I'm not usually one for catastrophising or sensationalism...
But this week I got a push notification on my phone about – and I quote – "The High Likelihood of Human Civilization Coming to an End" as soon as 2050.
The analysis, published by the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration – an Australian think-tank – warns that continuing on our current trajectory, we'll have reached a "point of no return" by the middle of the century and that avoiding this devastating scenario will require efforts "akin in scale to the World War II emergency mobilisation."
Overwhelmed? Yeah, that makes two of us. Or probably 7.7 billion of us, rather.
It was those shared feelings overwhelmingness and paralysing panic though, that inspired Irish Tatler's editorial theme for the month ahead –
One Small Change...
What we as a population share – regardless of our race, creed, sexuality or gender – is that we all call this planet home and right now, our home is in a state of crisis.
For too long, living consciously or sustainably was an opt-in rather than an opt-out. Now, opting out is a luxury we can't even afford to consider because the threat of climate crisis is just too imminent and real.
We can solve this crisis, but we have to unite to pull the world of its downward momentum, and we have to act fast.
Yesterday was #WorldEnvironmentDay and what better a day for us to kick off our new digital focus – and for our July print magazine to land on shelves, which too shares in the schooling – that while the fight against climate change can seem like swimming (and drowning) again the tide, making relatively small and regular changes in your life can and will have a positive effect.
Much like the magazine, we're hoping that the content we share on the site over the next few weeks will prove to be educational, but also functional and instructional. Easy, applicable ways to charge up your sustainability efforts when it all feels a little too much. We'll also be covering beautiful beauty, non-fast fashion and thoughtful travel tips too.
Today also marks the first day of our team's #IT30DAYCHALLENGE, in which we will each endeavour to adopt one new world-saving practice, all-the-while regularly feeding back on irishtatler.com and on social to our readers about how our journey is going.
Feel free to join in on the good 'clean' fun and use our hashtag #IT30DAYCHALLENGE, so we can follow to see what small changes our readers are making.
For inspiration, scroll on to see the efforts each of us is taking to make the planet a better place below...
Amy Heffernan, Editor, Irish Tatler.com -
"For the 30-Day Challenge, I’m diving head first into ethical beauty. Obviously, completely throwing out the current contents of my makeup bag and skincare shelf would be counter-intuitive to the sustainable theme, so I’m going to make a clean + green edit of what I already have.
For the next 30 days, every product I put on my face will be by a brand that is making efforts to conduct their beauty business ethically - be that cruelty-free, organic/natural, vegan, palm oil-free, having considered ingredient-sourcing policies or using thoughtful packaging. There is no one-size-fits-all eco-beauty certification, so for me, this is more about highlighting the beauty brands that are trying. We all need to be trying!"
Follow @amylouheff
Ellie Balfe, Editorial Director
"I am an ineffectual recycler and I know it. I could blame the lack of information for the fact that I am unsure about what exactly goes in the green bin, or where I can recycle old clothes correctly, but that only perpetuates the issue, and I only, truly, have myself to blame.
"I do happen to think that there is a lack of education coming from government level and that there should be major media campaigns activated so that green practices become front of mind for us all – we should be seeing it on Netflix, on TV ads and in radio breaks.
"But again, that takes me into the blame game and away from what changes I can personally make towards a more sustainable, safer world for my children to live in.
"So, this month I am committing to finding out how to reuse and recycle our household waste properly. It's not huge, but it's vital. I am committing to play my part properly and mindfully.
"I am committing to being able to say to my daughters when they ask what I did when the climate emergency was announced, that I did my best for them. I must do better than this. I will do better than this."
Follow @elliebalfe1
Sarah Macken, Editor, Irish Tatler Magazine
"From air miles and carbon footprints to working conditions of garment workers and harmful, synthetic fabrics – our fashion purchases are loaded with green guilt. While there are lots of things we can do to offset this, the most effective thing to do is to simply consume less. That's right: buy less crap. So, for 30 days I am pledging to give up – small gasp – shopping. All kinds of shopping including impulse purchases, online scrolls and bricks and mortar card swipes. Sweet baby Jesus, send help."
Follow @ohegartysarah
Stacey Malaniff, Social Media
"My 30-day challenge is zero plastic. The equivalent of a garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute and in-turn making its way back to our soil and food. We consume at least 50,000 micro-plastics a year!
"I think it's hard to fully appreciate how harmful plastic is when it is such a prevalent part of our lives. I wanted to do this challenge to wake myself up to how much plastic I unnecessarily and mindlessly consume.
"In my first two weeks, I'm going to focus on eliminating any single-use plastic purchases. In the second two weeks, I will look into alternatives to longer-use plastics such as soaps, shampoos, Tupperware and how to properly dispose of the ones I already have. Watch this space for updates!"
Follow @staceymala
Emma Blanchfield, Journalist
"For the 30-day challenge...I'm going vegan. I personally believe that no meal is complete unless it contains cheese, bread must always be buttered and I also come from a family of butchers.
"This is going to be a struggle but one that's well overdue. Being a Morrissey stan, a huge animal lover and the fact I give a damn about the planet, changing my eating habits is the one small change I can make. On average, a vegan diet saves 4,200 litres of water per day, 9.1 kilograms CO2 equivalent per day, 2.8 meters squared of forested land per day - not to mention the millions of animals killed for food every day.
"No meat, no fish, no dairy - just plants. Wish me luck!"
Follow @theblanch_
Kate Demolder, Journalist -
"I’m taking on a moon cup for the 30-day challenge and I’m relatively terrified about it. Not for the fact that I’ve to talk about my period with whoever will listen, but more that I’ve had to categorise my nethers by letter (I’m a B, FYI) and am relying fully on silicone to satisfy my needs. Wish me luck."
Follow @katedemolder
Onwards and eco-wards friends!
Until next time, this is it.
