As I drove home from work today, I started reflecting on a few things that people had been discussing and it made me think hard about some of the issues that really worry me about our world and the culture we have developed in the UK in particular.
This post is meant to be an outlet for my thoughts but is also a talking point. I hope that those of you reading this will comment your own opinions below and be open about your own related worries.
Worry 1: Lack of Independence
When I was young, in the 1980s, there were certain things that were expected of us. we used to have to look after our own clothes and possessions, for instance, and walk or cycle ourselves to school. We also had to quickly learn some independent thinking skills and apply these to our everyday lives.
Even in getting to and from places such as the local shops, we had to learn to adapt and think on our feet. Most of my friends walked to school in little groups and we had to make those journeys every day without adult guidance. By habit, we looked out for each other and learned new routes together.
Some of the skills we gained from making our own way to school were really valuable. We got to negotiate crossing roads, get some much needed exercise and talk through our feelings with our friends. These days so many kids arrive in cars and have little awareness of the routes that they take to get from one place to another. Although there is generally more morning traffic, much of it is families ferrying kids to school.
More independence in getting around is very good for self confidence and health. Less cars on the road would mean safer journeys and less pollution. There are many other ways that I believe independence and coping mechanisms are less evident these days, especially during growing up. It worries me that we are becoming a really dependent society and people are anxious more about things because they haven’t gathered those valuable coping mechanisms.
Worry 2: Rubbish
Lately I have been noticing just how willing many people are to dispose of rubbish. Without a thought, people are chucking waste out and putting little thought into reducing it or recycling it.
Packaging is everywhere and often only used for a specific purpose before being thrown out. I myself reviewed a small item in the post and it came in a massive cardboard envelope which was a total waste of space.
I am trying to think more carefully about what I buy and not to use unnecessary wrapping or extra packaging when buying gifts. Do you really need a snazzy gift bag that is going to be emptied quickly and then disposed of?
Worry 3: Aeroplanes
The other week a football club flew its players across the UK to get to a match near me. Getting through security and boarding a plane, along with the journey and travelling time either end meant it wouldn’t have been that much quicker than simply coming on a train.
In my opinion people are too quick to choose flying over other more sustainable forms of transport. For instance, I took a leisurely train ride to Edinburgh which was four hours long but many would go by plane almost without thinking. I know people that fly back and forth to Scotland regularly.
Why? You may arrive slightly quicker but the damage done by aeroplanes is so much greater. They literally pump greenhouse gases into the higher part of the atmosphere where they can do the most damage. Trains are cleaner even though some of their electricity will come from fossil fuels. They are far more sustainable in the long term, especially as more of our electricity is now from solar, nuclear and wind farms.
Summary
Maybe I worry too much. I don’t get anxious about these things but it does upset me that some of the ways we live our lives are causing problems which we could easily avoid.
If we really do learn lessons from the past then hopefully we will begin to make changes that benefit us in the future. I am just concerned that often our culture focuses on speed and technology and we as human beings lose out in so many ways due to this haste.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post about worries. If you enjoyed my article please consider dropping a comment or following my blog for future similar content about entertainment, books and the environment.
This is a very interesting read. I think it is a shame the current children are not as independent as a few years back. I try to recycle as much as possible.
Good to hear. Thank you for commenting.
Very pertinent observations. It’s incredible the amount of rubbish we make today. And air transportation should be rethought, I believe. There’s not only air pollution but also noise pollution. Around here they don’t even respect the noise ban during the night. Thanks for sharing your views!
Yes time for change. Thanks for reading.
I definitely agree that hopping on a plane when other options would be better is being used too much — it just doesn’t seem to make sense to me. It may be convenient on a personal level for those who do it but not for the environment (which we are all impacted by; although not equally). I’ve found as I get older I worry more about things especially with where the world is heading — thanks for this post, it was really thought-provoking!
Thank you for reading. I hope more people start to consider sustainable transport.
I think you’ve brought up some very meaningful issues Jamie. I agree with you about all these things. The train service in the UK and Europe are phenomenal compared to what we have in most of North America. We’ve travelled from London to Brussels, Bruge and Amsterdam and I got to see the beauty of these areas which I would not have seen from a plane. You’ve made some great points. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I love the Eurostar line and good routes into Europe.
These are valid concerns. We always encouraged our kids to walk to school, and I remember my daughter “teaching her friends how to take the bus” in her first year of high school because none of them had ever done that before. She’s 22 now and has no hesitation to pick up and go anywhere solo.
The flying is a concern. In North America, we don’t have well developed train service like you do in the UK and Europe so flying is often our only option.
And don’t get me started on people who throw garbage everywhere. 😡😡😡
Yes I think the US needs to sort its reliance on cars and planes.
It’s a mindset thing. In Canada, it’s partially a result of a small population spread out over a huge country. Urban areas have decent public transportation, but to go anywhere else, you have to drive so most people just drive everywhere.
I know what you mean about rubbish. There’s a private road at the back of where I live and it’s a dumping ground for fly tippers
Yes it is awful.
The concerns are real. With most families owning a car, the kids get ferried to the school in a car. I am from a different country. In my school days, i used to walk with friends and travel by bus. Sometimes walked all the way to the home as there was company to talk all sort of things. As long as the online shopping is not tied up with local shops for delivery, we will face more cardboard wastage. The bigger clubs have their airline partners. They can afford charting planes. Everything is PR based.
This was an interesting post. As I have got older I have definitely become more concerned about the amount of rubbish and I have been doing my best to reduce the amount of rubbish. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for commenting.
You made good points.
1. I’ve often that to myself that people seem to be getting less self-reliant and unable to cope with stressful situations. Smart phones and the internet have made critical thinking less necessary so when people have to do it, they aren’t able to.
2. I can’t speak for the UK but littering has always been a problem in America. It’s gross, and I just don’t get it. I think it’s a lack of education fostering lack of respect for our public areas.
3. Again, as an American, we have no great public transit so it’s either cars or planes typically. Proposals to create better train systems are often shot down due to backdoors lobbying from the fossil fuel industry.
Oh dear. I think that is a shame about public transport.
I completely agree about these! Most of all, having lived in another European country, you can see the difference about kids not having the same independence we have been brought up to nowadays, which is such a shame as it was a learning experience in itself as you said
Yes it is sad. Thanks for reading.