Ever wondered what world we are leaving to our children and grandchildren? I have, a lot! I am terrified and unapologetically angry, really angry that as a country, Australia has one of the worst (in fact THE worst) climate policies and practices on this planet, and have the most to be worried about with the warming of our climate being 1.4 degrees above pre-industrial levels and expected to continue this way unless we make change, RIGHT NOW. If we get to 1.8 degrees we will be considered to be in 'catastrophic' climactic conditions, which seems horrifyingly close.
This increase is higher than anywhere else in the world, yet our government policies are currently not addressing these issues or coming up with any real time frames or solutions to remove fossil fuels and replace coal-burning power stations with renewable, clean energy options. Do we want to leave a planet of fires, floods and famines to our children? I certainly do not.
A whole lot of rage is required right now. If we don't have a healthy planet to live in, what is the point? We can give each other all the tips and tricks to living our best lives, but we need somewhere to live it. We are an intrinsic part of nature and without it, we will not survive. I think of myself as a women's health advocate, always looking for ways to educate and empower women of all ages on their health choices. Well hear me roar today, we need to save our beautiful planet before it is too late.
Burning coal is the single biggest cause of climate change.
Our current Prime Minister has a history of protecting our coal industry, he tells us that there would be massive job loss if we were to replace coal mining and coal-burning energy production. This is a furphy, there are only around 60,000 jobs in the fossil fuel industry in Australia, which equates to around 1% of Australia's total workforce. This could easily be replaced by jobs in the renewable fuel industry, plus some. I must question why our government is so protective of the coal industry, could it be that their 'donations' are very much appreciated? By the way, did you know that Australia is one of the few countries that political parties do not have to disclose where they get private funding from? Grrrr
So, what can we do to be climate positive? I have listened to many podcasts, particularly the @_sarahwilson_ amazing podcast called WILD https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wild-with-sarah-wilson/id1548626341?i=1000541229447. and read loads of great BLOGS, listened to a few TED talks and read a few articles (this one about our very own Saul Griffith the Australian inventor who is Joe Biden's Climate Advisor https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/saul-griffith-mass-electrification/ ) to be educated and informed about viable, affordable and realistic solutions to this crises and on the urgency of making climate change NOW. There is definitely still hope.
These are the 3 main things that I have mustered that we can do as Humans to try and save our planet:
Vote at the next election (21 May 2022) with wide eyes, open ears and a big heart. Look for the local independant candidates that have strong climate concern and policies. Question your candidates, what are they doing for the environment? We need climate-orientated independants in the house to hold the balance of power to make the big parties accountable.
Turn to electric. If you need to replace anything in the house, or building a new house, think electric everything with solar panels. So-called 'Natural Gas' is actually Methane Gas, not good for our health or the environment. If you need a new oven think induction stoves, think electric heating or a new car, think electric. Put pressure on our government for better rebates. The more Electric Vehicles (EV's) that get sold, the more competitive the market and the more affordable they become. Current government rebate is $3000 per EV. I must say, I am a little bit in love with my beautiful 'red rocket' Model 3 Tesla (feel free to ask me all about it!!).
Reduce food waste by 50%. The way we currently eat is damaging both humans and the planet, and we do have to act before it's too late. One might think that we can not do a lot about this because we all need to eat food. But we could feed more people while drastically reducing emissions and land-use caused by food by following these easy ideas:
buy local; markets, fruit and veg shops, butchers, bakers
buy or, better yet, grow organic where possible
only buy what you need
have a 'plant slant'
I am a passionate and concerned health care practitioner that wants these babies we are helping create to have the upbringing we had, with rivers, forests and animals in abundance. Please lets make this happen, Mother Nature needs us right now.
Petra xx
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