November 2007
Think Global, Act Global
With climate change summits in Bali and legislation under consideration in Westminster, at first sight the Midlands does not seem to create its own international "green" agenda. However, a Dutchman living in the area is hoping to change that.
Last month, Michael de Groot, head of "Staying Alive!" a company specialising in health and wellness, launched a campaign to declare Sunday 28th October "Global No Drive Day!" A keen environmentalist, de Groot started the initiative after feeling that most people were stuck in an impotent or apathetic state about the environment, waiting for their governments to take action and provide leadership. Previously, the best they could do was to recycle more. Wanting to redress the problem, he bemoaned his seeming insignificance before coming up with an idea:
"Like many people, I"m really concerned about the future of the planet – and like many more people, I"ve sometimes wondered whether what I can do personally will actually make any real difference. But then – ironically enough, when I was driving home one evening – it suddenly dawned on me that we could all make a spectacular difference if we collaborated and chose not to use our cars on a specific day."
Following a few sums, de Groot came out with a huge figure for the potential impact that the scheme could have:
"There are 600 million cars on the Planet today – if we all left them at home for just a day, we"d stop 10.8 billion kg of carbon dioxide being emitted in just one day. What we can all achieve by collaborating in this way would be amazingly powerful!"
It seems like a very big ask to persuade even a town full of motorists to give up their cars on a Sunday let alone an entire planet – even if public transport is running on time. And de Groot knows that he is reaching for the stars whilst standing upon a step ladder. But to adopt such an analysis would be missing the point.
He is more hopeful that the "Global No Drive Day!" will at first serve to raise awareness, and most crucially, demonstrate that we are individually responsible for the Earth's future and that we have within our own power, the ability to make a difference.
Aiming to grow the campaign exponentially and for it to become a regular fixture in peoples diaries, he has proposed that it take place on the last Sunday of every month – this month being Sunday 25th November - and asks you to "tell a friend." But ultimately, de Groot leaves the decision to the individual: "you are either part of it or not, it is your choice." And if you (like the Pro Enviro team) can answer "yes" to that question, he would like you to register your support for the campaign.
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