According to the Australian Conservation Foundation 350,000 people nationwide participated in last Friday’s student-led #ClimateStrike – the biggest climate mobilisation in Australia’s history.
Thank you to the many Merici students and staff who went to Glebe Park to show their support for urgent action to address climate change.
While we must harness this momentum to build unprecedented support in our communities to stop climate damage, we can also take actions at home and in our daily lives. Two of which are:
Eat mostly plants
According to Paul Hawken, New York Times Bestselling author of Drawdown – The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, the Western diet comes with a steep climate price tag. The most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for nearly 15% of annual global greenhouse gases, with more comprehensive assessments including both direct and indirect emissions putting this figure up at 50%. That’s more than fossil fuel emissions. You can choose at breakfast, lunch and dinner to reduce your climate impact by eating mostly plants.
Grow your own
According to Michael Pollan ( Bestselling author of The Omnivores Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and In Defense of Food) growing your own fruit and vegetables reduces your carbon footprint by sequestering carbon while eliminating the carbon cost of food transport. Pollan states that “A vegetable garden, planted from seed, nourished by compost and involving minimal trips to source the seeds is the proverbial free lunch – carbon dioxide free and dollar free. This is the most local food you can posssibly eat, not to mention the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious, with a carbon footprint faint and slight. While counting carbon savings, consider too your compost heap, which shrinks the garbage you have trucked away as it feeds your vegetables and sequesters carbon in your soil. Plus you get a workout without driving to the gym!
Lower carbon footprint, healthier for you and the planet, lower cost – WIN, WIN, WIN!
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
