The dangers of ‘passive living’

By Sean Ashton

In recent years, the dangers of passive smoking have been well documented and many measures have been introduced by the government to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke such as the prohibition of smoking in the workplace and in public places. Could it be though, that ‘passive living’, that is just sitting back and watching things happen to the world we live in and the environment without doing anything about it could be far more dangerous in the long run?

But what can we do, you might ask? I used to feel that the little things that I could do made no difference; and to be honest I didn’t always do a lot (and still don’t do enough) to try and change things. Now though, I realise that the small things that each of us do can make a difference and if enough of us commit to making these changes it can have an impact on climate change.

Although it may seem that the changes required are not compatible with a modern western lifestyle, they don’t necessarily have to be too painful. A year ago my car broke down and I spent three months without a car. Far from being the inconvenience I imagined, it was a liberating experience; I walked more, lost a few ‘spare’ pounds and had significantly more money in my pocket. Although I have now bought another car due to having ageing parents who live at a distance, low carbon emissions and fuel economy were the criteria by which I chose a new model and we now do less than half the mileage compared to a year ago. When this car gives up the ghost, I will give serious consideration to whether I need a new one or whether I can manage without one, using public transport and hiring a car for those occasions when it is really needed.

I thought running a car was pretty much the worst thing I did with regard to impacting on the environment. Then I heard recently that eating red meat was worse for the climate than driving a car. How could that be and would I be able to give up a bacon sandwich or eating meat? I didn’t think so. But a recent Horizon documentary, ‘Should I eat meat’ (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24ieya_horizon-2014-2015-2-should-i-eat-meat-how-to-feed-the-planet_lifestyle) caused me to re-evaluate my opinion. In Europe, each person eats on average 80 kilos of meat a year! Now, whilst I haven’t given up eating meat, we only eat meat once a week and have discovered a new, interesting and exciting range of vegetarian meals.

So it isn’t as difficult as I thought – and there is so much we can do. Making sure we switch off the light, recycling conscientiously, eating less meat, using public transport, changing your energy supplier to a supplier using more green energy are just a few easy things that will make a real difference.

So why sing for the climate? The answer is simple; as well as making personal changes to your lifestyle it is equally important to get the message heard by as many people as possible and by any means. Climate change is real and it is affecting people now; and the real injustice is that it is people in countries such as the Philippines who are paying the price for our profligacy (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/typhoon-hagupit-power-lines-cut-trees-torn-down-and-800000-people-in-shelters-with-another-pummelling-potentially-on-its-way-9908596.html). So tell your family, friends and people in your work place. If you feel comfortable doing so, write to your MP and get involved with demonstrations. Only if enough people show concern will MPs have the mandate and a reason to really tackle climate change. So please join us in singing for the climate in Sheffield.

I wouldn’t dare lay claim to be a climate warrior – I just feel I am at the beginning of a journey to try and make a difference to the way I live my life so that my children and grandchildren are not left with an unpleasant legacy because I couldn’t be bothered to do anything.