Creating Hope: IPCC Report and Climate Crises
The Marathon Flame, a symbol of human will, November 18, 2018.
“And so I say to all of you: the Earth does not expect you to save her,
she expects you to respect her.”
- Nemonte Nenquimo
There is a space for cautious optimism even after the recent IPCC report, continuous wildfires, and ongoing pandemic. There is hope. With the current news cycle it is challenging not to fall into despair; despair paralyses us and leads as into an anxious void. Hope, however, creates optimism and encourages action, and allows us to engage with a vision for the future in which we can live in.
I started Run to Plant Trees in 2019, after witnessing the aftermath of the tragic and deadly wildfire in Mati, Greece, during the Athens Authentic Marathon on Sunday, November 18, 2018. A section of the marathon course led through the village of Mati, the roadside was lined with locals bringing awareness to the tragedy. July 23, 2018, wildfire in Mati left 202 people dead and is one of the deadliest wildfires globally in the past century.
From late July this year, Greece is again battling wildfires across the whole country, 586 of them, and just in the past few days they have become under control, as temperatures dropped and rain arrived. Wildfires have also devastated other parts of southern Europe - Turkey and Italy - as well as parts of northern Russia, where Siberia has been burning for several weeks now. In addition, Germany and Belgium earlier this summer experienced massive and deadly floods. The news keeps coming in!
When I was running the Athens Authentic Marathon in 2018, I was aware of Climate Change and I was involved in some initiatives that were working to shed more light on it. Yet, in my mind it felt like Climate Change is a specter looming in shadows in a far far far future. As I was running through the part of the marathon course that was affected by the wildfires it hit me like a blow to the head (or as you say it in Latvian kā āmurs pa galvu or like hammer to the head). It is not a distant future, it is here and has been here for a really long time, we just chose not to see.
Since I launched the Run to Plant Trees initiative and fundraiser I have become a lot more involved with various movements and charity organisations; all of which have a vision for a better world. Running for me has always been a way to explore - paths, roads, neighbourhoods, my own mind and body - now I also use it as a way to discuss and talk about climate crises. I have become more aware of what I can do as an individual - vote, write to corporations and governments, change my habits, talk about it and educate myself more - and what we can do as society. Once I start to weigh in on climate crises as a collective issue at first it seems a lot bigger and heavier problem, but then I realise that it also means that there are a lot more hands on deck, and a lot more can be done if everyone weighs in even a little bit. As Rebecca Solnit writes for The Guardian:
Yet the striking thing about the IPCC report released earlier this month is not the bad news, which is not really news at all for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the clarity about possibilities, which I found hopeful.
This clarity of possibilities is where we can build our hope from; we know what to do, we know how to do it and we know our deadline.
As a part of our action it is essential to remember that we are nature. Nature is not some abstract construct out there, instead it is a part of us - we are nature! Atmos, a climate and culture magazine inspired by nature, makes a valuable point. Elie Gordon, Atmos Social Editor, argues that in addition to the U.N.’s list of five things that are major threats to biodiversity there should be a sixth one - Lack of human connection to nature:
The Global North needs to adopt values that that honor nature. Industrialization, consumption, and extraction have driven the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. A fundamental disconnect from the natural world has allowed profit to rule above the survival of all living beings.
As you ask yourself a question: what can I do? Do not spiral into despair and panic, remember climate crises is an all hands on deck issue. You are not alone. Though from time to time it might be lonely, remember what Vandana Shiva says:
You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder. It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you.
We need everyone for this to work! All skills are needed! To bring climate crises to halt we need hope, action and everyone involved. Each one of us can bring something to this movement. Create hope, and act inspired by this hope.
I would like to leave you with a message from Emily Atkin’s Heated World newsletter:
The point is: Do something. The planet is on fire. It’s flooding. People are dying. And there is a role for you - no matter how small you think it is.
Someone. Has. To. Do. It.