We have the road map for what we need to do to avert irreversible global warming: The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation are leaders in Circular Economy.

https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/

 

Jeremy Riffkin guided and worked with Angela Merkel and President Li of China to help set their Circular Economy policies in place.

 

There’s a good term for what many of us are now:

 

Transitionists.

 

We’ve already transitioned from all fossil fuel energy.

We can’t just stop using oil or coal suddenly, or there would be energy shortages, and that could risk lives.

We’re transitioning from mainly fossil fuels to mainly renewables.

We’re building more renewable energy sources, and less non-renewable power plants.

We’re also transitioning from eating too much meat to eating more plants and less meat.

Two years and hundreds of scientists have produced the EAT Lancet Commission, which sets out the flexible and enjoyable Planetary Health Diet which will feed the predicted population of 10 billion healthy people sustainably in 2050.

 

We’re planting many more trees and chopping down less old growth.

(Pet tip: You can use the Ecosia Chrome extension/browser that uses ad revenue to fund reforestation projects.)

 

We’ve transitioned from mass over-consumption and landfill waste to recycling more and more plastics and developing compostable and fully-recyclable products.

 

Slow Fashion Collective and Fashion Revolution have made a huge impact upon ending Fast Fashion in the global fashion industry and have been improving factory conditions and transparency in China and worldwide.

 

I’ve always been annoyed about Big Organic’s over-inflated health claims, but I’m now resigned to the fact that conventional agriculture is almost indistinguishable from it in supermarkets, as conventional agriculture has done things like reduced the use of all-feedlot lifespan of animals.

 

But I’m against buying anything labelled “GMO-Free”, because plant biotechnology is one of the ways we can safely improve yields and feed 10 billion people in 2050.

 

Some peole think the Extinction Rebellion protesters go too far, by bringing big ceramic sinks to the city, and chaining themselves to Land Rovers.

 

Recently, I met a philanthropic Eritrean who told me about people desperately escaping government violence in East Africa by killing soldiers, stealing their guns, and using them to get across borders to help from outside.

 

If Extinction Rebellion and privileged people in privileged countries protest dramatically (but peacefully), we tell the powerful, corrupt, the leaders, and the most-privileged to realise their exploitation is what causes civil war and economic disasters.

99% of the world wants fairness; less exploitation.

 

Change is hard.

 

Some speak as if it’s easier for themselves to have one fixed idea and deny that any change is required.

 

It’s hard to learn the many multitudes of ways we each can change more and destroy the planet less.

 

But change is happening everywhere.

 

Often, I’ve thought, X political organisation should be doing B.

 

Then I do a search online, and find they’re already implementing those plans.

 

Government is not just the current elected party member and their soundbites.

It’s the public servants and contractors who are held accountable too, and who are our friends and/or neighbours.

 

Government is us, and our vote.

 

Our vote is also our note – what we buy with our currencies are statistics towards what is acceptable to produce. What we do and say and eat and wear and use all influence the market.

 

In 1986, I first heard about about greenhouse gases, the hole in the ozone layer, the loss of native habitat and species, etc.

My father and I were sitting at the kitchen table and ABC Radio was on. I was home for the holidays from university, and doing some drawing.

David Suzuki was talking about the tonnes of glass and plastic bottles going into landfill.

My father sat there, elbows on the table, with his hands over his eyes and face.

I’d never seen him do anything like that. It brings tears to my eyes and lump to my throat every time I remember that day in 1986.

We first started recycling (which was newspaper) in 1988 in Melbourne. Our first kerbside recycling bins appeared in 1989.

I have never gone for my drivers licence since hearing David Suzuki in 1986.

I’ve been using public transport and walking when I need to go somewhere on my own.

Dad was 19 years older than Mum, and he died in 1997.

He never lived to see the big changes.

Change began in small increments.  But change is exponential.

It’s taken so long to transition to what we’re doing now.

Extinction Rebellion are making people talk, think, and act.

As Greta Thunberg said in New York, “Once we start to act, hope is everywhere”.

 

As Eliud Kipchoge said in Vienna, “Together we can make the world a peaceful place.”