Change Yourself Change The World

From where I write, I see a forest dying—the legacy oaks drawn in gray lay down in droves, limb by lumbar. The madrones tilt and fall—even the redwoods tumble.

Not to sound like a privileged one during this time of war, future famines, and geopolitical unrest.

But I am sad and afraid right here and now as Climate Change transforms my world.

I have lived on this finger-ridge for 5 decades, and never have I witnessed native trees dying in such fever—especially at the tilt of the Earth defining this season.

We can all look outside and see that we must act swiftly if we’re going to prevent the worst of the climate catastrophes from coming.

While the outlook isn’t t positive, there are things we can do to bring the change we need to help turn the tide.

I believe one of the things holding us back is that we look for someone else to come up with solutions.

We can change the world by first changing behaviors and thoughts.

Getting around?

I’m lucky enough to work from home, but many are not. Some still drive hither and yon in gas-guzzling GHG belching vehicles. Electric vehicles are becoming reasonably priced with state and federal incentives. Charging station infrastructure is growing, and battery distances widen as new models come out.

I’m considering changing my old Audi out for a used electric Fiat. It only has an 84-mile range, but I rarely drive more than 20 miles when I go to town for staples and supplies. 

If you can’t make the change to an EV right now, consider carpooling or utilizing public transportation. You will probably make new acquaintances that can turn into friends—people also concerned with changing the world.

For your trips, you could go overland on a train or try hitchhiking — it’s a lot more fun than most people realize!

What did we ever do before engines? We walked and used our great strong limbs to get around.

Don’t make walking your last choice—it will keep you healthy and outside in nature.

The planet needs a new diet.

Choosing organic food and fiber is one of the simplest ways to make a climate-friendly change.

Organic farming provides a model for how agriculture can help mitigate climate change and help us adapt to the climate crisis.

Eighty percent of Earth’s terrestrial carbon is stored in soils. Agriculture is one of the main causes of carbon depletion in the soil and increased carbon dioxide gas in our atmosphere. Studies suggest that organic practices increase the carbon pool in our soils while reducing greenhouse gas emissions—making organic part of OUR climate change solution.

Work from The Organic Center shows that using organic practices increases overall carbon sequestration and keeps that carbon in the soil for longer periods of time.

Another positive change you can make is to change what you eat, and you don’t have to become a vegan to do this.

According to a study in Scientific American, “if every person in the U.S. cut their meat consumption by 25 percent, it would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1 percent.”

On the days when you do want to eat meat, look at getting your products from a supplier that values sustainability, such as Superior Farms.

Our climate problem is big, but a person’s diet change can make an impact.

Change your mind, change the world.

We believe our ability to make a little difference is limited. But what if you could change the world for the better by re-conceiving what you do?

I’ve previously mentioned Carol Sanford’s book, THE REGENERATIVE LIFE.

Her new book, Indirect Work, offers up clear and practical approaches to test any change theories you have before you start or to examine what you do now.

This book is designed to disrupt you and give you a way to engage in deep reflection. If all goes well, you will start to question a few things. There is a great need for improvements not in parts but instead for shifts in whole systems.

The old way of cutting problems into parts, improving them in isolation, will no longer suffice. If we work inside whole systems, beneficial change will be the cascade.

Carol’s community is one of many you can join because I know we are stronger together.

Plus, it can be very inspiring to work with other passionate people. 

Get tuned into the natural world. 

Many don’t have a forest outside their window and have a distant relationship with nature making them feel isolated and separate.

Getting outside and immersing yourself in nature can help you realize how your life is nested with every life form. And we are dependent on all the others in this ecosystem.

Take a walk in the park, take the train to a forest—feel the power of nature and your connection within it.

My personal take on Regeneration and change.

Less than 20 decades ago, giant redwoods reigned these ridges. They were stout and stumpy, thickening the steeply dipped hillocks. Their promontories and bark withstood fire and time.

Great canopies spread; mycelia networks thrived underneath; this place was ripe—fecund- pregnant with resources. 

When the intrepid Spaniards and Mexicans took it as an outpost, they ultimately ravished it for the lumber – the gold with Gin and Sin.

Ancient trees were toppled to rebuild Babylon by The Bay after the quake of ’06. 

The loggers built a narrow-gauge rail to haul lumber out in ghastly buckets of ancient limbs, ripped from place and time.

But the forest grew back because it’s a nested living system, and I am here today to witness another demise.

I realize that nature will heal and regenerate; it gives all we will ever have.

I remember that all I have, right now, I cannot really lose. So, I ground myself in the change of living systems. 

“Once you are grounded in a living systems reality, you make different choices, not only about the way you work but also about what you choose to work on.”

Carol Sanford / Indirect Work