December 2021

COP26 is in full swing as I write. The planet is changing, and those changes are largely due to us c. 8 billion Humans. We are living in an era that the geologists have named Anthropocene or the age of human affected geology. We dig up or harvest almost everything that we use to build civilisation, we change what we have obtained then distribute it around the world to make other things, we use those things then bury them in the ground, flush them out to the oceans or burn them when we have finished with them. Just ponder, for example, the history of the structure of your computer as you type and the obsolete computers that you and I have had in the past. There are components that are made of rare metals and other materials that have been dug out of the ground. Some products are recycled which adds to the dispersal of the material. Not all human activity is bad and I am not making value judgements, but we are changing the world at a geological level as well as many other levels. It is down to us to try to put it right, this is the objective of COP26.

So, where to go from here? We are not be in the business of problems, just solutions. We get hungry, so we eat something. We get thirsty so we drink some cool fresh water. We generate too much carbon dioxide, so we must stop doing that and find alternatives. One latest solution is aeroplanes that run on hydrogen fuel instead of petroleum from fossils. Burning hydrogen just produces water. There will soon be hydrogen cars along-side electric ones as we phase out petrol and diesel engines. Us and planet would be healthier if we eat less meat and exercise more by cycling or walking instead of driving short distances. We can plant a tree that will soak up carbon dioxide and release oxygen, but not within 7 metres of a vulnerable building. We can make a pond and not mow lawns so frequently or rewild part of a garden or countryside. We can seek alternatives to gas for heating and cooking and install solar panels. If in employment, we could either work from home or live near the job. We can buy locally produced food and other products. We can share!

We all share responsibility for global warming and its consequences and all of us can respond by sharing global resources accordingly, because 8 billion people pulling in the right direction can create a sustainable world.