Preparing for Climate Change

Photo by Caspar Rae on Unsplash

The major religions of the world agree that we must love our neighbors. Still, this last year was a tough one for neighbor-loving. We argued with friends and family over what is safe and what just feels too risky. We began to reckon with our long history of not fully loving our neighbors of color. We saw in this reckoning some unlovable aspects of ourselves, our country, our neighbors. We struggled to see each other as loveable through our personal lenses tinged with hurt and shame. Then, as if we weren't fractured enough, we covered our faces and stayed physically apart. Some of us were alone for months and months.

Isolation is not good for us. We get depressed and anxious. Paralyzed with grief and loneliness. We physically need to love our neighbors. And so, we learned to use technology we’d been ignoring, we sent cards, we air-hugged. We treasured the new ways we saw each other: not in our professional armor, but in our spare bedrooms, in our living rooms, at our kitchen tables. We saw each other’s children, pets, breakfasts, lives. We learned to love through our masks, from six-feet away, preferably outdoors. We got vaccinated. Because we love each other. 

And this love kept us from sinking further into depression and anxiety. It saved our lives. 

Loving our neighbors will save our lives again. As the climate changes, we will see widespread and intense disruptions to our daily lives. It is our neighbors--our communities--who will get us through long power outages, smoke days, water shortages, heat events. Our neighbors will give us refuge from the storm. Put a pot of chili on the fire. Drive us to safety. Do you know the neighbors who will reach out and help you? How are they doing? Do you know the people in your community who you might be able to help in a disaster?

Reduce your carbon impact: drive less; buy less; eat less red meat. And, as we emerge from this pandemic, make real efforts to reach out and meet or reconnect with your neighbors. Love your actual neighbors. These relationships preserve us in the really hard times, and these are the relationships that create a community--and a world--worth protecting from the ravages of climate change.