I’m not saying I’m unhappy about the Paris Outcome. It’s certainly a great moment in history. It’s just after Copenhagen and well basically the collective history of humanity, I’m suspicious. As a species have we got what it takes to not only stick to this agreement and transition away from dirty power but also to go further and actually save ourselves and our planet from devastating climate change and toxic pollution.
This is the same UN collective that has signed agreements protecting human rights yet flagrantly flaunt abuses not only to the agreement but also to actual humans. From the comfort of my middle class existence here in Australia I’m ashamed of my own country’s human rights abuses and its lack of vision on climate change. Part of the Paris Outcome is an agreement for carbon emissions to peak by 2030 before shifting to a target of zero emissions for the second half of the century. The cynic in me feels there will be a free for all push to get as much out of the coal industry as possible before 2050, and then some, as emissions decline. Even if every country does what it has agreed to in Paris there is still going to be a huge amount of polluting going on well towards the end of the 21st centaury.
What is it about us that makes us so blind to our own self destructive nature? I don’t have an answer but I have been contemplating my own actions and found in my everyday life I’m no better than the collective. I want to give up sugar, but find it difficult to stay away from sweet things. I want to eat raw or unprocessed foods as much as possible, to eat less meat due to its impact on the planet but also its direct affect on my digestive system, but find various exceptions allow all these things to creep back into my diet. My own body is surely as important to me as the only planet I have to live on. It’s the only body I have and the only means I know of to keep me here as long as possible, yet I willingly allow toxins into my system through poor dietary choices. When you look at how we treat ourselves is it any wonder we are doing the same thing to the only home we have?
Although I am usually a positive person I too wonder if, as a species, we can save ourselves. Do we truely want to or do we feel that making a token gesture is all that is required? As for my personal journey, I struggle as you do. Internally I am vegan. The compassion for all species and the treading lightly on this earth consumes me but I struggle to find where I need to be.
I can relate to your struggle with self mastery of diet.