Did you arrive a little late to the Climate Action Team’s Save & Savor the Earth blog party? That’s OK, better late than never! And for those of you who have been around since we launched over seven months ago: rock on! We’re grateful for your engagement and for your activism!
Looking back at our first two dozen posts, writeen by over a half-dozen different CAT members, we’ve covered a good bit of ground: electric vehicles, pollinators, plastic reduction, seed sowing, green divestment, carbon offsets, utility plan advocacy, sustainable packaging, zero energy buildings, coping, lifelong learning, food choices, hopefulness, the stories we live in, inspirational books, recycling, and more.
If you haven’t read all of our posts (for the most part, they’re short and very readable), jump back in to some of the older entries. Here are some teasers to nudge you back:
– Soon after I got my car, I came to think of it as like a smartphone on wheels, what with its being so smart, and constantly needing recharging. “Why I Love my PHEV!”
– This resonates for me and implicates the “story of separation” that I perpetuate with my self-centered, security-craving, resource-exploiting lifestyle. It challenges a way of living that I’ve been conditioned to prefer and to preserve. I’m awakening to the harm of this lifestyle – harm to the planet, to those who operate with less privilege, and to the soul. It’s a reckoning that challenges the story of reality that I’ve relied on for five decades. “What’s the story you’re living in?”
– You might not be there yet and are thinking about taking that first step – you will get no guilt trips here. We are all on our own journey, and we invite everyone to start where they are! Got Plastic? “The planet would like you to say ‘no’”
– I remember when, in the 1990s, the white supremacist “Apartheid” regime collapsed. Rich whites in South Africa had segregated and oppressed Black and non-white people for almost 50 years. It seemed like it would never change, but it collapsed because people talked to their employers about divesting. Students advocated with their colleges to divest, and individuals committed to stop investing in the stocks and bonds of businesses that benefited racist white Afrikaans. When the white racist system collapsed, a new government formed with Nelson Mandela as its first president. Divestment campaigns work! “The power to create big changes”
– Being present in the knowledge of the challenges that are facing us can feel daunting. Let us acknowledge that all of us engaged in the work feel overwhelmed and discouraged at times. But let us also be an inspiration and support to each other. We always have a choice before us. We can let the challenges push us into denial, despair, or even apathy. Let us, Instead, muster our courage, open ourselves to the wonder of this world, and choose hope. “Looking for hope”
– It was encouraging to me when going into deeper research on the subject of packaging how much is going on behind the scenes to make changes. I discovered a lot of committed people who work for sustainable and flexible packaging companies and are trying to make improvements. “Be choosy about your packaging”
– Let’s be rebellious and defy our brain’s wiring. Let’s feel our heart’s anguish and heed its compassion. Our worry is warranted, but our resolve as individuals and as a collective seems to be growing stronger. “Wouldn’t you rather just ignore all this?”
– It’s difficult in our society, especially in cities like ours that lack sufficient public transit, to not drive our gasoline-powered vehicles. Solar is not a viable or affordable option for everyone. The benefits of recycling are questionable. But, in order to fuel and nourish our bodies, we all eat. Most of us eat three meals a day and enjoy a little something in between. That provides us with three opportunities a day – at least 1095 times per year – to make a thoughtful choice for the earth, for our bodies, and for our fellow non-human Earthlings. “Eating with Earth (and your fellow Earthlings) in mind”
– Even though the work of learning, integrating, and applying new knowledge is individual in many ways, we serve as each other’s classmates, cheerleaders, and role models. We are disentangling ourselves from the business-as-usual mindset, exercising self-compassion in the face of the double binds, regulating our frazzled nervous systems through attunement, and gaining strength from our solidarity to save and savor the Earth. We’re all learning. “These times call for lifelong learning”
If you’re interested in helping us produce a post about your interest, experience, or efforts to save and savor the Earth, please email me at reeseindecatur@gmail.com. Our individual stories are bound in the same storybook. Let’s use this blog to keep those stories flowing!