Today is Earth Day. Whatever that means. Atmospheric CO2 is at a new high – almost at 400 ppm. It’s as if all the environmental work has fallen on closed ears. And it probably has. Clearly, our current comforts are more important to us than making the necessary changes. It feels very overwhelming to think of the impact of one small action – say, me sitting at my laptop typing this – and trying to figure out how else to live. Especially when the small changes that we are making, those of us who are making changes, seem to not make a difference. Atmospheric CO2 is rising.

The biggest myth that needs busting, maybe, is that climate disruption is something that’ll happen in the future. It is happening now. Temperatures are rising. Ice caps are melting. This isn’t something that may or may not happen in the future. Climate disruption is happening now (and we knew the link back in 1938!). It is utterly irresponsible to deny that, as many of our politicians do, bribed by industry. Short-term thinking reveals itself as the most unethical approach to this problem there is.

I don’t know what the answers are. I do know that business as usual does not work. I think the best next step is to accept the reality of climate disruption – and let solutions emerge. Localization is one of them. Growing our own food.

(This is a post in three parts. The other two are here and here.)