Blog action day 2009: What can one person do? #BAD09
Today is Blog Action Day 2009 & the topic is climate change.
Given the urgency of the issue of climate change and the upcoming international climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December, we think the blogosphere has the unique opportunity to mobilize millions of people around expressing support for finding a sustainable solution to the climate crisis."
As a somewhat sceptical individual I'm not bought into the idea of global warming nor of a coming ice age. But as a rational thinker it seems prudent to be a good steward of the place where we live & which sustains us.
While I do not want us all to return to hunter-gatherer times and eschew modern conveniences, it does seem like a good time to direct our substantial collective intelligence towards find better ways of doing things.
In Australia we are already seeing the effects of climate change. The recent devastating bushfires in Victoria appear to be a mere harbinger of what is to come. We can expect to inhabit a much dryer and more fire-prone environment in some parts of the country. While in other parts of the country we are seeing increasingly bad storms and cyclones.
To me this seems like a very big problem. But all very big problems seem daunting unless they are chunked up. This is a great case to apply the old maxim
Think global! Act local!
Here are some simple things some friends & I have done:
- tweet about Blog Action Day 2009 on Twitter - use the hashtag #BAD09
- leave the car at home whenever public transport is viable
- carpool with friends when going out
- plant a vegetable garden
- try to eat locally produced food & support initiatives like Live Local #livelocal
- lobby my local member of parliament to support action on climate change
- write a blog post about Blog Action Day 2009
- talk to people about Blog Action Day 2009
- start debates with the people at work about climate change
- start a neighbourhood project & blog about sustainable living like my friend Inderjeet & his Healthier Neighbourhoods - A Community Project to Reduce Carbon Footprint
- sign the petition asking President Obama to act on climate change
