#uninhabitableearth

Happy Earth Day!

Travelling around the world for the past few months has really made us appreciate how insanely incredible it really is.

Today is a day to celebrate the awesomeness of our one and only home - Planet Earth.

More importantly, though, it’s a day to recognise and acknowledge just how much we’ve truly fucked it up.

And most of that fucking-up has been done in our lifetimes.

Since the United Nations established its climate change framework in 1992, we’ve done more damage to the environment than we did in all the millennia that preceded it.

Or, as David Wallace-Wells puts it in his terrifying book The Uninhabitable Earth - “We have now done more damage to the environment knowingly than we ever managed in ignorance.”

It’s no longer a case of a few coastal towns being flooded at some far off point in the future. It’s going to start happening faster, on a bigger scale, and more severely than we’ve ever really considered. You can read a summary of the devastating impacts here.

This is not alarmist. It’s bloody terrifying and we should be scared. Climate change is the single most important story of our time and the greatest challenge any generation is ever likely to face. But rather than run around panicking or sticking our heads further into the sand we need to do something, anything.

So today on Earth Day why don’t we all try and have at least one conversation about our future, our children’s future, and the future of our planet.

Even better, let’s all try and do something to make a difference. To make things easier, here are some really simple, quick things that will not only help save the world but could also save you a load of money too.

What can we do right now to un-fuck the earth?

TAKE A STAND - To have an impact at the scale we need in order to avert, or even just minimise the disasters mentioned above, we need change at not just personal but local, national and global levels. Show your support for environmental movements and make your voice heard by supporting and voting for groups that are going to give our planet the best chance.

ACT NOW

Vote in the UK local elections on May 2nd. Check how all the UK parties rank on climate change here. Find your local council here. Find your local polling station here. Learn more about the local elections here.

Vote in the EU elections by May 26th. Find out how all the EU political groups & national parties rank on climate change here. Figure out if and how you can vote here.

Join a group like Extinction Rebellion - an international movement that’s raising the alarm and making serious demands of governments.

Sign a petition - like the one being led by Friends of the Earth which is addressed to the UK Government. You can sign it here.

SWITCH TO RENEWABLE ENERGY - This is actually one of the easiest and quickest things you can do to significantly reduce your carbon footprint almost immediately. Not only does it take minutes it could save you a load of money too.

ACT NOW - Come on, you knew it was coming. You’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again. Switch to Bulb today (if you live in the UK). It will genuinely take just a few minutes and you could save up to £356 on your energy bill. You’ll also get £50 credit if you do it by clicking my mate Georgie’s referral link here: https://bulb.co.uk/refer/gdale

FLY LESS - Very few of us are going to stop flying altogether. We’ve obviously taken a few flights during this trip but we’ve tried to plan it so that we only do so when we really have to. Just cutting down by one flight can have a massive impact. 1 return flight from London to Malaga contributes the same amount of CO2 as eating beef 1-2 times a week for an entire year.

ACT NOW - Find a way to take just one less flight. When you really do have to fly, fly direct since planes burn the most fuel during takeoff. You can also try and compensate for it by investing in green projects such as those featured on the United Nations Carbon offset platform, something we’re doing for all our flights during this trip.

EAT LESS MEAT & DAIRY - In western countries, we need to reduce our beef consumption by an insane 90%. Again, very few of us are going to turn into vegans overnight but what about just eating a bit less meat? We’ve found it surprisingly easy to cut down on our red meat during our travels and that alone can have a huge impact. We were even lucky enough to try an Impossible Burger in Singapore. Tasted just as good, if not better, than most burgers we’ve ever had and it’s made entirely of plants!

ACT NOW - Do Meat-free Mondays. If you and your family skipped meat and cheese just one day a week that would be the equivalent of not driving for five weeks. Also, eating seasonal, locally produced food has a huge impact. So maybe cut down on those avocados too - you might just save some money as well.

TALK ABOUT IT - One of the most important things you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it. People might not yet realise it but it’s going to affect every single one of us. So finding ways to talk about it through shared values is key. If we’re going to save the planet we need as many people as possible to get involved.

ACT NOW - Share this post, something else you’ve read today or even write something yourself. Do something, no matter how small and then tell people you did it - share your act of green. Take a naked selfie of yourself in the garden and hashtag the shit out of it for all I care. Just do something to help get people talking about climate change.

If you want to find even more easy ways you can help to save the planet, check out the UN’s new ActNow chatbot here, or take the WWF’s 30 Day Challenge here. Like this post, they’re designed to give you the power and knowledge to take personal action against climate change.

And finally, I’ll leave you with some words from the great man himself, Dave.

“Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”