Connie Nielsen

Ever since I was a child, I have heard of our world being polluted. I would see pictures everywhere of dead fish and dying birds, and on the beaches lay oiled and tarred debris from the North Sea. And I wondered, “Who is in charge here? Who is letting this happen?” I thought, “When I become an adult I will not let this happen to my kids’ world”.

But when I grew up I realised that nothing much had changed; as a matter of fact, things were worse. The world is now at serious risk, our ozone layer is fragile and global warming is threatening many coastal areas. Somehow I had not been able to change the world for my kids. Against my best intentions I had become a part of the problem. I had come to realise that it was a global economic and governmental system that had created this situation and that systems are very hard to change. Somehow, I had come to feel powerless even as I had become empowered and adult.

IT IS UP TO YOU AND ME

This is the world I am giving to my children. Our seas are over-fished, our water supply contaminated, our air quality declining. Oil and chemical spills, in tandem with nuclear catastrophes, have horrified us, and an overly industrialised food supply is suspected of contaminating our bodies even as it is supposed to feed us. 

Our houses not only contribute to global warming but are also often built of materials that harm our children and ourselves. Even baby care products are often contaminated with chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer. Our cars contribute to global warming and yet no aggressive incentives are set up for change by our governments. Every house produces massive amounts of refuse and yet producers of goods are not obliged to use 100% biodegradable packaging.

Despite changing governments in the US and the EU over the past 20 years of environmental awareness, there is too little political will, and greater fear of disrupting the markets, to actively create change for our children and the world we are leaving them. Who, then, will take charge of change?

It is left up to us, you and me, the every-woman, man and child, to change this disaster, which has been a long time in the making. By becoming conscious of your choices every day, when you buy anything from jeans to coffee, bulbs to cars, tomatoes to creams, you can be a part of a vast, fast-growing, conscious consumer group. You can choose to eat and live ecologically. Buy ecologically. Build ecologically. And you can support any number of environmental groups to hasten change.

A NEW CARBON-NEUTRAL HOUSE

My partner and I are designing a new house together with our architect. We will be installing solar panels and geothermal heating, and given permission, we will even add wind power. We will be collecting rainwater, and recycling grey water. We already recycle and compost and will continue to do so. We will use natural materials for insulation, water-based paint and recycled materials where possible. We aim to become carbon-neutral in our energy use, without sacrificing space, design and style. 

It is my hope that a consumer-led revolution will finally convince the captains of industry and our collective governments that their only hope for informed, long-term growth lies in investing in change, now. To ignore the problems inherent in our production cycles and the focus on short-term profit statements is starting to look not just irresponsible but, at times, even criminal. And it is up to us to form alliances and participate in the movement for change, both politically and practically.