The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a delicately balanced blanket of gases, which trap enough heat to sustain life on Earth. But by burning
fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas) and pumping billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (C02) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
humans are upsetting this balance. These gases are trapping more and more heat, warming the globe and throwing our climate into chaos.
Most of us know there's problem, know we have something to do
with it, and know something must be done about it.
Yet many of us don't understand, or don't believe, that our
individual actions can make a difference.
A lot of us are confused. A recent Greenpeace survey revealed
that most Kiwis think the ozone hole is a major cause of climate
change.
The ozone hole is a problem because it lets in more dangerous UV
rays. These don't cause climate change, but can cause skin cancer.
New Zealand, and most other countries, have long banned the CFC
aerosol sprays and refrigerants that were the main causes of damage
to the ozone layer - but it will take decades to recover.
Climate change, on the other hand, is about the world warming
up, polar regions melting, and the weather becoming more unstable
and unpredictable. It is happening because we've upset the
delicate balance of gases in our atmosphere.
We've added too much of the types of gas that trap heat - the
most significant being carbon dioxide, created by burning fossil
fuels - especially in our cars and our power stations.
To take action, one must understand cause and effect. A smoker
will not give up unless they understand the link between their
habit and the potentially deadly consequences.
So, how can we expect individuals to reduce their "carbon
footprint" if they don't understand how or why they should?
Greenpeace has been campaigning on climate change for twenty
years. We've lobbied politicians, addressed UN conferences,
organised protest actions, and even developed climate-friendly
technologies.
Yet, perhaps our greatest challenge of all is to convince the
general public of the need to take personal action, and to empower
them to do so.
Not only must we clear up the confusion that surrounds climate
change, we must demonstrate that the actions of just one person can
make a difference.
We all know the names of great activists who have changed the
world - Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Rosa
Parks. But we only know these names because of the millions of
citizens who joined them in their struggles, and made them a
success.
The Indians who defied the colonial laws against making salt,
the black Americans who refused to ride segregated buses, and the
people around the world who boycotted Apartheid South Africa and
what it stood for.
These were the people who really created the change we know
today.
The real heroes of any mass movement are the ordinary
individuals who take a stand. And so it must be with climate
change. We can't rely on politicians or technology to save us from
this one. We all have a part to play.
The real heroes of our generation won't so much be the Al Gores
or the other climate campaign figureheads. They will be the
ordinary people who replaced their lightbulbs, who bought local
produce, and who took the bus.
They will be the people who saw the kind of world they wanted
future generations to inherit, and modelled it. They will be the
people that heeded the timeless advice of Mahatma Gandhi, "you must
be the change you want to see in the world".