SPEAKING UP ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS

She's so right. I know that I personally am guilty of not sharing the extent of the climate crisis because it's scary, and it's overwhelming and I worry that it will paralyse people and they won't take action because it's all too much. And I guess a lot of other sustainable living blogger have done the same.
And we've done a disservice - we've patronised and underestimated people's capacity to react appropriately. We've been frustrated that no-one is talking about the climate crisis and treating it as the emergency it is, when maybe we've been complicit in that. By not sharing our own fears and tears and heartache. By telling the story that it will all be ok if we all do our bit.

I don't know if it will be ok. On bad days I fear the worst. OK, on bad days I think we're fucked. But we have to have hope, otherwise we're left with nothing.
But we also have to be honest. This is an emergency. 

I sit there, in the sunshine, watching the boys at cricket practice, or on holiday on the beach. And it feels unimaginable that all this could change, and could change in our lifetimes. But it can. And it will. Unless WE start to treat this like an emergency.

There was an article last year at some point that talked about individual actions as a response to the climate emergency as a bit like wafting a tea towel at a house fire. I don't agree that it's as pointless as that, but I can see the analogy. It can feel pointless. When what we really need is the fire brigade in the form of the governments and big business to come haring in with their big hoses (don't snigger) and put the thing out. No faffing. 
But if a tea towel is all you have, you use what you've got to keep it at bay while you wait for the fire brigade. 
And do you know what else? You RING the fire brigade. You let them know that there's an emergency. That you're not able to contain it on your own and that you're shitting your pants your house is going to burn down. In case you're missing the metaphor, this is us letting our MPs, the CEOs, the people with the big hoses (again, don't snigger) that we're crapping ourselves and we need them to step in and step up.

I want to give you answers. I want to say it will all be ok if we just do x,y,z. And the truth is I don't know if it will all be ok. The evidence is stacking up that it will all be far from ok. 
But there is still time to act and to mitigate the worst effects of global temperature rises. 
So that means getting informed. Not looking away because it's too big, too scary, too much. Doing what we can even when/if it feels pointless. 
It means making sacrifices - flying less, eating less meat, buying less shit. Stepping out of our comfort zones to make a noise and to make our fears and our worries heard. Speaking up for, and voting for our kids futures because right now they can't (and shouldn't have to).
It means being the grown ups and doing the best for our kids and their future right now. And demanding that our business and political leaders do the same. Time is running out.