STATS, cool climate hot holiday tips, and a discussion on environmental behaviour change…

Many folks care deeply about the environment all year long, yet go “back to normal” once the pressure of holiday gift-buying, food-making, house-decorating strikes! Or worse, they identify as environmentalists, but never actually change their behaviour.

You might do a lot for the earth, for reducing your carbon footprint, lessening your personal waste—but you are tempted by the glitter, shiny wrapping, and plastic toys. You indulge with a “just this once” justification and then experience eco-guilt and self shaming. This is known as the “intention action gap” by environmental scientists. (source) The fact is, people think they want to be eco-friendly but few actually take steps to be eco friendly.

Around the 6th Century BC the Lord Buddha influenced the take up of meditation, ethics, morality—but yoga was ignored.

At this time, Yogi Matsyendranath shared “before taking to the practices of meditation, the body and its elements need purifying.” He may hear meditation, I hear and am deeply curious about ethics & morality. How is our physical body related to our ability to uphold morals or adhere to our chosen ethics?

With so many people in a panic, it seems the virus that has already taken the world is a virus of fear. But is there a silver lining resulting from this global pause?

Asia is home to just under 60% of the global population and is notorious for horrific air quality. The World Health Organisation estimates 7 million deaths worldwide per year from air pollution with over two-thirds of these deaths in Asia. With the current global pause on manufacturing and travel, China’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped dramatically overnight.

Single-Use Plastic Condoms DO get the tick! Condoms are the one and only single-use plastic I endorse. They are the best in their field and I won’t fuck with that.

Objective: Sexy Times Whilst Preventing STDs & Pregnancy

Best Choice: Single-Use CONDOMS

CONDOMS

They are nowhere near perfect. Most are made from synthetic latex which does not biodegrade for hundreds of years, they certainly end up discarded in the environment as trash and endanger wildlife. They are coated in toxic spermicides and made of toxic plastics. They don’t feel as good. They are packaged in wasteful single-use plastic packaging. HOWEVER, they are our best option for preventing pregnancy AND protecting against STD’s.

Human influence on climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases are highest in history. (IPCC) 20 warmest years on record, since 1850, have all occurred in the last 22 years. The past 5 years have been the warmest since records began (WMO). Current temperatures are increasing by close to 0.2°C per decade (NASA)

We finally know the solutions to the plastic pollution crisis: The #ReuseRevolution is here.

We see the pollution. We know it's because of the endless plastic packaging. We feel a complete lack of options. Instead of continuing to just accept the single-use plastics that are given to us by businesses we support, people all over the world are creating new systems around refillable and reusable containers. We can support these beneficial systems EVERY DAY by bringing our own containers which will help normalise reuse and refill culture.

When we point a finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at us. 

In my ten years of plastic freedom, I have learned the difference between aspirational & oppressive change. As we learn about the state of the planet, the pollution, the historically unprecedented off-the-charts melting of glaciers & thawing of permafrost, we are filled with panic. This sense of urgency can motivate us to aggressive tactics. However, if we are trying to inspire behaviour change in another person, this usually has the opposite effect. 

Dr. Leonardo Trasande gives us Plastics Leaching 101 in this short 3 minute video. Dr. Leo explains what plastics we need to avoid and why as well as the health effects of ingesting food contained in these plastics and how to avoid them.