Starting this blog has helped me rack focus and take stock of my own carbon footprint, but also, with more eye-opening information being gathered over time, I realise how necessary it is for individuals to join advocacy groups in addressing governments and corporations if we are to make large scale change in the way we operate on this shared planet, home.
It was a great pleasure to hear from such knowledgeable, active and environmentally-conscious individuals as Eden Hurlston (Amplify Cayman), Kate Holden (CCMI) and Bill LaMonte (Plastic Free Cayman) at our recent ‘The Oceans & Us’ Virtual Yard Meeting. So much of what was shared moved me, but I cannot forget one comment in particular. When I raised a point about measuring individual carbon footprint, Eden responded with jarring fact he had recently gathered from a mini documentary: “If you did the best you could in your entire 70 years of being alive in reducing your carbon footprint, it would equal reducing the carbon of one second of industrial carbon emissions. So, what one person can do compared to the systemic industrial scale change that we need to see happen…we need top down, united leadership on this…so it really is about systemic change as far as I see, not in just plastics – in ocean health, in terrestrial health…we quickly see that it all becomes one issue…we have to address things in a unified way.”
At first, it saddened me, and I felt like throwing in the towel, but afterwards, I realised that if I couldn’t improve my own habits, I would lose heart when that is what is needed most in times like these. This one comment impressed upon me how much more we will achieve if we educate ourselves and our youth, join a local movement that isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions but equally, to propose solutions, to support companies willing to change the culture, and ultimately, to lobby governments. After the meeting, Eden was kind enough to share the graph below, which shows just how critical it is for us to make drastic changes in the energy sector across the globe (including in our own residences) and commit to more sustainable sources of energy.
I’d been focusing on agriculture and deforestation for quite some time, but this chart has expanded my view considerably. I continue to work on my own habits, for my son’s awareness also, and have committed to the three pledges shared by our guests (visit this page to read and commit to the pledges). And I try not to lose hope; this article on phys.org entitled “Catalysts found to convert carbon dioxide to fuel” was a pleasant surprise: https://phys.org/news/2021-10-catalysts-carbon-dioxide-fuel.html. Could this be the way forward?
In the meantime, I continue to work at being the change I want to see in the world.