It’s raining and flooding again…
New Year New You, right? Fuck that. The You you are is just fine. Perfect even. Your body is a miracle! However, we have a planet in trouble and it’s up to us to help correct our direction so that the Earth can start to heal. 2023 was the hottest year on record, by far! Catastrophic flooding is on the increase. So there is no time to waste. Remember, the Earth will be fine without us. However, if we want to stay living here, we have to take action. Sure, it feels overwhelming and even impossible. But it’s not. You are in the driver’s seat of your life and if you know the rules of the road you can choose where to break them. Capitalism thrives on meeting consumer demand. If we demand differently, the market will respond. I see it with my own eyes whenever I go food shopping. But there is so much more we can all do so here is a list to guide us.
Avoid plastic like the plague. This is a tough one but getting easier every day. I now buy laundry detergent in a cardboard envelope. I try to buy all my products in either glass or aluminum containers, which are both highly recyclable and less toxic. I rarely walk out of a store with a plastic bag. I only buy water (or any drink) in plastic bottles when I am desperate, which is fortunate because there are hundreds of thousands of micro bits of plastic in every bottle of water. Probably more in soda, by the way. (I make my own organic tea and coffee and take an insulated cup of filtered tap water with me wherever I go.) There is more to be done, but let’s do it! Reduce ALL packaging wherever you can. And re-use it as much as possible. This saves money, by the way.
Pick up trash wherever you go. After doing just a few trash pickups you will start to see why plastic is so wasteful and toxic. Picking up trash gives us insight into human behavior while also making the environment healthier and more beautiful. It’s also great exercise, better than just walking! Do it alone or join a local group.
Compost. All your food waste should never leave your backyard, or compost facilities if you live in a city. Don’t worry about rodents because they are an important part of the food web too. Compost is a free fertilizer that also stores carbon.
Leave the leaves AND leave the weeds. Don’t you want to work less and have more fun? Leaving the leaves creates the habitat that beneficial insects and birds need to thrive. It also fertilizes your lawn and garden for FREE. And leaving the weeds makes the flowers grow even bigger! Seriously. My roses are now HUGE. I will post more pictures this spring when they bloom. Don’t waste your precious time on earth doing things that don’t matter in the long run.
Rethink your energy sources. Consider geothermal, it’s super efficient especially if you use air conditioning. Let’s create solar farms, which have been proven to work to grow foods and provide shaded grazing areas for animals. Invest in renewables. Stop trying to nitpick all the data and just get in the game and do what seems best for you. This year my goal is to put up a small wind turbine to add to my already robust solar array. Every effort matters. Can you imagine how far along we would be to solving climate change if we hadn’t spent decades arguing and debating about whether it was even real because the power companies spent so much money on propaganda because they didn’t want to have to change and stop making billions of government-subsidized profits? Let’s keep demanding change and also doing what we can to change. Remember, it’s either change by design or change by disaster. Pick which door you want to walk through. This is the year we can no longer put off making the choice.
Go thrifting, antiquing, buy used things, and donate your unwanted things, including your “returns.” Did you know that most of the products you return just get thrown in a landfill because it’s too expensive for companies to repackage and sell them? Instead, donate them or resell them. If you are a picky shopper, make sure you go to a real store and try things on before buying. Going thrifting and antiquing is a great way to learn about history, find cool things, and divert the waste stream. Just be careful about some old things which might be toxic: lead paints and some cookware, for example.
Do not use chemicals, even to eliminate invasives! I still can’t believe that nature conservation groups use chemicals to kill alleged invasive species. There is SO MUCH evidence that chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides are devastating to human health and nature that it should be illegal to use them! DON’T! And don’t support the organizations that do use them unless you demand they stop. In fact, right here, right now, I DEMAND THAT CONSERVATION GROUPS STOP USING CHEMICALS! And farmers too.
Plant a garden, a meadow, or a forest. It’s never too late to learn to grow things to eat for you and the wildlife. And it’s fun. This year I am turning my front yard into a forest! I’m so excited. You will also be feeding the birds, bugs, deer, and butterflies with bushes and plants instead of needing to buy seed or feed.
Save seeds. When you have a stash of seeds, you have a level of food security that is precious and magical.
Eat more seeds, nuts, beans, and in-season fruits and veg. This is the key to health and environmental health. Plus, they are delicious. When I was a kid, I used to get made fun as a “nuts and berries” eater, or “tofu and brown rice” eater. Interestingly, those were not the foods my mother fed us at all, and I felt bullied. But it’s what I eat a lot of now and I am a healthier person because of it. There are tons of delicious recipes for tofu on social media. And my favorite new question when I’m cooking is “How can I add beans to this?”
For lord’s sake, cook. But only buy a new stove if you really need one. Yes, there are lots of studies that show cooking with gas is bad for your health and it was a hoax by the gas industry to say it was better. That is true. But I also have seen this in the media over and over again — the hunger for news and advertising drives people to feel they need to buy something new, like an induction stove. Go ahead and buy one if you need a new stove, but ditching your old stove is also inefficient and wasteful. Make sure your gas stove is vented and open your windows. The MOST important thing is to cook. You will save money, eat healthier, and have more fun.
Buy and eat regenerative organic foods. I’m stating the obvious here, but it is worth repeating. Food shopping is my Olympic sport, and I still see way too many people buying chemical crap. But also, we need to re-orient the food system and government subsidies to make the healthiest food the most affordable foods. Write a letter to your local and national politicians! Do not buy CAFO meats and know where your food comes from to ensure it’s raised ethically and without harm. Also, be careful about the seafood you eat and where it comes from. We need the Oceans to support our existence, so keeping them healthy keeps us healthy. In general, it’s healthier for our bodies and the earth to eat less meat, dairy, and even seafood.
Get involved in your local government. Start small with something that feels semi-enjoyable to you — either by volunteering or working. Being on a committee only takes one night every two months. I have found the more I get involved at the micro-level (my township) the more I truly understand the macro-level (our country).
Rethink your relationship to money. I’ve always said that you vote with your dollars. But did you know your dollars vote for you? I recently read a statistic from a prestigious and conservative financial institution (Bryn Mawr Trust) that since 1953 if you invested $1,000 solely during Republican presidencies you would yield $27,400. But if you invested $1,000 only during Democratic presidencies you would yield $52,100. This puts a lie to the idea that Republicans are more financially beneficial. They may lower taxes, but that’s what increases our debt and financial vulnerability. Invest, and vote, accordingly. But also don’t fall for financial get-rich-quick scams like Bitcoin, which use an obscene amount of precious energy to manage. Money is important, but what is also important are skills. Rely on your skills to support yourself. And if you don’t have skills, learn some.
Be less toxic — not just with nature, but with other people. This was my daughter Lucia’s suggestion and a good one. It’s not just food and chemicals that can be toxic, but behavior…so much toxic behavior! Online, in person, in families…be the non-toxic change you want to see in the world. And if you have toxic people in your life, remove yourself from them.
Drive less. Do you really need to drive as much as you do? Can you combine trips? Carpool? Stay home? If you need a new car, get the best one for what your needs are. I’ve been driving hybrids since 2008 and I love them (first a Prius, then a Highlander). I’m excited about the new hybrid pickup trucks coming out in mid-2024 (I live on a road where an all-wheel drive vehicle is necessary). But I try to only drive when I need to and then combine as many stops as I can.
Fly less. I remember a time when I hopped on a plane multiple times a year to head to conferences, meetings, and exotic vacations. Looking back, was it worth it? Sometimes, but not always. It didn’t save the publishing business, but it did show me in advance how obsolete it would become (convincing others of that was a bit more problematic, kind of like the climate change discussion). I fly a lot less now and it makes life so much easier and pleasant. It also saves a lot of money.
Walk more. Out here where I live we have these shopping plazas with big box stores and grocery stores and smaller stores in between, but they are designed so horribly and primarily for driving and parking that it’s easier and safer to drive from store to store. CRAZY. If it were in New York City, it would be the opposite—it would be easier to walk AND I would get more exercise. This is a serious design flaw that can be remedied by good design. Walking to get places is an awesome way to live.
Make stuff. Get creative. This is the part that’s fun, relaxing, and makes life worth living. Whether you are a crafter, woodworker, potter, builder, sewer, or jewelry maker…find ways to use the materials around you to make the world more beautiful and comforting, which is important. It’s so much fun to make things, even if they turn out terribly! Then you have a reason to laugh.
Buy local. This is an oldie but goodie. Get to know your local hardware store, farmer, mom-and-pop shop, and grocer. Be willing to pay a little more to support your community, if you can.
Turn out the lights. This is a pet peeve of mine. My son-in-law argues that the electricity saved by turning off the lights is marginal, but it’s symbolic to me. It’s about paying attention to our actions — even the little ones because enough marginals added together make a majority. Also, it’s important for nocturnal wildlife that we turn off our outside lights when we can. But if you must keep outside lights on, get the yellow bulbs. It’s better for the bugs.
Don’t be afraid. Are you afraid of the dark? Stop watching scary movies. There are many real things to be afraid of, too many. But if we can overcome our fear and tap into our love and compassion, our power is unlimited. Taking action to protect ourselves and our loved ones turns fear into confidence. (But don’t buy guns because you are more likely to injure someone you love with them rather than someone who is a true threat.)
Slow down. Hustle culture is dead. I know too many people (and businesses) who believed that was the only way to succeed, who then flamed out and went off the rails. Sure, there are times to hustle, and the adrenaline rush can be fun. But it’s more important to be patient, steady, strategic, and thoughtful. That may not be as sexy. And it may not make you a billionaire, or a fake billionaire, at least right away. But it’s real and leads to healthier and longer success.
Let’s focus on designing a new future. We don’t need to tear down the whole country to create something new and better. If we are willing to learn from other cultures and people who already live more gently on the earth, we will find that life can become more peaceful, more enjoyable, and more worthwhile. If we are willing to try and develop new ways of living and powering our lives, rather than fighting over outdated old ways, we can heal things faster.
Bonus tip: It’s time to heal our personal and collective trauma. If you look at most wars (and violence BTW), they are started by angry men (and some women) who feel entitled to something they feel they deserve by some “god-given right.” And often the most vociferously righteous are the most secretly corrupt. I’m not naming names but you know them all. What if we decide that future trauma stops with us? How we heal ourselves? How we raise our children? How we behave in our communities? It’s time to truly become a moral and civic species. Not the fake morality that evangelicals and some conservatives espouse and are trying to force on the rest of us. But true morality: kindness, generosity, tolerance for differences, honesty, responsibility. All these behaviors start with each one of us choosing to live our lives that way. Doing the right thing and the best thing every day, one step at a time. The great thing about civilization is that we continue to evolve and grow in ways that make the quality of life better for everyone, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the moment. I have faith in us.
But also, you may want to start building an ark.
Happy 2024!
Thank you! I agree with all of this and it has a clarifying effect to see it all written out.
Great list! I would add “conserve water.” I have a bucket in my shower to catch warm-up water and drips, then use it to water plants outdoors or flush the toilet.