WELCOME TO OUR AUGUST ISSUE
starring Yvonne Strahovski on the cover (also
twinning with me on the left). As the unlikely
star of cult dystopian drama The Handmaid’s
Tale, I could think of no better ELLE woman to
front an issue that seriously questions what lies
ahead. While the environment, conservation
and climate change are always top of our
agenda, our annual sustainability issue takes a deep dive into the
issues facing us, not tomorrow, but today. Because when it comes to
the fate of our planet, the future is now.
As we were wrapping up this issue, the media was covering
a new report by Breakthrough National Centre for Climate
Restoration, a climate think-tank based in Melbourne, which predicts
the end of human civilisation as we know it as early as 2050, if we
continue on our current trajectory. That’s just three decades away.
Written by a former fossil fuel executive and backed by a former
Australian defence chief, the report lays out a harrowing vision of
a society in collapse, billions of people displaced due to drought
and rising sea levels, scarcity of food and the destruction of key
ecosystems. It’s sobering stuff. Especially given we’re already seeing
the effects of extreme weather patterns. It’s enough to make you
want to lock the front door, curl up on the couch and lose yourself
in a Netflix-fuelled spiral of denial. But almost all who petition for
action on climate change, including this report, agree we are
experiencing a short window of opportunity where we can still do
something about it.
As writer Anna Spargo-Ryan points out in her piece on the rise of
ecological grief (p68), while it’s rational to be feeling an intensity of
emotions, we can turn our feelings of fear, fury and powerlessness
into a force for change. Take 16-year-old activist Aisheeya Huq
who is passionately campaigning with the Australian Youth Climate
Coalition, demanding politicians take action and back renewables
(p60). Or CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, Eva Kruse, who is
tirelessly working hand in hand with the fashion industry to transform@GENEVRA_LEEKthe production cycle and curb the impact it has on the
planet’s resources (p72). It’s true that our voices and our
vision can make a difference. You only have to look to
inspirational women like Robyn Coutts, design engineer
for Dyson, or founders Katia Santilli and Vera Yan of Nimble
Activewear (p138) to see how innovative thinking, backed up by
action, gets people’s attention.
At ELLE, I’m acutely aware that while we are careful about the
paper we use and the brands that we back, we are part of the
problem. None of us has all the answers. But we can all ask ourselves
the questions. Like climate scientist Kimberly Nicholas who highlights
an increasingly pressing decision for women on whether to bring
children into the world today (p74). Or writer Sarah Daniel who
investigates (p142) the efforts of the beauty industry to irradiate
single-use plastic (packaging accounts for about half of the plastic
waste in the world). Or fashion editor Caroline Tran who asks, can
vegan leather and faux fur look just as good as, if not better than, the
real thing? (On page 30, you’ll see that’s a resounding “yes”).
In 2019, the message is getting through. We’re all trying to do
our part. Saying no to plastic bags and straws. Choosing to walk
rather than drive (or considering an electric vehicle when we do
drive, see p58). Composting scraps, switching off unused lights and
appliances, buying less and better, cutting back on meat. And for
that, you deserve to be applauded. Now, it’s about amplifying that
message so the government and law makers have no choice but to
listen. Join a grassroots organisation. Lobby your local member.
Tell a friend. Via @ELLEaus, we’re asking you to share with us
how you’re helping to ensure a sustainable future using the
hashtag #ELLEfutureisnow.
And if you’re going to turn to Netflix, that’s okay, too. Just make
sure to add documentary Before The Flood to your viewing list. In
the words of narrator Leonardo DiCaprio, UN Messenger of
Peace: “The only thing that we can do is control what we do next.
How we live our lives. What we consume. How we get involved.
How we use our vote to tell our leaders that we know the truth about
climate change.” Because by August 2050, I would very much
like to find myself, like our “Girl From Oz” on page 80, still able
to head to Bondi Beach on a warm spring day for a cool dip.
I’m guessing you would, too.ELLE
“We CAN TURN
our FEELINGS (^) of
FEAR and FURY
into A FORC E
FOR CHANGE”
Photography: Kerry Hallihan