Finding Hope in the Midst of Climate Issues

Professor Katharine Hayhoe has written an article for the Nature Conservancy’s Fall magazine that outlines the stark news from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She states that “we are not doing nearly enough to avoid dangerous impacts, let alone achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement to limit (global) warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.” She goes on to say that the more the temperature rises, the greater the impact will be. However, the good news is, we already have available many solutions that can lower emissions. We also have many tools to address health, equity, and justice and resiliency issues while protecting the natural world. Although the news about climate change is not good, our choices matter, and we can find hope in “rolling up our sleeves” and answering the challenges.

The aspects of the report that Professor Hayhoe lists in her report are the extremes in the weather and climate (which every person can point to examples in this past year), the continual threats caused by climate change on our water supply and food sources, the devastating effects on biodiversity and the health and well-being of humans—especially those less able to cope with the changing climate. Despite this grim report, there is still time to address these issues.  It is a matter of putting known solutions in place as quickly as possible. It will take all our individual efforts and society’s efforts to make progress.

The Nature Conservancy has at least five initiatives that they are working on to address the crisis. They are working on maximizing natural systems to store carbon. These include reforestation, soil conservation and wetland protection. They are doing all they can to promote smart clean energy policies.   They are promoting better farming and food production policies to be more sustainable. They are committed to the protection of habitats for humans, animals and plants to ensure healthy ecosystems. They also encourage positive and productive conversations between all stakeholders to obtain the best policies going forward. This is an organization worthy of your consideration as you make donations.

Earth Steward Action: Take courage and hopefulness in doing  everyday creation care actions.

Source:  Nature Conservancy Fall Magazine for 2023 and https://www.nature.org. Click on what we do.