did you really think I was going to put something else as the #1 step? Plants eat carbon, which is what forms the plants, carbon also goes out the roots of the plants. So when plants are grown in a regenerative, no-till fashion, the plants you are growing are trapping carbon in the soil, which is exactly how you reverse climate change.
2. Support your favorite local farmer - For what you can't grow yourself, buy from your favorite local farmer that practices regenerative agriculture. This isn't limited to vegetable farming but should be expanded to ranching for the meat you buy as well. This not only supports a family in your community whom is on the front lines of battling climate change but it diverts money away from corporations that do not want to take action on climate change. This is called voting with your dollars and it can have an immense impact. The world we live in is largely based on greed and there isn't anything that a giant corporation hates more than losing money. This same money also empowers the family in your community that you are diverting this money to so they can keep on doing their thing to try and fix the world! The other big bullet point here is food that is grown in your area has a much smaller carbon footprint than food not grown in your area (think of all the trucks, planes, and boats needed to cart food to grocery stores across the country). Supporting a local farmer that practices regenerative agriculture is much better for the world and is necessary for reducing greenhouse emissions.
3. Compost - Whether you have your own at home composting or you participate in a city owned compost (or both), composting is essential to divert food scraps away from trash dumps. When food scraps are thrown in the trash, they are suddenly trapped within the plastic trash bag and that food can't properly decompose back into the earth. Food scraps are gold for your garden and should only be allowed to decompose back into the land to improve soil health, not thrown out and destined to be trapped inside a prison of plastic which does absolutely no good at all.
4. Bike More - Drive your fancy, stupid car less (a lot less) and ride your damn bike a lot more. Going to the grocery store? Ride your bike with a backpack or a trailer attachment! Going to the gym? Ride your bike! Going to Yoga? Ride your bike! Going to the brewery? Definitely ride your bike! Not only does this save you money on gas and maintenance costs on your car but you get a workout as well and you get to explore your town more!
5. Buy local - Whenever possible, buy goods that are made directly in your town. Need a new coffee mug? Find a local pottery maker and buy one from them. Need a new candle? There's probably a candlemaker in your town! Buying goods made locally greatly reduces the carbon footprint of the goods that you buy while also empowering local artisans (voting with your dollars) which helps them to continue doing what they love doing.
6. Buy less stuff - Do you really need all that crap that you buy every year? No, no you do not. Buy less stuff already and take a lesson from Marie Kondo, what actually brings you joy? Before you buy something, write it down on a piece of paper and put it on your desk or in your wallet or pocket, etc. You are going to wait three whole days before you buy this object of your current desires. During that three day period you are going to mull over this potential purchase and think about is this a need or a want and will it actually bring you joy? If you completely forget about it by the end of the 3 days then you definitely do not need it. If at the end of your 3 day period you've decided it is a need and it will definitely bring you joy then go for it. What you are doing here is you are cutting down on your needless impulse buying (that we are all susceptible to) and you are giving yourself time to think about do you actually need this and will it actually bring you joy?
7. Be kind - There are quite a lot of people in this chaotic world, more and more people every day in-fact. Each person in this world is on their very own journey with their very own set of challenges and it is a tough world for everyone. You have no idea what anyone else in the world is currently going through and even if you ask them, they likely will not truthfully tell you. One way we can all make this world a little bit easier and tolerable for each other is to quite simply be kind to each and every person you meet in this world. It is much easier said than done but try as hard as you can to be nice to each and every person you meet on this planet.
I never said any of this was going to be easy, however each of these items are completely necessary if we are all going to band together and save this wonderful planet that we currently inhabit. So how about it? Are you going to join me in trying to save the world?!
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