Eaarth Feels

" 'Inner social action' is necessary in order to make our outer actions productive."

In this article published before his death in 2019, spiritual guru Ram Dass addresses the fine line those of us who care deeply about social justice and the health and sustainability of the planet find ourselves walking these days; we need to pay attention to the material world while maintaining a healthy inner balance. This article was originally posted on ramdass.org, and is written by Ram Dass & Raghu Markus.

"How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again? I know we cannot all become hunter-gatherers--but even in a market economy, can we behave 'as if' the living world were a gift?"

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a plant ecologist, writer, and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY and a member of the Potawatomi First Nation. In this podcast episode, Rose and Christine discuss what Kimmerer's 2013 book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, has to teach us about being in a reciprocal relationship to the Earth.

The opening chapter from Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass recounts the Indigenous story of Creation, Skywoman Falling, and asks if humanity can learn from its elders.

Today's youth have inherited a planet already experiencing the devastation of global warming. What would they like their elders to understand about this crisis? Ten Youth Climate Activists weigh in.

Richard Matthews, author of The Green Market Oracle, details the turn around the Biden administration has made in its first 100 days to address the impending climate crisis.

At the age of fifteen, Jens Peterson began his climate change journey, authoring What We Leave: A Caretaker's Guide to an Ill Planet.  Now nineteen, Jens offers a blueprint for each of us to become environmental advocates.

The closing chapter from Jens Peterson's What We Leave: A Caretaker's Guide to an Ill Planet envisions the catastrophe to our world If We Do Nothing.

What if your every trip to the grocery store helped counteract climate change? Hear how Turner Wyatt and Leah Graham of Upcycled Food Association are working to make that vision a reality.

Mark Reynolds, Executive Director of Citizen's Climate Lobby, makes the case that now is the time to enact a carbon tax.

*read with author's permission*

Journey with ex pat Kristen Krash to the cloud forest of Ecuador where she is regenerating the land with organic cacao at Sueno de Vida.

When our lives are disrupted by crisis, can we look beyond the distress to view the moment as an opportunity for introspection,  action and change? In this compelling essay, Eilene Zimmerman details the personal growth trajectories of three individuals who have thrived in new directions because of the pandemic. Will we apply this lesson of resiliency to the impending climate crisis? 

* read with author's permission *

In this extended Earth Day episode, 14 food systems professionals share their expertise on ways individuals can counteract climate change at home. 

What do you know about the origins of Earth Day? Sarah Pruitt provides the background of this yearly celebration on April 22.

At this time of ecological devastation and climate emergency, when things seem hopeless, what difference can one person or group of people make? Rose and Christine discuss how the findings of Quantum Physics can inform our experience of these difficult times, including the importance of staying connected to life's mystery and loving the world despite the crises we are facing.

Can we replicate the same sense of urgency for climate change that we showed for Covid-19? Rebecca Solnit shows us why we must. 

**This story was originally published by The Guardian, and is republished here as part of the Covering Climate Now www.theguardian.com/enviroment/series/covering-climate-now partnership to strengthen the media's focus on the climate crisis.**

Gaia Mystic Mare Cromwell shares her visions of a New Earth being birthed. 

Satish Kamir,  Editor Emeritus of Resurgence & Ecologist magazine, insists that reverence for nature should be at the heart of every political and social debate as he reminds us of the interconnection of all living things. 

*Read with the author's permission* 

**This story was originally published by The Guardian, and is republished here as part of the Covering Climate Now www.theguardian.com/enviroment/series/covering-climate-now partnership to strengthen the media's focus on the climate crisis.**

In 2019 Dr. Erlijn van Genutchen took an employee assignment, to help make the company she worked for more sustainable, to heart. The result from her desire to leave a huge positive footprint on the world? A 365 sustainable decision challenge documented daily on social media, garnering a 55k+ twitter following, now become book and social movement.

In this Call to Action, Kristen Krash shares her five plus years of learning as she and her partner continue regenerating degraded land in Ecuador into a lush food jungle. "Conserving forests and regenerating stripped land are our best chances for mitigating climate change, period. "

**Read with author's permission**

Two scientific journal studies published in recent weeks detail the  environmental destruction of our oceans in ways not previously contemplated.   How much longer can humanity ignore the damage we are causing?