Bringing your own tote bags to the store didn’t seem like a revolutionary reaction to the heaps of flimsy supermarket plastic bags most of us still have hidden deep in the corners of our kitchens not all that long ago. It was a watershed moment in the sustainability debate, and we’ve gone a long way from the days of carrying your own bag (though presumably, you’re still bringing them!).
Today, there are successes for the environment wherever we turn, from the electric cars we can now charge while grocery shopping to the growing variety of plant-based alternatives on supermarket shelves to cut emissions-heavy meat, eggs, and dairy products.
Changes in the Climate
Climate change is real, and it is a huge concern, according to scientists and governments.
We just learned that the Amazon rainforest, the world’s largest land-based carbon sink, has turned into a major carbon emitter.
Every year, we manufacture 300 million tons of plastic, with more than 10 million tons ending up in our seas, all while removing billions of fish from those waters, upsetting the ocean’s natural balance—consequences we hardly comprehend, let alone are prepared to address.
Forest fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes are more common than ever before. With each passing season, fresh water and nutritious soil become scarcer, and our poorest people bear the burden of our planet’s warming.
Innovators are working on methods to reduce our effect in practically every aspect of our lives, from transportation to food to medicine, and everything in between. These are all positive things. Is it, however, too little, too late?
