Its hard to see the hope amongst all the bad news recently but I’m determined to find some! Because there is hope… bear with me for a few facts which help summarize my journey to realizing that what everyone needs is hope.
July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth since record keeping began in 1880. From the north pole to the south, there are warmer temperatures than scientists anticipated. Then in August, Iceland marked its first-ever loss of a glacier to climate change with a ceremony; a crowd gathered for a hike to a site where the placement of a plaque on the bare rock once covered by the Okjökull glacier in western Iceland. The plaque bears the inscription “A letter to the future”:
“In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.”
Meanwhile, for the first time in recorded history, Alaska’s sea ice has completely melted away; no sea ice whatsoever within 150 miles of its shores. Scientists have been warning us that hundreds of other ice sheets on the subarctic island risk the same fate. Did you know that the Greenland ice sheet contains enough ice to increase global sea levels by 20 feet?
The other concerning news; the Amazon burning, is made worse when you see data released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research which shows that deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon in July 2019 increased 278% compared with the previous July. The deforestation of trees not only releases carbon dioxide into the air as they burn and die but removing forests slashes the carbon storage capacity of that piece of earth. Then I came across another report showed that, due to climate disruption, wildfires in California are already 500% larger than they were in the 1970s.
A few clicks later into my day of reading sad news I came across a recent study which showed that a quarter of the total global population is already affected by extreme water stress. And as if that wasn’t enough! I read about another frightening study, titled “Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient,” which addresses the high possibility that many animals are no longer able to adjust quickly enough to the climate crisis.
Scary, but this reality of our rapidly changing climate really affects everyone, and this message is starting to be heard across the globe, across all ecosystems. I know it gets us all down, some more than others…. it feels as if we are witnessing species, one by one, falling victim to extinction. It can’t help but feel like most of the population has just given up and are saying goodbye to the world we once knew instead of doing more about it!
On this topic of ‘ecological grief’; the climate crisis is causing worsening states of mental and physical health around the world, and these issues are about to become much more prevalent. Climate change is at the root of increasing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety because of this global crisis. However, for this complicated situations like an ecological crisis we cant just go see a doctor, the problem is not going away.
However I found something inspiring in an essay called ‘Horeshoe Crabs and Empathy’…. “if everyone focused their love, care, and commitment on protecting and regenerating their local places, while respecting the local places of others, then a side effect would be the resolution of the climate crisis.” Charles Eisenstien says “Love, care, courage, and commitment come from a personal relationship to the damage being suffered.” I couldn’t agree more, and that’s why I feel the need to share my ocean experiences and love for our planet, so as to infect others with the same.
What is going to set me apart from the other bloggers and websites is; I promise to share stories of hope and help empower you to make changes. I promise to leave you with some hope because there is hope, we just need to find it. It is there though, its especially amazing when you think about how many small changes could lead to such a big impact.
There is hope… I’ll find it. And when I do I will share it with you. I will find the positives to celebrate.
