A Realistic Plan on How to Change the World and a Step by Step Lesson on How to Do It

I am going to give you all a realistic plan on how to change the world and also a step by step lesson on how to do it. (And a step by step lesson on how YOU as an individual person can actually change the planet) And Im going to do it in less than 300 words:

We have to decentralize. Huge task, right? It can TOTALLY be done. And it actually can be done quite simply, and fairly quickly. We just need all hands on board to do it. This is where the individual comes in, and this is where we see that one person is actually the only thing that will save us.

What happens is a community decides they want to be more self-reliant and sustainable, and so collectively they act. These communities can range in groups from a dozen to millions. Individuals come together to make dozens, who come together to make hundreds, who come together to make thousands and so on.
These people decide to stop relying on items that come from wasteful, and foreign industries. They start living sustainably, and therefore become largely self-reliant. The community produces their own food, their own clothes and shelter, and oftentimes their own energy (renewable- solar, wind, etc). Therefore, most of of their livelihood comes from a local source, and now, for the most part, they ARE in fact living in a decentralized manner. Maybe some still would consider them to be centralized, but their central power becomes the planet and not a corporation.

And then, this happens, over and over again, all over the world, until there are no more unsustainable communities.

The root of my little theory on how it is totally possible and almost EASY to change the world inherently relies on the idea of collective action. Collective action is when individual people are motived by at least one common value, and then come together as a group to act on it.

So if individuals don’t act, this plan will fail. Individuals need to realize how important they are. And individuals need to feel that one person can make a difference.

The Story of Stuff

If you've never seen the video The Story of Stuff, you need to. With over 12 000 000 views, Annie Leonard explains the wasteful and toxic processes that go into most things we buy, throws down some super interesting facts, and explains what we can all do about the self-destructive consumerism craze that is quickly becoming our downfall. And it's all told in a simple, straightforward way that everyone will be able to follow and enjoy.



Among the things I learned?

• In the Amazon alone, we're losing 2000 trees a minute. 
• 40% of the waterways in the US have become undrinkable.
• Of the 100 largest economies on earth, 51 are corporations. Aka corporations have overtaken governments.

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Check out her site for more:

Story of Stuff

The Disturbing World of Animal Testing

You probably know a little bit about animal testing. Its a pretty straight forward concept - testing new products or ideas on animals. But the realities are much crueler than they seem, let me share some dirty facts about the industry with you.

• Every year over 100 million animals are used for testing, most of them are rats and mice, but they also use dogs, cats, rabbits and chimpanzees.
• Animals are usually kept in dark, sad spaces, in isolation and in tiny cages. They suffer greatly from loneliness, boredom and lack of love.
• Animals like chimpanzees are injected with HIV, or various other human diseases, and then given various potentially painful treatments.
• Oftentimes corporations are testing cosmetics and household products on the animals. NOT life saving drugs! Humans force them to eat the toxic products, spray them in their eyes and put them on their skin. For example, dogs are force fed pesticides and rabbits have corrosive chemicals rubbed into their skin and eyes.
• Dogs are set on fire for the purpose of 3rd degree burn product research.
• The results are misleading. Most of these animals aren’t even genetically close to us! Products that work great on a chimpanzee can still be, and have proven to be, dangerous for humans.
• Companies like Johnson & Johnson, who own Band-Aid and Aveeno, and Procter & Gamble test on animals.

Ok, I hear some of your thoughts right now. Better us than them right? Some people are under the impression that human life is more important than animal life, a belief I do not share. But there ARE ways to test that do not involve animals. So even if you do value human life over all others, we can find advances that don’t involve torturing innocent creatures.

What Can I DO?

Make sure the products you buy are not tested on animals. Buy natural products - No chemicals that trash the environment and no animal testing. Double win.

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Want to learn more?

Cruelty-Free Company search
PETA - Animals Used for Experimentation

We're Melting - The Tale of Mount Kilimanjaro

Ernest Hemingway once praised its sheer epicness - The glacier atop Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Unfortunately, global warming has caused the mountain to lose 85% of its glacier since 1912. So if things go at the rate they have been, you better get to Tanzania within the next 15 years if you want to see the mountain in all of its white capped glory.

WHAT is going on?

The ice is melting faster and faster. As more ice disappears, dark rock underneath is exposed, and the hotter it gets on the mountain. This causes the glacier’s shrinking to increase exponentially.

And this isn’t just happening in Tanzania; glaciers in North and South America, New Guinea and Europe are disappearing as well.

Why does it MATTER?

Firstly, if you can’t appreciate one of the most grand, epic, and eye opening sights that this earth holds then that is cause for alarm in itself. However, there are other reasons why this is not a good thing and why you should care.

• Global Warming is happening - and fast. The melting glacial ice is a large scale indicator of climate change, and its power. Global warming is liquifying glaciers that have been around for thousands of years in the blink of an eye.
• Ecosystems are at risk
• People’s livelihoods are at risk. When you degrade the resources that tourism relies on, you lose your product. Kilimanjaro is a huge tourist attraction and helps bring in $50 million to the African nation every year. 

What will CHANGE this?

The key to stopping this complex phenomenon is reducing greenhouse gases. YOU as an individual need to be doing your part collectively. There are tons of resources out there that can help you become a better global citizen.

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Want to learn more?

Treehugger Article
Suzuki Foundation - Climate Change

Great Pacific Garbage Patch - The Largest Landfill in the World

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Have you heard of it? Its is quite frankly one of the most alarming examples of marine pollution there is. And no surprises here, its caused by human activity.

Image via Kevin Krejci - Flickr

So WHAT is it?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (or Pacific Trash Vortex) is essentially a plastic graveyard in the ocean. Its full of junk like old footballs, kayaks, lego blocks, plastic bottles and pretty much anything else you can think of. 

The Garbage Patch covers anywhere from 700 000 square km to up to 15 000 000 square km. It is essentially the largest landfill in the world - the smallest estimates put it around the size of Texas and the largest estimates say it could be twice the size of the United States. This thing is HUGE! Why don’t we know how large it is? Because much of the plastic is not actually visible to the human eye if you are in an airplane, using satellite imagery, or are even on a boat deck. 

 Image via João Vianna / National Geographic

The plastic is mostly particles that have broken down to polymers, and much of it is under the surface of the water. In addition to plastic and polymers, you’ll find chemical sludge and other debris. This debris remains trapped in an area in the North Pacific because of ocean currents. 

Think that this problem is contained to the patch? Sadly, you’d be wrong. The UN estimates that there are 46 000 pieces of floating plastic in every square mile of ocean. 

Image via ingridtaylar - Flickr

Why does it MATTER?

If the thought of a floating plastic wasteland doesn’t phase you, then how about this: 

• Loss of life.  Animals eat the plastic, then starve, become dehydrated and die because of the chemicals that fill their stomach.
• Human consumption of toxins. Toxins are eaten by jellyfish, which are eaten by fish, which are eaten by humans. Yes, we are all interconnected. You trash an ecosystem thousands of kilometers away, you will still end up with the effects. Thats just how it works. 

Image via taylorandayumi - Flickr

WHY does it happen?

You know that 7/11 slurpee cup you just tossed because you couldn’t find a garbage? Well, it blew in the wind, then it made its way to a stream, which met up with a river, which traveled to the ocean. And now its one more piece of debris that is adding to the problem.

Image via Chris Jordan

Moral of the story  - We need to be thinking long term! Dispose of waste properly. Use reusable products. Consume less. Waste less. 

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Want to learn more? 

Great Garbage Patch

MNN Article

Pictures of marine plastic pollution