My wife thinks I’m having a mid-life crisis. She reckons that, instead of buying a sports car or having an affair with someone half my age, I’ve hitched my focus onto the issue of climate change. And maybe she’s right (though I’d be happy with a sports car, and you can contact me here).
Whether my response was age-related or not, when the IPCC’s “12 years” report came out in October 2018, I panicked – at both the report itself and the fact that no one else seemed to be panicking. I wanted to swear off airports, turn off the boiler and hide in a cave, only emerging to shout at others to turn off their lights and stop eating meat. My wife, being a bit more normal, resolved to address the issue without it impacting on our family’s quality of life.
Which makes us a good team: I’m motivated to investigate and make suggestions, while she ensures that any steps we actually adopt are balanced and, above all, realistic. We’re still going to take (flight-free) holidays and heat our home, eat the occasional chicken and shop in the supermarket. But we’re going to do what we can to think global while acting local.
Since starting this blog, and recognising that taking individual responsibility just isn’t enough, I’ve tried to help spread awareness of the issues at stake, both as a campaigner for fossil fuel divestment, and as a volunteer speaker for Greenpeace in businesses, schools and communities.
Positively Green 