Planet Earth Needs YOU!

Your Challenge to Save the Planet and Your Life

If everyone on the internet joined forces to ensure a healthy planet for future generations it could solve the survival problem that no government dare tackle. All you need to do is to commit to a changing lifestyle over twelve months – a twelve-step programme, you decide which step you take on each month.

1. The simplest but for most the toughest, cut out all meat, fish and dairy foods from your diet
2. Help plant a hundred trees
3. Buy local produce wherever possible
4. Avoid buying anything made of or packed in plastic
5. Switch your car to any that halves your fuel consumption
6. Cut back on your consumption of “stuff”
7. Support your local community in any way that helps the environment
8. Conserve fresh water whenever possible, treat clean fresh water as a scarce precious resource as it is
9. Reduce the use of your car by walking more or using public transport
10. Try to reduce food waste to close on nil
11. Make your own health your responsibility
12. Turn your home thermostat down a few degrees lower, wear extra clothes!

What is the Impact?

If you want to know what the impact of the above would have on the planet’s future survival as a place fit for human habitation read on!

1. This alone would cut greenhouse gases by between 25 – 50%, stop the loss of the earth’s lungs – the rainforests, reduce the need for food production by 75%, with the right distribution system ensure adequate food for everyone, improve the health of everyone, reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, reduce the pollution of coastal waters from agricultural medicine run-off and animal waste, permit the regrowth of our fauna and flora, especially endangered species, and much more. Currently estimates suggest between 50 – 75% of all grain and pulses go to feed animals!
2. With the estimated 4 billion internet users worldwide this would produce 400 billion trees, the most efficient carbon dioxide consumers would remove around 8 billion tons of CO2 per year, that would help balance the residual fossil fuel use. Global production of CO2 from transport is about this quantity.
3. This would both stimulate farmers to shift to plant food production for humans, reduce the vast energy consumption involved in shipping food to and from warehouses and from abroad.
4. Plastics are based on fossil fuel for production and produce an almost permanent environmental pollutant that will take many years to start to rectify. There are biodegradable alternative materials produced from plants.
5. Today there is no technological reason why we cannot produce cars that will give over 100 miles per gallon; even this would make a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. This needs to be the most important criteria for car purchase, not its sporty performance.
6. We all are encouraged to consume or buy far more material things than we really need, we need to remind ourselves that every article represents a substantial use of the earth’s scarce resources.
7. There is a close connection between the health of the planet, the health of individuals and the health of a community. By building stronger communities we would be find mutual support in building a sustainable future for our only planet, the earth.
8. Fresh water will be more valuable than oil in a few years time. Sources of fresh water are increasingly being depleted due to pollution or over exploitation. Producing animal and dairy foods is a major reason for this.
9. This will go towards the eleventh challenge; taking more responsibility for your health.
10. Currently we waste over a third of our food. That would feed most of the undernourished or starving throughout the world.
11. If you have already shifted your diet to a whole plant diet and are getting more exercise walking you are well on the way to meeting this challenge.
12. Just a few degrees drop will save you over a hundred pounds a year and reduce the consumption of energy nationally.

Michael Lingard BSc. DO. WPNCert.
Orthopath Buteyko Educator Plantrician
plantricianproject.org