In a world where the new car, new dress, and a cool profile picture seems to define your world, who can imagine that there is a man that sees and nurture one of the most important gifts to humankind. Meet the 53-year old Josh Cossham from the United Kingdom. Josh had been calculating his carbon footprint before members Extinction Rebellion was born and according to Resurgence carbon calculator, he only emits 2.3 tons of carbon a year which is less than one-quarter of the UK average.
In fact, he took his last fight in 1997 and drove his car after he passed his test. Aside from these things, he also washes himself with only one cup of cold water and treats himself to a hot shower four times a year. He can't even remember buying brand new clothes from clothes shops but instead gets second-hand clothing from a charity shop or just used the ones that had been passed on from his late uncle Robert. He is a freegan and finds foods in bins or in his garden according to Independent UK.
"I just don't want to pollute, consumer, or use stuff. To be green you have to say no to stuff. That's unfashionable to say because people think you're denying yourself. I could chat up my next door neighbor's wife but I don't. You done have to submit to every whim," he said. He is a freegan and finds foods in bins or in his garden.
"Our planet is in a perilous state and people are already dying because of climate change. We're not the pinnacle of evolution. I don't think we're any more precious than a slug and we're going to extinct soon. It's not about saving people; it's about keeping the planet habitable for any organisms which survive the shitstorm we're throwing at it,"
The lifestyle of John is not a problem with his wife and two teenage children. With the kind of his living, it actually helps the family in terms of household bills, £340 is only spent annually on electric bill while £200 on gas. John boycotts toaster, ovens, and hobs and used instead indoor smoke-free woodstove fuelled by scarp wood.
"I'm peculiar like that, I feel that it's more carbon conscious to heat food using waste wood. I don't mind waiting an extra half an hour for it to heat up. I've never been interested in heating things up an oven"
John's epiphany started when he was in college in Northampton back in 1984 after a friend given him a load of psychedelic mushrooms. He had taken one hundred and experienced ego death and talked to a horse. From that moment, he dropped out of college and decided to become a green campaigner. With his great motivation and undying eagerness in lessening his carbon footprint, he won the Oxford Carbon Competition for the lowest carbon footprint in the UK back in 2008 wherein, he only emitted 0.45 tons a year.
It may seem that John goes extreme in carbon living however the change he makes leads to a greater purpose in saving what we called home.
"Most normal people are just barely coping with being alive and coping with modern day life. What we need is a government that helps them make the right choices by making greener sources of energy cheaper" said by professor Mark Maslin from the University College of London.
"I am glad that John has shown it is possible and I think it's brilliant we have people who have dedicated their lives to showing how much you can reduce your emission," he said.
