Don’t be despondent – do something
Martin O'Dea
Principal landscape architect at CLOUSTON Associates, a division of Beveridge Williams
Australia has recently been placed last in the world for our lack of action and climate change policy. It’s easy to feel disheartened, but no one is too small to make a difference.
While we wait for policy direction, there are four very simple things we can do at an individual level:
1. Move your superannuation into an ethical fund
2. Purchase green energy
3. Offset any flights or fly less
4. Engage and talk to your local member for Parliament
How do these help?
Superannuation: Australian super funds manage trillions of dollars of assets. Ethical funds direct investment into solutions that support the planet, and exclude investments that can cause harm.
Green energy: A small monthly premium (mine is $5) leverages your entire electricity bill payments into renewable energy investment.
Flying: While flying is actually very fuel efficient, the problem is the great distances you travel. Flying to Europe from Australia uses the same amount of gas as driving your car for a whole year. Search for a flight with a fuel efficient aircraft eg a 787 Dreamliner or Airbus A350. Always select to offset your flight – it’s less than the price of a cup of coffee for a Sydney to Melbourne flight.
Advocacy: And finally, engage with your local, state and federal members and let them know what is important to you. For me, it’s campaigning our local council to increase urban tree cover and plan for electric vehicle charging points in our inner city streets.
You could achieve all of this with a few hours this week.
Thanks to Digby Hall of Northrop for his ideas on superannuation and green energy for this post.
#climatepositive
Senior Landscape Architect at Earth Essence Productions, Eco-Sensitive / intuitive Designer, Author.
4 年Thanks Martin, that's a timely reminder about the energy bill because I've just moved house, so will have a look at it. It's a simple and effective way of voting with the choices we make.
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Temple University, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
4 年Thank you for focusing on this issue, Mr. O'Dea. However, offsetting flights doesn't change one's behavior, which is sorely needed, and there is little assurance that offsets work. Please see a summary of some refereed literature regarding offsets that I compiled here:?https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQZ4liHOlAj6WMuqHXhvI-CNyvTn8XId/view?ths=true For more ideas on what one individual could do, as well as the impacts of individuals' actions, please see Wynes et al. (2017)?https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541 In short: don't fly; become a vegetarian; have one fewer kid; and ditch the car.?
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4 年Great suggestions... wringing our hands doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere!?
Director at CLOUSTON Associates
4 年Nice work Martin.? We do all have a role to play and we cannot wait for our Federal Government who will invariably be left behind. As a member of the international community and one which has enjoyed the riches of fossil fuels, it is way past the time for us doing MORE than our fair share. In the end it will be the best investment our country could make.?