Thinkhouse

Issue 19

Youth 19: The Climate Edition - Intro

Welcome to YOUTH 19: The Climate Edition

We’ve taken our online magazine and turned it into a bells-and-whistles look at how we might be able to clean up the shit-show we’ve allowed our gorgeous gaf to become.

We wanted to bring you an issue that sums up what we’ve have spent our year becoming acutely aware of, and what we’ve been trying to shout from the rooftops.

Yes, as you’re well aware, our little blue planet’s ablaze, and we’re holding the matches and petrol. But wait, let’s not waste time beating ourselves up, or despair that it’s too late. That’s only going to induce a bout of climate-anxiety, which we’ve covered in our eco-anxiety piece, where we look at how the framework in place to deal with the existential crisis of nuclear war, has the same efficacy in coping with anxiety about the climate crisis. We’ve taken a look at climate activism with our resident activist Laura Costello, veteran of the Reclaiming Agency leadership course, who's examined the work being done by Extinction Rebellion and Fridays For Future.

In Not So Fast, Fashion, we’re calling out the ridiculously unsustainable practices of the fashion industry and showing how we can undo the habit, and indeed re-invent our passion for fashion, from disposable to sustainable.

Fashion is only the tip of a fast-melting ice-berg however, and in our article on climate-conscious consumerism, we dive into the myriad of ways we can change our habits as consumers. To be honest writing this has been an even steeper learning curve than we’d expected as we got lost down many’s the rabbit hole of “what can I do better for the planet?” and with some very sustainable, fruitful and locally-sourced results.

The one thing we found when writing this was hope. There is LOADS to be hopeful of, because the very global nature that has led to the spread of consumption, is the one thing that’s spreading the word of the crisis and the need to change. And people are LISTENING. If you google how do anything in a more sustainable way, there will be a wealth of ideas for you to adopt.

Armed with this information, join us in not completely freaking out, but taking stock of what we’re doing in our day-to-day with a calm urgency, sussing how we can do it more sustainably, and changing it, (right away, hurry up now, come on, get googling).

“The climate doesn’t lie, it can’t, it’s just doing what we tell it to. So let’s change the script”

**made-up quote, by us, just today.

So let’s grab our metal straws, and go once more into the breach, dear friends.