This week world leaders, negotiators, government representatives, and citizens are meeting at the COP26 conference, which is the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. “COP” stands for “Conference of the Parties”; 26 stands for it being the 26th year of the meeting to tackle climate change.
Many are saying that COP26 is the “last best chance” to avoid climate disaster….which is slightly anxiety inducing. As we watch our world leaders strategize to help establish firm steps to avoid climate catastrophe, we recommend taking a moment to reflect on your own life keeping in mind that we can’t do it all, but we can all do our best. (You get bonus tips if you reflect on this while taking a time out in nature!)
This idea spawned from our recent discovery of the concept of a “climate shadow”, which expands beyond the idea of the carbon footprint. We recommend taking a moment to read this piece, and then to ask yourself to truly evaluate your own personal impact on a larger scale.
To simplify, the author encourages individuals to reflect on their greater contributions to the environment, including occupation, topics discussed with friends and family, and other lifestyle choices. She encourages individuals to think beyond the carbon calculator and to have a spiritual reckoning about how to live your life.
Speaking of how to live your life, another interesting piece from Outside focused on the connection between happiness and sustainability. A recent study discovered (not surprisingly) that there is a significant association between those two. The more sustainable the country is, the happier the people are overall. It’s more about “leisure” than “luxury” that people crave, and a lot of that leisure is spent in, wait for it, natural settings.
As world leaders meet this week, let’s hope they have received the message that hope for the future is what the people of our planet are craving, and in order to do that, we need them to commit to proven, sustainable action.
Ready to take action?
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