Cop 28

Posted bywriterravenclawPosted inWeekly Word PromptsTags:

The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (also known as the 28th Conference of Parties of UNFCCC or “COP 28“) is happening in UAE from Nov 30 – Dec 12. Today’s question: Do you think COP 28 will result in effective progress towards climate change goals? https://jewishyoungprofessional.wordpress.com/2023/12/06/jyprovocative-question-13-climate-change/

Climate Change

I think talking is the first step to doing something, but we need to do more.

I remember in the 70s that we recycled before they considered it the right thing to do. Our milk was in glass bottles, left for collection once we used them. They sold fruit and vegetables loose, which we brought from a grocer. The butcher sold meat, which was wrapped in paper only when we made the choice of how much. Customers could return the Corona bottles to the store and receive a ten pence refund. Our shopping bill was lower because we went every day. Even the amount of carbon dioxide in the air was lower because fewer people had cars. We walked everywhere.

It wasn’t perfect; I get that, but at least we were trying.

We over buy each week, and the quantity of food thrown away is disgusting. We are drowning in plastic. In our weekly shop, they wrap all our goods in a container, which doesn’t rot down. From animal products to plants, dairy, toys, medical and the list is way too long.

Yes, we have recycle bins, yet we don’t use them properly. For example, we reuse the bottles, but we cannot recycle the lids. Why can’t we have bottle banks, where we return them to the manufacturer and cleaned to upcycle for another different day? Would it harm to sell fruit and vegetables by weight rather than a packet? Why can’t we put our heads together to push a solution through.

Climate change is a threat we ignore at our peril. This year winter arrived late. The plants were still thriving in October and the leaves only turned golden until a few weeks ago. The ice-cap is melting at an alarming rate. I want to see my grandchildren having memories of an earth we can be proud of.

I’m not sure conversations are enough to stop what is happening to our planet. We have to educate our young, give them the tools to give these goals a chance to work. It isn’t just the political leaders who need to make changes, but we do too. There must be someone there, with an idea, which could reverse the damage.

Published by writerravenclaw

I am a fifty something mother of two grown up children, and one beautiful grandchild. I have been married for nearly thirty-four years. My first book was published ten years ago. I wrote my book Sticks and Stones because of my experience of being bullied at school.

6 thoughts on “Cop 28”

  2. I find your response interesting because as a millennial, I’m used to hearing young people complain about how the older generations caused climate change/aren’t taking climate change seriously and we’re the ones paying the price. Meanwhile, your response reads more like “we did things better in my time and young people should learn about what’s happening to the planet”. I’m not onboard with all the older generation rage from young folks, but I also don’t think you’re giving the younger generations credit for recognizing the problem. My peers are all about composting and buying more eco-friendly alternatives.

    I think the bigger challenge is that we have systematic challenges to solve on a massive scale. Recycling is fundamentally broken unless it is possible to finance a better system that can recycle items in a way that doesn’t use excessive energy and water and reduces the waste problem. The logistics and economics of setting up a refillable goods system (like what you describe with the milk bottles) that ensure quality and safety of the refilled product are complicated. I honestly don’t know what the answer is.

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    1. I work in a school as a teaching assistant, and have been lucky enough to be in lessons where this issue is talked about more freely. I think recycling isn’t working because we are not given enough information. For example I didn’t know that the only plastics that can be recycled in a milk bottle is the bottle. The caps don’t go in the same bin. I think young or old, it is best not to make assumptions. I’m not saying we did things better, only that there was a system in place for these things. I don’t blame the general public because there needs to be better education. Most people would think they are helping the planet by recycling and putting the wrong things in their bin. Plastic bags are still being manufactured even though the risks are well known. Governments need to do more to educate and listen to both young and old. I worry about climate change because when I think of my grandchildren I want them to be safe. I wish I knew the answer too.

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