Planet Positive is about taking action now. Whilst it establishes a new standard for companies and individuals in environmental acievement it is, most importantly, a call to action; Action to take steps to reduce.
I think that most people recognise the need to do something and that only by acting together with a joint voice can we collectively make a difference. We recognise that the world in which we live, is totally interconnected and that our emissions here do ultimately have an impact somewhere else in the world.
The trouble is that we feel disconnected and so like the bomb blast in Afganistan, which initially inspires utter horror and disgust quickly becomes only another ‘feel bad’ news item leaving us feeling inept and frustrated at our inability to stop or help - We cannot smell it so we cannot feel it?
And yet, direct impact is all around us. Hurricanes, rising food prices in our shops, water droughts and flooding. These are all clear and present consequences of climate change and a direct result of our continued and increasing carbon pollution.
But the real question is ‘ Are we ready to take responsibility; Are we ready to do something in the short term to preserve our way of ilfe; Are we ready to change our habits and invest in our collective futures?’
I like to think the answer is a resounding YES and so today I am launching a campaign ‘Act Now!’ and I have identified two specific goals.
The first goal is to share any clear and present evidence that is out there that shows that climate change is affecting us NOW. For instance, a crop failure due to lack of water caused by drought, or increased pollution on our streets due to increased car use, or even a business that is suffering becasue it has not tackled the issue. I will call this objective ‘Clear and Present’
The second is to collect ideas from you about what we can do to make a difference. Whilst I am happy about gettting a list of the obvious such as turning lights off etc, I especially want ideas about how we can change the culture of consumption and emission. How do we encourage people and businesses to change their inhabits and make it cool to be cool, sexy to be low carbon and profitable to be sustainable. I will call this objective ‘Top tips’
We launch our new web site on the 17th December and I want to be able to feature, on an ongoing basis results from this campaign with case studies and support that you may have so please get writing! Thanks
Guy
12th December 2008
