One image I came across recently struck a chord so deep that I keep coming back to it. In a ‘of course’ this is so obvious way. It’s the image of an overflowing bathtub. Because while I reduce my impact, while I recycle, walk or cycle when I can and constantly feel guilty when I can’t do more. What I do is just not enough. And I know that.

But ‘Every Little Helps’ Right?

Well, yes…but..

In our own home, once we realise we left the tap running, once we see the water flowing out and over the bathroom floor, the very first thing we do is address the source of the problem. We rush in and turn those taps off. We don’t stop to discuss the problem with the rest of our family. Because that would be ridiculous!

When we address the bath tub overflowing problem, the very first thing we do is we turn that tap off! No ifs, no buts. We stop the flow, then we pull out the plug, then we grab a mop. That’s just plain commonsense. We know this.

We don’t just turn the tap a little to reduce the amount of water flooding the bathroom. We shut it off. Because reducing the amount of water coming out of the tap does not solve the problem. We know this.

And when we use this analogy it becomes so obvious that we are doing not even the minimum we would do ourselves in an everyday – and frankly way less lethal situation – don’t get me wrong a flooded bathroom CAN be a disaster.. But in terms of the risks of climate change, the devastating floods and droughts we are already experiencing, a flooded bathroom is minor.

Which is what makes our global inaction so ridiculous. Why are we so slowly lumbering towards turning off the tap of manmade carbon. To use the bathtub overflowing analogy why are we chatting about the problem, and not shutting off the tap? With global targets of zero in 20 to 30 years from now, in political terms we have been discussing whether we should even turn off the taps for at least the last 30 years.

The inadequacy of our political systems, the short termism of elected officials coupled with the active lobbying of the fossil fuel industry and the passive resistance from our exponential growth demand from our economic system has added to this inertia.

The good news is however. We have Greta. And she is not going away. And she has inspired a generation to take to the streets by her School Strike, these people are turning into a genuine political force and inspiring my generation to do more. This uncompromising face demanding change is shaking the lumbering forces of democracy. There were certainly no Greta’s when I first heard about climate change in the 80’s.

And we have undeniable proof from this current global pandemic that governments can act swiftly and decisively. We know that funds can be found and directed to research. We know we can address social injustice such as homelessness within weeks.

The speed of decision making and fund allocation has been truly astonishing. And as long as we have a democracy we can use our voices to push our politicians to take climate change seriously, because as they have proven over the last year they have the power to turn off this tap.

And this tap needs to be turned off.