The complexity of environmental impacts and actions was given a bit of an airing last Thursday on this bloggy. I am no environmental warrior. I cannot physically get out and remonstrate by protestation. I am not a banners and chants kinda gal. I am, however, a pretty good reader/researcher and I can wield a word or two with effect. If I am able to contribute with raised awareness and informational links, then some small thing has been achieved. The comments on last week's post demonstrated that it is possible to be active in the promotion of environmental and ecological concerns without causing public upheaval and risking opprobrium.
One comment stuck with me though and encapsulates what I feel is core to the change that is necessary in the world:
Exactly as Gandhiji would have it!
The point being, if every individual takes responsibility for their own footprint, that means the entire community and then the whole of society, and ultimately nations will have proved their environmental worth.
Business and economics have influence over whether there will be a change in how we treat the earth. It would be easy to point to the multinationals in finance, manufacture, energy, and seek to lay blame for lack of cooperation with directives regarding environmental change. However, those businesses only exist due to the consumption of their product. That throws it right back on us, the end-users of Widgetry and Fantoomery.
From where do all those goods originate? With our food, we are growing ever more conscious of 'mileage'. Is it local (i.e. at least in-country) or has it travelled from outwith our borders? If so, how was it transported? Trucks, trains, and boats, all of which consume fossil fuels, are the primary methods for transporting large quantities of food around the world. There may be some transportation by air for 'sensitive' items, but this is not regular. And this is just one example. An important one.
Pretty much everything we own and use, however, will have - at least in part - travelled significant distances. We all know that there is hardly anything that is not from places like China, India, Turkey, and so on. Cheap labour. This is what encouraged Scottish fish to be transported to China to be filleted and packed and then returned to the UK for supermarket sales. It is also why Alaskan Salmon is not all we would hope of it. Let's not think about the meat industry. It's not that we vegetarians are free from such capers, either. I love green beans, but they are highly seasonal in the UK. If I want some with my winter meals, I have to accept they come from Kenya. Or opt for what IS seasonal and produced here in Scotland. (I was spoilt in OZ, where fruit and veg production is continual and with very few seasonal considerations.)
Then think about all the electronics that dominate life these days. The completed units might be 'in-country', but guaranteed, a lot of the components are not. Take a look around you right this minute. Can you point to anything that is entirely locally produced? Or entirely produced within your borders?
How did this stuff reach you? More importantly, how did it reach the repository from where you purchased it? A very significant portion of our goods will have travelled by that almost invisible transport... shipping. About this, I shall continue in the next OoWaC post. Your 'takeaway' today, it is hoped, is that sourcing as much as you can (and can afford - that's the bugbear) locally will be key to letting big business know where their consumers' priorities lie. It also encompasses a need for all of us to reconsider what we are using and why. How much of our consumption is 'just because it is available'? What do we need versus what do we want.
One comment stuck with me though and encapsulates what I feel is core to the change that is necessary in the world:
Exactly as Gandhiji would have it!The point being, if every individual takes responsibility for their own footprint, that means the entire community and then the whole of society, and ultimately nations will have proved their environmental worth.
Business and economics have influence over whether there will be a change in how we treat the earth. It would be easy to point to the multinationals in finance, manufacture, energy, and seek to lay blame for lack of cooperation with directives regarding environmental change. However, those businesses only exist due to the consumption of their product. That throws it right back on us, the end-users of Widgetry and Fantoomery.
From where do all those goods originate? With our food, we are growing ever more conscious of 'mileage'. Is it local (i.e. at least in-country) or has it travelled from outwith our borders? If so, how was it transported? Trucks, trains, and boats, all of which consume fossil fuels, are the primary methods for transporting large quantities of food around the world. There may be some transportation by air for 'sensitive' items, but this is not regular. And this is just one example. An important one.
Pretty much everything we own and use, however, will have - at least in part - travelled significant distances. We all know that there is hardly anything that is not from places like China, India, Turkey, and so on. Cheap labour. This is what encouraged Scottish fish to be transported to China to be filleted and packed and then returned to the UK for supermarket sales. It is also why Alaskan Salmon is not all we would hope of it. Let's not think about the meat industry. It's not that we vegetarians are free from such capers, either. I love green beans, but they are highly seasonal in the UK. If I want some with my winter meals, I have to accept they come from Kenya. Or opt for what IS seasonal and produced here in Scotland. (I was spoilt in OZ, where fruit and veg production is continual and with very few seasonal considerations.)
Then think about all the electronics that dominate life these days. The completed units might be 'in-country', but guaranteed, a lot of the components are not. Take a look around you right this minute. Can you point to anything that is entirely locally produced? Or entirely produced within your borders?
How did this stuff reach you? More importantly, how did it reach the repository from where you purchased it? A very significant portion of our goods will have travelled by that almost invisible transport... shipping. About this, I shall continue in the next OoWaC post. Your 'takeaway' today, it is hoped, is that sourcing as much as you can (and can afford - that's the bugbear) locally will be key to letting big business know where their consumers' priorities lie. It also encompasses a need for all of us to reconsider what we are using and why. How much of our consumption is 'just because it is available'? What do we need versus what do we want.
I agree with Joanne...I try to be an example. Maybe some will follow
ReplyDeleteHugs HiC
Hari Om.
ReplyDeleteA very thought provoking article.
Since the last 2 years, I have been trying to follow a minimalistic lifestyle by questioning myself whether I need it or want it. Still, sometimes I badly fail at it. Buying local goods should be a priority. And to protect the environment, we should all take personal responsibility in whatever ways we can.
Lovely quotes. I always spend hours ditch digging to pick up garbage. I feel better when I do it, but I'm not sure it makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteYes, really all that I can do is minimize my own footprint. And, I can vote - which I have to do in a primary soon. I may also work for a candidate who takes environmental issues seriously, unlike our current "leader".
ReplyDeleteThank you, Yam. You make me feel good. But, I learned from my parents, and theirs before. Nothing like a depression era parent to teach you. Ever take a good look at ALL the WWII soldiers? How thin every last one of them is. They didn't have a whole lot to eat. My dad was 6'6" and weighed 180 pounds when my parents married. "1936, the year I didn't eat much!" he used to say.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
DeleteSo true, Joanne; my own generation splits the difference between that forced abstinence and the younger gens idea that there is lack if there isn't a burger joint or pizza house nearby... or a place to charge those bally phones or worse yet NO SIGNAL! There are plenty in the world who still know how to live sustainably... and the west looks upon them as 'poor folk' in need of 'upliftment'. I do think there is a movement to more community-based provenance now, but it has yet to become the norm. Yxx
once we will not be able to produce even the most simple things and then we feel the great regret...
ReplyDeleteHi Yam - we should all set examples ... I do try and eat seasonally, particularly fruit and veg, or as best for my health ... I did note somewhere that if one asks the young engineers whether they can find an innovation then they'll answer 'we can' ... the older more entrenched corporate ... don't seem to see a way within the constraints of organisation. However having said that ... we need to all do what we can at all times. Thanks for the excellent read and thoughts - Hilary
ReplyDeleteRight now this Corona virus might throw some serious spanners in the works. Businesses not operating will result in people trying to find a similar version closer to home. How big this becomes and how long it will last? The longer it lasts though, the bigger the chance that people will convert to something closer to home. Fingers crossed...
ReplyDeleteI agree with every thing you said here and also with Joanne. and I do try to be careful what I do, but looking at what I buy most of it is from other countries. my leggings and blouses come from China and Philipines. and that is just one item.
ReplyDeletetoday on our news channel they said we can each help with the problem by ordering less from online and if we order do it all at one time, because ordering one item at a time means more packages, more gas to deliver. I had never thought about that. there are many ways for us to cut back, but it will take knowledge because most of the younger generation have no idea what they are doing to the planet
Advertising, I believe, has created the 'want' for things and truly we need to follow the 'need' ~ Great post, thanks,
ReplyDeleteHappy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)