Allow for the ignition.
Tired of feeling immobile?
Frustrated with government inaction?
Hungry for a safer world which lies within reach?
So was Jamie.
Structured by social norms and societal patterns, autonomy, acting independently, is hard to come by. Whilst many academics and public figures refute the existence of a 'society' (to quote Margaret Thatcher (1987), "there's no such thing as a society"), a multitude of others suggest that the existence of a society provides rational to the current environmental crisis. Why can't I seem to reduce my energy consumption? Why can't I realise my goal to eliminate my plastic waste? Why can't I just live sustainably? Dale Southerton, professor at the University of Manchester, and Jo Mylan (2016), research fellow at the same uni, believe that society constrains people's ability to act out of their own will.
True? I'd like to open the debate up to you in the comments below. Personally, I feel that such constraints do exist. We are all well aware of 'peer pressure,' but do such constraints extend themselves to everyone? Even to those who have the best intentions? Perhaps so. Take veganism for example (I would like to mention a disclaimer here; I do not wish to promote or diminish any particular lifestyle here. I feel that my views are constantly developing and shifting in light of new evidence and therefore feel that speaking about the relative sustainability/unsustainability of veganism would be unjustified on my behalf). Many people have long been moved by the vegan campaigns, yet only in recent years has it become feasible to embrace such a lifestyle. Through my own observations, I would not be surprised to find out that as the price goes down and the variety of vegan options go up, so does the number of people who take on the lifestyle. Not only because people become more aware of it, but also because it finally becomes cheaper and easier for individuals to live according to their long-held values. In this way, aren't our decisions shaped by the society we live in?
There is something here we cannot dismiss.
There are always those few. Those enlightening, awe-inspiring few. Those whose passionately glowing embers of insurgent action are allowed to ignite, flaring up a wave of fascinating action, hope and cataclysmic revelation.
One of whom was Jamie.
At an age when most are just beginning to fathom what they can achieve in the world, 16 year old Jamie Margolin was initiating ideas to achieve a greater plan for the world.
Founder of This Is Zero Hour, a youth-led movement which provides a platform for campaigns of environmental justice, Jamie is one of those whose 'social constraints' were deemed flexible - dare I say surmountable? Here is her story:
Climate change waits for no-one. The rising of sea levels will not hold out for you, unless you choose to move. The devastating droughts will not hold back whilst your crop of millet grows. Debilitating heatwaves, hurricanes, ocean acidifcation and ice cap melting will not be withheld whilst we debate over the economic consequences of action.
Carbon emissions continue to creep up - soar up - in uneven patterns across the world and in ways that will hurt those who are the least responsible - first - and in the most devastating way.
Don't wait until it hits you.
To get inspired by more individual optimists and grassroots activists, click here to go to Our Climate Voices, a collection of stories from people who have refused to accept climate change as the destined path of the planet shared between us.
All the way from the local to the global, people are desperate to see a brighter horizon. We all have the capacity, the want and the drive inside us to bring about a more prosperous world. All that's left is to allow for the ignition.
"We are the first generation that knows we are destroying the world and could be the last that can do anything about it." - Anne Meikle (2018), Director of WWF Cymru
Society may constrain, but it does not define.
It's up to you.
H _ M
:)
Bibliography:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/autonomy
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-quotes
https://discoversociety.org/2016/01/05/are-we-too-busy-to-be-sustainable/
http://thisiszerohour.org/
http://www.ourclimatevoices.org/what-we-do/
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/living-planet-report-2018-wales
Frustrated with government inaction?
Hungry for a safer world which lies within reach?
So was Jamie.
Structured by social norms and societal patterns, autonomy, acting independently, is hard to come by. Whilst many academics and public figures refute the existence of a 'society' (to quote Margaret Thatcher (1987), "there's no such thing as a society"), a multitude of others suggest that the existence of a society provides rational to the current environmental crisis. Why can't I seem to reduce my energy consumption? Why can't I realise my goal to eliminate my plastic waste? Why can't I just live sustainably? Dale Southerton, professor at the University of Manchester, and Jo Mylan (2016), research fellow at the same uni, believe that society constrains people's ability to act out of their own will.
True? I'd like to open the debate up to you in the comments below. Personally, I feel that such constraints do exist. We are all well aware of 'peer pressure,' but do such constraints extend themselves to everyone? Even to those who have the best intentions? Perhaps so. Take veganism for example (I would like to mention a disclaimer here; I do not wish to promote or diminish any particular lifestyle here. I feel that my views are constantly developing and shifting in light of new evidence and therefore feel that speaking about the relative sustainability/unsustainability of veganism would be unjustified on my behalf). Many people have long been moved by the vegan campaigns, yet only in recent years has it become feasible to embrace such a lifestyle. Through my own observations, I would not be surprised to find out that as the price goes down and the variety of vegan options go up, so does the number of people who take on the lifestyle. Not only because people become more aware of it, but also because it finally becomes cheaper and easier for individuals to live according to their long-held values. In this way, aren't our decisions shaped by the society we live in?
There is something here we cannot dismiss.
There are always those few. Those enlightening, awe-inspiring few. Those whose passionately glowing embers of insurgent action are allowed to ignite, flaring up a wave of fascinating action, hope and cataclysmic revelation.
One of whom was Jamie.
At an age when most are just beginning to fathom what they can achieve in the world, 16 year old Jamie Margolin was initiating ideas to achieve a greater plan for the world.
Founder of This Is Zero Hour, a youth-led movement which provides a platform for campaigns of environmental justice, Jamie is one of those whose 'social constraints' were deemed flexible - dare I say surmountable? Here is her story:
Climate change waits for no-one. The rising of sea levels will not hold out for you, unless you choose to move. The devastating droughts will not hold back whilst your crop of millet grows. Debilitating heatwaves, hurricanes, ocean acidifcation and ice cap melting will not be withheld whilst we debate over the economic consequences of action.
Carbon emissions continue to creep up - soar up - in uneven patterns across the world and in ways that will hurt those who are the least responsible - first - and in the most devastating way.
Don't wait until it hits you.
To get inspired by more individual optimists and grassroots activists, click here to go to Our Climate Voices, a collection of stories from people who have refused to accept climate change as the destined path of the planet shared between us.
All the way from the local to the global, people are desperate to see a brighter horizon. We all have the capacity, the want and the drive inside us to bring about a more prosperous world. All that's left is to allow for the ignition.
"We are the first generation that knows we are destroying the world and could be the last that can do anything about it." - Anne Meikle (2018), Director of WWF Cymru
Society may constrain, but it does not define.
It's up to you.
H _ M
:)
Bibliography:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/autonomy
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-quotes
https://discoversociety.org/2016/01/05/are-we-too-busy-to-be-sustainable/
http://thisiszerohour.org/
http://www.ourclimatevoices.org/what-we-do/
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/living-planet-report-2018-wales
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