1 Month, 6 Months, 1 Year, 2 Years... 30 Years?
6.17.2020
I --like most of you-- knew that we were impacting the environmental stability of all species, but didn't quite understand how and why in such a crystallized form until I sat in on the CNY Youth Climate Summit last November. Hundreds of children gathered from across our communities to learn about environmental issues, and prepare game plans for propelling their districts forward.
Snuggled into that line up was an hour long talk by professor Bruce Monger.
Four-year-old Q perched himself under a desk with some distractionary toys, and that lecture waved over us with horrifyingly clear detail about how we were marching toward acidifying our oceans to a point of NO RETURN by ***2050*** That is if people do not start making changes RIGHT NOW.
This isn't purposeless hair-on-fire shock. This is: GUYS there are planetary imperatives urging us to adopt a Plant-Based diet for the sake of environmental stability (ie a habitable future for our children, water for them to drink, for millions of species to not wither away in extinction, etc). Best part? Plant-Based feasting is tied to robust health and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. So we can bolster our health, spread compassion, and preserve this precious planet meal-by-meal, step-by-step.
Why would we remain in standstill?
As I stated in yesterday's post, I'm all about imperfectly stumbling forward (that's what I did. that's what most doctors I follow did, etc); but what I hear far too often is straight up denial and determination to continue status quo.
How old will your children be in 2050?
How old will your grandchildren be?!
Need a casual, mind-shaking, yet also inspiring podcast that’ll illuminate to you what we’re up against by 2050 if folks keep eating animal products the way they are? Set aside an hour and list to this podcast interview with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter with Simon Hill (Nutritionist).
Topics included:
What is climate change?
What are the implications of a warming planet?
What are planetary boundaries?
Is climate change more than an energy issue?
What are greenhouse gases?
The major greenhouse gases – Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide
Human activity and greenhouse gases
Agriculture and GHG’s
Importance of understanding land use, deforestation and carbon sequestration when land is left alone
Animal versus plant based foods and their environmental impact
Impact of transport on the footprint of our food compared to the type of food
Holistic grazing (form of regenerative agriculture proposed by Alan Savoury and Game Brown etc) – is it a climate change solution?
What a more efficient food system looks like
Animal manure vs green manure
Monocultures vs Polycultures and soil health
Access to food that has a lower environmental footprint to make it the easier decision for people (Default-Veg)
Top tips that we can implement on an individual basis to lower our environmental footprint
This is the kind of information that shook me awake a few years ago, that is harked in We Are The Weather, and we NEED to start internalizing so we can make steps forward.
It isn’t all doom and gloom if we all start moving forward!
I don’t care how imperfectly those steps are: I just care that they are happening. That every day is bringing us further and further forward; because once you start *hearing* the science, you understand that the alternative is food shortages, water shortages, worse storms, dead reefs, and an acidified ocean....and by golly, those count far more than taste and old habits.
