== CLIMATE CRISIS AND YOGA – WHAT CAN WE DO? ==
SELF-STUDY
We have all realized what our past behavior has done to the planet, haven’t we?
Based on that knowledge the key yogic question is: Am _I_ acting appropriately from now on?
What are my blind spots? How can I overcome each of them?
AIR TRAVEL VS. VEG/VEGAN
Not eating meat and avoiding to use animal exploitation is a good start, no doubt. For your health and to reduce responsibility for the brutality against animals.
But most of us are vegans and vegetarians already. Therefore we must poke the finger right into the most painful area for us Yogis: Travelling. Being a vegan for _ten years_ (!) will not even compensate for the CO2 footprint of a single one-way flight from Berlin to Bangkok. One flight vs. 10 years of diet!
https://co2.myclimate.org
https://www.blitzrechner.de/fleisch/
There are many websites that you can use and calculations vary a bit from algorithm to algorithm anyhow the scale is clear. We must get educated!
Even if you and I don’t like to hear it: Individual air travel is a much much bigger problem than individual meat consumption. Vegans often compare the global meat consumption with individual air travel, which is an obviously a mistake. Meat is a global problem because billions of humans eat it. Changing global meat consumption is a great idea but beyond your scope. Abstaining from air travel is within your scope. Just stop it and you’re done.
COMPENSATION PAYMENTS – CHEAP SELF-EXCUSE
It is good to plant trees. Anyhow this cannot compensate for burnt fossil fuels but merely delays the impact a little. Every tree will become CO2 again when it is burnt or simply dies and decomposes. CO2 that was buried for millions of years must remain buried otherwise it will end up in the atmosphere. The forests burn not because there are not enough forests, but because we fly.
WE MUST STOP AIR TRAVEL FOR PLEASURE. NOW!
Yoga retreats in Thailand, Costa Rica, Bali or even “just” Portugal or south Italy?
Such “treats” are immediately responsible for the suffering of billions of beings because of global warming.
Of course flying for Yoga is not different than for other reasons. But does it not feel extra obscene?
We fly over gazillions of dying creatures in burning forests. We fly over people escaping from uninhabitable regions just next to our dream destination. Not seeing the connections between actions and results is called ignorance. There is no excuse.
ONLY LOCAL TEACHING YOGA IS YOGA TEACHING!
We have dozens of beautiful retreat locations nearby. So why would one host retreats in Italy or Portugal or even further away? Profit? Dear fellow Yoga teachers, please stop the madness. Is there something worse than profit in the name of Yoga that involves the destruction of the planet? As a Yoga teacher you are fully responsible for the whole group of students that is following you. You accumulate all the karma!
As a practitioner: Please tell teachers to stop offering workshops in remote locations, especially if you like them. Ask them to teach where you live. Make them understand the meaning of karma.
INFLUENCE OTHERS!
Our inability to change is the justification for everybody else. Now is the time for change. Because tomorrow might be too late.
Engage in whatever way you find. Speak to people. Support non-profit organizations and join the kids on the streets.
RE-CLAIM POLITICS!
It is easy to say politicians haven’t done enough in the past.
Not engaging in it makes us part of the problem! Let’s take responsibility for change. Joining a political party costs a minute only and could change the way we all live in the future.
Is becoming political scary? YES!
Is engagement difficult and time consuming? YES!
Are all these just excuses? YES!