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Environment vs. Credit Crunch
Posted by: Nyree Ambarchian
Excerpt from Shades of Green (Nyree’s wonderful column which appears in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph every Saturday).
The question of the hour…Will sustainability stay at the forefront of minds with the credit crunch looming?
Where once headlines focussed on climate change, they now look at the slowing economic climate. Reports about melting polar ice caps have been replaced by stories on the latest banking giant to fall victim to the crunch. Even David Cameron is being snapped looking grim about his energy bill rather than looking breezy on his bike.
Does this mean the environment has toppled as the key issue affecting our modern lives? That we have forgotten the planet and are committing a plethora of eco-sins as we’re absorbed by thoughts of impending economic doom?
Well in actual fact, the credit crunch is doing the planet some good. There’s nothing like the tightening of purse strings to cut your carbon footprint. Reports from across the country demonstrate that we are being more careful with our hard earned pennies; buying less and buying smart.
As reported in the Sunday Times recently, supermarkets are recording a slump in the sale of ready meals with more customers choosing to cook rather than ‘ping’ their evening meal. Sales of teddy bears and spinning tops are up with parents favouring longer lasting toys. UK camp sites are enjoying a 10% increase in bookings as holidays abroad are substituted for the simple pleasures of the great outdoors. People are also taking the greener, cheaper option when it comes to transport with 14% flying less and 6% driving less. Even the amount of junk mail we are receiving through the letter box is decreasing, particularly items from credit card companies.
All this is great news for the environment! We are all doing less of the things that are really damaging (shopping, driving, flying) and doing more of the things that are greener and healthier (cooking from scratch, cycling, enjoying nature).
And really this is all we need to do - a bit less, a bit slower. The credit crunch might have shunted the environment off the front page, but it’s doing wonders for changing the way we live; making us greener, healthier and, dare I say it, happier.
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You make a great point Nyree! The credit crunch is forcing us to simplify our lives. Even those people who weren’t interested in going green before the crunch may now be passively reducing their ecological footprint. You finish off by suggesting we may even end up happier too….it would be good to do some research on this – especially existing stats tell us happiness in the UK lower than in the 1950’s despite the fact that we are on average 3 times richer. The New Economics Foundation are of the same philosophy – they believe ‘Real wealth is well-being’ – and interestingly they’ve just launched a ‘Green New Deal’ to tackle ‘triple crunch’ of credit, oil price and climate crises - www.neweconomics.org
It looks like P Diddy agrees, Nyree. Not for the fainthearted, or those with an aversion to irony, here is the rapper's take on it all http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fmfjkhVhg7A.
You're right, as the so-called credit crunch takes hold, people are spending less and doing less, and since pretty much any activity involves resourse and energy depletion (= climate change), then it's better for us and the planet. For me, this week's financial meltdown brought this into focus - that our whole way of life is geared toward consumption, which requires more and more money/credit to fund. I fear we will try to fix the current crisis (in fact Friday night the US has come up with a plan to bury the debt, like toxic waste) and then try to return to 'situation normal' after a few months/years. To have a greener future we need a more sustainable financial system, and a wholesale change in our thinking and lifestyles; Hmmm quite a challenge then!Further comments (if you're interested?) here: http://4fooey.wordpress.com