{"ops":[{"insert":"As we move toward a green future and a green economy, it is essential that we do all we can, each of us, to make the world more green and less polluted by human noise, wildlife habitat encroachment, and flagrant disregard for other species. A United Nations report released today, "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Climate Change: No ‘credible pathway’ to 1.5C limit"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"UNEP Warns, "},{"insert":"points out that humans must act now if we are to avoid catastrophe. "},{"attributes":{"background":"white","color":"#333333"},"insert":"According to Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, “This report tells us in cold scientific terms what nature has been telling us all year, through deadly floods, storms and raging fires: we have to stop filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and stop doing it fast.” "},{"insert":"Read the article here:\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"blue","link":"https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129912"},"insert":"https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129912"},{"insert":"\n \nBut what can we do? What can you or I do to help mitigate the problem? First, we need to put our support behind only those leaders and politicians committed to drastically reducing carbon emissions, and we need to hold them responsible to follow through on their promises. We can wait no longer. We simply cannot afford to continue placing money before sustainability of the earth’s limited resources, which, being short-sighted, is what many leaders and politicians are focused on. The devastation humans have caused other sentient creatures has been clear for at least a century. But we humans are skilled at deceiving ourselves in all kinds of ways, including that our precious desires and whims are more important than the health of the earth or the future of all species. This is why critical thinking is so important - because it helps us see through our self-deception to the real facts before us.\n \nSecond, we need to do all that is within our individual power to reduce our impact on the earth and to enrich nature. One way of doing this is to rethink how we think of nature itself and our responsibilities toward nature. To become educated on actions you can take in your own backyard to help nature, I recommend the show "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Springwatch"},{"insert":", a BBC production, along with "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Autumnwatch"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Winterwatch"},{"insert":". Any of the episodes in these series will give you some wonderful and easy ideas for enhancing local wildlife and plant life. (You can find available episodes on Amazon prime. Be aware that some of the presenters bring in humor which may seem off-putting. Hopefully you can look past that to focus on the main ideas.)\n \nWhen we are educated about nature, and about the relationships between animals, plants and humans, our values should change according to the new information we internalize. Consequently, we should have a far better chance of dealing with the big sustainability problems we face because we then value nature more highly, as an asset to be protected and supported. We then move away from a world in which money comes first and most everything else is trampled down under, to a world that is verdant, fertile and vibrant, a world in which children can breathe the natural air and run on the natural grass and the birds can hear themselves singing.\n"}]}