Climate Strike

words by Peter Hanscomb

Climate Strike , a call from and for the worlds youth to rally to action and defend our one Earth from mans greed and destruction . One subject that causes me real discomfort and troubles , no sorry I meant to say worries  me on several levels.

Of course the central message is right . If we don’t collectively act soon , the damage we have done in the name of progress might turn out to be irreversible. And yes as someone in my early fifties ( even though my mind still thinks I’m in my twenties) maybe my generation has had it’s chance to make the changes. On paper the demands made by today’s young people are perfectly reasonable.

100% clean energy. Keep fossil fuels in the ground and help for people effected by climate change. All very noble sentiments and valid points. I don’t suppose anyone with a vested interest in our world , environment or wildlife would disagree ?

But in my opinion, uneducated as I am in world environmental affairs, their remains  one major hurdle to change . Quite simply demand. We all want a better life for our next generations. Better education , no hunger and with mass communication we want the nice things in life . Exotic food , new phones , personal transport ( cars ) and travel . Their are also more of us , perhaps to many humans for the good of the planet, demanding more housing space , more land dedicated to food production and even higher consumption of raw materials.

Real issues that need strong , imaginative answers. Yes we can move to clean energy but at what cost. Recent studies in Germany reveal that if you take all the Co2 produced over the lifetime of an electric car , add in the addition damage caused during manufacture, a new diesel car actually produces less Co2 .

Any way after rambling a little here is my point. It’s a generalisation but in the main the youth of today are just as bad as the adults. ( as I say a generalisation )

How many young people get transported to a school in a car ? Spend more than two hours a day watching tv. Have a personal mobile phone that uses electric to recharge   ?

I haven’t changed my mobile in five years , and yes I’m a technological dinosaur. But I know some young adults that change phones every year. ( the production of which causes immense damage to the environment worldwide ) By all means have your Climate Strike march, make your voices heard and keep fighting for the Planet Earths future . Just also think about your own impact .

We all need to work together , young and old if we are going to make an impact and change how we view this wonder home planet , protect the wildlife and build a future we can all enjoy.