Global Warming Crisis vs. My RV Trip-Smackdown
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
3 Important ways to prevent mass extinction and go on your RV trip.
Pick Up Your Mess!
Getting an RV has been a huge dream for me. A house on wheels, a portable bathroom, a bed no one else has slept in. It’s the ability to have comfort while on the road.
The RV plan was to work while I roam. The joy I felt writing while in a beautiful National forest was awesome. My joy didn’t last long. The reality of a crisis quickly erased it.
Yesterday I spent the day shattered. My RV joy was erased in a matter of minutes. The reality of never using it again was breathing in my face. I actually teared up. Canceling my next trip seemed inevitable.
I have an exciting RV trip coming up. I’ve been planning for this pretty intensely. The location is fairly remote. The drive alone is pass-out scary. The camp elevation is over 7,000 ft. It’s known for its beautiful star-speckled sky.
Like a mother elephant protecting her calf, I was shaken to the core after I learned what a crisis the world is in. I felt defeated. I purchased my RV before I realized how much it contributes to Global Warming. I felt the call for action touch my soul and spread through every cell. Every human in the world needs to stop contributing to Global Warming to prevent a catastrophic crisis of mass extinction.
As a world, we battled through Covid-19. Together, we can turn the crisis of Global Warming around. It can be done. According to Scientist Johan Rockstrom and Naturalist David Attenborough in the documentary Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, there is still a little time.
How can you and I change? How can we help as humans? We can help by offsetting our personal contribution to the Global Crisis. We can be aware of our own carbon footprint and use the many carbon footprint calculation tools available to help us be more keenly aware. There are many Global Footprint apps on Google Play.
I took the challenge and calculated the carbon print for my upcoming trip. I’m actively thinking of ways I can reduce that print. I also found a local reforesting group to donate to. Since I’m in California, I’m donating to California reforestations closest to my location.
But that isn’t enough. Every moment of the day, you and I are contributing to the crisis, not the solution. The goal for each human is to decrease their carbon footprint by 50% over the next 10 years. How do we do that?
Do You Really Want to Eat That?
Eat Healthily. Yes, surprise surprise. That’s an easy thing to do to lower your personal carbon footprint. That means eat less meat. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Use less plastic.
According to Terrapass.com, eliminating waste and going vegan can reduce your carbon footprint considerably. I’m not vegan, but I know I can be happy with far less meat and far more plant-based produce.
When you are planning meals, think of the whole carbon footprint. Begin choosing meals with the least carbon footprint, then offset its remaining carbon footprint by donating to reforesting projects. That means consuming food with “minimal impact on land, water, and energy resources,” according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Plant-based diets are more sustainable” choose “minimal impact on land, water, and energy resources.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Do Life Differently!
Changing my diet is great but still not enough. I have a gas car, travel in my RV, and live in a scorching climate requiring AC. I don’t have the money to switch over to solar. I feel stuck. I live in a home that can’t have solar on the roof. I’m not sure what to do.
Do life differently. I have decided to find ways to reduce my need for electricity by investigating new ways of doing things. For example, how can I use less electricity in my home? I have a small solar set up which can charge computers and lights. I have portable solar lights.
There are solar refrigerators and freezers, but what methods can I learn that will eliminate the need for them in the first place? Fermented food is a possibility like pickling and canning. Using foods that can store in a pantry vs. a fridge.
Earthships are my passion. I can put focus on my home. I wished it was an Earthship. Earthships are self-sufficient. If we all had Earthships, we would be decreasing our carbon footprint considerably. According to Smart Cities Dive, Earthships have earned the label “zero carbon” homes.
Summary:
The Earth is in crisis and heading quickly towards catastrophic mass extinction.
Each human is being asked to reduce their carbon footprint by 50% over the next decade.
Start today by eating a diet that has the least carbon footprint.
Calculate your carbon footprint and find ways to decrease it.
Offset your carbon footprint by donating to reforesting. Find a local reforestation project and get to work or donate to one online that actually plants trees.
Research Earthships and why they have earned the label “zero carbon” homes. How can you do the same for your home?
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References:
Kubala, Jillian. “9 Nutrition Tips for Reducing Your Carbon Footprint.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 6 Jan. 2020, www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-reduce-carbon-footprint#The-bottom-line.
“Eat Your Way to a Smaller Carbon Footprint.” Terrapass, 24 May 2021, www.terrapass.com/blog/eat-your-way-to-a-smaller-carbon-footprint.
Adam Drewnowski, Healthy diets for a healthy planet, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 99, Issue 6, June 2014, Pages 1284–1285, https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.088542
“Sustainable Homes: The Earthship.” Smart Cities Dive, www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/sustainable-homes-earthship/1156549/.
Serba, John. “Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet’ on Netflix, in Which David Attenborough Explains Why Earth Is (Almost) Doomed.” Decider, Decider, 10 June 2021, decider.com/2021/06/09/breaking-boundaries-the-science-of-our-planet-on-netflix-stream-it-or-skip-it/.