Tag: climate

Changing Shopping Patterns – Being More Ecofriendly

At the beginning of a new year, now is a good time to take stock of what we have achieved and set targets for ourselves in 2023. The Climate Change Collective have been producing monthly thought-provoking articles related to global warming and becoming more ecofriendly. This time Krista and Alison from A Sustainably Simple Life have created an article about How Our Need to Shop is Ruining Our Planet. Changing shopping patterns could make a positive difference.

Shopping Is A Problem

I am one of those people who is tempted by adverts to buy nice things that I don’t really need. It can be easy to get sucked into buying too much unnecessary stuff and we are all guilty of it.

Fast fashion is something that doesn’t affect me so much as I like to wear my clothes out, but many of my friends are always on the look out for new outfits, for no apparent reason. It is important that we all find ways to cut back on buying things which are realistically only going to be used a few times.

My vice has been buying gadgets and things with lots of packaging. Every time I ordered a product online I found it coming with way too much cardboard or paper waste. Similarly, every gift needed a separate gift bag or box with ribbons etc. I have had to change my ways, so much so that I no longer wrap things if they are gifts for adults.

Wrapping paper is an example of a one-use only product that mostly goes straight to landfill and uses plenty of energy in manufacture and transportation. I wrote a poem about this, called Christmas Waste to provoke readers’ thoughts.

In A Nutshell

This is a complex subject and really interesting and relevant so please check out the Climate Change Collective December Article for yourself. I hope you will comment your own thoughts on this important matter.

If you missed the previous Climate Change Collective posts, check them out here:

Welcome To The Climate Change Collective

Understanding How Climate Action Redefines Our Future

Travel With Climate Change

How Climate Change Impacts Animals

Nearly Christmas – Poem

Although winter is coming, my Christmas poem focuses on some of the environmental issues we have had to deal with. Let’s not forget them this Christmas.

It’s nearly Christmas,

So where’s the snow?

Let’s ask Santa,

He might know.

What a year

We all have had.

Hope next year’s better,

It can’t be this bad.

I want to say

We learned a lot.

But I’m not so sure,

As we soon forgot…

Forgot about…

the climate struggle.

Our busy lives

We’ve had to juggle.

Forgot that animals

Are dwindling and dying.

That floods and heat waves

Left many crying.

Forgot how vegetation

Is thinning out,

That many suffer

From devastating drought.

Yes it’s Christmas,

And that’s just great.

But please remember

What’s on everyone’s plate.

These were my brief thoughts on this year. It definitely feels like we have forgotten about climate change and its impending destruction. I hope that when people are swept away with Christmas joy, they still think about spending their time being considerate to the environment.

No need for lots of one use only packaging and endless flights. Let’s celebrate in a more humble way and enjoy each other’s company whilst recognising that we need to find ways to be more sustainable throughout every season.

Thank you so much for reading my Christmas poem.

The Direct Link Between Our Actions and Climate Change

This month on ‘The Climate Change Collective’ we are discussing how climate change is impacting all of our futures. Molly from Transatlantic Notes blog has written a brilliant post about just how interrelated humans are with the environment.

In her wonderful article, Understanding how climate action redefines our future, Molly looks at how vital members of food chains are being depleted because of even small increases in temperature and just how unstable our ecosystems are.

Delicate Balance

Many people chose to ignore the threat of climate change because they cannot feel the effects of it in their daily lives. Molly outlines why that just isn’t true. Yes, the developed countries often feel it less strongly than third world nations, but the evidence of climate change is all around. One thing is for sure, it is us humans that are causing the problem.

We have seen record temperatures during the summer and winters which are far less cold than previously. Increased wild fires during heatwaves, water shortages, poor harvests and more flood occurrences are just a few of the effects we have felt in the UK and USA.

I urge you to check out Molly’s interesting article and discover how a particular butterfly species plays a major role in keeping an ecosystem strong. Locally, I have noticed far fewer insects such as bees and wasps this year. These insects are so important as pollinators and it would be awful if they were to die out.

Check out this month’s climate post and drop Molly a comment about your thoughts on this matter.