Climate Crisis: The Little Things

December 6, 2022

This planet we live on is so very unique. And the earth's atmosphere that allows us to roam freely on this planet is simply imaginatively and scientifically miraculous. When we step back from our busy industrious lives, and think about this planet, it is so beautiful and spectacular. With the advancement in technology, we can pull up a beautiful picture of almost anywhere in seconds. If you want to look at the beaches of Bora Bora, the Hawaiian Islands, St Barts, or whatever your heart desires, it is at our fingertips. Maybe you want to see the highest mountains in the world. Or look at all the beautiful animals roaming the planet; it is right there at our fingertips. This planet is simply a gift. But humankind's industrious thirst has put a strain on the planet and the earth's atmosphere. And we just can not go on at this pace. So this brings to the climate crisis. Just saying it makes it all kind of sound daunting. And maybe it kind of makes it hard for some to think about where the starting point is. So where do we start? Well, how about the little things. Do they matter? Well, of course they matter! Turning off lights, and cutting down on our use of electricity, using less water, and driving a bit less. Collectively it all helps. The neat thing about the little things is, we can also save some money as well.  

Now that we have possibly embraced the little things, could we use our imagination a bit and take the simplicity of the little things and make something happen on a larger scale? What if we did something on a global level? Where, we asked people to peacefully, and on a volunteer basis, to not drive their cars on Sundays. Remember this would be on a volunteer basis. And if someone needed to go to work on Sunday to feed their family it would be business as usual. And maybe people that could not do Sundays, could do an optional Monday. This could have a huge impact! And again, it is so important to point out that this would be done on a very peaceful and volunteer basis. 

Cars, cars, cars! We all know that cars, trucks, and buses are releasing a mind boggling amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere every year. So, to use our imagination and possibly ask people on a volunteer basis to stop driving on Sundays globally, could have a massive impact. And in reality it is really quite doable.

The sad part about transportation in general when it comes to the climate crisis, on the surface, it feels like there is not a lot of organization and planning going on. You see many cars on the road with just one driver on their way to work or wherever. But again, this is just on the surface. And we know there are many great people and companies that are trying to tackle transportation problems. But the true reality is that on a business level when it comes to the climate crisis and transportation post pandemic, the basic plan is get in your car and get to work. And the real proof of this lies in what we have seen with a lot of corporations. The fact that they are just demanding people to get back in the office without any regard for the climate crisis.

This also brings something to the surface on a business level. It is every business and corporation out for themselves. This is not a good recipe for fighting the climate crisis. In fact, it is the exact opposite that needs to happen. There needs to be business camaraderie, unity, planning, and organization to create innovative plans for humankind to efficiently get more done, live better lives, and reduce the overall carbon footprint. To truly make this happen we would need to drastically change the business environment. It can not happen if the status quo is that every business and corporation is out for themself. 

So, if we go back to the little things, if we could use our imagination in a simple way like asking people on a peaceful and volunteer basis to stop driving on Sundays, what do you think would happen if we got real serious and started doing some real business planning?  And applied some serious logistical thinking to cut down on the overall carbon footprint? 

We believe the little things matter. And we also believe collectively that every little bit helps. Turning off lights, and cutting down on our use of electricity, using less water, and driving a bit less. We also believe that the possibilities to come up with amazing ideas could possibly range from simple to as far as our imaginations can conceptualize.

So, as we begin to end, on an extremely empathic level. The last thing we should be doing is procrastinating. With a mindset that the challenges that we are facing in relation to the climate crisis are just too daunting. The narrative in relation to the climate crisis needs to be one filled with hope, excitement, innovation, and opportunity. Right now our generation and humanity have the opportunity to show future generations that their existence on this planet was top of mind for us. And that we were forward thinking and planning for their future on this planet. This is our generation's opportunity to right a wrong. And be on the right side of history when it comes to this beautiful planet and the earth's atmosphere. This blog post was created from the Techgrindr podcast posted December 4, 2022