Please, Like Me!

Check in on your social media and be prepared to be overwhelmed.  At least, that is a common feeling for me.  As international environmental and human rights activists, Biocraft is inundated with online media worthy of reaction.  Often I find myself wondering if people just react to a headline that shows up on their news feed or if the article makes any kind of difference in their choices.  Recently we published a blog about the chronic buying disease that has infected our world and how fake holiday exists because of it.  After publishing, a staggering eight people responded on our actual blog page.  Great, I thought, not only can 8 people read, but these people don’t like Black Friday.

Great, but…

I come from Richmond, Virginia home of sarcasm, punks and the inevitable need to complain better than the person next to you. Richmond is: perfect and terrible, can’t wait to leave and glad to be back, generally the same as anywhere and different in all the right ways.  I understand excuses and I understand not giving a S#*@. However,  “Likes” or emojis telling your friend that you like his or her new beard or that some loud band is great, most of it is waste of time.  Liking an article about how you dislike fracking isn’t doing anything.

The truth is, that if you don’t like something and you have the time to react to it on various social media sites you frequent, you probably are smart enough to do something about it.  The first possibility is that you can spend your money differently. The other possibility is that you could share solutions in an attempt to inform alternatives.  Also, liking something is not nearly as powerful as sharing, if it truly means something to you.  If you feel that social media is meant for impact, use it for that.  If not, share cat videos.

Freakin’ Fracking

Don’t like Fracking, great me neither.  Ask yourself, how do I currently get my energy?  The surprising thing about this question is, that many people don’t know the answer. Or, they think they know the answer.   The great thing is there are currently companies championing education on this topic. Ovanova, a company that Biocraft partnered with last year, offers a unique opportunity to the public by educating them about solar energy while generating funds to support the community.  Many of us are not aware of the environmental cost of how we get our energy and what savings you can have by switching to renewables like solar.  The solutions to environmental degradation are available, we must educate ourselves about access.

Plastacky

Has single use plastic got you down?  Fortunately there is a clever alternative, don’t buy any.  Turns out that before the advent of single use plastics, people and wildlife around the world, were doing just fine.  The modern world tries to convince us that we need this convenience-yet we get to choose.

There are of course, single use exceptions that have changed history in the medical field, but this does not translate to things that can be reusable like bags, water bottles and forks.  Trips to the local farmers market greatly reduce your dependence on single use plastic packaging and support local agriculture.

Support local legislation that reduces your homes, neighborhoods and environment from being polluted by unnecessary waste. Countries like Kenya, have already banned plastic bags and the EU is set to ban single use plastics next year.

Lumber Blunder

Troubles with tree cutting?  Deforestation ranks high on many environmentalist’s lists of global problems and there are many ways to make a difference. The solution to deforestation starts at your back door.  Join a local tree advocacy group and know the trees that surround you.    Are you planting or cutting a tree for Christmas this year?  Don’t celebrate Christmas, great, you can still plant a tree.  Or, how about supporting a large tree planting campaign? The Green Belt Movement has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya establishing long lasting positive environmental change.  Planting trees and supporting organizations that do directly regenerate the Planet.

“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope.”
― Wangari Maathai

The reality is that we are all capable of making a difference, even if is seems small.  What you leave behind is your legacy. For me, a digital snapshot of my life based on emojis, likes and a digital fingerprint seem trivial.  Let my legacy be the trees that I plant for the future and the space I leave by using less.

-Kyle Dubee