Marcus Aurelius said “If we want to live in good times, the solution is easy. Do good things.”
The Earth needs us to do that, now more than ever
You don’t need me to tell you that our world is in a precarious state. I have been saying that for a while now, but the warning voices are getting louder. Yet at the same time the planet’s helpers are out in force. I see scientists, communities, amazing individuals, politicians (there are a few!), groups, NGOs, rich men and poor doing their absolute best to make a difference. Joanna Macy says in a video entitled “The Great Turning”, “They have in common, that a better world is possible.”
When you have a spare hour do watch this video – I found it inspiring.
Joanna Macy writes of the change we need from a doomed industrial society to a life-sustaining civilisation, which she calls The Great Turning.
An article in the Guardian newspaper puts it differently but is coming from the same place. “We have an urgent responsibility. Our existing economic system is incapable of addressing the social and ecological crises we face in the 21st century.” To create a world that works for everyone we need to change to something better.
If we needed further encouragement, a blog called “The Desire for Money: It Killed Our Humanity and Now It Is Killing Our Planet” from the University of Manchester gives it.
It says “Capitalism is overtaking our lives in the worst way possible… A fundamental change needs to be made otherwise it will lead to cataclysmic events that will endanger the lives of everyone.” There is no doubt. We have to build the alternatives. We have to create that better and more sustainable society for the future. My feeling, in spite of all the dreadful news in the world, is that the change is happening. I believe there are too many people committed to making a difference to stop now. Some days it feels naïve to believe in us, but something always pulls me back. There is a change of consciousness in the air. We just need to get a move on!
Hopes for that future
One of my inspirations – Mont Blanc with snow
Contributors to that better future
1. Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney just announced $3.8 billion in funding to protect nature, as the federal government moves to meet its conservation targets. The government is aiming to protect 30 per cent of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. About 14 per cent of land in Canada is currently protected.
2. China
A somewhat depressing article in the Guardian newspaper reports that while the biggest emitters of carbon are benefiting from the Iran war, China (which is one of the big emitters) is leading the charge for an electrified (renewables) future. The country’s emissions have been flat or falling for nearly two years. Please read about China’s efforts: they are quite exciting. For me, as China is the world’s second biggest economy, what they have done is incredible and shows what might be possible if we can really find a way to make our “democratic” politicians move a bit faster!
3. Paris
Yet another article from the Guardian shows that Paris has been creating what they call “Third Places”, spaces where people can go to have fun together. Among Paris’s progressive political commitments – pedestrianising the banks of the Seine, swapping parking spaces for restaurant terraces and strips of vegetation, closing streets directly in front of schools to car traffic, billions spent on public housing – the effort put into Third Places is, the writer thinks, among the most important. It won’t change the Climate or loss of Nature immediately, but there, people will talk together and remember their humanity.
4. Nemonte Nenquimo
She is according to this report from the UNEP an activist and leader of the Waorani people living in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. The Waorani people successfully stopped oil drilling in the Ecuadorian rainforest – protecting 500,000 acres of the Amazon from exploitation, safeguarding lives and livelihoods, and establishing a legal precedent for regional indigenous rights. In 2020 she was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world.
5. Nzambi Matee
(From the same article as Nemonte.) Nzambi is a Kenyan and has set up a company to produce paving blocks from plastic bags found on the streets of Nairobi.
Grenoble
6. Three Sustainable Cities
An article by Ecotree shows how three cities are fighting to let Nature flourish in their streets.
Portland (Oregon) is considered one of the most eco-friendly cities in the world. It has set itself concrete goals to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030 and is aiming for 33% tree-cover across its territory.
Grenoble (one of France’s greenest cities has gradually transformed itself with one of France’s first eco-neighbourhoods built on an old industrial wasteland. It is also worth checking out its anti-flooding plan.
Amsterdam is working on its plans to provide green roofs, redirecting rainwater, developing front gardens to temporarily retain rainwater and to provide many parks and open spaces. It hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by 90% by 2050.
7. Eighty-five Countries Seeking Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
An environmental news site Envirolink reports that “A growing coalition of 85 nations is actively seeking a comprehensive roadmap to eliminate fossil fuel dependence, offering a glimmer of hope amid escalating global climate concerns. An upcoming international conference this month could provide the crucial platform needed to unite these countries in their shared commitment to transitioning away from oil, gas, and coal.”
They also say that “the formation of this 85-country coalition represents a potentially transformative shift in global climate politics. If these nations can successfully coordinate their efforts and establish concrete timelines for fossil fuel elimination, they could create enough economic and political momentum to accelerate the worldwide transition to renewable energy, regardless of resistance from traditional oil and gas powerhouses.” That seems quite exciting to me.
8. Our kind neighbour
None of these changes will take place without our basic humanity showing. We need each other, and we need to show that we are all important. Our neighbour just brought us a chocolate cake because we were tired (and probably needed fussed over a little!)
It needs all of us
To make the changes the world so desperately needs will take us all, as I believe my list above shows. We need brave and persistent people from all walks of life who care about our future. So please, step up and do what you can. It may be making chocolate cakes or changing the future of the Amazon Rainforest. More than likely it will involve lighting a fire under your local politicians. One step I believe we all need to make in our change of consciousness, the working on understanding of where our wealth comes from, is to cultivate gratitude for what we have and what we so much want to save.
To help you do that I have added a poem I discovered recently by the poet and environmentalist Gary Snyder. I hope you like it.
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Photos by Valdhy Mbemba on Unsplash, by Doreen Hosking and by Florian Olivo on Unsplash