Dear Diary,
Once, I was 5 years old and I did not know what the environment was.
Once, I was 10 years old and I did not know what sustainability could mean.
Once, I was 15 years old and I did not care to know.
Once, I was 19 years old and I was going abroad.
I have forever believed my passing through this world would be inconsequential, futile enough to not leave any remnants of my existence behind. I was wrong. In fact, WWF Footprint Calculator proved me wrong. I will leave 8.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year behind, which is approximately the UK average footprint for 2025, while the world average will leave 6.3 tonnes per year. I suppose I will not be forgotten by the planet.
There is a price to pay to make your dreams come true and mine costs 0.606 tonnes of CO₂ just to get there, according to myclimate. I can say I am officially scared of planes, and not for the right reasons. Apparently, “offsetting a flight” means compensating for the emissions of CO₂ the plane you fly in produces. I do not wish to be cynical, but won’t the plane take off nonetheless even if I refuse to travel in it?
The European Federation for Transport and Environment website tells me I will be generating 10 times less carbon dioxide just by taking the wholesome underwater train that takes me from London to Paris in just 2 hours and 16 minutes. No more planes for me then.
Too good to go saves me money saving food. And I am helping the environment? Great. Also, by refusing to buy plastic bags (saving money again) I am reducing the amount of plastic waste in our world. It’s an UN SDG: “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. I do not often feel guilty for not making an active effort to save the environment, why would I if no one else around me is? However, lately I have been feeling the stares of next generations looking down on me whenever I do not recycle, I tell myself it’s nothing, I cannot be making much more of a difference. But, perhaps I can just place it in the right colour. Same goes with Ecosia, my using Google will not make a difference but… what if I can help plant some trees just by changing my search engine?
I’m sorry planet but I could never go vegetarian. That is where I draw the line. Period. But… I suppose I could attempt to eat less meat, since animal-based foods are associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. A surprising one third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food. I’ll try my best.
Honestly, I do not want to care because I do not dare to hope. It will never be enough, but at least now I am 19 years old and I know.
Ling
Resources:
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/
https://co2.myclimate.org/en/flight_calculators/new
https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/rail-10-times-better-air-london-paris-co2-comparison
https://www.toogoodtogo.com
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12#progress_and_info
https://www.ecosia.org/
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/food
