Oceans rising taking out mangrove swamp in Guatemala, killing trees where the endangered yellow-headed parrot roost.
The call came out of the blue. I had a voicemail message from Nickolaus Hines, a reporter from VinePair, a website and online magazine that reports about cultural experiences related to drinking and the alcohol industry. This is not someone who would ordinarily call me.
It turns out that President Trump had announced that day (June 1) that he intended to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Accords and Nickolaus was looking for information and feedback from climate activists. He wanted to know my reaction to the news and also how the President’s intentions would impact the alcohol industry. You can read the full article here.
One of the first things I asked him was whether or not climate change was already impacting crops used to produce alcoholic beverages and his answer was a quick yes. I told him that I was not surprised and expected that things would get worse, not better. I also emphasized how, although some of the negative effects can no longer be avoided, taking action now and into the future can still prevent even worse impacts from coming to fruition.
This conversation reminded me of a website created by the Climate Reality Project called “What I Love.” The purpose of the site is to ask people what are their “…passions that fill our hearts and define our world,” such as being a wine connoisseur, for example. It then provides an online, interactive experience that relates climate change to these passions, making it personal and relevant for whoever participates.
The bottom line of my musings is that no matter how bad the news is, I just can’t give up doing whatever I can about this issue. The climate crisis is one of the, if not the, most critical challenges we have ever faced. If our federal government will not take the appropriate steps, then people who care must continue to act non-violently, circumvent obstacles, and stay energized. Many of us realize that acting locally is even more important now than ever before. We stand firmly committed to doing all that we can.
If you feel the same, but despair is making it too hard to move forward, please check out One Earth Conservation’s Nurture Nature Program. It just may give you the resources and motivation to stay the course and do your part.