The fear of climate change has started this blog

    College is out, and summer break is here. I have free time, and the weather is getting warmer. So lately, I have been thinking about climate change. And climate change is one of those things that gets scarier the more you think about it.

    Yesterday I was stationary biking when I began to sweat. It was around 80 degrees, and suddenly, I thought about how uncomfortable it would be if the heat I felt then were permanent, spreading until there was nowhere we could hide. At first, people would probably fight to stay indoors, concentrating by air conditioners. Poor people would be the first to die. However, in the end, even air conditioning wouldn’t be enough, generating more and more CO2 until a thickening atmosphere eventually suffocates us all, trapped with the still growing heat.

    Now, I know that's far from what global warming is. Even if we mess up really badly, the temperature won't go up by more than a few degrees. However, that stickiness of summer heat made me think about what “increased heat-related illness” may feel like. There will also be more intense natural disasters, famine, and drought. As I'm typing, I have gone a few hours without water. My throat is a little dry. It's no big deal. But what if I didn’t know I could go downstairs to get water? Instead, if I didn’t know how long I would have to endure this thirst, I would panic and lose it. Thinking about climate change and the helplessness I imagine people in the future will have to deal with makes me scared in a way I usually am not. And with the 2050 projected impacts of climate change, that could be us.

    In my life, I try to be eco-conscious, but I haven’t tried to change others because I'm afraid of being self-righteous or pushy. Caring about the environment can also be a burden, sometimes making my own life uncomfortable. Being sensitive about single-use plastic can make me act uptight and difficult. I even lashed out at my mom for buying too many "wasteful" presents for my birthday, and I regret it. It will be hard to care about the environment until society makes changes to normalize sustainability. I hope it happens. The growth of green cities, circular economies, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy may not be too far off with the efforts of people around the world.

    However, as the hot sun shines through my window and my laptop tries desperately to cool itself down, it still feels more urgent than before for me to do something right now. Trying to be sustainable without disrupting anyone else has its limits, and it closes me off from learning from others. This blog is my journey in sustainability and fighting climate change. 

    These are my thoughts about the environment, and reflections on college and adult life in general. Welcome to my blog.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 eco-friendly products I've tried

Image
This blog has apparently made it to a second post. This one is about eco-friendly products I've tried in attempts to reduce waste and energy consumption. I look at a lot of YouTube videos and articles to find new products, so here's a list of my own!  1. Bar shampoo (5/10) The bar shampoo I tried felt like I was just using soap to wash my hair. I'm still convinced it wasn't just a bar of soap. My hair felt clean, but I had to wash it daily instead of 2-3 times a week like I usually do with normal shampoo.  2.  The Good Fill refillable shampoo and conditioner (7/10) The shampoo and conditioner I use now is from The Good Fill! I use the  unscented  shampoo and have tried the  sweet pea  and  peppermint  flavours of conditioner so far.  The way the Good Fill works is you first buy the shampoo in a glass or aluminum bottle. After you use that up, you can buy refill pouches for a lower price. You could actually also just buy refills to put into your own bottles. I honestly
Read more

How to Find a *Sustainable, High Quality, and Affordable* Laptop

Image
  Last summer I bought a new laptop, and it was not easy.  This was the device that I was going to spend most of my waking hours with. It was a critical decision. But at the same time, it was also the first time I had to decide by myself what laptop to buy and pretty soon in my research, I got overwhelmed. There are so many options for laptops. Although there are also plenty of videos and articles about “The Best Laptops to Buy in 2022”, promising a one stop answer to my grueling search, how could I know which sources to trust? (Who was getting paid to write articles? And who actually knew what they were talking about?). Furthermore, it was hard to find articles that shared my priorities. I wanted a sustainable, high quality, and affordable laptop . There were times when my dad offered to take the burden from me and just give me a laptop, and many times when this was tempting. I’m really thankful for my dad, who has always been taking on responsibilities for my family. However, I knew
Read more

Can Owning an Etsy Shop be Sustainable?

Image
Right now, shopping is typically not good for the environment. From the materials needed to produce the product, to shipping, to disposing of the product, there are so many ways that consumerism depletes natural resources and emits greenhouse gasses. And this is not to mention the possible ethical issues involved. As my friend and I have been working on our Etsy small business, this topic has been constantly on my mind. As an environmentalist and seller, I wonder if what I really am is a hypocrite. On one hand, I am producing nonessential items (stickers, drawings, clothing, and other art-related merchandise). Yet, on the other hand, art has been my interest for as long as I have known, and this art and its enjoyment have value, even if it's just for me. A world without arts and “unnecessary” but pleasurable things, is not one I would advocate, even in the name of sustainability.  So, I've been thinking. Is there a way we can run our Etsy shop sustainably? Systemic change   Liv
Read more