Climate change activism is no longer enough – it’s time for us to become ‘doists’ | The Independenthttps://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/heatwave-climate-change-action-b2143790.htmlClimate breakdown and the devastation of the Earth is the most compelling issue of our time. It is the issue that envelops all others. How we respond to it is going to be the only thing that our kids care about when they think of us when they are older. So, what I sometimes struggle to understand is, why aren’t nearly all our efforts, our time and our money going into battling this deep and deepening crisis?
Enough of lists. I think you know what to do. It’s too late to wait for governments to act adequately: they don’t intend to. We need to start acting, in the communities where we live, in the places where we work, to make ourselves resilient. To adapt, transformatively, to our deteriorating climate.
What kind of thing do I have in mind? Well, what’s being done by the emerging, inspiring network of Climate Emergency Centres, for starters. One-stop shops for anyone and everyone who wants to start making needful changes, from the ground up. The idea is that these centres provide a space for uniting communities in finding solutions to environmental problems at a local level. Why not get involved?
Then there’s what’s happening in an increasing number of professions: from Lawyers for Net Zero, a group of in-house lawyers committed to ensuring businesses work for the environment, not against it, to those creatively disrupting the advertising industry from within. From Fiduciaries for the Future, who are making money green, to the emerging network of academics bolstering climate change research and teaching via Faculty for a Future.
And then there are the parents like @heymothership who are trying to give their kids a future by promoting practical tips on things you can do for the planet every day. This is the change we need – from everyone. The time has come when we need to become not just activists, but doists.