As we rapidly head towards Christmas, communities around the world are putting up decorations, wrapping presents, purchasing huge quantities of food and drink, and traveling varying distances to spend the holiday season with family and friends. Though it's important that we all enjoy this opportunity to take a break from the stresses and anxieties that loom over everyday life and to treat ourselves to a minced pie or box of chocolates it is important that we continue to be mindful of the lifestyle choices we make and how they impact upon the planet.

As the global population tops eight billion we are facing challenges few of us would have envisioned even ten years ago. Food and water insecurity are already prevalent in "hunger hotspots" across the globe with famine threatening people from the Horn of Africa to Afghanistan. The impacts of war and violence are bleeding across national borders and migration is on the rise. The cost-of-living crisis is forcing families to choose between heating or eating and in some cases not being able to do either, instead being forced to rely on the charitable donations of others. Accessing basic resources is rapidly becoming a battle ground as affordability slips through the fingers of the general public, whilst political infighting leaves national economies in tatters. Meanwhile, climate change lingers over us exacerbating every crisis yet further leading to increased gender-based violence, displacement and malnutrition amongst children and adults alike. Yet, we continue our current path, patting ourselves on the back for making compromises at Cop27, or remembering to take the recycling out and all the while either forgetting about or failing to appreciate the bigger picture.