LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW

SHORT STORY : The LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW initiative links you to information on how each of us can make changes to our lifestyles, and together we'll contribute to healthier oceans by reducing the rising sea temperatures & ocean pollution killing the world's coral reefs. It is a hub where you can find events to attend with others, increasing your positive impact. Share info on your own events & actions with us and we'll promote them. Plus, this website is a place for you to learn more about coral reefs, the animals & people they support, and why their survival is imperative for our future. And you'll find links to info on inspiring groups & individuals living the difference now.

You can take all this, share it, act on it, and inspire others to do the same.

 Jacqueline Bosscher, founder LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW

 

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LONG STORY : In early 2017, I read a report on the speed with with coral bleaching is killing the Great Barrier Reef and saw the eye-opening film Chasing Coral (Netflix). I also learnt about the damage ocean pollution is doing to reefs and marine creatures across the planet. I felt an overwhelming need to DO something BIG to help save the world's reefs from death by bleaching induced by climate change and by disease spread by plastic ocean debris. I contacted a long list of people from all walks of life to discuss an action to take together, and the overwhelming response pointed me in the direction of starting an initiative where people could learn about the differences they could make in their lives to turn the tide on climate change and to encourage them to share information to inspire others to do the same - talk, act, share & inspire.

 

I see climate change as an equation,

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climate change = CO2 emissions x each person on the planet

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Reducing my own carbon footprint across every part of my life does impact that equation. And if each individual can do this, then we have the BIG positive impact we need to reverse the damage we are doing to this planet. 

 

A recent study of the Asia-Pacific region showed more than 11 billion plastic items are entangled in coral reefs! But this is something every person who lives on a coastline or riverbank can do something positive about now - we just need to see it that way. We need to see the pollution around us - litter - and pick it up before it adds to the problem in our oceans.

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CARBON EMISSIONS & CLIMATE CHANGE I have taken a good look at where I can reduce my carbon footprint across all areas of my life - in my home, in my choices as a consumer, in my transportation choices, in my work, and I have taken positive actions across the board to reduce my own carbon emissions to a minimum. My family has done likewise, so now four people are having a more positive impact on that equation. Every day we make adjustments and improvements to continue reducing our impact. Join us, and inspire your family, friends & colleagues to do the same! The LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW initiative provides information on where you can make changes for the biggest positive impact.

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OCEAN POLLUTION I decided one thing I could do immediately was to 'adopt' my own environment and take responsibility for cleaning it. I started to pick up rubbish every day on my walks around my local dog park, sited in a reserve on sea cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. Wandering all over the reserve with my dog, I take 2 buckets with me and pick up all the rubbish I see - big or small - and bin/recycle it. I do this every day, rain or heatwave, before I sit down to work. I share photos & info of my activity @livethedifferencenow. I can see the difference this small, repeated action makes. The reserve is cleaner, day by day all that rubbish not going into the ocean adds up, and I am meeting people (in real and virtual space) who inspire me to continue. I feel I am now in the service of this environment and at the same time I contribute to the improvement of a community. I am coming to terms with my own feelings of desperation with regards to our treatment of nature and have a stronger connection to this place. I can do this for the rest of my life, not just here but anywhere. And I can invite others to join me to increase the impact. One of the key events of the  LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW initiative has come from this action: regular, monthly group clean ups of my local coastal environment under the banner CLEAN UP THE SOUTH (for more info, visit our Events page). Why don't you organise one in your community, now?

 

You can change the equation for the better, too. You can take all this, share it, act on it, and inspire others to do the same.

 Jacqueline Bosscher, founder LIVE THE DIFFERENCE NOW