When I was 10 years old the Dutch government launched a campaign called ‘Een beter milieu begint bij jezelf’, ‘A better world starts with you’. It derived from the idea that small things matter: recycle, don’t waste food and take shorter showers (yes, already 30 years ago). Now we arrived at a point where small things don’t solve the problem anymore. Government and companies need to take radical action for collective change. Does this releases us, the individuals, from actions?
Julien and I changed our life. Because we think it will bring us more joy and fulfilment and because we truly believe that we have a individual responsibility for our planet and the next generations. Most people struggle to change behavior and for many climate change feels like far in the future. I also struggle, here are some things that help(ed) me along the way.
This is what helped me
- Calculating my footprint was a very simple and effective way to see the impact my lifestyle had.
- Johan Rockström explained me the planetary boundaries in a Ted-talk. Johan Rockström: Let the environment guide our development. It educated me on a different level.
- I gave up flying and with this also the chance to visit Japan or New Zealand. What helped me was this comment: if you stop flying now, maybe the next generation still can. I have three lovely nieces and I hope that one day they can experience a travel to another continent. Meanwhile I will travel by foot and train, Europe is beautiful and full of surprises.
- Relative cold is something you get used to. Before we started walking the GR5 we volunteered for a month on a farm in Zeeland (the Netherlands). It was april, 13 degrees, the wind blew from the north and we stayed in a tent. By the time we left I was comfortable, very much to my own surprise. Suitable clothes are a must of course.
- The French cuisine is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Without challenging the fine French cuisine, I find it is a bit conservative. Because I have coeliac disease, I can’t eat gluten. When the menu has limited options for me I sometimes choose meat when we eat out. I would like to be fully vegetarian but I stay flexible at this point.
- “You and me baby ain’t nothin’ but mammals”. Despite our intelligence, technologies and our position on top of the food chain we are dead within weeks without clean water and food. In the permaculture design of the garden it is all about keeping water on your land and cultivating healthy, regenerative soil. It starts and ends with this.
When we go back to the small things, I have a great tip for reducing your showers: remove the bathroom. In November we got rid of the shower because the walls needed to go. As the new bathroom is delayed we need to improvise a bit. Non-ideal but saving loads of water!
Mooi om te lezen Roos!
En heel leuk om op jullie website rond te neuzen. xx
Dank je wel!