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There is no shortage of brilliant people giving us the facts of our future… weather patterns are changing, forests are burning, the oceans are warming, ice glaciers are melting, the climate is rising, our ecosystems are dying, animal extinction rates have never been higher and we ourselves are suffering immensely with the pandemic freshly lingering in our minds. This is only the small beginning of the vastness of what we find ourselves faced with on a global scale, yet little is being done in prevention of the worst effects of climate change. Most of us ourselves are not aware of the severity, nor do we understand the challenges currently being faced or how they came to be. Importantly, we do not know what our individual and collective contributions could be or should be in order to make a positive impact, or if we even want to contribute.
The idea of helping combat the climate crisis for the sake of future generations sounds like a fairy tale where we all get to be the heroes as we fight the evil villain, being carbon emissions, as we manage to save the planet from turning into one big chrisp. We would go down in history, books would be written, and future generations would learn about all the stops we needed to pull to ensure their continuance. Now that narrative is wonderful, I see no reason why any of us would object to being classed a hero, especially not if it is as easy as it sounds.
The difficulty with this narrative is a biological switch keeping our energy saving mode turned on. To turn it off takes acts of active consciousness which will rob us of our optimum state being minimal effort. Being innately lazy is in our human nature which is rather comforting as we all aim for efficiency and mostly resort to easier solutions in situations, often convincing ourselves that the easiest solution is also the better one.
Being human, we have a tendency towards responding to everyday life in a habitual manner and to avoid any situation of risk or uncertainty, we do this by leaning towards structure and predictability.
For this exact reason, challenges such as climate change become extremely difficult to combat as it requires large parts of the population to change. And change is difficult! Change is one piece to a intricate puzzle. Dominant and reinforcing economic structures are also to blame, pushing forward the growth paradigm which leads to competition for continuous growth which for the love of profit is environmentally and socially devastating. It can be seen that the majority of carbon emissions are caused by developed countries, showing the correlation between wealth and negative environmental impacts.
Up until now, environmental, and social costs have gone largely unaccounted for as an economies success is measured by GDP which accounts for little more than the production of goods and services.
Surprisingly, while countries become richer, there seems to be a disconnect between wellbeing and wealth, posing the question, what really constitutes a good life?
If it is not growth and profit, it may just be time to actively adjust our priorities, our habits and the institutions embedded into society, not only for the sake of the environment but also for ourselves which would have global knock-on effects which I genuinely get excited by. The past is gone but the future provides with a world of opportunity to come. It is however in our hands to change the direction we are headed towards and for that to happen, the first step to change is understanding which brings me to starting this blog.
Growing up in South Africa I had a great appreciation for the nature surrounding me, the mountains, forests, beaches, rivers, nature reserves I am yet to discover anywhere else. I was also brought up with a great love for animals, starting with having 6 dogs, 6 cats, tortoises, chickens and even a potbelly pig. It was always an adventure and I became so protective of all my animal friends that from a young age I would become angry and emotional when hearing about animal abuse. My love for my pets gravitated towards all animals and I developed a concern for nature which has stuck with me since.
South Africa has natural beauty like no other but there is also an aspect which is heavily confrontational. Poverty, inequality, segregation, deprivation of basic human needs and the suffering faced by what is said to be 55% of the population. This is complementary to other social issues such as a high crime and violence rate, low educational attainment, high unemployment and so forth. Despite the first democratic election being held in 1994, South Africa’s colonial past followed by years of Apartheid has understandably left its mark. Only upon moving to Europe did I realize the extent of the extreme inequalities in South Africa, awakening to the importance of the social aspect of sustainability.
I am an International Business Management student in Amsterdam and am on a quest to take the most out of my study as possible to become a professional which makes an impact. I want to serve my world rather than being served as I see no other way to attain fulfillment. My first step was joining a volunteer program focussed on sustainable solutions and implementations to be made within my university two years ago. I have since had the opportunity of gaining incredible experiences, collaborating with like-minded individuals, and meeting some very inspirational people, such as Economist Kate Raworth, founder and author of Doughnut Economics which provides an alternative economic model which allows for the needs of all to be met within the earth’s planetary boundaries. I also had the opportunity to moderate a few panel discussions on sustainability. At current I am completing a minor in Sustainability and Economics,and it is clear to me that my passion lies with people and the planet. My path has opened my eyes and inspired me to explore the possible solutions, delve deeper into the literature, I am motivated to share what I learn, learn from others,make connections, form collaborations, and see where this journey with sustainability will take me next because one thing is certain, I will not give up and neither should you.
