Post Earth Day Thoughts

Earth Day is a celebration of positive environmental action. Many organisations and companies use it as a day to launch new environmental programmes, and get a boost in media coverage (sometimes deserved, others not so much). It’s a day where the majority of Western society and media pay extra attention to the Earth we live on, and decide that maybe we should appreciate it a bit more.

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Once I started to learn more about the environment, the climate crisis, and biodiversity threats, more and more of my time was spent with that extra attention on the Earth. This has been incredibly beneficial - I have a passion that I want to develop into a career, I began volunteering with Teach the Future, I talked more about it with my family, educating them on how to be more responsible, and (of course) I’ve developed a huge appreciation for how the Earth can bring us such joy and fulfil our needs as individuals and a population.

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However, as with many things, paying more attention to Earth’s treatment it a double-edged sword. I’ve spent months consumed by climate-stories, searching desperately for a sign of hope; a sign that dams will be altered and the Tonlé Sap lake will recover to it’s previous size; a sign that the UK government will turn away from fossil fuels; a sign that no-fishing zones will increase dramatically across the world - or to be honest, even just increase a bit. Sometimes, climate action consumes my life, and not in a positive way. I yearn to do everything I can and more to change the way leaders look at the climate crisis. I’ve cried a lot, and spent nights shouting at the news because “WHY IS THE BBC NEWS COVERING A TWO TWEET CONVERSATION BETWEEN TAYLOR SWIFT AND DAMON ALBARN INSTEAD OF ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SELF-INFLICTED DEMISE OF OUR PLANET AND THE MAJORITY OF SPECIES LIVING HERE?”. It’s been hard.

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So this year, I took Earth Day as a day to look back on what has actually changed over the last decade. Not many policies have changes, governments haven’t done a tonne, but things have changed.

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Media around climate change is increasing. Programmes like ‘Our Changing Planet’, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, ‘Seaspiracy’, ‘Breaking Boundaries’ and ‘Our Planet’ have peaked into mainstream media and some have even starred there. This definitely wasn’t the case a decade or two ago when nature documentaries and such were seen as nerdy, slow, for old people and toddlers. Streaming services like Disney Plus and Netflix commission climate and nature shows, as well as all day channels like ITV and Channel 4.

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Despite ongoing subsidising of fossil fuels, solar and wind power are actually cheaper than any fossil fuel today. This is a huge win. It now means that renewable energy is a better business model than fossil fuels. And on the issue of energy storage, the price of lithium batteries has decreased 97% in the last 30 years, with 60& of that being in the last decade. Technology has been grafting quietly in the background, and the result could mean renewables become the norm without specific government intervention very soon! Additionally, before 2010, coal consumption was expected to increase AND accelerate in all countries globally. However, it’s actually decreased in many developing countries and the rate of increase has slowed or plateaued in developing countries. The reality of lower income countries developing without the use of fossil fuels really is coming.

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Climate change is on the minds of almost everyone when it comes to politics. It was the third biggest concern for French voters ahead of this week’s election. 68% of ALL US voters said climate change was an important factor in how they voted in 2020. 90% of Brazilians say they want the government to take action on climate change. That last statistic is huge. What’s even more impressive is that 77% of those same Brazilians would priorities climate action over economic growth. Brazil has a huge stake in the environment - with the management of the Amazon, leading alongside other South American countries, and the rights of Indigenous peoples to govern and care for their own land - a change in Brazil’s actions towards climate change would be integral to how climate change progresses. 

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All of this has happened with very little support from governments both legislatively and financially. An increase in public demand for climate action also hasn’t gone unnoticed. Public demand leads to public supply whether from the ruling party, or the one chosen to succeed them - governments have to supply real climate action. So imagine what we’ll achieve when we do have that governmental backing.

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Earth Day is a celebration of positive environmental action. I finished my day be celebrating it in the simplest way possible. By appreciating the nature around me. The trees outside my house, the little plant on my drawers, the wind that was just slightly too cold to say I liked it. Nature can be harsh and cold, or tiring and humid but it’s what raised our species and everything around us.