Personal Choices

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i’m carolyn claire bridges and we’re all

in this together

i am excited yet challenged to be

speaking to you today

i’m excited because i’ve been given such

an amazing opportunity to speak about

such a pressing matter

however i’m challenged because there are

so many moving parts

that i won’t be able to go into every

nook and cranny and do it justice with

the short amount of time that i’m given

but i do hope that you all are able to

take something away from

the time that we’re about to spend

together according to the carbon majors

database

conducted by the cpd which is an

international non-for-profit

nearly 100 companies generate

71 of our global annual carbon emissions

and the top 10 alone produce

36 of

the total global carbon emissions

but all of those companies have one

thing in common

they all profit off of an industry that

generates money

through non-renewable resources like

coal oil

and natural gases and as we know

coal and oil and natural gases

are non-renewable they take millions of

years to form

through intense heat and pressure

but now that we know

that they’re the culprit for

the majority of our carbon emissions

we’re left with a bigger question

are there any sustainable solutions

you know something that meets the needs

of the present

but doesn’t cost us the future

that also hits three markers being

economically

feasible ecologically

viable and socially desirable

so is it good for the environment do

people want to do it

and will we still make a profit will the

economy still be fined

fine uh

well yes there are solutions and i am

sure that

you all are familiar with majority of

them if not all

so we have solar wind hydro

which is water and geothermal there are

resources that can be replenished

as quickly as they’re being used and

personally i think that

working with what the environment has to

offer us

is a lot more beneficial than going

against it

drilling holes to find an energy source

when

you know in florida where we have sunny

days

almost every single day so you know

solar would be great

for relying that relying on that for

energy

but in chicago i mean

that wouldn’t really be the best option

you would want to go with wind

so figuring out what each environment

has to offer and utilizing that

to the fullest extent and in addition to

the clean energy industry being a

sustainable practice

forbes reported from the clean jobs

america report

that it also generates high wage stable

jobs for blue-collar workers

and 3.3 million americans work in that

industry

so that’s for every for every one foster

fuel industry worker

it’s three clean energy industry workers

triple the amount

that’s insane

additionally uh a pew research study

conducted in 2017

found that around 68

of americans wanted to expand

the clean energy industry whereas only

wanted to continue in the fossil fuel

industry

so to recap the clean energy industry is

not only

a socially desirable as seen with the

pew research study

but it’s also economically feasible

and ecologically viable making it hit

all three markers

of being a sustainable solution

uh but you know how do we go about

getting there referencing chapter six

of the power of renewable opportunities

and challenges

for china and the united states we start

by lowering

our consumption of energy so

you know unplugging idle electronics

turning off the lights when we leave

places switching to led bulbs

and while we do that the type of energy

that we consume

being green energy goes up

that’s one way we can start another way

is to look at the green new deal

and while factcheck.org did

basically say that it’s kind of just a

plan of attack and nothing will really

occur

unless separate legislation is enacted

it really gives

a lot of hope and a lot of promise

to what we could do and that it’s not

a dream that is unachievable it’s a

dream that

we can actually

achieve there are other ways that you

can combat your carbon emissions

you don’t have to just go from a

legislative point of view which that is

great that is amazing that is encouraged

you have to hold these companies

accountable

however if you want to create

immediate action you want to feel like

you are making a difference because you

are

here are some things that you can do

but before i get into that it is

important to note

that altering your lifestyle

for the betterment of the environment

it’s challenging

it is challenging because

it can be more expensive and it can be

more inconvenient

i would know i’m vegan it can be very

inconvenient

very inexpensive as i’ve said multiple

times

um but you know you get the hang of it

and

there you know you can reduce the amount

of carbon emissions

by consuming less meat

you know maybe one meal a week you’re

able to substitute it for

a meat alternative or you know a bunch

of chickpeas and legumes

uh another way you’ve heard this a

million times

you’re gonna hear it a million times

more is

to bike take

the bus or walk to wherever you need to

go if possible

i know that’s not always the safest

thing for people to do

and given the current circumstances

it’s probably not the most sanitary

thing

driving on a bus but if you’re able to

that is highly encouraged it reduces

the carbon emissions you would use to

drive there separately

you know you can always carpool too um

there are other ways like composting

um thrifting thrifting is great there

are so

many online shops there’s depop there’s

poshmark uh

thread up there are so many shops online

and

there are

a lot of shops in person too

there’s so many community thrift shops

so you’ll be supporting your local

economy as well

uh to continue buying locally

locally created items uh produce

um bread i always went to the market

uh in my town to get a loaf of bread

each week

is amazing fresh you’re supporting your

local farmers bakers

artists and in general your local

economy which is always great there’s

also bringing your reusable water

bottles

your silverware utensils um

that can be a bit more challenging

bringing utensils

there are great websites online that you

can find sustainably and ethically

created items

that hold you know wooden

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spoons forks knives

super small they wrap up there is a

market in st

petersburg florida called sands

they do no packaging

so they have compostable packaging or

glass packaging

refillable shampoos all that that

it’s a great shop if you’re ever in st

pete to check it out

um and i think those are just a couple

of things that you can do

to reduce your waste just being more

conscious in general

with that in mind here are some ways

that you can take immediate action

i hope that through this time that we

have shared together i’ve been able to

adequately

address the threat that we all face and

by no means

am i an expert nor do i even see myself

as an expert

but i wish that my talk has inspired you

and reminded you

that you are able to create change and

that every single step towards a more

sustainable future

is a step in the right direction thank

you