White Supremacy Depletes the Planet of Its Natural Resources Faster Than The Earth Can Regenerate Them.
We only have one planet Earth. And Black Lives Still Matter!
Photo by Markus Spiske
Originally published on Medium.
The greediest, wealthiest, and most polluter corporations/companies along with their consumers, us. I swear it is a struggle because we all need to change our mindset and our consumption habits in order to begin letting go of excess expenditure and take action to reduce our ecological footprint (click on this hyperlink to find a glossary of keywords to learn from the global footprint network).
“We are stripping the earth of its natural resources at a rate that’s increasingly leaving the planet barren and inhospitable.“ — according to the environmental nonprofit the Global Footprint Network.
We now only have 7 years to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 degrees celsius, or we will be facing the severe consequences of climate change and our inevitable extinction.
This absolutely can be prevented if we UNITE and get to work. I’m going to start making more videos on our channels AngieBlog, WritersYep, and most of the podcast episodes on Your Story Matters, alongside other climate leaders and BIPOC who have been doing this for a lot longer than we have. Our content will be mostly about sustainability, forms of creativity (writing, art, design, photography, music, movies, book club, yoga, consciousness) through adversity, mental health, social justice, climate crisis, and human rights.
Our story matters, and my team and I want to amplify the voices of the voiceless. Our goal is to inspire, educate and create a diverse and inclusive space for others to feel comfortable sharing their story. Come join us, and let’s support each other. ❤
First, let’s remember: we need to start boycotting polluted companies, and those not changing their practices to be more renewable and less toxic. For us, it is important to be conscious of our own consumption.
As the Earth overshoot day solutions mentioned:
“The past does not necessarily determine our future. Our current choices do. Through wise, forward-looking decisions, we can turn around natural resource consumption trends while improving the quality of life for all people. “
If you look at the map, you have access to see the ecological deficit/reserve, total ecological footprint, ecological footprint per person, total biocapacity, and biocapacity per person (save and share this article ❤, help an eco-mom spread the word).
In other words, by having access to this data we can all take control of our own consumption habits and take action by being an active agent reducing our own carbon emission and holding others accountable. Yes, just like you are holding yourself accountable for being anti-racist and checking your bias. The same thing that we must do daily, is to reduce our own personal co2 emissions and collectively.
How can you ensure this work is collective? Use the power of technology and social media! Share with your communities your story so that others can learn from you! #ReduceC02challenge. Use the hashtag #Yourstorymatters and let’s do this! Tag me and my team, and I will share your journey alongside us and our community ❤
Reduce my own Co2 emissions? Start small, then go big.
Start by:
Stopping buying items you don’t need on Amazon.
Supporting local businesses!
Opting for a bamboo toothbrush.
Purchasing self-care utilities from companies that produce low carbon emissions.
Educating yourself. Subscribe to our monthly newsletters about sustainability, creativity, mental health support, books to read, and collaborations with businesses we are currently supporting, and join our eco-warrior community!
Bringing your reusable bag to the grocery store.
Saying NO to plastic bags and straws. Using less plastic in general.
Driving less. Try biking, walking, or taking the bus (most of them are functioning by hydrogen now).
Saving and investing your money (our power as the people).
Encouraging your local store to change their plastic packing (show them the map above and the world clock ;).
Bringing your reusable coffee mug and water bottle when you got out (alongside your reusable mask!).
Buy local, and don’t buy fruits wrapped in plastic! (I’ve been removing the plastic wraps and leaving them at the store and letting their manager know why wrapping a banana is ridiculous and it’s killing our planet. Yep, be bold and let them know what you learn in your own sustainability journey).
Buying from black-owned or any BIPOC businesses helps to build wealth for them. As a result, it creates a more diverse, sustainable, and equitable system that benefits all of us and the planet. Also, it contributes to the abolition of white supremacy and this racist, fascist, and capitalist system. By removing their source of funding (our tax money) you control your own money and invest it on the right side of history.
Save money to take care of yourself and your mental well-being. Especially, during these uncertain times. The more you take care of yourself and focus on improving your lifestyle, and taking your money/power back, you are dismantling and decolonizing this system already. Remember, the oppressors want you to be silent, tired, and dependable on their games and they will fight you! They will always find ways to keep you manipulated. They have done it for centuries. It is important to be educated on this history so that you can become confident in your decisions and take action accordingly. Don’t let them bring you down, and please don’t ever give up! Rome was not built in a day. So, be mindful of your time and well-being.
Photo by Markus Spiske
Another way to reduce your own Co2 emissions is by starting to give to the sustainable, renewables, eco, and black-owned businesses [Black owned businesses 1, Black-Owned businesses 2 (Montreal) Black-owned businesses (Canada)]. You honestly save more money and get better service, plus amazing quality. By shopping at these low carbon emission companies, we are providing them with the right ammunition to start abolishing the old system.
This system was designed to benefit others and their toxic and disgusting practices. Which they keep protecting themselves with our tax money which keeps them in power.
This is why the system lies and does not give us the right tools through education; because that was their way to keep us oppressed and naive. As a result, their greed, colonial and white supremacy strategies are what has been affecting (mostly BIPOC, minorities, marginalized and oppressed individuals) our physical and mental health, our ecosystems, and our planet. This is why history needs to be rewritten. The real truth. So that others can have a chance to act accordingly in the future. We are in jeopardy, and we have a way to prevent it, but it must be done collectively, and in unity to fight for what’s important and what really matters.
We also need to address that not everyone has the privilege to save money or be able to afford to change their habits to be more sustainable. I don’t want to be the cause for more eco-anxiety than we are all already experiencing. This article is to provide solutions and ways to create action. One day at a time, and one person at a time.
It is definitely a huge issue that many communities face. The world clock has definitely created some new anxieties that were already an issue before. Some people are not convinced that displaying this is the most effective solution. That it is really scary and daunting to see how much time we have left until “our doom”, for people to walk past every day, especially low-income people and marginalized communities that are contributing the least. Not by option though. If companies and corporations change their global economic system into a circular economy, by creating affordable, equitable, and sustainable initiatives (so we all can contribute to reducing C02 emissions), then, we all have a chance to reduce their ecological carbon footprint.
Infographic: source
In terms of climate change impact, the question that we need to ask ourselves is: “who is this clock actually serving?” The largest contributors to climate change are big corporations, however, they are not the target audience for this display or the ones who will be most impacted by seeing this. Which I agree with. Instead, it will be poor people and communities of color that are currently experiencing environmental injustice.
This is why we ALL (those who are privileged to do so, we can help the voiceless by amplifying their stories and voices) have to continue by sharing our stories and putting pressure on these companies, corporations and hurt them where it needs to. WITH OUR MONEY. FREE WILL and OPTIONS are FREE.
Yep, you can choose where and who you put your money on. Isn’t that amazing? You can contribute to dismantling this system by connecting, supporting our brothers and sisters, being an ally, sharing, and choosing where you put your money. Saving, investing, and having a side-hustle along with your part-time/full-time job is also another way that you can control your own destiny, and still help others and your planet at the same time.
As an eco-warrior mama, I believe that spreading awareness and helping to mitigate the climate crisis in any way we can is vital. This is why we have become new climate reality leaders. I’m committed to sharing my knowledge as an environmental scientist and presenting sustainable solutions (trained by Al Gore) and climate change solutions.
However, we have been seeing issues within the climate community of putting so much pressure, blame, guilt and responsibility onto consumers and actions like the world clock. It makes the climate crisis, which is already a source of eco-anxiety for so many impacted communities, feel so much more hopeless. Particularly for those who don’t actually have the resources to be able to make very big tangible changes. We believe that instead of placing so much responsibility on the consumers to be the ones to “fix” climate change.
The funds that went into creating this performative gesture could have instead gone towards initiatives to make climate adaptation more accessible and inclusive or to fight environmental injustice. Same issues, but different scenarios are happening in Montreal, Quebec. Recently they have put 5 million dollars into French-language initiatives. In other words, funding discrimination, racism, capitalism, and white supremacy paid from our own taxes. Here are my two-cent thoughts about this.
What are your thoughts?
Breonna Taylor and Her Family deserve Better.
Read this article from Jamil Smith (Happy Birthday by the way! It’s beautiful you wrote about Breonna Taylor's injustice and disrespect from the racist US supreme court on your day. This is a great article, and I’m sure her family, her friends, and those who knew her and loved her (who are in rage right now) will appreciate your kindness and courage to voice the truth in Rolling Stone magazine.). After I heard the news, I made a vlog for my brothers and sisters to remember that we need to take breaks and that this fight is not over!
180 Black-Owned Businesses to Support (USA)
All “good things” have to end too. It’s time and we all know it. Educated it enough this past 6 months?
Thankful for the other day; planned, decorated, and enjoyed a good day with my mom for my Sofía’s birthday. We are getting ready and in the process, in our own way, to say goodbye to my mom. She’s weaker and getting more tired every day. This is the hardest part. To let go. Especially, when you no longer have the choice. This is why we’ve decided to start being more grateful for what we already have. Be more kind and proud of always learning through adversity and struggles. That life is very short and it matters a lot how you spend your time and how you treat others. My mom is/was an amazing person. She taught us the meaning of being more present and treasuring every moment. We are going to miss her a lot.
Life is very simple. We have just been conditioned to believe that this is all there is. The educational system programmed us into learning to accept lies, and how to keep ourselves colonized and oppressed. That only “white”, “Male”, “straight hair”, and “wealthy” are the righteous privileged humans. Therefore we must try to be just like them, or get killed, or die trying. And it is now a crime to be a black woman or any woman of color. We are powerful and they know it. The system has conditioned us to live in a non-inclusive, unequal and unsustainable world. It needs to change now.
We are very aware that all we have learned is a lie right? Trying to sugar coat this very racist, whitewash, a capitalist system designed to keep us in mental slavery. We need to start to get out collectively and in unity. These systems we live in and we all pay so much for just living… all designed to keep us with the illusion of “freedom”.
All the “isms”, mental health, inequality, White privileged, and BIPOC traumatic experiences are the result of systemic racism and white supremacy.
Mental slavery is our generation’s blueprint. We can change that, together.
We are depriving ourselves of actually living to our potential… because of money, greed, hate, chaos, murdering by police brutality, hoarding money, buying things that you don’t need.
It’s OUR job now to live more eco-friendly and change our buying habits, consumer products, and of course work on being anti-racist, abolish white supremacy, and decolonized our mindset.
How ridiculous was Labor Day weekend, huh? It’s in our faces that the inequality is very clear in this system and societies around the world. Now during a world pandemic is more like an insult and degrading. Plus, ignorant of the fact that there are people dealing with poverty, hunger, and serious homelessness that have increased more during this year.
Except in countries where homelessness and poverty do not exist. It’s insane to know and see that some countries can make sure it’s people are safe and not be exposed and in danger during COVID-19 rising again.
Instead, the countries we are living in, are investing in trying to get back to “normal” and trying to keep the old system going. Which by now, you are very aware that is not the way anymore. I hope so. Because millions of people are dying. While the system and those who control it, are trying to keep white supremacy and racist systems going.
They are literally letting us know by their actions and through media, the old system is worth more therefore to keep in power at all cost, than actually saving human lives. The world is designed to keep us divided and now, we all have to work on staying together and making sure our rights are not being violated just because they can. Here is a video to give you some hope if we are back into lockdown and why our sacrifice will not be in vain if we do.
Stay safe, wear your masks and remember to be kind to your planet, to you, and others every day. Because we all depend on it now.
*Remember we are still raising money for Lebanon, Beirut. Here is why.
Here is the link: https://gf.me/u/ynwzwz (Donate and share)
Thank you for your support!
Love and Light,
_AO.
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Edited by Emma P❤
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