PSA: The Planet Is Still Dying.
Before I start this one, I am going to say a little bit about me.
I am not a vegan. I do not shop in 'No Waste' stores. I didn't even make it to the last climate strike because I was finishing an essay.
Basically, I suck.
However, I still consider myself an advocate for the environment.
Scratch that. Anyone who gives a damn about their future is an advocate for the environment. Even those lovely, not at all corrupt, politicians selling off half the Amazon rainforest could be advocates for the environment. It's really not a difficult label to be able to give yourself.
Nevertheless, before Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace come after me: I grow my own fruit and veg, walk to my destination as much as possible, recycle everything I can, and categorically refuse to purchase single-use plastic or bottled water. Please forgive me for eating a little bit of meat every now and then.
Covid or Climate
You may be wandering where this is going. Sure, everything I have just said is common knowledge. Yes, nothing I say will make even the faintest dent on human history. Absolutely, I needed a new topic to write about in my blog... oops, you got me.
Anyway, since this whole pandemic thing, decades of environmental activism seems to have been entirely forgotten. Of course, I understand how trends work. Pre-Covid the only concerns on people's minds were some orange man with a weird haircut and making sure to put the bins out on time. It was all very easy to put a price tag on plastic bags and occasionally put some cardboard in a different bin. That'll shut those scaremongers up right?
It's not so simple anymore.
Things have to be cleaned properly. People have to be protected. Lives are in danger. Who cares about the environment?
I do and I am fed up.
Restaurants, Pubs, and Bars
I completely understand that restaurants and bars have had to adjust to a takeaway system in order to keep their industry afloat. I also respect that many restaurants use cardboard instead of adhering to the destructive addiction to plastic that you have to look no further than the local Chinese takeaway to discover. What I don't get is why this also applies to in-house service.
Why am I drinking a pint out of a plastic cup when I am sat just metres away from a sink and all the equipment required to clean an actual glass?
Why is my cream tea being locked into a sealed cardboard box for me to walk 10 paces and eat it?
Why are my inevitably increasing taxes being used to pay the person who could easily be cleaning these dishes to be sitting at home?
That's not all. Some of these places don't even have the decency to put a specific bin out for these now single-use pollutants to be recycled. Pint cups are everywhere. I am not going to name any but you'd think a bar beside the sea would have a little more concern for the future of the ocean right in front of it.
Supermarkets
Good job for maintaining delivery lines and keeping everyone fed but this one is a real pet peeve of mine. The delivery system is an absolute joke.
Why am I receiving hundreds of half-empty and non-biodegradable plastic bags every time my parents order £100 worth of food? Sure, it says on the bag that you can recycle it at the local store, but how many are going to actually do that when they are ordering online in order to avoid going to the store?
At least fill the bags completely instead of the five or less items per bag that seems to persist.
PPE
Last but not least we have personal protective equipment. Single-use plastic gloves that tear at the slightest tension, face masks that are rendered useless from even a hint of water, and those luxurious aprons that you do not tend to see very often.
Don't get me wrong, I am well aware of how cross-contamination works and respect the need for lots of PPE. But, again, I have questions.
Why are new gloves disposed of every time something is about to be cleaned? Why not just use one pair for dirty and one pair for clean...
Why are companies not obliged to give their staff reusable face masks instead of a new box of disposables every shift?
On top of that, how are companies allowed to profit from the provision of what has now become a legal necessity? It's almost as ridiculous as selling water. Government will pay 50% for people to eat out but won't provide them with a mask?!
Conclusion
To conclude, in case you did not already notice, I am not happy. Not only have students been entirely neglected in the face of the pandemic, but so has the environment. I was okay with losing all of my money. I was okay with the extremely poor quality of teaching that I had to endure. I am not okay with the blatant disregard for the future of myself and my descendants.
The few examples I mentioned are just a snippet of what I have experienced first-hand. Global warming is real. Climate change is not just a trend that companies can profit on their support of. These dangers did not suddenly cease because of a more pressing short-term concern that pushed them out of the media. You can no longer hide beneath the positive effects that lockdown had on the environment. Try harder.
Stay Safe.
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