Here at Imagine5 we have spoken to some incredible women spearheading the change to a more sustainable and equitable future. We are proud to share some of their wise words here.
Tori Tsui
(Environ)mental health activist
“Sustainability is as much about greening the planet as it is about sustaining yourself and doing things sustainably. That also means your mental health and that also means pacing yourself.
“You can’t talk about mental health and climate change without getting to the root of why this crisis exists in the first place. Then you begin to realise that not only is this system deeply incompatible with a habitable future, but it’s also deeply incompatible with a healthy and prosperous life for people and their communities.”
Jane Goodall
Conservationist and activist
“We need the green trees. We need the sky. We need the birds. We need to feel part of them. And the reason that’s important is because we are part of the natural world. And we actually depend on it for just about everything. Even in the middle of the inner city, every breath we breathe is from the natural world.
“We as individuals need to leave lighter ecological footsteps. And we’ve somehow got to inspire enough people to take action… So many people have said to me, ‘What can I do? It doesn’t make any difference what I do’. It doesn’t if it’s just you, but it’s not just you. So I think the important thing is realising that what you do, even if it seems small, cumulatively, millions of people making ethical choices is making a difference.”
Vanessa Nakate
Climate activist
“Climate change is more than weather, it’s more than statistics, it’s more than data points. It’s really about the people. We are seeing families being impacted, people losing their homes, people losing their farms, people losing their businesses, schools getting flooded, and hospitals as well. So for me, climate change goes beyond the rise in global temperatures, to what’s actually happening in the lives of the people right now… We need to get the people on the frontlines of the climate crisis on the front pages of the world’s newspapers.”
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Mitzi Jonelle Tan
Climate justice activist
“My emotions come from a place of love. Love for the oppressed peoples, love for the marginalized people, love for the people who aren’t the 1% richest. Love for the planet and love for life. And my sadness, my anger, my fear also stems from that. And it is an intentional thing that I do to ensure that I remember that joy… I think it’s so important to hold on to what we’re fighting for. Because in the end, we want a world where we can feel safe and free and where we can dance together and sing together. That’s what climate justice looks like. A world with no worries.”
Ingrid Sateré Mawé
Member of Brazil’s National Association of Indigenous Ancestral Warriors
“We are fighting for climate justice but we don’t have the most affected ones at the negotiation tables. I see the pain my parents are living through the driest time of the Amazon… my children won’t have the chance to live what I lived in my territory. As much as I get really sad, it gives me energy to keep fighting for Mother Earth. The message that I want to share is that we don’t have time to delay. The world needs to make a change right now. That’s why we organize ourselves as indigenous women to ensure the healing of the Earth.”
Image credits: Tori Tsui photo: Emli Bendixen. Jane Goodall photo: Guerin Blask/New York Times. Vanessa Nakate photo: Esther Ruth Mbabazi. Mitzi Jonelle Tan photo: Robert Langkjær-Bain. Ingrid Sateré Mawé photo: Prunelle Mathet. Design and collage: Marta Julia Johansen
