If we are serious about reversing the harm we have caused and are still causing to the planet, we need to realise that we all must take some responsibility. We are all partly to blame.

Worse than that, we throw old and perfectly good useful items away because a new model has been released.

In a period of under 500 years we have destroyed natural assets and changed the ecosystems to such a degree that we now have around 8 billion people, with many struggling to survive, living under the effects of a few extremely wealthy families who have created the current problems we are facing.  We have driven many animal species out to extinction, we have destroyed millions of trees and plants, we have scarred he earth to get at minerals, we are polluting the atmosphere and environment with millions of tons of waste materials and gases.

The short answer is commerce and industry. Of course, commerce is necessary, it creates businesses, which create products, these create jobs, thus creating money which we need to live. Though, ask yourself, who really profits from this process? Not surprisingly, the bankers who ultimately own everything, from media to advertising companies.

Buying produce that is not wrapped in plastic will help prevent plastic pollution. Use paper bags, cardboard or material bags as a substitute that decomposes naturally. Instead of using lots of plastic bags for shopping, get some fabric ones and take them with you shopping.

Take a supermarket selling carrots sealed in a plastic bag. If a lot of people stop buying them they will stop ordering them. If you, and enough others, make your views known to the supermarket they will take notice.

You can contact your energy suppliers and find out how much of their electricity is produced from non-carbon sources. Many suppliers now offer you the option of only using electricity produced by renewable means, although quite how they can guarantee this is unclear.

We need to consider all aspects of the items we buy, from how they are grown or made to how we use and dispose of them.

Also, we know that our atmosphere is suffering from the amount of carbon being put into it and we know that currently it is hard to prevent using carbon based fuels, but every little helps and so by being aware of our carbon footprint and reducing it where possible, we are helping our planet.

Electric cars, motorcycles and personal transport are now starting to become popular, but there is still a long way to go before they are cheap enough to be available to everyone. Many recharging points are starting to appear all over the country, yet unfortunately, much of the electrical energy is still produced from fossil fuels.

The world’s population is currently at around 8 billion people, many consider that this is the maximum reasonable number the earth can sustain given current resources, water and food.

Air travel is one of the most carbon heavy transport methods and will be the hardest to solve. It may be possible to have small electric aircraft, even 3 or 4 seaters, battery powered and able to fly for 3-4 hours, although it is unlikely that passenger aircraft will be battery powered. The current technology means that the weight of the batteries cannot sustain enough power for the passenger aircraft.

Unless a new technology is found to solve this, we will have to either live with it or reduce long haul flights to a minimum. A lot of business travel could be dispensed with by holding video conferences, however, travel for holidays is a more difficult problem to solve. Ships are also heavy on fuel, yet promisingly, many vessels are now being powered by alternative fuels and soon could be powered by wind and solar energy.

This would mean that you could travel long distances again by ship, but the voyages will be much longer and take days or weeks instead of hours.

If enough individuals make some basic changes and some simple choices, then we ourselves can make significant changes to how we treat our planet, the environment and the other animals we coexist with.

Oil companies are already looking at renewable energy sources to power their facilities and not rely on diesel generators for power generation. New processes will take some time to develop and implement. There is hope on the horizon, as significant budgets are now being used to address the problems.

Vessel operators are looking towards new, cleaner fuels and fuel control systems, which are not only using less fuels, but giving significant cost savings.

Businesses spend hundreds of millions of pounds/dollars on advertising yearly. Why? Because they want you to buy their products with your hard earned cash. If you do not buy their products, eventually they will go bust, so they are not going to continue with practices which alienate them from their target customers. You can however, write to companies and express your concerns regarding their practices.

Remember, every little helps and so by being aware of our carbon footprint and reducing it where possible, we are helping our planet.

We know that renewable energy use is growing, but for the next 30 years fossil fuels will still make up a large part of our energy. By 2050 renewables and fossil fuels energy will be roughly equal, after that, renewables will begin to dominate. Electric cars are now starting to become popular, it’s worth noting though, that there is still a long way to go before they are cheap enough to be available to everyone.

The reality of our situation is that we as individuals collectively need to force change through our governments and businesses by our choices and decisions. Eventually we will start to see an accelerating change with improvements to our environment.

With growing populations and people living longer, it is hard to see how this problem can be dealt with an ethical manner.

More and more people mean greater demands on food, cars, travel, energy and consumer items, which ultimately mean more raw materials, energy and transport for industrial production and an increase in industrial unit waste.

The more the population grows, the more pressure is placed on the environment and our planet’s eco-system. On top of this, many emerging nations require more and more energy as they develop. Advances in medical sciences now mean that many in the western world have a greater chance of living longer, this is causing issues for governments, with infrastructure, housing, pensions and sustainability.

You are made to feel inadequate if you do not comply to certain media perceived standards, too fat to thin, too short, wear glasses, wrong toothpaste, wrong car, not have the latest mobile phone, not stay at the right hotels or fly on the right airlines – the list goes on.

Unfortunately, with the amount of money which can be earned from commissions for selling such items, the benefits and abilities of many products become overstated and even misleading. Many other devices are used to increase sales, money off, free gifts, chance of winning prizes all designed to increase brand exposure and sales.

Vessel operators are looking towards new, cleaner fuels and fuel control systems, which are not only using less fuels, but giving significant cost savings.

All businesses, both large and small, need to scrutinise their operations and find ways to reduce waste.

While politicians may not like to be reminded of it, they work for you, they are your public servants. You vote for your local member of Parliament based on the policies listed in their party manifesto and although they seem to then ignore those policies, you have the power to lobby your MP.

You can write to them and question them on their policies and how they intend to vote on certain issues. You can also find how your MP votes on certain issues from websites and publications. In short, you can challenge your MP to consider how they vote on issues in Parliament. Individually you may not feel that you have much power, but collectively we can cause political parties to change their stand on certain issues.

At the end of the day, if they want to retain the power, position, wages and expenses they receive as your constituency’s MP, while their party retains that seat in Parliament, then they need your votes. Without your votes they are de-selected and their party may even lose an election, so any MP who ignores a large proportion of his constituency is a very foolhardy individual.

Your opinions and votes do count, especially in our current political climate, so use them, contact your MP and discuss your thoughts and concerns.

The real issue is that damage has been done and if we want to resolve it, then everyone of us must take responsibility for our part and do something about it right now. True, the big industries, commerce and bankers should pay for the damage they have known about for decades, while wilfully continuing to generate vast amounts of wealth over greed at the cost of everyone else and the planet and its future. This is a problem that will be for the legislators to solve. In the mean time we need to undo the mess that we have all passively and ignorantly allowed to occur at our own expense for years to come. If we do not take action now, who will?

If we are serious about reversing the harm that we have caused and are still causing to the planet, we need to realise that we all must take some responsibility. We are all partly to blame. We cannot just blame commerce and industry, because you and I drive the need for commerce and industry, as our ever growing hungry nature wants better, more convenient, cheaper, more modern products which we want now. Worse than that, we throw old, perfectly good and useful items away just to get our hands on that newly released model.

One must remember that we live in a market economy. The only reason the industry is producing anything is because somebody wants it. If you want that newly developed more powerful car, then industry will make one for you while making a handsome profit. They will also produce fuel to power your car and your home, so you can have your fridge, microwave, washing machine and tumble drier running whenever you want. We have created the markets for the very things that are destroying our planet and us.

Commerce is deceivingly dressed up as bbeing necessary for us while being for our benefit. The only benefit it has is that we can buy lots of things that are presented to us as being artificial necessities.

The choices and changes you make will help to slow down, prevent and even reverse climate change, ozone depletion and air pollution. Reducing our waste, recycling and dealing with it differently will help to reverse ocean pollution, landfill pollution and help prevent toxins getting into our water and soil, while at the same time, helping prevent animals being harmed by waste.

We choose what type of diet we eat, whether it be vegan, vegetarian or meat. We need now to consider the food we choose a little more carefully. Organic is good because no chemicals are used in growing it. This helps prevent chemicals being introduced into the soil and also into the food chain, while helping prevent damage to other species such as bees.

Out of convenience, many products we buy come wrapped in plastic. In some cases it is necessary (i.e. hygiene), but in many cases it is not and purely convenience. Shops wrap vegetables and fruit in plastic, then weigh it and label it with the price to save somebody from having to weigh it and bag it separately. At home most people wash or peel vegetables and fruit, so there is little need to wrap them in disposable plastic.

We need to consider all aspects of the items we buy, from how they are grown or made, to how we use and dispose of them.

Some are simple and will require very little adjustment to your lifestyle, while others could have a large impact on your life.

We need to consider all aspects of the items we buy, from how they are grown or made, to how we use and dispose of them.

Do you use the car to go a few hundred yards for shopping?

Could you walk or ride a bike instead?

Try to use roll on type deodorants rather than aerosol types. Consider what chemicals are in the products you use. Individually the chemicals in your shampoo may be quite harmless, but what happens when you mix it with other products containing different chemicals in the drain?

Does it become toxic for humans or the environment? When you read the product labels, you probably do not recognise most of the names, therefore, consider researching the products – you could be using toxins which are dangerous to your own health and also contaminating the water system and endangering the environment.

Governments will need to legislate and ensure that companies comply with strict guidelines to prevent further pollution to the environment. These need to be coherent and achievable measures and not just excuses for raising taxation.

Individually, we can help to make large change, but we need to look at each area of our lives and see where it is possible to reduce waste and economise on energy usage.

All businesses, both large and small, need to scrutinise their operations and find ways to reduce waste, reduce energy usage and reduce their carbon footprints.