What is it you do to stop global warming?

[gr****]

I’m sure one day in the future 2019 will be thought of as the year the climate debate got taken to a global level. Thanks to activists like Greta Thunberg people, and finally also the press and some politicians, become aware of the threat we face. 

I want to bring this global discussion down to a very personal reflection and invite everybody to ask themselves, what is it you do to stop global warming?

We can share our individual answers here to inspire and motivate each other. 

[Julius]

I am just booking my next holiday. We will go by train this time. It takes 10 hours longer, but I am already looking forward to the slow journey :)

In my company we also made it a company policy to double check if we really need to fly somewhere or can also achieve comparable results in other ways. If we do really need to fly, we offset the carbon footprint through companies like atmosfair or planting trees ourselves.

When it comes to food, I stopped eating meat about 8 years ago for that reason and try to only buy local, seasonal and organic produce since. I also recently started to compost and grow my own vegetables. It feels really good :)

[Bj****]

A part of seperating garbage, which should be normal (but isn´t, at least in spain) we try to use as few plastic as possible.
I use an app, plant-for-the-planet, with which i regularly plant trees and with my kids we just adopted a bee family on a crowdfarming site (naranjasdelcarmen.com)

As well we try to buy seasonal food and mostly organic. but that´s not always possible unluckily.
I´m sure there are lots of little things else that we could do and i´m happy to hear more suggestions

[gr****]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

I am just booking my next holiday. We will go by train this time. It takes 10 hours longer, but I am already looking forward to the slow journey

In my company we also made it a company policy to double check if we really need to fly somewhere or can also achieve comparable results in other ways. If we do really need to fly, we offset the carbon footprint through companies like atmosfair or planting trees ourselves.

When it comes to food, I stopped eating meat about 8 years ago for that reason and try to only buy local, seasonal and organic produce since. I also recently started to compost and grow my own vegetables. It feels really good

Someone once told me that planes go too fast for your soul to follow, so when you're in a new place it takes a few days for it to arrive. Bit esoteric maybe but I like the idea and really appreciate slow journeys.

In my flat we have stopped using liquid soap which always comes in a plastic container and started to use soap bars instead. ?

[Yvonne]

I support sustainable projects from people, organisations and instituions and maintain a sustainable lifestyle, save energy, consume less, be conscious about my actions, don't eat meat...

[Al****]

You all do great things. Unfortunately, I can't say that I do something specifically. But now I'll try some of your activities

[Tine]

We harvest from the fruit trees in the garden and make jams, chutneys, cakes and such. We also make kimchi and sauerkraut ourselves. Where we can we avoid plastic, processed food and buy seasonal and regional.

We also agreed not to buy anything new for the house if it can be bought 2nd hand or self-build, upcycled with things we already have. This takes longer but in the end it's much more fun. I am trying to do the same thing with clothes. This year so far I've spend 168€ on new clothes.

I am using a mooncup instead of pads or tampons, which creates zero waste.

In addition, we don't buy anything we already have in a nicer/ trendier version. This way we are stuck with the old "uncool" stuff but that's still better than throwing that out and buying something more eco.

Once I started being more aware of reducing, recycling, reusing, I realised that I have everything already. The idea of "enough" seems to be so radical in an economy where consumption is key. The only thing I am short of regularly now is time. ?

 

[Ai****]

I think you have a point here, but even if we reduce our personal footprint on the environment there are thousands and thousands of factories and companies around the world that trump all of our efforts. Until lobbyists are working on the behalf of oil companies etc. we can't win. Of course, there's companies like this one here , they don't harm not one single soul with their work, while operating in somewhat questionable aspects of market. Still, if you want to make a difference - change it from the inside. Not inside the government - they bought and paid by big corporations. Figure out a way to make energy cheaper and safer for us and the environment. Like solar, but without hundreds of miles of occupant soil by the panels.

[Se****]

Hello, My name is Tina. I am a Mother, Activist, Author and Human Being. I am very concerned about the state of our planet. India just had 1 million of their citizens get together and in one day they just achieved a record planting of 350,000,000 trees! This needs to happen on a global level along with planting seaweed and bringing back Hemp. 

We cannot sustain the cutting down of 100,000 trees a day (10 years to grow)  just for toilet paper and paper towels when Hemp can do the same thing in 6 months. There are 25,000 different products that can be made from hemp, including a renewable fuel source and a biodegradable plastic to only name a few of the most important. 

Thank you for this platform.

Sincerely,

Tina Wright 

[Julius]

I am so grateful for you bringing this up and caring so deeply. You are absolutely right, the status quo is not sustainable and a change is absolutely needed. I am sure you speak for many other people here on the platform who have been struggling with this insight too. It can be really frustrating to see how precious ecosystems are destroyed for random consumer products. So I am very happy to see that you are suggesting solutions like hemp. I wasn't aware of all these use cases - that certainly gives hope ?

[Tine]

In our community, we planted about 100 trees two years ago. The trees were already several years old and almost 2m high on average. It was both a huge financial and labour intensive endeavour. Besides planting a tree, it also needs to be taken care of if the environment isn't perfect. In our case, this would have meant regular watering, mulching, water management until the roots are deep enough to reach the sparse water resources. Most trees in the end died.

What I am trying to say is "yes! Plant trees!" and yes, think of taking care of them as they take care of us and yes, use alternatives like hemp too. It's one huge problem that calls for many many different solutions.

[An****]

Trees are precious they provide homes for our wildlife, insects, they provide shades in the hot weather  and have beautiful blossoms for the bees. They absorb the CO2 in the air. Some trees grow fruits which we can eat or the wildlife. It’s a shame we have had some tree’s species become extinct due to the environmental changes. It then impacts on the wildlife habitats because the food chain has changed and their home is gone and they become extinct. There is too many imbalances which need to be balanced again.

Trees are significant! Just like our wildlife, insects, oceans, land etc!

 

 

[br****]

On 9/20/2019 at 5:14 AM, Julius said:

I am just booking my next holiday. We will go by train this time. It takes 10 hours longer, but I am already looking forward to the slow journey :)

In my company we also made it a company policy to double check if we really need to fly somewhere or can also achieve comparable results in other ways. If we do really need to fly, we offset the carbon footprint through companies like atmosfair or planting trees ourselves.

When it comes to food, I stopped eating meat about 8 years ago for that reason and try to only buy local, seasonal and organic produce since. I also recently started to compost and grow my own vegetables. It feels really good :)

 

[Veronika]

We started giving trees as birthday presents this year. We have a little land which we rent and only this year we have already planted seven trees. The birthday people have been quite happy with their gift and will always be welcome to come and collect their fruits when the trees grow bigger. 

I don't like giving presents that are not sustainable and most people already have way too much stuff. So giving a tree is a great gesture. In some cities I read you can give tree care, like cutting or watering as a certificate. I like that idea as well. 

[sa****]

Hi, great to be here.

Coming to lifestyle there is lot of disconnect with nature nowadays, and we have been effected for not showing sensibility towards surroundings. and I'm  looking for sustainable living options by volunteering with communities ( can be farming / any other). Thanks.

[Berta]

have you checked out https://wwoof.net/ I thinks that's pretty much what you are looking for.

Let me know how it worked. I love the thought but I have my own garden to tend and I am not really in the targetgroup agewise ;-)

[Li****]

I think a lot of us are feeling an urge to reconnect with nature, and appreciate how much positivity being in nature brings to us. Great suggestion from @Berta - it sounds like it could be what you're looking for ?

[da****]

I'm a huge advocate for sustainable living practices (clean energy, refurbished products, ecofriendly materials, etc.). What's YOUR favorite and/or most valued way of living an ecologically sustainable lifestyle? Also, what's your favorite nonprofit organization or resource to learn more?

 

Thanks!

David

[Li****]

There are many really easy ways that everyone can contribute to a more sustainable living. Reducing plastic, donating or reselling clothes/toys/furniture etc, and switching to more eco friendly materials are just a few. Looking forward to seeing what other suggestions and practices people share! ?

[Tine]

I am a compost, recycle, repair, reuse, repurpose person. ?

[da****]

Biggest thing: I've never had a car OR license. I also buy 100% wind energy for my apartment!

 

That aside, I'm studying to become a LEED-certified green living consultant. ?

[Tine]

On a different level, besides what we can do on a daily basis, I think it's important to do our best to influence corporations and politics to actively adress the climate crisis. So I'd add: marches, voting and joining a workers union.