A few days ago, I spent two hours talking to a 78-year-old Lady & her husband (80+) at their Summer cottage. Both of them hardly had any wrinkles. She said, they spend all Summer in nature. In Winter, she goes ice swimming regularly and she uses FINNISH HONEY every single day, both applied on her skin & inwards.
We also spoke about CLIMATE CHANGE. She said, recently you can no more find FINNISH HONEY in the stores. There are no bees. Even their cottage neighbor, who keeps bees, has lost them! This is not only a Finnish problem. It is a GLOBAL problem.
Bees, and other insects important to our global environmental ecosystems, are disappearing. If not already, please do hear the alarm bells. If we humans cause extinction of species important to our global ecosystem, we will ultimately destroy ourselves. It has long been urgent to rethink our ways of living and consuming. If not already, do take action in your personal AND professional life.
Missing bees: The Mysterious Case of Colony Collapse Disorder
A year ago, in May 2016, after years of climate activity and months of reflection, Global Climate Change Think & Act Tank was born. What started out partly from a willingness to learn more about climate change, but foremost out of a deep concern for our global environments, the nature, and sustainability in general, has now become an active (social media) movement involving professionals and people from all kinds of industries across our world.
Climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable economic development are core factors affecting businesses, corporations, organizations, individuals, and thus societies holistically. In today´s world, none of us can afford ignoring climate leadership as a core value, and as a long-term competitive advantage, as well as an investment, in business practices across industries AND in our personal lives. Instead of denying the truth about the long-term negative effects caused by human behavior and unsustainable ways of conducting business/living our lives, we must embrace change not only in business practices, but in our everyday lives. Holistically. We already know HOW to do it. It is only a question about a willingness to embrace positive change, improve our ways of consuming, living, and conducting business. Of course, inter/national climate policies and regulations do have a significant impact, whereby local/global politics plays a significant role. Although, at the core of climate leadership, societies consists of smart individuals – the driving force to all change.
Climate leadership and taking responsibility for our environment belongs to EVERYONE. No individual can outsource his/her personal responsibility, wherefore we are all responsible for taking action and committing to changing our societies into sustainable places to live, now and in the future.
97 % of all scientists agree upon the fact that climate change, as it occurs in today´s world, is caused by us human beings. According to NASA – Global Climate Change – Vital Signs of the Planet, the evidence for this is fact-based and relevant. The (future) consequences of human caused climate change are yet partly unknown, although climate change in today´s world has already caused: sea level rise, global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, declining Arctic sea ice, glacial retreats, extreme events, ocean acidification, and decreased snow cover – to mention a few! How these changes affect life upon Earth, unless we take action and implement necessary changes, is to some extent yet a question mark.
According to The UN Migration Agency and based upon climate research, the number of climate refugees could rise up to 200 million by 2050. As per today, the UN Refugee Agency estimates that more than 22.5 million people have been displaced due to climate and/or weather-related events in the past decade. And, the number is continuously growing. Without hesitation, these are unsustainable facts and numbers.
With a reference to Adger,W.N., J.M. Pulhin, J. Barnett, G.D. Dabelko, G.K. Hovelsrud, M. Levy, Ú. Oswald Spring, and C.H. Vogel, 2014: Human security. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L.White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 755-791. , climate change affects human security in a wide variety of ways, including food security, displacement, migration, mobility, inter/national conflict/s, critical infrastructures, state capacities, and geopolitical issues.
Climate leadership, including the necessity to act upon climate change and driving change that concerns all of humanity, must be taken seriously by everyone. It is not enough to have local/regional/national/global policies and regulations . Businesses, creating innovative solutions, are the true sustainability ambassadors, together with aware consumers/individuals.
ACT NOW – become a supporter of our global movement – Global Climate Change Think & Act Tank:
GCC Think & Act Tank on LinkedIn
GCC Think & Act Tank on Facebook
Climate Leadership by Global Climate Change Think & Act Tank
https://www.slideshare.net/annemariayritys/global-climate-change-think-act-tank-72400257
In a time of uncertainty, even in previously peacefully related locations such as Stockholm, I am glad to hear that my friends in Stockholm are safe & sound! In these times of rapidly changing markets and an uncertain world, we all have to be increasingly much grounded and peaceful. When we are at peace with ourselves, we will also be at peace with our surroundings, thus creating an increasingly much peaceful world. Please do not let drama enter your mind, or your life. Focus upon creating a peaceful and loving life, and world, to yourself and to those around you. Only through changing ourselves, and through being loving and kind, can we influence those around us as well, to become loving and peaceful.
Aspire to be friends with everyone, starting with yourself. Expand your friendship to whomever you meet upon your journey on Earth, and make everyone into a friend. Kindness is a language of those with inner strength. If you ever are in doubt of your inner strength, please let exemplary leaders like Nelson Mandela be your role models. Truly great leaders know how to forgive their enemies, and use love as a tool to become one with their opponents, in any circumstance. Instead of making a life full of drama, do focus upon love, and upon creating an increasingly much lovable world around you, where people do care about each other.
However, do not let enemies enter your mind in a way of allowing them becoming the cause of the so-called “Stockholm Syndrome”. Stay grounded, be focused, analyze, take the necessary time to evaluate circumstances and things according to your personal perception, and an in-depth analysis about what actually is taking place in your environment, rather than taking action too quickly or reacting to any circumstance or person around you. As unfortunate as it is, not everyone has clarity of mind, or pure intentions. Therefore, always seek to consult with a few (or, even one) trusted people before taking action. Never ever let yourself be seduced into something that conflicts with your authenticity, values, ethics or morals. Even if and when turning an enemy into a friend or a collaborator, do not let anyone seduce you/r business into becoming a tool or a platform for criminal activities or let someone seduce you into becoming a partner in-crime, or, become a victim of the Stockholm Syndrome.
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Anne-Maria Yritys 
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