It’s definitely been a gradual realisation, but about a year or so ago I became fully aware of the gravity of the environmental issues we’re faced with. I have social media to thank for that. It was through Instagram that I connected with other environmentalists and started learning more about the problems, as well as ways to tackle it. My whole life I’ve been aware that littering is bad, but it wasn’t until recently that I learned that where we throw our trash isn’t the only thing that matters – it’s what and how much we throw away that matters even more.
Most people are now aware of the worrying state of our environment. The world we all know has already started changing – snow in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, record high temperatures in England, extinction of species – and these are just some of the symptoms. Scientists claim we only have 12 years to change the way we live, before it’s too late – before we face a true climate catastrophe. But, while changing your own personal habits is important, it isn’t enough. We need to target the big companies that contribute the most to the environmental decline, and we can do that by living consciously, by being discerning consumers and demanding sustainable options.