We didn't start the fire

Over the last few years I've become more aware of the world we're living in, how precious it is, and the harm that is being done to it.

Like many, I've been aware for a long time that a lot of 'bad stuff' is going on and felt that it's too big, too unstoppable, too sneaky to understand or do anything about. I've got to a point where I'm no longer comfortable with that, though. I have a safe and happy life, and am privileged in various ways which I readily acknowledge, but I can't hope that everything is going to be fine when governments and companies do things which are already having devastating effects.

It's barely disputed in the scientific community these days that climate change is man made. Earlier this year we saw a lot of people die as a result of flooding - something that's often written off as a natural phenomenon, but one we have to accept is linked to human-induced climate change. We're also hearing more organisations like the Environment Agency accept that climate change will have massive impacts on us in our lifetimes (source)

What can I do?

This was a big barrier to to me engaging with environmental issues, and I'm still grappling with it.

Ultimately, climate change isn't down to anyone's actions as an individual. However, if enough people make better decisions, we will see positive outcomes, so I am making an effort to make better choices. I've outlined some of mine here, just in case anyone wants to try and do some of this themselves - it's not exhaustive, though, and I'd be glad to hear about what others are up to.

• I'm cutting down my meat (and animal product) consumption. This is a challenge for me, but the figures about the impact of the meat industry on the environment are too worrying for me to ignore. There's a good article covering this here. I'm also keeping an eye on developments in insects being cultivated for food - there's a good article on how this is going here and some more in depth discussion of the ethics of it here.

• I've committed to being flight free. A return flight to Bangkok has a bigger carbon footprint than eating meat or driving for a year - it's a huge impact that isn't made clear in all the glorification and advertising of cheap flights. I feel sad that this means it's unlikely I'll ever return to Camp Homeward Bound, a place in New York that is hugely personally significant to me, but I'm glad that I'll be able to enjoy holidays in and around Europe on a train. To find out more about the Flight Free Pledge, there's more information here. And if you want to find out how you can go on some pretty cool holidays while avoiding flying, The Man in Seat 61 is a great resource.

• I've cut down on new stuff. This was a little unnerving for me at first, because like many people I had picked up the notion that doing so was odd. Moving to a new city this year was a good opportunity to clear out some things I've held onto but never use (thanks to local charity shops and keen beans on Facebook Marketplace), and also to consider how I get things I need. Do I need a new monitor stand? Do I need a pressure washer that I'll only use once but can easily borrow from a neighbour? Do I need something delivered to my door within 24 hours by a company that does so much to avoid paying tax?

• I've also joined the Green Party and the York Cycling Campaign this year - a lot of the politics in improving these issues at a local and national level boggles my mind, and (while I appreciate they're not perfect) I trust them to push for the things that are important to me.

There's more that I do, but these are a few highlights of things that haven't felt like big sacrifices but have helped me feel better about living in the systems and world that we live in. I think it's also important I recognise that I've spent the last 20 months living with a partner who has given me the space and time I need to make some of these changes - not everyone will have that, but I hope I might be just as helpful as a friend to others.

It can be challenging, learning how problematic everyday things are, but I'm not going to judge people for how they live.

Protesting?

It is also possible to protest companies acting badly (and the governments letting them do so), and that's something I'm thinking about doing more of. I'm aware I've benefited from a lot of systems which aren't okay, and there are more and more people challenging these systems - I want to be one of them. Figuring out how and when I will join such things will be a bit of a process, but I feel better now that I've decided to dip my toes into it all.

Even if we don't agree with someone sitting in a road to draw attention to a subject, it's worth thinking about the subject and why that person is there. It's not easy or nice to take part in these actions, and there is often danger involved (be it traffic, police violence, or threats to livelihoods and relationships) and while these actions might be frustrating, these people are doing whatever they can to raise awareness of important issues so that everyone might be safer in the future.

Where can I learn more?

I'll happily acknowledge that I'm still at a point where I'm so focused on learning about these issues that I'm still figuring this out as well. I'm trying to get better at looking at different sources for stories so I'm not just hearing one point of view, and being mindful not to be a slave to the targeted news on my mobile phone.

The best thing I've read about any of this was a book called A Gift For Conversation by Dr Louis Keal. This book exists to help people have conversations about climate change, but for me it has also helped me process and crystallise some of my thoughts - it helped me change my vague sense of unease about climate change into a position. It helps that it's got loads of useful references, and only takes a couple of hours to read. If you're somebody in my life and you're worried about this situation or you want to understand why I am, let me know because I'd like to pop you a copy of this.

Why write this?

This initially started out as a Facebook post - I don't use that platform much any more, but I became aware that the 'me' on there is mostly a version of me frozen in time from the 2010s. I like being able to look back on that time as it was, but I feel it important to let people know what's important to me now. I'm not trying to judge anyone or even change any minds with this, but I want to let you know that I care about these things.

Some of this might sound a little worrying or hopeless - we're already at a point where humanity won't be able to fix the damage it has done to the planet - but the more people who are happy to say they care about this stuff, and talk/shop/vote accordingly, the better I feel our chances are.

Thanks for reading - I appreciate this might come across as a little self indulgent, but while I'm figuring things out I've found it's helpful to write and share where I'm at. Your prize for reading - a picture of my beautiful fluffy sons.