The climate has always been changing. Saying it’s ‘Climate Change’ is like saying water is flowing down the slope. Of course it is…. That is what the property of water and gravity are. Water flows, gravity pulls, climate changes.  

Considering the carnage humanity has unleashed on the planet for selfish gains, we’re better off than we should be. Trees still exist, although sparsely and far from the ideal amount…But they are there. We haven’t completely wiped them out. The general population understands its value. (I think) We do not live in a dystopian wasteland… yet. Optimistically speaking.

Nature has a tremendous capacity to regenerate itself, even through the tumultuous situations humans create.

As wildfires in places like Alaska grow more frequent. There is secret regeneration that happens because of it. The cones of the Black Spruce tree are serotinous, which means they have to be heated to break open, thus revealing the seed inside.[1] The fire facilitates that, helping the forest regrow in a way.

The process or idea of regeneration is very strong in nature. Volcanoes erupt violently, yes, but they also fertilize a large portion of land around them as the lava cools[2].

Problems arise where profits are involved. Nature is seen as a metaphorical sunken cost, land to be built over or as free raw material.

Nature has always provided, and those who take from nature have always been handsomely rewarded. Citing things like “this is how it has always been” and that, “we are on top of the food pyramid.”

Nature suffers greatly due to religious inclinations as well. It’s slightly perplexing when you ‘have to’ break a branch off a specific tree for certain rituals or throw the remains of obsequies into a waterbody.

Things decompose with age. It is natural and there is value in that, but maybe we don’t have to pollute things in the process (easier said than done I know). The air, the water, the forests have a certain innate ‘spirit’ too which has a voracious capacity to be reborn.

No one cared enough to teach us any other way. Back then it was not so bad. I certainly didn’t learn about climate change when I was little. Matter of fact, climate change has been happening since the 1970s,[3] it was called inadvertent climate modification[4] then, and no one really thought much of it.

The issues that are coming up now are rather slow but pertinent. We’re feeling its pinch now…. Ok not a pitch but a violent seizure every now and then shaking us from head to toe. The see-saw from hot to cold. Natural disaster causing large scale damage. The mandatory disclaimer by every small and medium sized brand that they’re sustainable, but is it enough?

An emphasis is laid now on cutting carbon for most nations by the year 2050[5]. A deadline or may I say a dread-line, which seems a little too far and a little too bleak. Maybe by then going ‘carbon neutral’ will not be good enough.

It might already be too late to be reiterating this. We must hold on and expand our capacity to be open minded while remaining hopeful at the same time. A notion that seems too divergent to ever collide. As the magnetic poles shift, maybe our perspectives will shift as well. [6]

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[1] Wildfires in Alaska: Shifting landscapes and fire management strategies

[2] Does the Mineral Composition of Volcanic Ashes Have a Beneficial or Detrimental Impact on the Soils and Cultivated Crops of Ecuador?

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv941vsk.18?seq=1

[4] What’s in a name? Global Warming vs Climate change

[5] https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/climate-strategies-targets/2050-long-term-strategy_en

[6] Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Toward Siberia and Raising Questions About Unusual Movement