The Tipping Point
With so much in the news about the likelihood of reaching a tipping point for climate a change and biodiversity, it struck me that we are facing a different tipping point, this one in a more postive sense.
Led by Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough globally and Saoi O’Connor and Alicia O’Sullivan locally, people are waking up to the global catastrophe facing us and although some groups still haven’t ‘got’ it and governments, it seems, are still keen to greenwash actions, the general public have a growing awareness of what they can do on a smaller scale. All these smaller actions add up to a positive tipping point. We’ve not reached it yet, but it is approaching!
Look at the growing number of organisations…Extinction Rebellion, the Zero waste and Rewilding movement as some examples which if added on to the longer established organisations such as WWF, Friends of the Earth, Geenpeace show the spread of DIY action on a more local scale. There is a huge amount of scientific data, far more available in the public domain and now reported on more frequently, clearly showing the state we are in, so there is no excuse for non action. UCC have been getting awards for being a green university, and have been organising so many environmental events, it is a huge inspiration.
The Tidy Towns Movement has now gone way beyond begonias and litter picking. In our own community in Skibbereen and Baltimore Tidy Towns are actively involved in projects aimed at improving biodiversity. Look out for the public training sessions. Schools are joining the plastic free4schools, Rory Jackson has been leading transition year groups to categorise the waste they pick up on their beach forays. Others quietly pick rubbish off the streets and beaches.
Paula Marten has her Paula’s Positive Tips stand to take places to help people reduce their plastic use. Supermarkets are now selling some items which help the customer achieve this. There is Maggy’s, Soap box and others on the market, and Twig refill station in Clonakilty doing the same. So much is happening. Why not send us anything that has inspired you to action, or something you are doing already, which is helping us along the road to reach the positive tipping point?
