The climate crisis is a good thing...

...opportunity to take stock of the way we live and how we exist in harmony with other life forms and our planet's systems - water, carbon, nitrogen, soil, oceans, climate. Not only that, we have the opportunity to create human systems which help all of life to not only survive, but thrive in this abundant planet.

There's so much good to be found with the climate crisis and in-fact it makes me very excited about the world we are creating. It sounds a bit of a contradiction that I'm looking forward to a potential global mass extinction, but bear with me. There is no question that human activity is causing, and has always caused, changes in our environment - Vikings deforested their lands, Aboriginal people in Australia used fire to hunt, causing both plants and animals to adapt and in 2019, human beings extract coal, gas and oil from the ground and pump it into the atmosphere causing global climates to change. Now, before the conspiracies come...

nobody. Absolutely nobody disagrees that the Earth goes through climatic cycles, but humans are causing mass insect, bird and mammal extinctions at a catastrophic rate because of the way our species are choosing to live. Which brings me to the best part about our climate crisis: the opportunity to take stock of the way we live and how we exist in harmony with other life forms and our planet's systems - water, carbon, nitrogen, soil, oceans, climate. Not only that, we have the opportunity to create human systems which help all of life to not only survive, but thrive in this abundant planet.

I vividly remember in 1989, getting two books for Christmas about the environment, and in that moment becoming an environmentalist. We are so lucky to have the BBC and the world's most famous narrator, David Attenborough to document the amazing planet we live on. We can see how very lucky we are to exist on this tiny blue dot at the edge of the Milky Way. And we are so fortunate that we have a whole new generation of people who are creating the most wonderful world for us and with us.

It's easy to lose sight of how wonderful our world is when corporations and governments act in their own self-interest, but what you CAN see, if you look, are the most inspiring people - like Damon Gameau, who created the documentary 2040. I walked out of the cinema feeling hope, feeling excitement and believing in the goodness of humanity to create a better world.

I'm excited to see the resurgence in popularity in gardening, and specifically planting natives and fruits and vegetables in backyards, on verges and groups coming together to create community gardens which not only provide food, but social networks for often isolated people. THIS is extraordinarily beautiful. See Ron Finley and others changing communities in their TED talks here. 

I'm excited about the farmer's markets that are popping up everywhere, roadside stalls with fresh produce or books or food, and the simple fact that we are finally talking about our extraordinary planet and our effect on it. I'm excited about the ban on plastic bags in Australia and other places and the simple fact that we are TALKING about our impact, TALKING and taking action to rectify the situation we created and discussing and creating solutions. And even more exciting is that most people WANT to do the right thing.

I'm excited about cities having green walls and roofs, creating bike lanes and highways that are built with animal walkways. About renewable energy sources and regenerative farming and the fabulous initiatives like search engine Ecosia, beauty products from Thankyou. and toilet paper from Who Gives a Crap who contribute to social enterprise with their profits. Not to mention the increase in ethical banking, investment and superannuation options.

I'm excited about people making ethical choices when it comes to their consumer goods - asking where clothes are made, whether animals were harmed, does it contain palm oil and is it good for me and the planet? I'm excited that we are making these conscious decisions every time we buy something and while it may seem insignificant, markets adjust to consumer demand it will change and it is changing. 

I'm excited that we have people in science and technology raising awareness and working on solutions to our local, national and international problems like an abundance of TED speakers here. We have musicians like Michael Franti, John Butler, Xavier Rudd and Ayla Nereo, Nakho Bear who bring more love to the world with their music and of course, literature - particularly children's literature (Tim Winton, Jeannie Baker and Kylie Howarth) - and other areas working towards innovative solutions and new ways of being to the mess we have inadvertently made by being ignorant about our effect on our home.

We are no longer ignorant. 

We know we are the problem.

We know the solutions.

And despite the government apathy, corruption and inaction and probably because of it, us humans will innovate. We will find a way and we will see the death of the old ways and create a new world which is in harmony with Earth where ALL life can thrive. We know that we cannot sustain the way we are living. We need to change for the future for all of life.

And that, to me, is the best thing to come out of this chaos and madness - that beneath all of the terrifying worst-case scenarios for life on Earth - there is hope, there is ingenuity and there is love. And that inspires me to get excited about the new world we are creating and it begins by shifting our focus to the good, the positive and the solutions - not only for our own health but for those around us. 

My favourite saying has always been: Every great river begins with a drop, and every single one of us can be that drop of water which can create change. Are you ready to get excited too?

In love,
Alyssa 

​©Alyssa Curtayne 2019
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