Let's Do This *Save Humanity* Thing!
...it only takes a third of us, and other things that sound silly but aren't...
This summer has been… well, you don’t need me to tell you.
The increased volume of chatter around climate from wildly unexpected places has my emotional jet stream oscillating in extremes — especially when existential dread clashes with an unexpected rising thermal of hope. It’s like there’s a tornado (a danger-noodle as my favorite weather guy says) swirling in my limbic system at all times.
Somewhere between hearing about a man falling and broiling to death on a hot sidewalk in Arizona and realizing I’d been hearing “climate” as the top story for several days in a row — I had a glimpse of hope strong enough to believe we can harness this moment and save ourselves yet.
But it’s rooted in changing our perception around things most people thought were silly… until now.
Silly not silly thing no.1:
If you’ve seen the movie Day After Tomorrow, you may have noticed the headlines this summer sound a little too familiar. It’s one of those movies I watch every time it’s on even while fighting that guilty pleasure part of me that knows it’s generally considered silly. And sure, even I agree it initially seemed overly alarmist and implausible. But I mean, that’s entertainment. Right?
The problem is, when I first saw it, I'd just read an article about the global disruption to thermo-haline ocean currents that scientists anticipated (all the way back in 2004!) if we were to melt whole glaciers’ worth of fresh-water into the delicate salt-water balance of the Atlantic. It seemed like a distant fear, but the logic was frighteningly easy to understand.
And then fictional climatologist (Dennis Quaid) referenced that exact science as the trigger for the weather patterns that created the weather catastrophes in the film.
So fundamentally, even in 2004, I didn't find the movie to be as silly as I wanted to.
Which brings me to today…
Perhaps you saw the alerts on your phone this week, too?
About how this global ocean-current-collapse (of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC) fear is now likely? Here’s the story in the NY Times: Warming Could Push the Atlantic Past a ‘Tipping Point’ the Century.
Just another alarmist headline, right? Actually not so much — this is the Day After Tomorrow scenario… coming to a planet near you.
Not so silly.
Silly not silly thing no.2:
Oh hey that would be ME! People have, for many years, treated me like I’m silly for inconsequential-seeming things I did like:
choosing to take the train instead of flying (no, I’m not afraid of flying, and yes, sometimes trains can be more expensive and can take longer — and yes, I’ve actually traveled a lot of places this way)
insisting on walking or public transit over driving (yes, I will almost always refuse a ride in a single-passenger vehicle — please don’t take it personally)
choosing veggies and beans instead of meat (once a year I’ll sidestep this if I’m on a train because Amtrak makes a damn fine flat iron steak — and I’m on a train)
opting for a fan instead of AC for as long as I can (my thermostat is set to cool only when it gets over 79 degrees inside my tiny apartment)
walking home with groceries in my arms because I forgot my bag and don’t want to use a disposable one (I admit this looks silly but: no bag? no bag!)
I’m about to argue that individual action isn’t silly. Again, bear with me…
Do you know what I think IS silly (…and so NOT silly)?
That we know how to *stop* emitting CO2.
We’ve crunched the science. We have the technology and renewable energy sources.
What we lack — or what we’ve sure-as-shit lacked until now — is the incentive and social pressure. People want to pass off the fact that we’ve done so little as “a lack of political will.”
But do you know what drives political will? Oh hey, that would be US. Me… and you.
Yes, YOU. You have more power than you think!
The part everyone has been resisting — hoping someone else would solve for them — is the realization that we have to change *our* behavior (especially those of us with privilege as we’re spewing most of the CO2) if we want to to bring about global change.
“Flying 8 hours from London to New York would produce around one tonne of CO2 on average. A return produces two tonnes. According to the United Nations, that return flight is more than an average person produces in a whole year in 42 countries, including Bangladesh, Kenya and Haiti; all of which are suffering enormously from floods, droughts and extreme weather from climate change.”1
Our collective choices — our spending choices — are what drive shifts in both the economy and political will.
If we keep buying plane tickets, airlines are incentivized to keep flying carbon-spewing airplanes. If we keep buying gasoline to drive, guess who maintains power by profiting off our habits?
If we keep putting meat on our tables…
“People who follow a plant-based diet account for 75 percent less in greenhouse gas emissions than those who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat a day, and a vegan diet also results in significantly less harm to land, water and biodiversity, according to new research from the University of Oxford.”2
If we keep buying single-use plastic bottles filled with water (often stolen from low-income communities)… etc.
For some extra sobering perspective, what’s happening all over the world this summer is a result of a few tenths of one degree of heat added to the global average.
Projections are that, if we stay on this path, we’ll add a few more whole degrees, in our lifetime. If you think the news this summer is dire…
I don’t know about you but it seems worth figuring out how to make new choices (making the time to travel by train, bus or trying a new veggie-centric-recipe) to have an effect on how fast we do — or decide not to — literally bake ourselves (and each other) to death simply by falling on a sidewalk in summer.
Are you with me yet?
If so: this is not rocket science. It’s a simple numbers game.
OUR COLLECTIVE CHOICES are the numbers.
We demand change — first and with the highest impact — with actions and dollars.
Fun fact: it only takes a THIRD of a group of people to trigger a larger societal shift...
So please… let’s set down this whole “it’s too big” notion.
Instead, decide to become part of the momentum that will take us in a different direction. If even a THIRD of us start to make different choices today, that’s what drives real change tomorrow.
WE —you and me — will be the ones to build momentum.
“Curtailing emissions will require “a portfolio of solutions,” but the most effective solution to reducing both the climate and health impacts of aviation is to fly less.”3
I don’t know about you, but looking ahead, I’d sure rather be in the group of humans who made choices to save the world than the ones who kept acting like someone else would solve this.
Want to join me in the momentum-building third?
Here are some places to start, in order:
Don’t fly (every ticket purchased is an investment to keep more airplanes in the air: for non-essential travel explore locally and/or chose destinations you can reach by train. Not enough train destinations to your liking? Lobby congress to improve our rail options!)4
Minimize driving (every gallon purchased is a direct investment in fossil fuel companies: get to know your public transportation options, walk, bike, etc.)
Swear off meat (veggies are actually scrumptious and way healthier for you, and cultures that eat beans daily are also happier — bonus!)
Reduce consumption / Reuse / Recycle (learn local rules re: recycling — generally 1 & 2 are good to recycle, 4/5/7 are “check local guidelines” and 3 & 6 are NOT recyclable)
SHARE!! This conversation! This post! Creative things you’re doing to make a difference!! We have to have the conversations — and not just the “omg can you believe this record-breaking heat / flood / hail / tornado / smoke / drought / fire / sinkhole / mudslide / hurricane,” but also, the, “Here’s what I’m doing to stop contributing to the problem… Here’s something we all can DO.” And please, for the love of the planet, organize and VOTE for science-supporting Democrats.
I’ll also add one more thing here, if you’re in a drought-prone climate (this is a big one out west): remove lawns and instead plant native, zeriscape, low-water plants.
Once you’re doing these above things, get involved locally. Encourage the reforesting of downtown areas, especially in low income communities. Provide feedback if your local public transportation options are lacking. Donate, march, vote…
At the end of the day, you can keep contributing to the problem, or you can be part of the solution.
A FEW RESOURCES:
READ: Why Individual Action on the Climate Crisis Matters
DONATE: 350.org
founded group to educate and organize action around climateRAW DATA: Climate Reanalyzer illuminating and sobering data to watch sea surface temperatures as they climb dramatically above any year in recorded history
ILLUMINATING FICTION: The Deluge, by Stephen Markley (while yes, this is fiction, it should be required reading for anyone alive — my full review here)
INTERSECTIONAL ESSAYS: Not Too Late, Rebecca Solnit & Thelma Young Lutunatabua (from the front lines of the climate fight)
A parting note on self care
I’m not alone in feeling climate anxiety. Dwelling in this space is beyond exhausting and deeply challenging to mental health. It’s critical to re-ground and recharge your batteries as needed.
Playing with color for the past week after dinner has been grounding for me — just a few minutes a night has felt like a meditation to what it is I want to save. I’ll have more on this in future posts!
Thank you for reading and joining me in the fight of (for) our lives. And until next time, keep making those Good Footprints, my friends!
Why Individual Action on Climate Matters (thank you Peter Knapp for writing this article!!)
Save the Planet Put Down that Hamburger (NYTimes, for more on how significant the impact of meat is on carbon emissions)
How Much Does Air Travel Warm the Planet, New Study Gives a Figure (article about new science that attaches abstract CO2 emissions to actual increase in global temperatures from the aviation industry, “if aviation were a country, it would be the world’s sixth-biggest emitter, falling after China, the US, India, Russia, and Japan.”)
Thank you for this thoughtful and inspiring post, Jennifer. There is so much individuals can do to reduce their footprint, but it will take major collective political action to stop the greatest polluters, the billionaires and their mind-boggling life styles, the military war machine, and multi-national corporations that overrule the politics and interests of smaller nations. BTW, I also just recently posted my art work as an attempt to reduce my climate anxiety: https://annettenaber.substack.com/p/creating-sanctuary-playfully-and
Love this, Jennifer. COVID has made me a non-flyer (do NOT want to be trapped in a floating tin can with people who don't know how to act). I haven't had red meat since Live Aid. I bring my own bags (and if I forget and can't carry it all, I buy another effing bag...pretty rare these days, but I've learned). I try to make sure I don't drive on Saturdays (about 97.5% successful at that), and walk as much as possible for small errands/going to lunches/dinners. I don't have AC, so I'm used to being warmer in the summer and don't really enjoy overly AC'd places. Would love to trade in my car for something electric (as soon as I can afford that), but keep my commutes to the absolute minimum (and happily have a WFH schedule for August). I gave up single-use plastics years ago, have silicone bags to replace Ziplocs, silicone covers for fruit and veg halves/ends, a glass water bottle I use daily and a collapsible silicone one for day trips. Aluminum foil is washable so, if it must be used, use it more than once. All of these changes are doable, and there's probably more I can do (always willing to learn). Like DON'T SIT IN YOUR IDLING CAR WHILE ON THE PHONE OR TO "CHARGE" YOUR PHONE OR TO USE THE AC! Such a pet peeve of mine. Such a planet killer. Ugh! You rule, Jennifer! xo