Climate Accord Blues? No Need!

It’s officially official. As of Wednesday November 4, the U.S. is out of the international climate accord. Our withdrawal is expected to have a strong adverse effect, as our actions ripple out to influence those of other countries. This is disheartening news but we can’t afford to wallow in discouragement.

Our best hope now is individual action. Actually, that’s been our best hope all along. If you don’t believe that individual action — lifestyle shifts on the household level — makes a difference, I understand. But, I do believe it; always have. In fact, I believe it’s the main or even the only thing that might save us in the end. And we saw evidence of the aggregate power of individual action during the pandemic shutdowns, when households curtailed travel and consumption. The positive effect on wildlife and ecosystems of this pandemic-induced reduction of the human footprint was quick and dramatic.

To all who are reading my book, following my blog, and reporting your own struggles and successes, thank you. You are part of a #GrassrootsGreenMobilization

P.S. If Biden gets elected, he plans to get us back into the climate accord the minute he is able. So we may only have a couple months of not being in. Even so, individual and household purchase decisions and other choices are the driver of consumer demand and ultimately of government policies. So keep up your good work, and never underestimate the power of your choices, be it refusing a plastic bag, bottled water, or an unnecessary trip; allowing your yard to revert to meadow; paying a little extra to buy local pastured meat and produce instead of factory-farmed; line-drying your clothes; etc etc etc … the list is endless! So many opportunities; you can find plenty more examples in my book and throughout this blog.