‘We can all do our bit’ to avert global environmental disaster

LAST week, yet another global climate summit drifted by us, and with it came that strange mix of existential dread and everyday apathy that has come to characterise our attitude to the climate crisis – every so often we hit a rock and panic, but mostly we just bob along happily distracted, ignoring the waterfall that awaits us at the end of the river.

At every moment of every day, the horrors of climate change are being witnessed somewhere across the world, but seldom with our own eyes, so we live with the knowledge that we are in the midst of a climate catastrophe but the experience that we are not.

However, while the Year 13 students at Loreto Grammar, Omagh, understand how easy it is to find comfort in the rhythms of normal life and leave the business of confronting climate change to politicians and corporations, they are also committed to doing their part to help the environment.

So, when world leaders met in Glasgow for COP26 to discuss how we can collectively change course to avert disaster, the Loreto didn’t place all their faith in the promises politicians made, targets they set, or sentiments of sincerity expressed. They simply remained proactive to their cause on a local level. As one student explained, “We cannot always look to national governments and corporations because this is not simply an economic problem, it is a moral challenge, and we all have to do our bit.”

These students met with members of Omagh’s St Vincent de Paul to discuss what adjustments they could make in their lives to contribute to the fight against climate change. The Tyrone Herald spoke with a Loreto teacher and St Vincent de Paul school coordinator, Anita McGirr, to find out more.

‘CLIMATE JUSTICE’

“Students from the Year 13 outreach programme teamed up with our local SVP branch and one of the concepts we explored was climate justice,” explained Anita, “one of the quotes which really struck the girls was that, ‘what we do in the next ten years will determine the next thousand years’.

“In the last few weeks, the damage being done by ‘fast fashion’ has become a salient issue – dramatic pictures have emerged from Chile showing vast swathes of desert so thoroughly covered in disused clothes that you can barely see the sand.

“We spoke about the environmental damage being caused by this trend, by which clothes have a very short life span before they are discarded and replaced.

“They thought about how much energy is used to harvest the raw materials, make the garment, and transport it to its commercial location, often halfway across the world,” said Anita.

One of the obvious ways to lessen the damage being doing by ‘fast fashion’ culture is to opt out of it and take a more thrifty approach to cladding oneself.

“The girls spoke about the dovetailing benefits of buying from local charity shops like St Vincent de Paul,” said Anita. “Being committeed to making more use of our charity shops helps reduce clothing waste, while also supporting the local community.”

In this spirit of reusing clothes, the Omagh Uniform Exchange runs in Omagh’s St Joseph’s Hall every year.

Anita explained, “Students are invited to bring in school uniforms which they have outgrown or no longer need and the ones which are in good condition are then given to other students.” said Anita.

“Every year there aren’t enough uniforms to go around those needing them so the girls are encouraging their peers, inside and outside the school, to donate their uniform this year.”

Anita concluded, “The moral that we left with was that everyone has a part to play in this battle – if we all say we can’t do anything so there is no point trying, then our fate is sealed, but the girls have come away with the sense that ordinary people can make a difference.”