I’m trying not to be angry. Forgive me if I am; it’s just where I’m at in my grief.
Perhaps grieving Earth feels a little dramatic. It’s not like a person. But it is the source of so much life — humans, animals, plants, fungi. The grief I feel for Earth is also the grief I feel for my future, for the generations after me.
I don’t know what it was like growing up for other generations, but I don’t know a time when Earth’s survival wasn’t on the line. I still don’t think all hope is lost, but we have to take this issue seriously. Not all disasters are sudden, big explosions. Some are slow, painful decays. Just because not every single person can see or feel the effects of climate change doesn’t mean it’s not happening or that others are not suffering.
The National Wildlife Federation has a list of declared unnatural disasters that are attributed to the effects of climate change. Some of these include Hurricane Irma, Florida’s 2018 red tide and blue-green outbreaks and many of the recent wildfires out West.
“This is all wrong,” Greta Thunberg said at the UN Summit in New York. “I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. Yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering.”
These words do ring true to me and many people younger than me. We have watched leader after leader promise to bring change and as soon as the tides turn — all that work remains in scaffolding. I don’t want to undercut the work some have put into fighting climate change. But this is not about the few; this is about the many.
This should be a bipartisan issue. This is about collective change. This requires longterm thinking. Scientists with the United Nations released a plan three years ago. Its initiatives include increasing shares of renewable electricity, focusing on bioenergy and building energy efficiency. The plan also outlines the barriers such as finances, aligning technology and changing behavior. It acknowledges climate change efforts will look different for each country based on their needs, their economy, their culture.
We have to demand more from our state and national leaders and large corporations as we continue to take action on an individual level. I know the Lake Martin community cares about preserving a quality environment. The cleanups, the individual recycling, the commitment to planting more trees are wonderful steps toward halting our negative impact on the environment.
And we can think bigger at the same time. Collectively, we must reframe our relationship with Earth too. With our advancements in technology and general societal culture, we see ourselves separate from Earth. But we too are part of this ecosystem.
One of my favorite scientists is Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, who is a Potawatomi botanist and author. She has a beautiful way of expressing humans’ relationship with the environment.
“I think once we start to see the world as gifts more-than-human relatives, then it brings us to gratitude for gifts of the land,” Kimmer said. “And, my hope and challenge to all of us is that — as we give gratitude to the land, could we also shape our lives so that we live in such a way that the land might be grateful for us.”
If we are caretakers of Earth, we must start acting as such. It will be slow. Progress is rarely linear. But we also can’t shy away from our responsibilities and let the next generation suffer on our behalf. This is our home and we can make it better.
Abigail Murphy is the Dadeville beat reporter for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. She can be reached at abigail.murphy@alexcityoutlook.com.
