It shouldn't take unprecedented heat waves to tell you that the cool shade of a tree can be lifesaving. A few years ago, it might be news that the squishy, murky bed of a wetland is the only reasonable engineering solution to the tidal annilation of hundred of acres of farmland or trillions of dollars in storm damage to beach front property on a newly constructed beach. But it isn't news anymore.
There are, and have been, actual remedies to the hopeless sinking feeling that we all experience when we see one more piece of plastic go into the garbage can, or as we look at our children knowing that there may not be oxygen on our planet in the NEXT DECADE.
We have to turn and run, not from our past but toward it. We have to make the fastest cultural 360 known to man. And today the UN said that we have 2 years to do so. In the words of the great Jessica Lanyadoo, "Action is the antidote to anxiety." So here is a short list of the next high impact actions you must take:
1. Get outside.
It isn't entirely altruistic because of all of the benefits to you, but in addition to the physiological and psychological improvements, you'll come to know what is around you and discover what is worth protecting. Take your bike or public transit whenever possible, not simply when its convenient but when it is humanly possible.
2. Get informed and get loud!
Alaskan pipelines and mines, expansion of fossil fuel extraction and several other national peabrain projects should have all of our panties in a bunch and they need to be shut down before they are started. We have to fight for what is left!
3. Shop local and shop for longevity.
Switching to CSAs, co-ops, farmer's markets (all of which accept EBT and offer sliding scale access across the nation) will drastically lower your food miles. That means we aren't flying airplanes full of spinach from Florida to Wisconsin when there is a spinach farmer 5 miles down the road from you! On your forays around your neighborhood, take note of what is available from your local small businesses and purchase from them instead of Amazon and the like.
Before making a new purchase ask yourself, when this product is in the ocean will it be worth it. And then add the billions of tax dollars needed for cleanup to that Amazon or Shein discount and suddenly plastic isn't so cheap.
4. Start taking responsibility. No one is coming to save us, especially not the aliens, nor the influencers. We will not become millionaires, we will become extinct.