Custodians of our planet
By: Melina Farahmand
Founder & Owner of Past Present Future Co.
Author — From Dust to Breath: Finding Our Place in the Circle of Life
Available on Amazon.
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
— Native American Proverb.
When we are once again able to open up the doors and return to a new life, let us remember that we still face a grave existential threat: the climate crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as the leading reminder that everything can change within an instance. However, the climate crisis has been happening right before our very eyes for quite some time, and as a species, we have failed to address it and work towards fixing it adequately. Things may seem okay now, but we will continue to see the increase in the destruction of our environment and our home within a short time. The Earth is not ours for the taking; we are merely her caretakers. Like all things in this world, humanity will have a sunrise and sunset. We, too, will have dusk, and we must do what we can to ensure that the land we are borrowing is returned better than we inherited her. We owe it to the planet that has sustained and supported our kind and many others for billions of years. Make no mistake; the Earth does need us for survival; we need the Earth. So while for the time being, our focus and attention are aimed at putting an end to this pandemic, let us not forget we still have many battles left to face. I urge Congress and the incoming administration to work as one to put our environment as one of the coming year's priorities. For the everyday citizen, here are some small changes we should all strive to make to lower our carbon footprint.
First and foremost, reducing our meat consumption will help significantly. While I'm aware that it is not convenient for everyone to become fully vegan, reducing your consumption to a few meals a week could help. On the topic of food, reduce your waste! Plan your meals ahead of time if you can, and compost too. Next, support brands that put sustainability at the forefront and look closely at how they are doing that. It's not enough to say 'our company cares for the environment' and then actively continue practices that harm it; real efforts need to be taken. For those of you in advantageous circumstances, initiating meaningful changes to your lifestyle can also be beneficial. Two examples of this are moving to renewable energy, solar panels being one option, and another idea is driving a hybrid or an electric vehicle. These two are options that not everyone has access to, but I suggest making those changes if you can. Not everyone is fortunate enough to make lifestyle changes like this, but make the change if you are. There is so much more we can do, but I encourage you to look into sustainability more to learn all that you can on small changes that will have a positive impact. The most impactful thing we should all be doing is voting for leaders who will enact effective legislation. These small changes that we make will lower our individual carbon footprint. Still, we have a lot of work to address significant producers to the climate crisis (i.e., the fossil fuel industry). Hold corporations and all accountable.
In a previous piece, I asked you all the be the guardians of our democracy. I now ask you to take it a step further and act as custodians and caregivers for our planet. We are the last generation who can do something to end the climate crisis. As I've said numerous times: history has its eyes on all of us; make sure you're standing on the right side of it. So when the doors and windows open again, let us not forget we have much work left to do.
