C hatting with younger couples in their 20s and 30s, I was shocked to learn of altered plans to remain childless in the face of climate change. And even more so when I realized this is a worldwide phenomenon and angst. Hard social, economic or political times have always been with us; the tipping point of planetary climate change has not.
As an older person, I can’t help but feel gratitude for a life lived in beauty, a blessing to all in Southwest Michigan. Having followed an environmental course of study in college, the science behind current change is indisputable and frightening.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Land Management are finding that in western areas of the country where fires of intense heat have burned, forests are failing to regenerate themselves. The land is so scorched, seedlings can’t take root, and the area is so broad that seed dispersing animals and birds can’t cover it. Scientists estimate the present-day extinction rate of animals and birds at 1,000 to 10,000 times the historic pace of natural extinction. This means that already more than one in four species on Earth now faces extinction, possibly rising to 50 percent by the end of the century.
And then there’s the pollution of our atmosphere, setting us on a rapid course of hotter temperatures, the melting and drying of our freshwater resources, and unprecedented violent storms across the globe.
Bill Weir, CNN’s chief climate correspondent, commented that the best advice he ever got for championing climate came from Mr. Rogers, who famously said anytime he saw a scary event on television his mother told him to “look for the helpers,” those who rush to the scene to help. There are always efforts for good and in them we find hope, strength and direction. There are so many forms helpers can take.
Worldwide sharing of scientific monitoring, learning of how and why change is happening, and finding consensus to stabilization is encouraging and critical. Efforts like the Paris Agreement, the United Nation’s annual Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and global sharing of research by universities, corporations and environmental organizations create crucial long-term commitments.
Add to that a proliferation of newer organizations and Gen Z donors around the world. Google Wine to Water, Protect Our Winters, NatureBridge and B Lab are examples of growing grassroots efforts making a difference. Further, enrollment in collegiate environmental sciences is spiking among youth wanting to help their future.
Thanks to science, we’re learning and changing. We now know spraying grass seed in burned areas inhibits tree seedlings from sprouting. We’re shifting to replanting in areas with the best chance of regrowth.
Here at home, some of the largest strides in history were made by Congress passing the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Aside from well-publicized goals such as emissions control, one of the most unheralded and under-appreciated aspects of this act is its investment in urban tree planting.
A Public Library of Science study found that city blocks in low-income areas are hotter than higher income areas, with significantly less tree growth. The IRA sets aside $1.5 billion for new trees in more than 350 targeted cities and tribal communities.
The IRA supports the helpers of the world, a godsend to grassroots efforts like Openlands, a Chicago nonprofit committed to re-greening Chicago. A Chicago Tribune investigation found “that over the past 10 years, Chicago had lost two trees for every one planted, with higher income areas receiving twice the number of plantings than lower income neighborhoods.”
The targeting of highneed areas built into the IRA is significant and far-sighted.
People working to together can make things happen.
My heart goes out to the younger generation for the angst about children. But I hope they decide “yes.” Birth and babies are the future. Perhaps the best shift is away from teaching wealth and consumerism as a goal, to recognizing our innate interdependence and oneness with the natural world. There could be generations of helpers coming along.
Lynn Kellogg is former CEO of Region IV Area Agency on Aging in Southwest Michigan. Questions on age or independence services? Call the Info-Line for Aging & Disability at 800-654-2810 or visit areaagencyonaging.org. The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.