🌱The Grumpy Optimists #31
How do you find the lowest carbon route? Ask Google, or take a bike!
Happy Monday folks,
This week we start on a grumpy note, looking at the oil spill off the coast of California, its impact, and what we have learned from it.
On a brighter note, we look at the best ways to get over eco-anxiety, how Google wants to help billions of people reduce their carbon emissions and how meatless Mondays are no longer for the minority.
Let's get into it.
California Oil Spill
When you think of Southern California you might think of Hollywood, pristine white beaches, and surf culture. Normally this would be accurate, but as of last Sunday morning, Long Beach was the site of a 126,000 oil spill leaving the area's beaches and wildlife in a state of emergency.
The spill, started by a ship's anchor snagging and dragging a pipeline, has closed beaches normally packed with thousands of locals, tourists, and surfers. But if you're reading some of the US papers, you might be thinking - what is more important, an oil spill or the fact that it cancelled the Huntington Beach air show? It's almost ironic that something that's such a grandiose display of our fossil-fuelled society, a fighter jet air show, would take precedent over a major oil spill that will impact local ecosystems and cause loss of life.
Nothing highlights the importance of this story more than a quote from Stuart Palley, a wildlife photographer, "the forests of my childhood have burned, and now the beaches from youth are covered in oil." The idea of your childhood memories going up in smoke or being polluted by our fossil fuel economy is a vision that is already becoming a reality for many and will increasingly be the case for millions of others.
The good news? Well, there isn't much, unfortunately. Hopefully, the oil spill emphasises our hubris for controlling nature and the risk of continuing to rely on fossil fuels.
On that cheery note, let's dive into the rest of the newsletter, shall we?
👀 Articles to read
🥦 Meatless Mondays on the rise in the UK. Daily meat consumption has fallen by 17% in the UK over the last decade. This transition to plant-based diets needs to happen faster if we're to meet climate targets, but it's positive to see these lifestyle changes moving in the right direction.
🕯️ Experts share top tips on dealing with climate anxiety. Climate change can often feel like an emotional rollercoaster and it's really important to look after your well-being to help manage this. Scientists have broken down their tips; start small, find a community (hello 👋) and realise you will have good and bad days.
💰 Australia facing huge climate costs if inaction continues. Climate change-induced disasters could cost Australia $73 billion a year by 2060 if rapid, imminent action is not taken to curb emissions.
💭 A now or never moment for Scomo? Australia's economy is based around its role as a major coal exporter, and there would inevitably be short-term hits from transitioning away from a fossil-fuel-based economy. But these eye-watering figures show that the cost of current inaction could mean a much heftier bill further down the line. Climate change will bring an increased number of devastating floods, droughts, and forest fires which will cost more and more to insure against and recover from. It's in Australia's interest - both environmentally and economically, to act now.
🚘 Okay Google, how do I cut my emissions? Google is going all-in on climate, with their latest updates allowing you to see low-carbon journeys on Maps and compare the emissions of your flights. It's another step towards a world where carbon is integrated into decision-making, from businesses to individuals. We're here for it.
🚦 New food labelling system to highlight environmental impact. A new traffic light food labelling system will allow consumers to check not only the nutritional value of their food but also the environmental impact. The label rates food from A+ (great) to G (not good) and will give consumers the power to influence an industry that contributes 37% of all greenhouse gases.
💭 Power or pressure for consumers? Although it's increasingly important for consumers to understand the environmental impact of their food choices, this is another example of responsibility being placed on the consumer. This is similar to the personal carbon footprint calculator, but they are not necessarily able to make many personal lifestyle changes because of the fossil-fuelled capitalist society we live in. It will be interesting to see whether this has a positive impact, or simply fuels eco-anxiety and allows industry to hide behind this emphasis on individual action.
What can you do about climate change?
It's week 9/10 for our top tips, and today we're talking about education. It's often difficult to know where to start learning more about climate change because it touches upon such a broad range of topics (basically everything in the world)! So we've pulled together some handy tips on how to go about learning more about climate change, without feeling too intimated by its enormity.
🤔 Let your interests drive you. Almost anything you can think of is related to and affected by climate change in some way, whether it be fashion, food, fishing, or football (other interests are available). Climate change is also intersectional, not only affecting industries but societal issues such as gender equality and racism. Don't feel that learning about climate change has to be a separate task - instead, try to start off by learning how it relates to your other hobbies or interests, and go from there.
🧠 It's impossible to know everything. Climate change is a vast, complex thing to process - so avoid setting the expectation that you'll soon be a master of it. It's frustrating when you can't hold onto every statistic you read or learn about how each country or sector is trying to cut (or not cut) emissions, but this is the reality of learning about something so existential and multifaceted. Start small, and don't beat yourself trying to become an expert. Nobody likes a know it all anyway.
💚 Let us know what you want to know more about! We're here because we want to create a community of people who are on the journey to becoming stubbornly optimistic about climate change (Christiana Figueres we're waiting for you). So if you have something you'd like to know more about or want us to cover here, we'd love to hear from you. Simply leave a comment below, or email us thegrumpyoptimists@gmail.com. Do you want to write for the Grumpy Optimists? We've made it easy here.
That's all this week!
Stay optimistic,
George, Ella and Will 💚