These days, it seems like almost everyone is an “armchair environmentalists.” This is, of course, a GREAT thing. The more people who care about climate change the better. (And to be clear, I’m no expert either.) But I’m worried that if we don’t treat this trend carefully, it may burn itself out before it really pays dividends.
It’s too easy to be overwhelmed by negative outlooks
As non-experts, most of us don’t spend too much time critically seeking out raw research. Instead, we just process the information that is served to us. This is to be expected and, by itself, is not an issue. After all, since no one can be an expert on every topic, most people are non-experts for any topic. And if non-experts are this passionate, then we are certainly on the right track.
So what’s the problem, then? Well, these days the environmental news that will show up on our radar screens — headlines on CNN, articles that make the front page of Reddit, daily-digest emails, etc. — is almost exclusively overwhelmingly negative. It is depressing, fear-mongering, and anxiety inducing. Perhaps it is even engineered to be so.
But… isn’t the environmental reality depressing?
Well, yes, there is something to be said for that. The truth is, we really have gotten our planet “up the creek without a paddle,” as they say. The real facts can be scary, depressing, and alarming. And, because of this, they can also be motivating.
And that’s really the goal. To motivate. We can’t lose sight of that. What’s the point in talking about how bad things can get, are getting, if not to motivate people to change? But no one is really motivated by being told over and over again how much they suck. No one is really motivated by being told that it doesn’t matter what they do, we’re doomed anyways. Where does that get us? Any motivation will be short lived — a flash in the pan.
So how to better motivate?
Well, it’s important that we hear about the environmental wins too. And there are wins! LOTS of them! A healthy mix of concern for the future, as well as validation that our actions are yielding progress, creates a more lasting motivation in my opinion. And for my dosage of the latter, I’ve found no better place to turn to than the Nature Conservancy. Because hey — I’m no expert either, and I need my information served to me, too!
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is, as far as I can tell, the best place to donate your dollars if your goal is to improve the outlook of our planet’s nature. They do absolutely stellar work. And, self-serving though it may be, they want to make damned sure you know about it. That’s a big part of why I donate. In addition to helping them execute on their vision, I also get kept abreast of their progress, which keeps me motivated. Their main modus operandi is to use as much of their money as possible to simply buy land. To take it out of the commercial cycle for ever, and let it heal. First to heal itself, and then to heal us. That’s a dime well spent.
Okay, so give me some examples
If you need to focus on the positive, there’s countless examples of environmental wins. The ozone hole is healing. US forests have rebounded to above pre-1910 levels, even though our population has tripled in that time. (And 96% of our wood consumption comes from domestic sources, so no, we did not just offload our deforestation to Brazil).
But instead of re-hashing old wins, instead I’ll go through some of the bullet points from the “2019 Impact Report” I just received from Nature. In addition to inspiring and motivating, maybe it will even compel some to donate! The impact report I received was just for Florida.
- Over half a million longleaf pines were planted by Nature throughout the state
- A contiguous 20,161 acre plot of wilderness sanctuary was acquired and conserved
- 5,000 acres of Everglades headwaters were conserved north of Lake Okeechobee
- 1,254 acres were conserved along the St. Mary’s River
- 600 lab-born Staghorn coral heads were planet along Florida’s reefs.
And this is just a taste of what one organization did in one state in one year! If you want to read more about what they did nationwide, check out their report here. I once heard a quote that stuck with me: “there are infinitely more solutions than there are problems.” That’s the truth, and reason enough to stay motivated. But everyone needs some positive reminders from time to time… which in turn might require a little effort these days, but there’s plenty of wins out there if you know where to look!
No affiliation!
By the way, I am not affiliated with or sponsored by the Nature Conservancy in any way whatsoever. They are just a great organization doing great things, that I’ll plug any chance I get!