We need to stop gridlocking the British Government over Climate Change, take a look at Asia!
Over this course of this year, we have seen the topic of Environmental Issues raise in the political agenda, finally! No longer is it seen as a sub issue, but finally starting to show signs as being a huge issue that really is rife among the world today. From single use plastics ruining the oceans to deforestation destabilising habits and reducing the amount of Oxygen in the atmosphere that we kind of need to breathe to be healthy and, alive.
I am proud of Britains achievements so far in being at the forefront in terms of legislation to become a green and sustainable economy. It has a long way to go until it really is this green nation that we dream of, however it is on the road to doing so and its a great sight to see. On the other hand, we have the organisation, Extinction Rebellion, who took the streets of London a few months ago, and put London and various other major cities around the UK to a standstill and ‘Took over them’. It drew massive media attention, and even some celebrities chimed in, with the likes of Emma Thompson, who completely lost my respect as a person, for flying from Los Angeles to protest, being questioned about it, and then saying she will no give up flying business class, which is defeating the object of the protest. Someone fire her PR person please. I then personally walked though some of these bumbling micro cities that had been created in these taken over spots of road and land within the capital, and to say I was disgusted was an understatement. On top of being hugely disgruntled at the fact that I had to walk for an hour to University every day due to the disruption, which I can’t deny I slightly enjoyed when the sun was shining as it made a change from the sweaty bus. However, what gleamed in my eyes were stalls, giving away trinkets and leaflets about the movement, all printed on tonnes of new paper, no recycled. Tonnes of these leaflets lining the floor, the trinkets were plastic, and various other materials.
They set up a huge temporary stage in Marble Arch where they played live music, all electronic and requiring the use of electricity of some kind, and the stage was on the back of a gas guzzling truck. The hypocrisy literally made my blood boil. They also sounded so childish, with one person who they grabbed for an interview saying they had ‘reinforcements’ to take over more areas in London, to get Theresa May to have an open air discussion with them. Firstly, that would never happen due to the security risks, second of all, the environment is not some teenage board-game or cadets. It’s a huge issue that I felt took a step backwards with this shame of a campaign.
Now onto the root of why I wrote this post. Several weeks later, Japan announced they were to revive Whaling, and have since killed multiple whales in their waters. A species already on the cusp of extinction thanks to the practice of whaling. China is one of the most polluted countries in the world, and currently has no strict or stringent laws on anything from plastic to deforestation, congestion and emissions. They are the largest exporter of goods in the world, exporting tonnes and tonnes of plastic, non recycled products, often made in questionable conditions and unsustainable supply chains and factories.
However, no group currently that I know of seems to be acknowledging this? Maybe I am wrong or mis informed and if so I will happily hold my hands up and investigate it further, but I have done a little digging and cannot seem to find anything. It annoys me because the one issue that this currently government has actually done good at (Which has been rather overshadowed due to the dreaded B word) is the Environment. Straws, before the legislation even became law, big companies across the country opted for environmentally friendly alternatives, with the likes of McDonalds UK and Wetherspoons being early adopters. The commitment by 2040, which is a feat in itself, to reduce net carbon emissions to 0%. Such groundbreaking achievements, and all firsts of their kind from any government in the world. Yet the government seems to be getting the most protest about making the UK a climate emergency and inflicting such demands on an already stretched government that is not standing idle on the topic.
We shall be watching closely to see what more the government does, with the impending new leader coming in very soon, let’s hope they continue the environmental legacy that May’s government has started.
