We all know about New Year resolutions … and the (almost) inevitable failures that come in their wake as the year goes on.
As the end of January arrives, I have been taking stock of all the resolution-type ideas and suggestions that have crossed my radar in the last few weeks. Below, I’ve put together a quite random collection with links. (I think it’s always good to find and assess information from sources that aren’t your default ones, and to review their ownership too – who funds them, who profits from them.)
Inevitably, these aren’t Caversham-specific things so I’ll apologise for that. But on the other hand, how we live as individuals will have consequences for others – including any- and everyone living locally.
We could shop more intelligently (and be aware of the negative results of our online lives).
We could justifiably complain more (as it will help others).
We can certainly be wary about whether what we’re told is news is fact or fiction.
More generally, we can better manage our news intake generally.
And we can certainly be ultra-careful about preserving our freedom of thought – not least from big tech.
Talking of tech, we be wise to be very suspicious about our phones …
… and our web browsers.
And, of course, at the turn of the year we often think about our day to day lifestyle – from what we do …
… to when we do it:
Of course, there are any number of other sites offering good advice (or otherwise). But even with just the selection above, collectively, they amount to a potentially huge amount of ‘inputs’ to influence our lives. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And lo! We give up and carry on carrying on much as we have done before.
And lurking behind it all, there’s the objective, measurable reality that’s out there. As I write, I see it’s been the warmest January ever in the Scottish Highlands …
… while 2023 Was The Hottest Ever.
Whatever the precise causes, the bottom line is that the climate is changing. All our New Year resolutions and good intentions, indeed, all our futures, have to be played out in that context. What can we do in the light of that context? Yes, it’s a huge, complex topic – but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go away.
On an immediate, practical level we can all easily adopt a different search engine – one that both plants trees, provides financial reports about what they’re doing and isn’t much interested in your personal data:
Beyond that? Whatever you decide to do, logic says doing something to help has to be your fundamental priority. Without a climate we can all thrive in, all our other plans will prove pointless.
