I’m writing this from an English countryside that looks very different than any other summer. With no rain for months on end and a prolonged, searing heat, everywhere the ground is scorched and plants are stunted or wilting, looking nothing like the usual green and pleasant land.
I can only imagine what it’s been like for the farmers, with no crops to produce and already beleaguered animals getting ill from heat stress, disease and starvation. The extreme temperatures and lack of rain have also exacerbated forest fires in several parts of the country, with many people evacuated and their homes destroyed.
The heat, droughts, poor harvests and forest fires have made it increasingly difficult to view the climate crisis as an abstract concept happening ‘somewhere out there’ when it is literally on our doorstep. And yet, I still see in this society the lack of awareness of how our continued overconsumption, mindlessness and waste are directly contributing to the devastation.
Certainly, governments have their part – and need to step up – in legislating actions to help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, hosepipe and portable BBQ bans being among the responses to the recent situation. But each and every one of us also must reconsider our own behaviour and lifestyle choices and redouble our efforts towards the environment if we are to have a chance in tackling this climate emergency.
Of course, I would wave my magic wand and make everyone vegan overnight, which would have a huge, beneficial impact. But even small adjustments can make a positive difference, with the realization that resources are not infinite and that we all need to consume less and reuse more. We also need to work collectively to help and support one another through these challenges, not only because our house could be the next one burning.
This summer in England – as well as in other countries – has increasingly demonstrated the ways in which people, plants and animals are suffering all around us in ways that are impossible to ignore. Our time of selfish insulation needs to transform into a shared responsibility to address the environmental crisis with focus, will and determination, if there is any possibility of healing this planet and ensuring its survival.