The letter's content was not news to him and was not news to me. We know that the current way of human civilization needs to change urgently. Collectively we humans have grown in numbers and power and developed a destructive capability that needs to be checked. The future would seem bleak.
One conclusion I have come to again and again is that each one of us needs to make sacrifices. We have been accustomed to consuming far too much and being far too blasé about our impact on our home. The planet is not an infinite resource and it is not an infinite rubbish bin.
Assessing the situation it could seem we have nothing but bad habits, bad habits that are mainstream (common-sense). The change in our civilization needs to be great, and the swifter and more effective it is, the more of the world’s wonderful beauty we can conserve.
A change needs to be made, and what better can we change than ourselves? The simplest option is to reduce our negative impact on the planet’s environment. In many ways, to do less, consume less, make do with less. Such change would require self-discipline and sacrifice - exercises that do reap their own rewards. The future would be oh so good.
My brother made some more specific points for individual change. Here are four ways in which we could take immediate action to help save the planet:
- Write to our so called leaders and let them know what would make them popular with us. Would you support them going to the UN Climate Summit and agreeing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions you can legally produce? Please follow this link: http://www.actoncopenhagen.decc.gov.uk/en/subscribe
- Donate money to support worthy campaigns. Would you like to know more of Greenpeace’s campaign? http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change.
- Change what you buy. One pound one vote! Don't pay your electricity bill to a company that burns fossil fuels. Switch to an alternative such as this company: goodenergy.co.uk
- Each one teach one. Talk to each other. Take a serious issue seriously - it needs discussing at all levels of society.