The time for change is now
In our July 10 edition, we reported on a meeting between Argyll campaigners and the region’s MP Brendan O’Hara to press for change in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign group, known as Time for Change – Argyll and Bute, believes the time is now to put people, climate and nature at the heart of the UK’s recovery. In the fourth of our series of follow-up opinion pieces, we hear from Tayvallich resident David Logue.
The abuse of the environment by us all arises from a desire to dominate and to look after ourselves without thought of the impact to others and on the natural ecology of the planet.
The campaign to reduce and repair climate change caused by our actions puts emphasis on considering the impact of climate change on others throughout the world.
We have a spiritual aspect to our lives, although many shy away from an admission to religion which in the west has become, justifiable in many cases, unfashionable for a variety of reasons. However, spirituality indicates awareness of ‘something more than’ our finite lives and our material existence and prompts us to consider the roots of the creation around us, beyond the science of big bang and evolution.
We are part of all this creation and have a responsibility to care for the natural world and share it equitably with our fellow people and all other life, from microbes to blue whale and toadstools to redwood trees. There are others better qualified than me to give a picture of where the planet may be in 10 or 20 years but in my view current trends would seem to indicate more erratic weather patterns globally, loss of land areas to rising sea levels and to desert and loss of forestation across the world.
We can all shop locally; buy locally-produced food, including grass fed cattle and sheep; reduce our travel to distant shops; use public transport and encourage more sharing of resources including car sharing. This will all support the local economy.
I fall short on most ideals but I do shop locally, much more so since Covid-19, endeavour to recycle, minimise use of plastic, use an electric car and solar panels.
Together we must continually challenge profit as a motive for actions and question GDP as a valid measurement of a nation’s well-being. It is time to promote good mental health, contentment, life expectancy and public health as meaurements of a ‘successful’ society.