After our recent travels in Auckland and Northland New Zealand (Aotearoa), we were around flooding and landslips there, and with the floods that have hit Australia over the past year (in the town we live) and other natural disasters occurring around the globe - our thoughts of governments and bigger companies not taking action or more action to improve the state of the earth is difficult to resolve. It is the severity and frequency of these disasters that are not only concerning but are obviously devasting too. Many have been affected by these disasters whether directly or indirectly and where governments and bigger cooperations haven't acted, it is individuals, smaller business' and organisations that have shone through at these times. Not only that but it is individuals, smaller business' and organisations that have shon through in taking action in reducing their carbon impact on the earth as we as individuals and as a business are endeavouring to do also. Our hope is that together with the changes we all have made and are making, it will make a big impact - to not only reduce the greater carbon footprint but to emphasise the message that changes do need to happen in order to make the earth a healthier and more livable place. The earth won't do it on it's own, people need to do their part too. A story of mine (Jono) in regards to "my impact on the earth" was I didn't give much thought to what my impact was, it didn't cross my mind. It wasn't until a few years back that both Zoe and I really started to question our motives and actions, and how they affect the earth and people. We had come off the back of droughts and bushfires in Australia straight into Covid19 and I guess it was a pivotal time in questioning things regarding the earth. We had read, watched and had more conversations with others relating to how people have negatively impacted the earth which is what drew us to running the business we do. Now the thought of "my impact on the earth" crosses my mind daily. We think about if and how our actions are negatively affecting the earth and what we can do about it hence the name of our business 'But, What Can We Do?', and this all urges us onto what changes we can make to positively impact the earth.
We have read a lot of different things on climate change but recently read https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change where it talks about what climate change is, how it is affecting people in different ways and certain points to take on board i.e. the fact that solutions are already available. We've been in conversations with people who get caught up on the idea of reaching "Net Zero" emissions, saying that it's impossible. The argument for us is not about reaching Net Zero it is about caring enough to do make necessary changes to significantly reduce emissions. And on a larger scale that means funding. A sentence from the above link that really stood out to us was "Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. But climate inaction is vastly more expensive." Inaction is more costly than action is the message here. It reminded me (Zoe) of something a previous manager said to me once "prevention is better than a cure". The context was different to that of Climate Change however it is a versatile statement that I have taken on board and applied my life. It reminds me of that sentence above from the link - it takes caring about things to live out a life of action and prevention rather than inaction and then trying to find a solution when maybe it is too late.
Some words to think on.
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