After watching David Attenborough’s documentary, “A Life on Our Planet”, I felt a deep sadness for what humanity has done to our precious planet, but I also felt frustrated with myself. I felt like I’d spent my whole life hearing and learning about climate change yet was doing absolutely nothing about it. Attenborough’s documentary made me admit to myself that I had the totally wrong mindset when it came to the global issue. I always told myself that it didn’t matter what I did, because one person could never change something as vast as climate change, but many online sources told me otherwise.
According to an online survey conducted by author Steve Westlake from theconservation.com, one half of respondents who knew someone who gave up flying because of climate change said they fly less because of this example. After realising the impact a person alone can make, I began to think of what I could do to make a difference.
From reading about climate change through the Student Conservation Association and The Years Project websites, I figured it would be easier for me to start by conserving the resources that I use every single day. I became conscious of how much water I was using while in the shower, doing dishes or even just by filling the kettle. I made sure to turn off all the switches in my apartment when they were not in use, and as well as that, I bought a reusable water bottle to fill at home and bring with me everywhere instead of buying plastic bottles in shops.
My goal for this week is to assess my diet to see exactly how much meat I am eating each week and where I can cut down. As of right now, I am very aware that I am eating a lot of meat, and after my recent changes in the way I live, I feel more motivated than ever to change my diet for the better.
With living in student accommodation and having no driver’s license, I feel good about taking public transport to places I need to be, but also think I can make room for improvement, such as leaving the apartment a little earlier to walk and to avoid using public transport unnecessarily.
With my recent changes to the way I live my everyday life, I feel better about myself and feel more positive towards my daily actions. I strive to do what I can in order to help make a difference and hope that like the people who have given up flying, that I too can influence the people around me to change their way of living for the better.
As Zac Efron said in his Netflix documentary series, “Down to Earth”, which I highly recommend watching, “Change has to start somewhere. And even if it’s a little uncomfortable at first, if the change is for the better, it’s worth it.” (Episode 1, 44:42-44:50)
Check out the trailer below!
References:
- Carpenter, A. (n.d.) You Can Make a Difference: Climate Change, available: https://www.thesca.org/connect/blog/you-can-make-difference-climate-change [accessed 15 Nov 2020].
- Dowling, A. (2020) Paris, France [image], available: https://aoifedowling56.wixsite.com/mydiypics/my-work?pgid=irkm5hav-2c7f74f9-3cfa-41ac-865b-1a33bc6f0525 [accessed 17 Nov 2020].
- Dowling, A. (2020) From Dublin to Paris [image], available: https://aoifedowling56.wixsite.com/mydiypics/my-work?pgid=irkm5hav-2309100e-f680-4cd8-8a16-0574dd0beb0a [accessed 18 Nov 2020].
- Efron, Z., Olien, D., Efron, D., Coconato, L., Hoffman, S., Wax Taber, R. (2020) Down to Earth [documentary series], Netflix.
- Fothergill, A., Scholey, K., Hughes, J. (2020) A Life on Our Planet [documentary], Netflix.
- Renold, J., Sauls, L. (2020) Individual Solutions to Climate Change, available: https://theyearsproject.com/learn/news/individual-solutions-climate-change/ [accessed 18 Nov 2020].
- Westlake, S. (2019) Climate change: yes, your individual action does make a difference, available: https://theconversation.com/climate-change-yes-your-individual-action-does-make-a-difference-115169 [accessed 16 Nov 2020].