Hello and welcome back to the Most Amazing Channel on the Internet – I am your host
Rebecca Felgate and today….
Oh dear… we are talking about the Top 10 Scary Ways YOU are KILLING THE EARTH!
Is anyone else as constantly amused by the drama drama titles of our videos?
I am, but actually this is no laughing matter because we big bad humans are behaving irresponsibly!
Don’t worry though, by being aware of what we are doing wrong, we can tackle the bad
behaviour and live more sustainable lives ! one way to live more sustainably is by using
apps like our video sponsor BUNZ.
BUNZ is predominantly a trading app, but it is also a great way to meet people in your
community.
At the moment I am trading an indoor plant on Bunz as I would like to swap an old rose
bush for a palm tree or a succulent.
I would also like to trade for more clothes so I can bring you more fabulous outfits here
on Most Amazing without having to go out and spend more on clothes.
Fun fact for you - trading for a t-shirt instead of buying new one can save up to 2700 Litres
of water!
Isn’t that insane!
Bunz has a thriving trade community here in Toronto, but you can download it wherever
you are!
If there is no one trading in your area yet, don’t worry – you can be a community star
and get the ball rolling!
The more people that sign up, the more you will have to trade with!
If you want to get swapping and meet new people where you live, download BUNZ in the description
box and use @rebeccafelgate – with no spaces – as your referral!
Also…if anyone wants a tree….
OKAY SCARY WAYS YOU ARE KILLING THE PLANET!
Lets do this!
10 - Using a Straw Plastic is a world ruiner.
In history, 9 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, but under 10 percent ever recycled,
which means single use plastics are ending up in landfill…a By 2050, the UN Environment
programme estimates that there will be 12 billion tonnes of plastic not only in landfill
but also littered in the ocean, damaging marine life on an epic scale.
12 billion tonnes is the weight of a billion elephants.
Some research suggests by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean by weight than
actual marine life...they eat it and die from being unable to digest, or they get stuck
in it.
Plastic straws are one of the worst culprits and super offensive because we legitimately
do not need them.
In 2015 a really horrifying video went viral in which a plastic straw was removed from
the nose of a sea turtle.
I am going to show you a clip but it isn’t for the faint hearted so do be warned.
CLIP.
That poor turtle was in pain.
It is so heart breaking!
9 - Chopsticks Similarly, in the East especially but also
in other parts of the world, disposable chopsticks are causing massive issues, and they simply
aren’t necessary.
Who knew that when you eat delicious sushi, or chow down on some chow mein with wooden
chopsticks, that you were contributing to a big issue.
It seems that disposable chopsticks are a big cause of deforestation.
Greenpeace estimate that 4 million trees are culled each year in oder to produce 57 billion
disposable chopsticks.
Not only that, the issue is three fold.
The sticks are treated with chemicals that have been linked to respiratory issues and
the sticks are reportedly produced in labor camps which is a massive human rights issue
of its own.
We will talk more about deforestation, but this isn’t just bad because trees help turn
poisonous carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, but also helps with the water cycle, which
prevents flooding.
Cutting down trees can create soil erosion which can also mean landslides.
8 - The Lynx Effect Anyone else remember the lynx Effect advertisements
of the 2000s.
When I was a teenager, it was all about crushing on boys who used a whole bottle of Lynx Africa,
meaning you could smell them coming from the science block a whole three minutes before
they got up the field where you were gossiping with your scally mates.
Also, us gals were defined by what blend of impulse our parents would buy us… anyone
else remember the spice girls impulse – Viva Forever I think it was called *** EDITORS
CLIP*** … if I could smell that now I am sure it would take me back!
ANYWAY the point being, while we were dousing ourselves in a full canister of Charlie red,
and while boys were setting fire to plumes of lynx, we were actually playing havoc with
mother nature.
Aerosols are awful, and we are talking spray deodorant, hair spray, but also particles
from exhausts.
It seems that aerosols disrupt the climate by scattering light.
According to NASA, aerosols are thought to suppress precipitation because the particles
decrease the size of water droplets in clouds.
However, under some environmental conditions, aerosols can lead to taller clouds that are
more likely to produce lightning and strong downpours.
In a few places, meteorologists have even detected a cycle in which the frequency of
thunderstorms is connected to mid-week peaks in aerosol emission.
Basically, they are unnatural particles we are throwing into the air, and by and large
they are unnecessary.
Sorry Lynx Africa Boyz. **editors – I put in a meme link*
Big Macs Big mac, little mac, cardboard box!
…. Actually though… meat consumption is a big issue.
Look, I am not saying you need to give up meat entirely, but eating meat every day is
not necessary and corporate farming is pretty awful for the environment.
To quote ONE GREEN PLANET - Many acres of rainforest are cleared to grow soy crops and
grains to feed cattle, and overgrazing of cattle is a major reason for global soil depletion
and source of climate pollution.
New research shows that without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be
reduced by more than 75% – an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union and Australia
combined – and still feed the world.
I don’t want to be a preacher as lord knows I’ve done my fair share of things that are
bad for the environment, but I want to share my own relationship with meat – so by and
large I am vegetarian – but sometimes, once or twice a month, I eat sustainably sourced
meat and treat it as…well…a treat!
I love supporting local farm to table businesses, and I also love the way eating less meat feels
in my body.
I am not saying stop…I am saying think how much you actually need.
Coffee I am scripting this while drinking a coffee.
I love coffee…
I need coffee….and actually the coffee itself isn’t necessarily the issue, it is how we
are consuming it.
One.
Takeaway coffee cups.
They aren’t legit.
I only found out a few months ago that most coffee cups are not recyclable …. While
they look like they are made from paper, they are actually plastic coated … which means
they go to landfill.
You have to separate the plastic lid from the cup.
The lid can be recycled but the more complex cup cant.
500 billion plastic lined coffee cups are produced each year!
The cup issue is one issue, the nespresso issue is entirely another.
Nespresso machines an kurieg machines, all coffee pod machines, are contributing to unrecyclable
waste in a major way.
It seems that 29% of all US households have a coffee machine… which means the problem
is vast.
Former Nespresso CEO Jean Paul Gaillard is VERY regretful of the invention of such a
damaging product.
How can you help?
A reusable coffee cup and using a French presse instead of a coffee machine!
Leaving the Lights On I am scripting this video on earth day as
it so happens!
Often on this day, and during earth hour, big landmarks turn off their lights for the
evening.
This is a show of solidarity to mark our commitment to doing better when it comes to sustainable
practices and irresponsible energy consumption.
Not only is leaving lights on effecting your energy bill, it is also effecting planet earth.
Why?
Well electricity is generated at power stations by burning fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere
with carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is a key factor in global warming.
Luckily these days we are finding ways to create renewable energy, but the amount of
energy harvested from a wind farm or solar panel is much less that that gained from unsustainable
power plants.
If we turned the lights off when we weren’t using the, that would greatly help reduce
emissions.
Driving Alone There is soon to be two billion cars on the
worlds roads.
Most of the worlds adult population will own a car.
The issue is though, that cars emit greenhouse gasses while they are being built and more
so while they are being driven.
Cars expose humans to nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide which reduces lung function, and they
also increase fine particle matter – smog, which is bad for health and the planet.
The creation of roads has also worked to destroy a lot of wildlife.
I totally get we are a moving population – we need to get from A to B, most of us need to
get to work, but the most irresponsible way to travel frequently is by yourself in a car.
Car pooling can dramatically reduce emissions and increase global health.
Do you need to drive?
Could you walk, bike, take the bus?
If so, you should do it – all of these things reduce the amount of cars on the road and
poisonous gas in the sky.
Maybe you can ride share with your bunz mates!
3 - Want Want Want … Hyperconsumerism is killing us.
Making things uses energy.
Factories are huge polluters.
Buying new clothes all the time to keep up with trends, buying a new phone each time
apple releases a new product, buying new computers of cars….
The cost of our want want want society is chocking us.
Hyper consumerism leads ABSOLUTELY DIRECTLY to over extraction of minerals, waste, pollution
and deforestation.
Beyond that – we are wasteful when it comes to food too….
buying things, we don’t need is careless and damaging.
Next time you want to keep up with the jones’s, instead of always buying new threads, why
not swap your wardrobe with your friends!
Anyway, bringing this back to our video sponsor BUNZ – trading something you don’t want
for something you do feels amazing!
And free!
Your bank account will thank you…and the earth would too if it could…maybe it can…it
would be spooky.. but cool!
2 - Making More Humans Wanna raise the next generation of humans?
That’s cute, but humans are basically ruining everything!
The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things….
That being said, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all
plants.
In my life time, the population of humans on earth has increased by around 50%.
It is suspected humanity will reach population 10 billion at some point in our foreseeable
timeline, likely by the year 2050.
At this point on the list, you’ll see all of the issues here are as a result of humans.
Humans are small but they are collectively mighty.
The more humans there are, the mouths there are to feed.
The more farming will need to be done, leading to deforestation and the drama that comes
along with that.
More humans means more electricity consumption and more car driving, which means more poisonous
emissions in the air….
And, worryingly for us, more bodies to spread disease.
So, humans are the real issue, yes, but this is a top 10 and you know how it goes, we have
gone for a shocker number one for the headlines….even though this is at the end of the video -
1 Glitter This is a shame … because I love a good
sparkle…
BUT it seems that GLITTER is killing the earth.
Glitter gets everywhere, including the ocean.
Glitter is made of micoplastic.
These microplastics end up in the ocean – get eaten by fish….which is killing them off.
A third of all fish caught in the English Channel have been poisoned
by glitter!