Climate change: Don't let your grandchildren become climate migrants

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Climate change: Don't let your grandchildren become climate migrants

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OPINION: Like most Kiwis, I love swimming in our beautiful oceans and making use of our incredible bush and forests. But the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has stated that we have until 2030 to "drastically" change the way we live to ensure that we give our grandchildren a fighting chance to have a life on planet Earth. If we don't change the average global temperature will rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius and will set off an irreversible, negative cascade of events that will create climate chaos. Mother Nature will stop nourishing and start having violent tantrums, making it very difficult for most people on this planet to live. There will be climate change migrants as the land won't support crops due to heat and flooding. Severe weather events will cripple our insurance and banking systems, and there will be social breakdown. READ MORE: * 'Existential' chosen as a word of the year for 2019 * Climate change could make hay fever season longer for Kiwi sufferers * Low methane New Zealand sheep coming to a farm near you * Eco Living: Does it really take too much time and effort? * Eco-Living: What's the best waste-free moisturiser? * We need to become climate change #influencers Yes this makes for difficult reading, and yes it's much easier just to ignore it, deny it and carry on with our important lives paying back debt and planning the next holiday to escape our very stressful, important jobs. My family has come to the point where we know we have to make changes. I love my kids, and I know I'll love my grandkids. I imagine talking to them and I don't want to be on the wrong side of climate change history. I know humans have a large effect on whats happening and if I want to live with any authenticity then I must act in accordance with my desire for the next generations to enjoy this beautiful planet as I do. Swimming in the ocean and being in the bush is my happy place and I have no right to take that away from my offspring. So what can you do help? Heaps. You can gradually change some habits and make a difference. I now have a "live light" day in which I ride my bike to work and fast until dinner that night. Tuesday is typically a rest day from my usual training so it's the perfect day for me to live with a light footprint on the earth. Most days I do 10 minutes of yoga, writing and taking an invigorating cold shower but now I also ride my bike to work and fast to really live mega light for one day a week. Driving a 1.5 tonne car to go to work is very resource heavy. Not only are we producing 2.3L of CO2 for every litre of petrol used, it also emits a whole range of noxious gases that contribute to health issues and sitting in a car adds to the growing amount of inactivity that most NZ adults can ill afford. Riding a bike is a far healthier option on so many levels - you could also run or walk to work. It allows you to add to cardiovascular exercise time, it's a far more energy efficient mode of transport, and it takes cars off congested roads. It's the way so many progressive cities are going to create a healthier, more friendly environment. Cities like Amsterdam, Zurich, Copenhagen, and Paris are all reducing car parking, increasing parking costs, and planting more trees. Almost 50 per cent of all people in Amsterdam travel to work by bike. Nudging people towards a healthier mode of transport is part of the "drastic" changes required to save us and the planet. Eating a plant based diet is another way to reduce land and water use for producing food. Looking at the big picture growing animals to eat requires far more energy than plants. Also plants sequest carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, while animals do the opposite (while also producing urine and feces that can add to environmental issues). Food waste is also a problem. New Zealanders on average waste almost 160,000 tons of food annually, while globally 1.3 billion tons of food is not consumed, and the dumped food produces methane - a very destructive greenhouse gas that is almost 80 x more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame. If you go without food completely for between 16-24hrs then not only are you living lightly but you are also helping your body shift into a "cleansing state" that allows the body to get rid of mutant proteins and other junk within the cells. This process, named autophagy, can only be accessed if the digestive system takes a break. I feel more alert and focused on my Tuesday afternoon compared to having lunch. Also, I feel energised that my Tuesdays are a day where I am making a noticeable difference to my children's ability to live on our beautiful planet. The ultimate win - win! Drastic change doesn't have to be depriving. In fact, from what I'm finding hooking into habits that will save the world will also help move me towards a healthier state. So please have a look at riding your bike more and go without food for increased periods of time. Then once you entrench these lifesaving habits - add some more! Be more, have less, save the world, and improve your health. Please start now. Here are 10 wellness habits to save the world and make you healthier: Brad Dixon is a sports physiotherapist, coach, and wellness evangelist. His passion is helping people strive for their potential with promotion of enhancing daily habits. Stuff Nation