The Green Fight: Change vs Status Quo

Lately, you see many people agreeing on the fact that we have many issues globally, they only complain and point fingers and are not offering solutions or at least contributing to finding a solution. At this point, action is needed.

ACTIVE YOUTH

The young people understand what they read more, are fortunately more skeptical of the information they consume, and, in some cases, can see the consequences of inaction at first glance in their countries. It is sad to see how they are more mature on these issues than adults. Adults that are supposed to lead are trying very hard to dim these voices who are calling out the ineptitude and inaction on several issues including climate change.

THE RIGHT TO CLEAN DRINK WATER

Not having clean water to drink is still an issue in 2019. Very early in primary school, we learned that water will forever sustain life on Earth. Well, this changed when we messed with it by throwing trash in the ocean and rivers, and not maintaining waterpipe infrastructures among others. It slowly became poisonous water.

Living beings find their drinking water contaminated and they are affected by it. Yes, that includes us, the humans who made it happen. Many diseases originated from drinking contaminated water. If you think it has nothing to do with you, you’re mistaken. Those animals that drink that water will eventually end up in your food chain one way or the other. And don’t tell me it’s not possible because there is enough quality control that would prevent that because that is not true.

CONSEQUENCES OF DEREGULATION

It has been a long time since quality control is not a priority for companies or governments. Look at how many outbreaks happened recently because of deregulation in the food industry in the U.S. Did that stop companies from importing food from the U.S.? Were tourists aware that the food they eat may not be 100% healthy?

No, of course not. Despite the risks in the U.S. food industry business continues as normal. But you will eventually be affected unless you start growing your own produce. It is very difficult to know whether the food that you buying has been processed with high-quality standards.

INEFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Why is that we have such a large waste management problem? The amount of waste that we have today couldn’t have been generated only by regular households, corporations contribute a large amount of waste. But the regular households are not getting off the hook. Regular households are people living in their houses like you and me.

I hate to say this but in my experience, many people are pigs when it comes to public spaces.  You will never see that behavior at their house but on the street and in the open they behave as if the space is not their problem. And before the grown-ups start berating the young generation, let me tell you that you specifically are part of this problem. I’ve seen adults behave like this.

Somehow there is a disconnect between people that fail to understand that damaging the earth is like damaging your home because it is, the earth is our home. When you throw something away, it will end up somewhere, it doesn’t magically disappear and doesn’t disintegrate either and will last for many years.

CONTAMINATION

Not only are we dealing with contaminated water which leads to a contaminated food chain, but we are also dealing with contaminated air. The air contamination or Co2 emissions are mostly generated by factories, refineries, buildings, and vehicles. I find it curious when people are supporters of green projects at the same time they are supporting the fossil fuel industry, the industry responsible for most of the Co2 emissions, toxins in rivers, litter, and waste in the ground and in the ocean. It makes no sense to work towards alternative solutions when nothing is done to remove the cause of the problem.

Let me put it in simple terms; when you have a few rotten potatoes in a full bag of the same and you take your time to remove the rotten ones, what do you think will happen? Your small problem becomes bigger. This is what happened to our waste management and our energy production.

At this point, what we need to do regarding air pollution is to reduce the Co2 emissions first and then rely on long-term clean energy production. Many people won’t like it but it means changing the current production cycle so that it doesn’t generate more Co2 emissions. This could mean closing a few refineries and factories for the time being for reconstruction.

The transition from fossil fuels to biofuels will not be easy. There are already many startups, and young companies that have seen the opportunity and have taken the risk but the fossil fuel industry is so influential and powerful that is going to take great effort to make the change happen. People who say it’s not possible are those who have only a few years to live and enjoy their retirement money. They prefer the status quo.

TAKING ACTION

There are alternatives created. They just need our support. As for the plastic problem, there are many companies offering alternative everyday-use products made from biodegradable materials.

We don’t only need the replacement of plastic, but we need to get rid of the existing plastic. Singapore burns its waste and dumps the ashes on an island that has been transformed into a green paradise the number of trees growing helps with combating the Co2 emissions.

Regarding air pollution what we can start doing is creating alternative lungs to breathe better. What do I mean? It’s as simple as planting trees and creating real ecosystems that will be the home of flora and fauna. Instead of deforestation, we should focus on forestation. Again here we have the power to influence this as well.

Brands like Nestle and Nutella are sustained by deforestation mainly in Asia and Africa because they are looking for wild trees to extract an important ingredient for their products, palm oil. By doing this they are not only cutting off our lungs but they are destroying the flora and fauna, in particular, the species of the orangutan ape have suffered specifically because of this practice.

At this point, this should be forbidden. We need all our lungs, which means taking care of our ecosystem in order to survive. There are already many people with respiratory problems as a result of living in a city with a refinery or a factory. Can you imagine going to high school not far away from a refinery?

As consumers, we have the ultimate power to demand change but most of us are not aware of that power. Significant change won’t be made if we remain the same and only complain. We have to shift our priorities and take action.

STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING!

“Every little action count, and will contribute to moving us forward towards a healthier world“