“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
“but I’m just one person, what difference can I make?”
We get that question a LOT… and the answer is much simpler than you might assume. In fact the answer - as spoken by Albert Einstein himself - is right above this section.. To make a difference you have to do one simple thing… You need to change the way you think.
Let’s look at this. Everything you use, everything you buy, everything you throw away is the product of a company that only exists because you use their products. It doesn’t matter if it is plastic bottles from Coca-Cola, ‘tuna’ flavoured cat food, or fish from the sea, those companies only produce those products because WE all buy them. Without the revenue generated by our sales those companies have no reason for existence.
Now let’s look at this in context.
Very few companies are started to change the world, to make the world a better place, or even just to help other people out. They might tell us they started for those reasons but essentially they were started for one reason, and one reason alone, to generate income. Those companies - again despite what their marketing departments might tell you - prioritise profit generation above all else. Sure they might try to placate us with “environmentally friendly packaging” or promises to plant a tree for each purchase but these are minor concessions to keep you buying their products and putting money in their bank accounts.
The simple fact is that we have allowed companies & income generation to mask our human needs. Nobody NEEDS plastic bottles, cats had never been within three miles of a Tuna before we domesticated them and seafood as a “healthy & necessary food source” is nothing more than a myth generated by the fishing industry (and religion, more on that later) to get you to pay over the odds for less than 60% of a useable animal.
This drive by companies to get you to buy anything they can think up to sell is at the forefront of why our planet is facing such desperate times & the biggest way to make a difference as an individual in this fight is to change your purchasing habits. No one is expecting you as an individual to save the world, but by forcing these companies - both globally and locally - to only produce the products we are willing & prepared to purchase we can force them to change the way they operate for the better.
No company on the planet wants to produce anything that does not make them money, it simply makes no business sense. Let us come together and reinvent capitalism in a way that benefits us as a species & the planet that we rely on for our very survival.
Below we have suggested some products that can absolutely be removed from our weekly shopping lists and offered some more earth friendly replacements where possible.
So NO to plastic bottles
This is perhaps the easiest change anyone can make in their daily habits. With Coca Cola being one of the largest producers of soft drinks on the planet changing your purchasing habits can also have a noticeable impact on their sales. Nearly every drink Coca-Cola produces in plastic bottles is also sold in aluminium cans and so you don’t even have to change your beverage choice.
What you will change is the billions of plastic bottles that eventually wind up in the sea, and if enough of us make this change Coca-Cola will very quickly see that the public appetite for plastic bottles is no longer as strong as it once was, and they will have no choice but to shift production levels accordingly.
Minimal impact to you, maximum impact to the production of single use plastic bottles across nearly an entire global market.
BTW, if you are thinking, “this doesn’t affect me, I don’t drink coke” feel free to check out the list of 500 different brands that the Coca-Cola Company produce here. I guarantee you something you drink will be on that list.
Species removal data collection
Using a variety of source data we are compiling the largest known database of species removal in the Channel Islands. Knowing what species are being taken from the ocean around us is imperative to our knowledge of not only the types of species being found in our waters but also the rate at which they are being harvested. Working - as much as possible - with local fisherman, supermarkets & charter operations we can obviously never hope to record every single fish that is removed from the ocean however being able to record even a small percentage of those removals can help us to understand - at least on a partial level - trends in spawning, seasonal fluctuations in available species & areas of the islands waters that are seeing either plentiful or minimal stocks.
Say NO to commercially caught fish
Let’s be very clear here, the oceans are in a terrible state, filled with our pollution, our plastic and our excrement. If someone told you the chicken you are eating had been fed on plastic particles & human poop (and that 3 dogs, two monkeys & a lama had also been killed to catch the chicken) there is a very good chance you would probably find that disgusting.
In reality that is exactly what it takes to bring commercially caught fish to your dinner plate. The fish we eat are ingesting things we most certainly wouldn’t eat ourselves & a wide array of other animals are also dying in the process of getting those fish on board and into your supermarkets.
The commercial fishing industry has been allowed to operate in a lawless obscurity for nearly 800 years and in that time they have raped the oceans with zero concern for sustainability or the habitats of the tens of thousands of species that live below the surface.
The fishing industry is never going to change its ways, not as long as there is still money pouring into their bank accounts and so it is time for us as consumers to take control of the situation and refuse to purchase the product of their destruction.
If you must still eat fish (if you can see past the poop in the water of course) then seek out and purchase only locally caught species that were harvested using line or spear, the benefits of which are discussed here.
NOTE: I wish I could give you a list of commercially caught fish that were still ok to eat, but there are non. That is how dire this situation is.
Creation & distribution of educational materials
The simple fact is - even though it surrounds us - our basic educational coverage of the ocean is frighteningly poor. The average person probably couldn’t name five species of marine life that resides in our waters, As is the norm with human education what we are mainly taught is self preservation - or “how not to die in the ocean in the summer” - & so it is no wonder that the destruction of the ocean has happened right under our noses without anyone really noticing. Seeking to change this & raise awareness of the wonders that exist just feet from the sand we are working to compile a comprehensive collection of educational materials that can be used by both adults & children alike to increase their understanding of the marine environment & its importance to our very existence.
Stop feeding your pets fish branded rubbish.
It has been said that anywhere from 20 - 45% of all waste in the ocean can be directly traced back to the fishing industry, both commercial & recreational. In Islands such as ours where sustenance fishing fights for stock with commercial trawlers the amount of man made rope, netting, plastic & other paraphernalia that is thrown into the depths on a weekly basis is staggering, Much of this will eventually fall victim to the violence of the ocean & become unusable or lost. As an industry fisheries (both large and small) have zero pressure to remove their waste & so much of it still roams the ocean waters indiscriminately snagging fish, marine mammals & even birds or washes up on our beaches where it poses further danger to shore bound creatures. Using watercraft & shore cleaning teams we track down & remove as much of this waste as possible & recycle or dispose of it in a manner that it can no longer harm ocean species.
Introductions to the ocean environment
We have found that - without exception - the people who care about the oceans the most are the people who have experienced what it has to offer. Whether they be surfers, kayakers, swimmers, snorkelers or divers, once you have played within it the ocean is impossible to forget. In order to increase the number of people who are actively using & caring about the ocean environment we run free introduction programs in a variety of activities, creating more ocean lovers with every session.
These sessions are available to anyone of any level & offer not only a healthy, safe & fun way to gain a greater understanding of the ocean but also a gentle introduction to activities that can be enjoyed further on an individual basis.
Join us in the fight to save our oceanic waters by becoming a member today. SIGN UP HERE
“I don't believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility.”