Earth Day Climate Caretakers

Earth Day Climate Caretakers 4-22-24

Today is Earth Day! While we still celebrate the wonders of seeing the total eclipse of our precious Sun, the relationship-to-Earth details of this magnificent star are even more dazzling. According to astronomers, Earth is situated in Sun’s “goldilocks zone” — not too hot, not too cold, but just the “right” temperature to nurture plants which produce oxygen and sustenance to keep our planet alive. One creative step evolves into the next creative action.

How have we earthlings shown gratitude for the planetary gifts we receive? Today we might pause to take stock of our planetary caretaking abilities. A young woman, a 21-one-year-old Swedish activist, is a surprise leader in how to parent the planet. Her comment is revealing: “It falls on children to be the adults.” I heartily endorse this often-true statement in my first book, It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent: Stories of Evolving Child and Parent Development.

Greta Thunberg took on planetary caretaking in her childhood, finding out about climate problems at 8 years of age. She could not comprehend why there was so little environmental interest among adults, including her own parents. Her sadness over this dilemma led to dire mindbody signals of her distress: she stopped eating and talking as an 11-year-old, leading to the diagnosis of selective mutism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Asperger syndrome.

Thunberg evolved to combat climate change at home by insisting that her parents make lifestyle changes. Her mother, an opera singer, made sacrifices in her career when she stopped flying. Her father, an actor and author, became a vegetarian. Greta began a skip-school-on-Fridays protest movement which she labeled, “School Strike for Climate.” Alone initially, she sat for the entire school day outside the Swedish parliament building at age 15 with a hand-made sign. Other students stopped bullying and joined her.

Thunberg evolved from Friday peaceful protests. Regularly, she meets with both politicians and billionaires. Her mutism aside, she overcomes a previously shy demeanor as she steps into assertiveness when she speaks with fortitude: “I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”

Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker took action in training individuals in prisons (within 36 months of their release) to be capable of employment post-prison in clean-energy jobs. The Returning Residents Program is one aspect of a larger initiative in evolving Illinois’ participation in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA, an Illinois law since 2021). CEJA establishes rebates for using electric vehicles and charging stations among other projects. Other states focus on solar installation as a training component in their prison population. The Minnesota Department of Corrections runs a boot camp in the wilderness to prepare returning citizens in solar installation.

We just need more proactive climate caretakers.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

283. What are your views on climate change?

284. How might you take an action step in caretaking our planet?