www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

I’ve just been reading the article Stolen e-mails embolden climate change skeptics regarding the Climategate affair where scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit had their emails hacked. Now I’m all for “leaks” of information that may be of public interest but that “thousands of e-mails and other documents made over the course of 13 years” are available is a considerable breach. I just hope it was perpetrated by Americans who hacked into the UEA CRU’s system so that we can horse-trade for Gary McKinnon, although I suspect this is a far cry. But I digress…

The article about the stolen emails pits Sarah Palin, the next Republican Presidential hopeful, versus President Barack Obama and the fact that he is going to Copenhagen to possibly get some sort of deal on the climate talks and that she doesn’t want him to go. This is yet another typical polarisation of opinion that we seem to see everywhere these days; you’re either with us or against us. Agree or disagree. Black or white. Hot or cold? Deal or no deal?

Let’s all, please, STOP FUCKING AROUND by being either red or blue, green or not green and just DO SOMETHING about the environment WHETHER WE BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE OR NOT.

Now this doesn’t apply so much to the hippies and the tree-huggers who are already well on their way to a sustainable lifestyle, but mainly to the middle and the far right of the spectrum;

This planet we live on is an ecosystem. You hear that? Eco SYSTEM – A system that has developed and evolved over millions of years and has found its own balance. We humans are upsetting that balance. We have chopped down millions of acres of rainforest. We are polluting our seas. Many species are in danger of extinction. We are pumping crap into the air, crap into our rivers and oceans and we’re eating crap, selling crap and consuming crap. Despite our technological breakthroughs and our many human achievements we are still a pretty fucking stupid bunch of primates aren’t we? When I was a kid I laughed at the phrase “Don’t shit on your own doorstep”, but we do, don’t we? All the time.

Now, do yourself, and the rest of us, a favour and start thinking about what’s actually going on and then do something about it. Even something as simple as having this ridiculous “touch effects technology” bullshit and having your clothes smell “nice” every time you brush against stuff is NOT good for the planet. By thinking the latest “fabric softener” is wonderful is a fallacy: it’s just chemicals and advertising. Go out into the countryside and take a deep breath… THAT is fresh. Chemicals with the scent of pine is NOT FRESH.

So, whether you believe in climate change or not…

• Ditch the gas guzzler
• Drive less
• Walk
• Cycle
• Take public transport, the train, the bus
• Share a car, car pool
• Stay at home, work from home
• Turn the thermostat down
• Insulate your loft
• Get a new efficient gas boiler
• Wear a hat or a jumper rather than crank the heat up
• Buy organic
• Ask for less packaging
• Buy local
• Visit the farmers’ market
• Eat less meat
• Consume less
• Turn off the TV
• Don’t believe the hype
• Reconsider that widescreen TV purchase – do you really actually need it?
• Wake up, open your mind
• Talk
• Discuss
• Listen
• Learn
• Get involved
• Care about your local environment
• Don’t buy nasty chemicals, use environmentally-friendly stuff
• Remind yourself what nature’s really like
• Respect wildlife, take an interest
• Use sustainable materials
• Invest ethically, use an ethical bank
• etc
• ad verbatim
• …

I could go on, there is SO MUCH we can all do and we CAN ALL DO these things. Demand ethics, sustainability and environmentally-friendly goods, services and practices and then they will become the DE FACTO services – all the old unsustainable ways will go the way of the dinosaurs when there is no demand for them and organic will naturally be cheaper than non-organic.

I’ll say it one last time: Whether you believe in climate change or not, whether you think it’s man-made or not, just use your brain and stop being a trash human, stop being so selfish, drop the ego and start being more considerate and work out where you fit in the grand scheme of things.

As the Native American saying goes:

“We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”

The Wave in London, on Saturday, seemed to be a great success. It started with a train ride up to Waterloo and a tube trip to Bond Street where I stepped out into the busy London streets filled with Christmas shoppers.

Grosvenor Square was the starting point of the march where crowds gathered to see guest speakers on the stage from a number of organisations with the crazy beatbox style of Beardyman to gee the crowds up.

Organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition over 50,000 people gathered to make their voices heard and everybody wore blue to create a wave as they marched to and surrounded Parliament. Ed Milliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Peter Mandelson were  in attendance for a short while and Gordon Brown even invited 24 people in at the end of the march for a discussion.

For me it was good to be part of a great bunch of people all aiming for the same thing – to get some action on climate change rather than the meagre proposals that timid governments are currently putting forward. It’s big business and shareholders that are the problem here , thinking that their profit is more important than using some of their gains to reduce emissions, cut carbon, stop pollution and quit destroying the environment. The obvious question for big business here is where will their profit come from once they’ve depleted the planet?

But I digress. The Wave was great, everyone was friendly and the police did a good job, even the scowling chief officers keeping a watchful eye on the photographers. The Hare Krishnas, complete with mobile drumkit, bass and electric mandolin (all amped up) put a smile on many people’s faces, as did the guy dressed as a polar bear protesting at the tar sands extraction outside the Canadian Embassy on the rout of the march.

Here are all the photos from The Wave on flickr and here are my photos.