Climate— Imagining the World We Want

The biggest impediment to solving the climate crisis may be in our minds. Swapping out dystopia for a more-inspiring vision

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

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Dear Mother E readers,

For this issue, I wrote a long piece, then digitally tore it up and started over—twice. 😏I find it challenging to write about climate in a way that’s relevant and doesn’t sound like everyone else.

After I discarded the earlier version like some people toss out plastic waste, I rewrote with an eye towards first transforming our perceptions of what’s possible to heal and restore the places we love. Without that vision, we can’t move forward.

The climate crisis (global warming) and the biodiversity crisis are interrelated, but I use the word “climate” here as a stand-in for both.

I appreciate hearing from any of you as we navigate together through the uncertainty that is called climate change.

Robin

"Climate change demands that we build a new world, so we might as well build one we want to live in."

Mary Annaise Hegler

IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I've had a few conversations with people who felt defeated by the magnitude of the climate and biodiversity crises. I understand that—I cycle into a pessimistic place, too, sometimes. There is much to be concerned about, and the effort to climb back to a healthier planet sometimes feels steep, with an uncertain outcome. 

However, if we don't believe something is possible— like solving this life-threatening crisis—we won't take meaningful action. That results in a lack of progress, keeping us in an unproductive and dangerous feedback loop. We can’t repair the climate if we're not seriously trying, and we’re not trying if we feel demoralized or don’t believe it’s possible.

Photo by Francesca Di Pasqua on Unsplash

The climate crisis is “breaking hearts” of young people around the world who see the more degraded world they’ve inherited and fear for their future. Here’s the 1970s song, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, sung by Elton John, to remind us that climate action is also a way to demonstrate love and caring for the generations coming after us.

Searching for solutions

While government has responsibilities to solve this climate problem, we have individual responsibility too. The billions of actions taken every day by all of us collectively have a big impact.

Our society needs to make it easier to be a climate problem-solver. As individuals, we can advocate for that. We need more default positions, such as automatic opt-in for green-power sources for our home electricity, more restaurant choices for plant-based meals, much higher taxes on flying, where each person’s flight throws tons of CO2 into the atmosphere at a time when we need to be removing it.

We also need to TALK about fixing climate more. If it’s rarely mentioned in conversations, it won’t be getting the needed attention.

The U.S. is lagging behind many other nations in cutting planet-warming greenhouse gasses. Governments can help by taxing things that harm (like carbon pollution and toxic chemicals) and offering more incentives for doing climate-helpful things. The new IRA bill is a good start, providing funds to electrify homes and vehicles, and moving us away from a dependence on fossil fuels. 

Path to the Sea, Gualala, CA., Photo by Robin Applegarth

“You and I and everybody else alive on the planet today have come along at probably the most important time in human history because we still have options open, right?

We still have choices that can take us in a direction that will give us the best chance we'll ever have of a long and enduring future on this little blue miracle that we call Earth.”

Sylvia Earle, deep-sea explorer

The Imagination Gap— and How to Cross It

Paul Hawken—the often cited entrepreneur, author, and environmentalist— once asked, "Is global warming happening to us, or for us?" If it's happening TO us, we might feel like victims and be disempowered. If it's happening FOR us, we can think of global warming as the impetus—the kick in the pants—that pushes us to find more balanced ways to live on Earth to lengthen our human stay.

Along the way, we learn and grow as a species.

To follow this path of thinking, let our imaginations expand, envisioning the space between the rapidly warming planet we have now vs. the climate-cooling planet we want and need.

Imagination is that special human ability to picture something that hasn't happened yet—to summon it closer. Imagination incorporates hope, utopian dreaming, idealism, and maybe even a connection with a collective unconscious realm.

Nothing gets done without imagining it first.

Einstein— the artist?

Albert Einstein, the physicist who explained mysteries such as quantum theory and the existence of atoms, firmly believed in the power of imagination. To solve problems about the properties of light, he sometimes thought of himself as a photon moving through space. He drew upon his imagination while pondering the theory of special relativity.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely from the imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. 

Albert Einstein, quoted in The Marginalian, by Maria Popova

So that we don’t censor our imagination about what is possible to heal the climate and biodiversity crises, we need to let that imagination run free and "encircle the world," incorporating our deepest desire for a planet that works for everyone and all species. 

Since the climate affects and touches everything, we'll also need to imagine healthier co-existence habits for our society. There are models for that.

Buen Vivir

In Ecuador and other countries in South America, there is a term called buen vivir, (living well) that took its inspiration from indigenous belief systems. It’s a way of living that balances the needs of the natural world with those of humans. It celebrates diversity and inclusivity.

[Buen Vivir is] a way of doing things which is rooted in communities, coexistence, cultural sensitivity, and ecological balance.

James Bridle, from his book Ways of Being

Buen Vivir draws on thousands of years of stable human societies to distill out those ways of living that are timeless and sustaining. Since the challenges we face now are different from the past, we also need to use that active tool—imagination— to find our way forward with new practices of “living well.”

What images come to your mind when considering a future that draws you forward with more anticipation? How would your life improve if we actively restored our bioregions, atmosphere, and ultimately, the planet?

What if we reduced blazing summer fires and smoke, flooding that has decimated whole towns, killing heat waves, mass extinction, and all the other dangerous symptoms of global warming? Returning the climate to more stability could be a major benefit for everyone.

Step into a possible future

Here’s one possible set of future scenarios I can envision.

Landscapes are transformed back into healthier ecosystems. In this future, native bison roam again on tall-grass prairies, wolf packs live unmolested in the mountain ranges, vast flocks of geese honk overhead during fall migrations, and great whale sightings are increasing. 

In this imagined future, eco-restoration teams work on both land and sea, providing jobs for people of all skill levels. Everyone participates in restoration activities for at least two weeks every year, moving progress forward. Along the way, everything we do to help other species survive also helps us.

It's also a more democratic, just, and peaceful world where societies care for all their citizens, and everyone has a value and a role. Earth’s history has shown us that cultures and societies flourish in a more stable world where everyone’s basic needs are met.

Elder care centers are next door to pre-schools and after-school programs, so there is a natural flow between age groups. Neighbors know each other and have lessened consumer spending by setting up "repair cafes," "tool-lending libraries," and car-sharing. More people live in small-group housing for affordability, resource sharing, companionship, and meal planning. 

Greenhouse gasses have dropped because cities are now powered with electricity from renewable sources, and buildings sport green walls of plants that consume more CO2. These cities are cleaner and quieter, too, without the background noise of thousands of cars running on gasoline engines. In their place, electric trams shuttle people around, and the services needed are within a 15-minute walk of where people live.

Forest schools for the children

How we educate our children—future citizens— has changed too. Schools incorporate more experiential, outdoor education, and all kids have access to "forest schools" where they walk, climb, make things out of found items, and interact with nature. Students use all their senses learning about edible plants, listening to birds, looking for salamanders, and following animal tracks. They make models of the watershed, study weather patterns, and learn the importance of balanced ecosystems. It's relevant, fun, and helps children grow up to care about their world.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The poet, Mary Oliver, had a similar vision:

Teach the children. We don't matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. […] And the frisky ones–inkberry, lamb's-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones–rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. 

Give them the fields and the woods, and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves, and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.

Mary Oliver, from Upstream: Selected Essays 

How do we go from current times to a future where life on Earth has a longer run? Perhaps it starts with taking the world back from the “lords of profit” and enhancing the natural life-giving forces of Earth again.

We can do so by harnessing a ride with imagination, strapping in with allies—of all species—who can help us on that ride, and summoning the resolve to be a link in the long human journey forward. Why? Because we finally realized we DO care about our collective future after all.

Robin Applegarth

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Related :

RE TV: Finally—someone has told the innovative, climate-solution, true stories in videos of 5 minutes or less. Many of these projects are outside the U.S. I found them inspiring.

Fiction/Sci-fi: The Ministry for the Future, by California author Kim Stanley Robinson, is a hopeful vision of how to climb out of the climate mess we’ve created.

Non-fiction: The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein. Here’s an introduction to Charles’ philosophy. (YouTube, 5 minutes)

Climate reading for fun—with cartoons? Yes! : Minimum Viable Future, written by Sarah Lazarovic.

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I like to hear from readers!

1. Can you envision a future with a restored planet?

2. What do you think can best help us chart a path out of the climate crisis?

3. What’s on your mind about this topic?

You can comment at the button above, respond to this email to reach me privately, or reach out on Twitter @RobinApplegarth. If you liked this article, hit the heart ❤️button at the bottom as it helps more people find it. Thank you to readers who have referred Mother E to friends and shared on social media!

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