# I feel like I was born for devastation and reform, destroy everything I love and the worst part is, I pour my heart out reconstruct but in the end it’s nothing but a shell of what I had when I first started.#
Next week, leaders from across the globe will travel to Denmark for the much awaited UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Over the course of two weeks, our elected representatives will discuss and debate ways to tackle the ever present threat of man-made Climate Change and, hopefully, broker a deal which will make significant in-roads into cutting the world’s carbon emissions.
Ok, so Relient K didn’t write this song about the environment, the message behind the words warns us not to burn the bridges between those we love because, once broken, they can never fully be rebuilt. But after listening live to MP Ed Miliband’s live conference call organised by 38 degrees this morning, it dawned on me that these lyrics are just as pertinent with regards our treatment of the world around us.
Back in August, I was given a copy of the Green Bible for my birthday, which includes an enlightening foreword by Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In it he discredits all those who would claim to be Christian but fail to realise the consequences our wasteful society is having on the environment which surrounds us. ‘We must act now and wake up to our moral obligations,’ he writes.
We, who should have been responsible stewards preserving our vulnerable, fragile planet home, have been wantonly wasteful through our reckless consumerism, devouring irreplaceable natural resources
‘Irreplaceable natural resources.’ Just as Relient K point out, we are destroying everything we love and as much as we would like to turn back the clock, the damage has been done. All we can do now is to find ways to halt the destruction so that there is still hope for the generations to come.
And so we come to the crux of the argument. Offsetting.
I’m sure we’ve all seen the Simpsons episode where Bart finds the Bolivian tree Lizards, which then get loose and begin to eat all the birds in Springfield. In their short-sighted fashion, the town council then decide to release Chinese Needle Snakes to deal with the lizards and then snake-eating gorillas to deal with the snakes, and so they go on. Yes, this may be a ridiculous and far-fetched anecdote, but it serves to demonstrate the danger of only thinking in the short-term.
Carbon offsetting is in no way a solution to the environmental problems we are facing. And any ‘solution’ which enables us to continue to devour our natural resources and continue to emit immense amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, is too dangerous to even consider.
Tolkien wrote that it is not for us to decide what happens to us in our lifetimes, instead we must ” decide what to do with the time that is given to us”. It is no secret that Tolkien disliked the industrialisation of the English countryside and I would like to believe that he would fully support the move to ensuring real carbon cuts and a greener, more sustainable future. In this mindset, I use these words to urge our leaders and elected representatives to be fully aware that moments like this are unique. The next two weeks offer a real chance to commit to a lasting change and a safer environental future. Of course cuts without offsetting will not be easy, but the old adage rings true and so, ‘if it is worth doing, then it is worth doing properly.’
And so, I am using my voice to petition Prime Minister, Gordon Brown to hold true to his pledge for an ambitious deal in Copenhagen and not to bow to the naysayers and agree to Carbon offsetting or trading.
Please take action to get an agreement which ensures real carbon cuts in rich countries of 40% by 2020 without offsetting.
Prime Minister, the public are angry about the failure to seriously address the issue of climate change and carbon emissions, and now is the time to raise our collective head from the sand and face our demons head on. Tomorrow’s world is Today’s problem.
Tomorrow’s World, Today’s Problem 5th December 2009
Tags: 38 degrees, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Climate Change, copenhagen, Ed Miliband, Environment, Gordon Brown, green, New Internationalist, Offsetting, Relient K, solutions, sustainability, UN Climate Summit
Devastation and Reform – Relient K
Next week, leaders from across the globe will travel to Denmark for the much awaited UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Over the course of two weeks, our elected representatives will discuss and debate ways to tackle the ever present threat of man-made Climate Change and, hopefully, broker a deal which will make significant in-roads into cutting the world’s carbon emissions.
Ok, so Relient K didn’t write this song about the environment, the message behind the words warns us not to burn the bridges between those we love because, once broken, they can never fully be rebuilt. But after listening live to MP Ed Miliband’s live conference call organised by 38 degrees this morning, it dawned on me that these lyrics are just as pertinent with regards our treatment of the world around us.
Back in August, I was given a copy of the Green Bible for my birthday, which includes an enlightening foreword by Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In it he discredits all those who would claim to be Christian but fail to realise the consequences our wasteful society is having on the environment which surrounds us. ‘We must act now and wake up to our moral obligations,’ he writes.
‘Irreplaceable natural resources.’ Just as Relient K point out, we are destroying everything we love and as much as we would like to turn back the clock, the damage has been done. All we can do now is to find ways to halt the destruction so that there is still hope for the generations to come.
And so we come to the crux of the argument. Offsetting.
I’m sure we’ve all seen the Simpsons episode where Bart finds the Bolivian tree Lizards, which then get loose and begin to eat all the birds in Springfield. In their short-sighted fashion, the town council then decide to release Chinese Needle Snakes to deal with the lizards and then snake-eating gorillas to deal with the snakes, and so they go on. Yes, this may be a ridiculous and far-fetched anecdote, but it serves to demonstrate the danger of only thinking in the short-term.
Carbon offsetting is in no way a solution to the environmental problems we are facing. And any ‘solution’ which enables us to continue to devour our natural resources and continue to emit immense amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, is too dangerous to even consider.
Tolkien wrote that it is not for us to decide what happens to us in our lifetimes, instead we must ” decide what to do with the time that is given to us”. It is no secret that Tolkien disliked the industrialisation of the English countryside and I would like to believe that he would fully support the move to ensuring real carbon cuts and a greener, more sustainable future. In this mindset, I use these words to urge our leaders and elected representatives to be fully aware that moments like this are unique. The next two weeks offer a real chance to commit to a lasting change and a safer environental future. Of course cuts without offsetting will not be easy, but the old adage rings true and so, ‘if it is worth doing, then it is worth doing properly.’
And so, I am using my voice to petition Prime Minister, Gordon Brown to hold true to his pledge for an ambitious deal in Copenhagen and not to bow to the naysayers and agree to Carbon offsetting or trading.
From the Petition to Gordon Brown by 38 Degrees
Prime Minister, the public are angry about the failure to seriously address the issue of climate change and carbon emissions, and now is the time to raise our collective head from the sand and face our demons head on. Tomorrow’s world is Today’s problem.
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