A past speech - responsibilities to the environment
A few years ago I was invited to speak at an event organised by the college's chapter of Amnesty International. I'm not much of a speechwriter (or a speaker for that matter), but I thought I may as well. The theme was on "pathways to peace", and my speech was on the environmental crisis, the violence it contains, and the necessity for action. It's not great, and I cringe a bit reading back over it, but I was younger and I was speaking to a young audience, so I'm not holding it to incredibly high standards.
Take a moment to consider why you came today. For many of you here, including myself, our social consciousness was sparked by the knowledge that our Earth is warming at an alarming rate. Our reality is very different from that of our parents and our grandparents. We became aware of the world at the very time when it became clear it was being torn apart.
The polar ice caps are melting. Sea level rise is accelerating, and the oceans are warming. Think about the succession of devastating floods, bushfires and droughts that are ravaging the world: not only on our TV screens but also on our doorstep.
Zambia is undergoing a famine due to both flooding and unnaturally prolonged drought. Three million people in Niger rely on humanitarian aid after persistent drought. 7.2 million people in Bangladesh have been affected by floods. Australia suffered a “megafire” in summer 2019, and just last year, the worst recorded floods ever, killing 27.
We cannot sit back and pretend that everything will be okay. The global heating of the planet is fundamentally unjust and as inheritors of the planet we have a duty to act. The three billion poorest people on earth produce practically no greenhouse gas emissions. By contrast, only five hundred million people emit half of all greenhouse gases. Australia is one of the guilty countries and our inaction is causing climate grief to others.
Meanwhile, the Australian Government has just approved three new coal mines in Queensland. Can we stand by and do nothing? These projects will amount to a 6% increase in Australia’s total carbon emissions. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal. We are still, even in this time of crisis, expanding humanity’s capacity to destroy itself.
We are here today to create pathways to peace. It is our responsibility to show our government that its ignorance of climate change and refusal to put our species above corporate greed is far from peaceful. It will lead to human suffering on a grand scale, and possibly the end of human civilisation.
So, you might be asking yourself: what can I do? Take action. Get out and campaign for environmental protection. Show up at protests. If there aren’t any, organise your own, or send letters to representatives, or educate and mobilise online. Friends from Extinction Rebellion and the Wilderness Society are in attendance today. Find out more from them about how you can get involved. In the meantime, on an individual level: compost food waste, aim to cut out plastic, grow your own food, if possible. Consider your finances: If $100 could contribute to the saving of a life, would you donate it to aid relief, or spend it on new clothes? But never forget: this is a systemic problem, and systemic problems require systemic solutions.
The fight isn’t over yet! You are here because you want to make a difference, and you can. Corporations and our government are choosing to destroy the environment, but these actions can be stopped. It will take work, but if we stand together, we can do it. You’re not alone – look around you! Let today be your first step on a grand journey for peace.