Yesterday I went along to an Extinction Rebellion meeting in Ringmer village hall. There were about 80 people I guess, most over 65 and willing to change.
It was very well run, informative with a mix of scary facts (which we all know) and definite action.
Their message is very inclusive, non violent and disruptive.
At a personal level I feel very strongly about the environment, I know there is something not right.
I have lived in Glynde for 7 years now, a small village in the South Downs. We moved from Hove where we had been for the previous 15 years.
I got to the stage where I couldn’t look out of my back window at more buildings without feeling trapped and blocked in.
I now look out onto space and green fields. I see a whole variety of birds, not just seagulls (15 types in just 10 minutes this morning), I see slow worms, glow worms, butterflies, badgers, hummingbird moths, woodpeckers, hedgehogs, and all just 10 miles from Brighton and Hove.
In Hove I saw grey, concrete, the odd bit of green space. I saw the security guard at our local Sainsburys stubbing his cigarette out on a lone, small, struggling tree.
I saw huge seagulls, everywhere. I saw trees tarmaced in, lucky if they had a square metre of soil.
I speak to people in Glynde who remember fields of hares (I have never seen one here, I saw one in Yorkshire once). They remember glow worms (plural) on the daffodil bank, I just see one at a time.
At yesterday’s meeting one of the scientists who was speaking said he has 2 young children. He doesn’t even know if his grandchildren will see a butterfly. A butterfly. Not a tiger. Not a polar bear. A butterfly. There may not be butterflies around in some of our lifetimes.
We all choose who to believe. There will always be someone who can ‘prove’ whatever we want to believe.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was founded in 1988 to provide the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change, it’s natural, political and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options.
I am not a scientist so this is my take on why this is relevant, and this is my language.
The IPCC findings stated we could afford a 1.5% rise in climate warming, this is linked with our use of carbon-based fuels. Below is the best graph I could find.
My words now, in short, we will hear governments saying things like we will become carbon neutral by 2050, or maybe 2035. But the figures I believe say we need to do this by 2025. How on earth we will do this I don’t know. But surely a first step is actually group acceptance / realisation that this is happening NOW. We need to make responsible changes NOW.
Apparently the current government response to this is to increase our ‘acceptable’ rise in climate warming to 2%….
There is way too much information out there for me to go into loads of detail here about this. And you would probably get bored and switch off.
The ripple effects from this rise is massive (my words, obviously!). It affects everything.
I still keep remembering the guy from last night who said his grandchildren may not ever see a butterfly. That was one of my triggers.
Along with seeing the rings of cigarette burns on the tree outside Sainsburys.
And thinking of Hove as grey, and Glynde as green.
Seagulls versus woodpeckers.
There is loads more I can say but I think that will do for now.
I just want us to realise there is a huge problem out there we all need to accept. And I don’t think we do.
I have trouble comprehending it but I know it is wrong and I have to do more about it.
Links you may be interested in…
Jacky Misson 