Our biggest challenges: Climate change, Biodiversity loss and Pollution
Climate change is happening now. Many of us Cityplotters are urban growers and farmers, and we are already experiencing the effects of global climate change. For example, 2020 is the third year in a row that we have suffered from devastating drought and blistering heat waves in the Netherlands. The IPCCC states that we have only 12 years to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in order to avoid climate catastrophe. On top of that, the Artic tundra is undergoing unprecedented thawing, releasing vast amounts of trapped carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. All of this means that we have to act now in order to cut down our emissions.
Yet climate change is just one of the many huge problems that we face today. Another ongoing catastrophe is the global extinction of species, both large and small, and their ecosystems. Do you remember back in the old days when your car windscreen used to be covered with splattered insects? Do you recall watching fireflies light up the night? Where are these creatures now? Although not everyone misses them, humans have been so efficient in eliminating bugs that 40% of all insect species are currently threatened with extinction. We all know that insects are at the bottom of the ecosystem pyramid, and if this base collapses the rest will follow. Further up the pyramid, the Sumatran rhino, the Indian cheetah and the Spix macaw were among the species that became extinct in 2019. The number of plants becoming extinct each year is even greater.
And of course there is environmental degradation, which many of us bear witness to each day. Our air, water and soil are heavily polluted, and as result our bodies are also getting contaminated. The edible and non-edible products we find on the shelves of our grocery stores are filled with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other harmful chemicals, and their effects in our bodies – both individually and together as a ‘cocktail’ – are not yet fully known. The odour of pollution (fumes from our vehicles and sewage) is common in many cities across the world, as are the ensuing health issues. As human beings, we tend to dissociate ourselves from nature, viewing it as a static background for us to make use of. Yet we are a part of this huge web of intricate connections, which is simultaneously incredibly resilient and highly vulnerable to the multiple threats imposed by humankind today.
We live in a fragile balance on this beautiful planet. Our own existence and wellbeing depends on the survival of other life here, and this in turn requires the preservation of the planet’s natural resources, including the forests, oceans, rivers, plant and animal biodiversity, and the atmosphere. Yet we are consuming and destroying more than our fair share of natural resources in most parts of the world. The ecological footprint of the Netherlands, for example, is extremely high. A study by Radboud University found that:
“A fair distribution amongst world citizens implies a footprint of 1.8 global hectares (gha). Presently - on average - we use 2.7 gha per person. And for a person in the Netherlands this is even 6.3 gha.”
How can we save ourselves? A call to action
The good news is that there are simple solutions to our planetary woes that include behavioral changes as well as proven technology to implement these solutions. Those of us gathered within the Cityplot collective have made and are in the process of making many of the changes we explain here, and we still live very comfortable and luxurious lives. In fact, we feel that our quality of life has increased thanks to these changes. We also believe that we must act as empowered individuals together in order to create the shifts we so urgently need in our society today.
One common misconception is that we need to act in order to save the planet. Yet our planet has existed for 4.5 billion years without our support. In fact, we need to act in order to save ourselves: the human race. If we act now, we can ensure our survival as well as the survival of the millions of unique and magnificent species that co-habit this wonderful green-blue planet with us.
This document is a call to action for all individuals – whether you are a politician, mother, father, teacher, student, doctor, techie, farmer, banker or anything else. We are all a part of this system based on unlimited economic growth, and while it has served many of us well we can no longer ignore the accompanying social and environmental damage. The bottom line is that in order to make governments and businesses change, we must all change our behaviour too. Given the urgency of the situation we no longer have the luxury to wait until someone else ‘fixes’ our societies.
Each and every one of us has the power to shift this narrative by making simple changes in our daily lives: in what we buy, how we eat, how we move around, how we get our energy and how we interact with nature. If enough of us change our habits, demand better products and services from our businesses, and insist on better regulations and infrastructure from our governments, we can change the system together.
Whether you are just getting started on this journey or you are well on your way, here are 10 things you can do to play your part. Some of you may choose to become politically active, or to support institutions and NGOs that actively work towards social and environmental justice. Some of you may decide to educate the children in your communities, and others will prefer to focus on investing your money in ethical businesses. This list is not comprehensive, but can be used as a baseline for getting informed and getting started. You may find some of these actions easier to implement than others; after all, we are all different.
A good way to start is to calculate your own environmental footprint. While there are subtle differences between the various footprint calculators, they work well in highlighting the big areas that we need to focus on. Here are two footprint calculators you can use:
Footprintnetwork.org (in English and customisable by country)
VerbogenImpact.nl (In Dutch for people living in the Netherlands)
For the Netherlands, the chart below shows the average environmental impact per person. We will cover these aspects in the 10 things.
