While the fight against climate change can seem overwhelming, making a relatively small change in your life can have an effect. GCN speaks to people who give examples of achievable changes we can make in order to make our planet a better place. In this article, we talk about joining activist groups.

Meaghan Carmody is the Head of Mobilisation at Friends Of The Earth Ireland. She is the perfect example of someone who translated her desire to help the planet into a force for change and explains why even one voice can make a difference.

“I came across a documentary called Gasland, set in the US looking at families who are impacted by fracking (hydraulic fracturing), which is a dangerous way of getting chemicals out of the ground. Their land was taken by huge corporations and they were issued gag orders.

“I was emotionally affected by the injustice, so I googled environmental organisations in Ireland and found Friends Of The Earth. They had some activists over from the US who were speaking about the fracking issue. The event was really impactful, so I started to get involved with Young Friends Of The Earth – a local activist group.

“We’re an environmental campaigning organisation, our mission is a just world where people and nature thrive. Justice is at the heart of what we do. In Ireland, we are really privileged in being able to speak out about environmental issues and to campaign on it. In some countries, you could get killed for your actions in projects that affect a company’s profits. It sounds dramatic but it’s true. We’re seeing higher and higher rates of deaths of environmental defenders.

“Right now we need collective action, we need people to get involved and join the movement. Every group out there needs more people and it’s unbelievable the amount of impact just one person can have. You think those groups are intimidating when you’re not in them and then you go to one of the meetings and you realise it’s a few committed volunteers who are making amazing things happen. And once you get involved you become one of those people.”

For more information or to get on the Friends Of The Earth mailing list, visit www.foe.ie and search for other activist groups online such as Extinction Rebellion, Not Here Not Anywhere and the All Ireland Student Activist Network.

You can learn more about how we can all make a difference at our event ‘Mayday: The Fight To Save Our World’. The event will be an evening of information, conversation and action – a collaboration between GCN and Extinction Rebellion Ireland will take place Project Arts Centre, Dublin on May 1.

Tickets for the event are available here.

Join us and @ExtinctRebelsIE at @projectarts Wednesday, May 1 for a discussion on the current #climateemergency and how we can all effect positive change. https://t.co/N5iAXAYsYf pic.twitter.com/kPhaJA8ckk

— Gay Community News (@GCNmag) April 25, 2019

This story originally appeared on GCN’s May 2019 issue. Read the full issue here.