Youth Strike for Climate

I (Annie) have a confession to make. We live a comfortable life. We work hard, we play hard - but we’re ultimately contentedly comfy.

When I was in my twenties (and possibly thirties), I knew climate change was happening. I knew I didn’t want it to, and I knew I wanted to preserve the habitats and species of the animals I loved so much. But it all seemed such a big problem - someone needed to let me know what I needed to do to help. In the meantime I’d use my bag for life, and that’d do. I stayed comfortable.

Now, what should have been obvious to me then has dawned a bit brighter. Don’t try to either have a perfect, all encompassing solution or nothing. Do a number of things imperfectly, but do them all the same.

Is it easy? No. We’re swapping our petrol car this year for a hybrid. We wanted to go for a full electric but felt they were still too expensive for us (a matter of opinion - but cynically spending more might have stopped us being comfortable in other ways). Their range is still not quite enough for the lifestyle we’re used to, and it feels like it’d be hard to change. A hybrid still uses petrol; an electric uses precious metals in its batteries which aren’t infinite. We shouldn’t have as many cars as we do in the first place. It’s a set of tough choices, and it barely scratches the surface.

But something has to change, with everyone. This year we’ve both gone broadly vegetarian, committed to not flying if at all possible this year, and swapped our electricity to all renewable.

The thinking continues - there’s much more to do, and I don’t know what some of it is. I look at our recycling and try to see how we can not need to recycle it in the first place. The things I love are going to need to change: driving adventures, travelling the world... Many won’t change overnight because I’m not perfect. But if I stick to my comfortable ways then there won’t be a world to explore for some.

Today I was in Bristol. I stood in College Green with tens of thousands of others in the soaking rain for a Youth Strike for Climate Justice. We heard young activists talk, one of whom was Greta Thunberg. There are lots of people on “the Internet” that don’t like her, or the other youth strikers. But that’s beside the point. Like them, don’t like them - it’ll all be the same when our house floods or burns. Less comfortable then.

It’s a coincidence the Blip has Greta in it. Although she was the catalyst and big draw for this day, I was there to support all of the young people today. I’d taken the photo and put my phone away before I twigged that this was the very front of the march (it was in sections and just starting), and she was there behind the banner. It was an accidental homage to her.

So, although I’m still a load of hypocrisies and imperfections, I was there to show them I’m listening. I support them. As youth, they shouldn’t need to be the ones making more sense than “the Internet“. They shouldn’t need to battle other generations.

Well done to all of them. We need to be with you, making the choices together. I need to do more.