MY CIPP
Happy 2023 Earth
Chloe Sell ACIPP, membership communications co-ordinator, the CIPP, discusses the current climate situation and how we can turn apathy into action
I magine it’s 22 April 1970 in San Francisco, USA. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix are still churning out hits, and you’re allowed to smoke your favourite cigarettes on airplanes. And today, there’ll be an environmental ‘teach-in’ to every university in America. Environmental protection is becoming a huge topic in the media. The Santa Barbara oil spill last year released four million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, killing countless animals such as fish, birds and ocean life. People are becoming more aware of the drastic effects of pollution and deforestation. For decades, Los Angeles has been known for its smog, the unfortunate effect of urban industrialisation and America’s passion for clunky, gas-guzzling automobiles. And as you learn more about the very real impact of industrialisation on human health, you’re compelled to attend your university’s Earth Day protest. There, united with others who care about the environment like you do, you find
a difference. The first Earth Day kicked off the need for more environmental laws and policies, such as the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act amendment (1972), the Endangered Species Act (1973) and in 2016, the Paris Agreement. The climate contract is an initiative signed in 2016, with 194 parties agreeing to combat climate change in their own countries, with the goal being to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2099. None of these laws and initiatives would have flown off the ground if people had twiddled their thumbs in 1970, instead of sparking environmental action.
common ground. And you feel hopeful about the future. How can we replicate that feeling in 2023? You might be tempted to say the world is burning – and you’d be right. 53 years after the first Earth Day, humans have had to deal with pandemics, terrorism, mass shootings, war, famine and all with no reprieve in sight. The first Earth Day is a blip in the distance. Hope is simply gone, replaced with apathy. It’s hard to think about climate change when almost seven million people have died of coronavirus in three years (according to the Centre for Disease Control.) It’s difficult to argue about the great benefits of re-using and recycling when the UK is in a cost-of-living crisis. And as news outlets report more on global warming causing lakes to dry up and species to die out and wildfires to increase – you may be wondering when this will end. Perhaps it ends with us. We can actually, believe it or not, make
How can we turn apathy into action?
Even if it’s starting a recycling initiative at your workplace or setting up a tree- planting day with your colleagues, let the CIPP’s green team know at climate.change@cipp.org.uk. n
Facts l every April 22 is Earth Day l the first Earth Day was held in 1970, and the idea came from US Senator, Gaylord Nelson l Earth Anthem is the official song
l Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world l Earth Day cemented many major environmental policies.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2023 | Issue 89 14
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