Awesome Stories 389

/ February 23, 2019

This week Awesome Stories brings you environmental urgency.

mass protests, Awesome Stories

The Time for Action is Now

Many of you know how much I love nature. As my recent Soulful Sunday post explored, nature is my go-to happy place for peace, nourishment, and restoration. And I firmly believe that many of the world’s problems are a direct result of people not feeling at one with nature. We can feel and act disconnected from nature, but in reality, we are always one with nature. We are an integral part of the web of life. Native Americans and indigenous cultures around the world understand this fundamental connection.

Sadly, too many people, leaders, and corporations act as if we are simply consumers of the earth, along with endless resources. But science and our hearts tell us a different story. I remember the first time that I saw the side of a mountain, bald and stripped to the ground from clear-cut tree harvesting. The only thing left were stumps and barren fields. I felt shocked and hurt to my core as if I had been attacked along with the land and trees. All of nature, except man, acts from a place of integration, give and take, connection, and harmony. Sadly, with our free will we have chosen to treat the planet as something to use and consume, not our home and extended self to preserve.

Human-induced environmental change is occurring at an unprecedented scale and pace and the window of opportunity to avoid catastrophic outcomes in societies around the world is rapidly closing. ~ IPPR

It’s amazing to me that we’re still debating the need for action and legislation about climate and the environment. What’s worse is that now we are moving beyond simple climate change issues. The latest research says that we are reaching tipping points on many environmental factors like CO2 levels, ocean acidity, plastic pollution, soil depletion, and species extinction. And this environmental stress is contributing to societal breakdown with economic instability, mass migration, conflict, and famine. The latest research from IPPR calls this “environmental breakdown” and urges immediate bold action before the effects are irreversible.

While our leaders continue to debate, deny, and delay, some people are stepping up to the challenge. Interestingly, it might just be young people who save the planet. Many youth groups are rallying for the environment with protests, plans, and programs. Mass climate change protests have swept Europe recently, led by teenage girls. The UN has launched a Young Champions of the Earth Competition to highlight and motivate youth to action.

Thank goodness the youth are aware, engaged, and taking action.

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27 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 389”

  2. I did learn some things back in grade school (late 1960s early 1970s): There was an Indian and at the end, he shed a tear because of pollution – hit a major chord with me, my family & my friends. That was when we stopped allowing people to throw trash out their windows. It took a huge number of years to get smokers to quit throwing out butts – but both still happen today. Last year had to call the fire dept twice for roadside burns from a butt thrower. Happens along the interstate (near our house). We also had the owl “give a hoot dont pollute” campaign. I started learning about “going green’ way back in the early ’70s. Our family has reused, recycled, and repaired for decades and urges everyone around us to do the same. Since I am an “OCD” crafter, there is not a plastic container, tin can, old piece of tin foil, cardboard, newspaper or a number of other items that I cannot find another use for. Our trash is minimal, our gardening methods are all natural (beyond organic because govt regs allow up to 15% chemicals and can still be called organic – we use none.). I think that most people (unfortunately) don’t see it. Being small farmers/gardeners we do – A LOT! Trash still sits on the roadside (can’t tell you how much I have picked up just from our driveway.), cigarette butts still get thrown out the window too. Alternative energies(of which I am an advocate for) are still second fiddle to gas and oil. Afraid to say it, but I think things will have to blow before the majority will wake up and smell the coffee. By then it may be too late. Nice post!

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    • Thank you. I admire your dedication to living responsibly and sustainably. Those of us living lightly on the earth make a difference, and yet I believe we need a huge shift in attitude, manufacturing, policy, products, economics, and more, all to align with our elemental, essential connection to nature.

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  6. I’m so encouraged by the surge of energy toward dealing with the climate crisis, especially among young people. I have to thank Trump, maybe, for being so horrible that he’s awakened two generations, including teenagers who can’t even vote yet but will!

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  7. Brad, hooray to the young people who are taking action and I’ve been following Greta Thunberg from Stockholm who seems to have started this movement. Her eloquence and insight is something to behold, talking with clarity and wisdom at Davos, putting so many to shame! Inspiring days!

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  8. Thank you for speaking about this issue. I found myself wondering – even today – how it is that people can be so wasteful with water, acting like the disappearing lakes and dwindling water supply won’t ever happen. I’ve gone around and around in my head thinking about how to change the dialogue. “If you have 10 trees in your yard and you cut all of them down for toilet paper, it’s not possible to go to your neighbor’s house to cut theirs down. You don’t have permission. Scale that up to a global scale and when we cut all our trees, we can’t just go to the next planet to get some more. We don’t have the capability.” I dunno. I do know that all too often, our leaders have serious money invested in upholding the status quo. We need more climate protests. More protests about all the issues affecting this planet: hunger, extinction, deforestation, lack of access to clean water. We as a human race have the capability of feeding everyone, and making sure they have adequate water to drink. But inequalities of economics prevent that from happening. Coming together as a world race has to happen if we are to survive 150 years into the future, let alone 500 years.

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  9. I agree with everything you shared. I also think that each small action I can take will make a difference. In Portland plastic bags have been banned from grocery stores and some other stores don’t even offer a paper bag unless you pay for it. I applaud their efforts. I always bring my bags.
    Thanks for speaking out for the planet.

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  10. I so agree with Angie, our beautiful Mother Earth is seriously crying bitter tears, Brad. Good you brought up this post and are making us aware thru this wonderful platform where are we going and what are we doing. We have ripped her apart and in return we too humans are suffering. Look what we are doing with our animals, horrible. How long will she hold us. Good to see youngsters doing something for our Earth, even my son has become an activist and keeps on posting everyday how to take care of animals and our earth on Facebook. Thanks so much for this true share. Let us all do something collectively to save her.

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