Scared

I have just sat and watched the last episode of the most excellent Africa series from the BBC and the institution that is Sir David Attenborough, and I have tears streaming down my face, and feel compelled to ‘vent’ my feelings, so I’m afraid it is time for another rant…

What the hell are we doing?

Where is the planet headed, and can we do anything to stop what seems like the inevitable destruction of this place we call home?

Climate change is real. I think there can be no argument otherwise. Here in the UK we are seeing wetter Winters (and Summers too) with more flooding and more extreme weather, and this pattern is being repeated right way across the globe.

The global population is rising at a phenomenal rate, and already stands at a staggering 7 BILLION, and will continue to rise.

Where are all these people going to live? How are we going to feed ourselves? And what will happen when the resources needed to make energy, and ‘things’ run out?

I usually purposefully try and avoid watching programmes and reading articles about climate change, not because I am putting my head in the sand, but because it scares the crap out of me. It genuinely makes me feel really panicky.

It feels like the world is at a crucial tipping point, and if we don’t act NOW and act BIG then it will plummet headlong down a path of no return.

The human race will probably not cease to exist, but the world we live in will change beyond all recognition.

The wild animals of Africa, that the BBC so wonderfully highlighted in their latest series are already feeling the squeeze on their habitats, and are increasingly becoming ‘penned in’ by the encroaching human population.

Deforestation is causing changes in our weather patterns, as well as a loss of habitat for thousands of species.

The polar ice cap is melting and sea levels are rising.

The whole situation feels so completely futile. I feel so completely helpless to do anything about it. I am not the leader of one of the G8 countries, and I am not Sir David Attenborough. I am just me. And if world leaders are failing to respond to the likes of David Attenborough, what chance do I have of effecting any change?

Within a generation the world has already changed dramatically. What will happen in another generation’s time? And will our children turn around to us and say “What were you doing?” “How could you all have just sat back and let that happen?” “Why did you not do more to stop it while you still could?”

I genuinely don’t know what I can do. I feel so entirely powerless to do anything about it. And it scares me.

I am trying in my own small way to make changes to my family and the way we live to make it more sustainable. But is that enough? Would it ever be enough? Us repairing our washing basket seems entirely inconsequential when looking at the bigger picture.

Is it already too late? Can things still be pulled back from the brink?

I desperately hope so.