Tides Coming In

Warning: this post contains elements of rant.

We had a nice chap from the Centre for Energy Research come and speak to us at work a few weeks ago. He was speaking about how NZ could transition to a low-carbon economy in a layperson way.  This would fulfill our obligations under the Paris Climate Change agreement - with a bonus of keeping Wellington summers no more than 2 degrees warmer than they are now.

Nice as he was, I came out feeling depressed.  The politicians of the day (globally, mind you, not just in NZ) remain resolutely focussed on minimising individual country cost.  They are happy to continue subsidising fossil fuel exploration and production despite that the release of that carbon will contribute to the pending climate avalanche. The government continues to believe that individuals will not make a change to mass transit, even should such a system be built. In doing so they leave the private motor vehicle the only real option in NZ. Our country's focus on bulk dairy production means that the majority of our emissions are methane, a molecule that is 22 times more warming than CO2.

Unless we, as people and companies and organisations and companies, can make decisions based on whats the right thing to do, not just the cheapest way to do it, we will continue to fuck over the planet we live on.

No one is perfect, and we all need to balance the needs of our present with the needs of our future. Ignoring our potential future, or expecting someone else to deal with the problem for you, is in my view foolhardy.

Public transport is designed for shifting volumes of people from home to work and back again efficiently. Even if it is cheaper to drive.
Bicycles are perfect for single person journeys of 10km or less.
Recycling bins are designed to reuse the resources that have already been dug up.
Plastic shopping bags, when you have a backpack, are a ridiculous use of a petroleum biproduct.
Dont get me started on takeaway coffee cups and sushi trays and drinking straws and polystyrene meat trays and plastic butter knives.  Trust me - there are better items and they are in your home and work kitchens.
If a product can be reused rather than thrown out you have doubled its utility for the the cost to the planet.
A great many modern items are not designed to last or to be repaired or be repurposed. Dont buy these things.
Local and central government are not obliged to use communal land to enable your carparking on the street.

All this makes simplifying my life much more complicated. It would be easy indeed if I could just put everything in a big rubbish bag and take it to the tip. However, whats best for the planet is to find it new owners who will use it as it is designed to be used.

My rate of de-acquisition has slowed significantly as I ponder how to rehome my things in the best way possible. This has also made me look at other future purchases with a different lens.

I hope the above has made you think a little about what a difference you can make, even if its in a small way.