Rick Crawford
My New Year’s Resolution this year is to “Imagine a Sustainable Planet” because I believe you have to have a vision for the world you want to create. My vision includes: massive reforestation projects around the world to protect biodiversity and fight the climate crisis; keeping fossil fuels in the ground and moving to 100% renewable energy for all of our energy needs; cleaning up our rivers and oceans so that they are free of plastic pollution and that’s just scratching the surface. Why you might ask? Well, mostly for my daughter as we are reaching a critical time on the life of the planet, but also because I simply want to protect what I love. Climate change is the greatest threat our planet faces today, but so is our growing population and our demand for both natural and synthetic resources. In fact, I read an article from Grist this past week that the plastic industry emits the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 600 coal-fired power plants! I have also recently been reading articles saying that humanity is well on its way to the 6th mass extinction as biodiversity loss and species are increasingly becoming extinct, the Great Barrier Reef is dying and so on. Thinking about the world we will leave behind to our children is depressing, so I have decided to start a new blog series, called “Keep Chopping!” to highlight positive sustainability stories from around the world that shows the progress of the individuals, companies and countries who are making the world a better place.
Because it’s so easy to get caught up in the negative hype around the climate crisis, plastic pollution and other environmental threats, I thought why not give everyone a shot in the arm of positivity every now and again! If we just “keep chopping” we will see positive change, so here’s this months “Keep Chopping: Positive Sustainability Stories from Around the World!”
- Dunkin’ Ditching Foam Cups by End of Year
- Morrisons the First Supermarket to Ban Fruit Plastic Packaging
- Lego is Running Entirely on Renewable Energy 3 Years Ahead of Schedule
- Disney Goes Green with Half a Million Solar Panels to Power their Theme Parks
- IKEA to Use Mushroom Packaging that will Decompose in a Garden Within Weeks
- Qantas Passengers in World-First ‘Zero Waste’ Flight
- Maine Becomes 1st State to Ban Styrofoam
- New York State Bans Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling
- Solar Installations in US Now Exceed 2 Million and Could Double by 2023
- Costa Rica to become the World’s First Plastic-Free and Carbon-Free Country by 2021
Hopefully, these positive sustainability stories provides you with some motivation and inspiration for saving the planet! The world is ready for a sustainable planet and many companies and countries are moving away from plastic and fossil fuels, so please feel free to share the good news on social media and remember to Imagine a Sustainable Planet, Keep Chopping and Carry On!