Talking about the environment is deceptive and reductive. We shall now talk of survival, the survival of our species. The President of my Club, Ambaree Majummder has a “green” agenda thus we will have many opportunities to talk about what we could do to postpone the dramatic consequences that years of greed and irresponsible behavior have caused to the planet but ultimately the branch on which we are seated on have been irreversibly compromised and we will fall! July 2023 has been the worst month ever recorded in terms of climate upheaval.
Would we die from the fall? This will depend on how prepared we are, which measure of protection we have put in place and on our attitude. Let frame these statements from a Rotarian perspective.
Depletion of resources is associated with the amount and the type of consumption. Here there are very important considerations to make. Vegetarianism or veganism versus consumption of animal proteins; public transport versus public/collective transport? Are we using heating and cooling equipment responsibly and aligned to other measures we could take to regulate our level of comfort (like dressing up or dressing down with the conditions of the day?). I am sure you have experienced shopping malls, offices, or hotels where the temperature is far too cold and a couple of degrees warmer will save thousands of tons of fossil fuel. In winter, in the Western hemisphere is not unusual to enter residences where people are under covered, and wearing a sweater would require less heating thus saving fossil fuel again. I mean, to a certain extent we can by making responsible individual choices reduce the “fall” and be better prepared for when it will occur. As Rotarians, we ought to walk the talk, don’t we?
We are also citizens who, in theory, could influence the policies of the countries we are nationals of.
The matter is complicated by the fact that political decisions are in most cases made keeping the interest of sponsors and large military and industrial complexes in mind rather than the interest of people and of the planet. The media is subservient to those same interests too and the concentration of the media made the situation worse. Thus, we see governments that refuse to sign or to abide to agreements on environmental protection or nuclear disarmament. The more powerful they are the more they act like bullies as they own the planet. It is a criminal behavior that we cannot stop…. apparently. Is true that we are entirely impotent to stop this savagery? Here again, Rotary as an international movement of people working for the good of humanity has a response. Promoting peace, promoting understanding, and facilitating the exchange of experiences and people can really make a big dent in those “interests”.
The message is incredibly simple. Love and respect all people, all species as we are interdependent, be compassionate and be a good traveling companion rather than a judge in our quest to save the planet and ultimately, us.