Podcast # 28 Your Challenge to Save The Planet & Your HealthHi, this is Michael Lingard introducing you to podcast twenty-eight entitled “Your Challenge to Save The Planet & Your Health” in 2020.If everyone on the internet joined forces to ensure a healthy planet for future generations, it could solve the existential problem that no government dare tackle, climate change and environmental pollution and damage. All you need to do is to commit to changing your lifestyle over the next twelve months with a twelve step programme, just a month at a time. Click “HERE” for tips!January: Try to avoid buying anything made of or packed in plastic. Plastics are based on fossil fuel for production and produce an almost permanent environmental pollutant that will take many years to start to rectify. There are biodegradable alternative materials produced from plants. . HEREFebruary: Buy local produce wherever possible. This would both stimulate farmers to shift to plant food production for humans, reduce the vast energy consumption involved in shipping food to and from warehouses and from abroad. . HEREMarch: Cut back on your consumption of “stuff”. We all are encouraged to consume or buy far more material things than we really need, we need to remind ourselves that every article represents a substantial use of the earth’s scarce resources. HEREApril: Help plant a hundred trees. With the estimated 4 billion internet users worldwide this would produce 400 billion trees, the most efficient carbon dioxide consumers would remove around 8 billion tons of CO2 per year, that would help balance the residual fossil fuel use. Global production of CO2 from transport is about this quantity. HEREMay: Support your local community any way that helps the environment. There is a close connection between the health of the planet, the health of individuals and the health of a community. By building stronger communities we would be find mutual support in building a sustainable future for our only planet, the earth. HEREJune: Cut out all meat, fish and dairy foods from your diet. This alone would cut greenhouse gases by between 25 – 50%, stop the loss of the earth’s lungs – the rainforests, reduce the need for food production by 75%, with the right distribution system ensure adequate food for everyone, improve the health of everyone, reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, reduce the pollution of coastal waters from agricultural medicine run-off and animal waste, permit the regrowth of our fauna and flora, especially endangered species, and much more. Currently estimates suggest between 50 – 75% of all grain and pulses go to feed animals! . HEREJuly: Conserve fresh water whenever possible, it’s a scarce resource. Fresh water will be more valuable than oil in a few years’ time. Sources of fresh water are increasingly being depleted due to pollution or over exploitation. Producing animal and dairy foods is a major reason for this. HEREAugust: Make your own health your responsibility. If you have already shifted your diet to a whole plant diet and are getting more exercise walking you are well on the way to meeting this challenge. HERESeptember: Reduce the use of your car by walking more/using public transport. This will go towards the August challenge; taking more responsibility for your health. HEREOctober: Turn your home thermostat down a few degrees lower. Just a few degrees drop will save you over a hundred pounds a year and reduce the consumption of energy nationally. HERENovember: Try to reduce food waste to close on nil. Currently we waste over a third of our food. That would feed most of the undernourished or starving throughout the world. . HEREDecember: Switch your car to any that halves your fuel consumption. Today there is no technological reason why we cannot produce cars that will give over 100 miles per gallon; even this would make a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. This needs to be the most important criteria for car purchase, not its sporty performance. . HERETo learn more about each of these challenges go to the transcript of this podcast to click on related links.The global environmental destruction, pollution and our impact on climate seem problems too big for you and I to have any significant impact on their solution, but just remind yourself that if billions of humans can generate the problems so we can just as easily fix them, one step at a time. All that is needed is ,an awareness, a will and our actions. We have the RESPONSE-ABILITY, let begin to use it!
