It wasn't anything special. The painting of falling leaves. The type of artwork you expect to see in office lobbies or, in this case, a doctor's office. But it made me pause and wonder: how frustrated the Earth feels with us, how exhausted, if she wants to yell 'but I've been sick this whole time.'
It occurs to me that for the planet, the climate crisis is a bit like having a chronic invisible illness. I was diagnosed with UC, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in your digestive tract, when I was 19. I've lived my entire adult life managing my illness and the uncertainty of not knowing how well I'll feel at any given moment. Most of the time, it's easy to fool most people into thinking you're well. You do it because it's what society teaches you to do. You do it because it's hard for people to truly understand the daily life and behaviors of people with invisible illness symptoms if they can't see them. You do it because it's better than having to admit even to yourself the compromises you have to make to do the things you want to do. But then something, maybe it's having to have the check-up, or perhaps you get sick enough that it's too hard to hide, remind you and the people in your world, however briefly, that you are, in fact, sick.
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change, aka COP26, which began on October 31 and ends today although as I write this negotiators are still struggling to reach a deal, was just such a check-up. The world's attention turned briefly to the climate crisis, to the fact that our planet is sick.
Simply put, the goals of this year's COP26 were:
Secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
Mobilize finance
Work together
If I'm not careful, I tend to divide things into absolutes; good or bad, success or failure, finished or unfinished. I have trouble with the in-between state in acknowledging that most things, be it getting my toddler to use a fork, or managing my chronic illness, or transitioning my house off fossil fuels, are works in progress with ups and downs, successes and failures, good days and bad.
COP26 was full of ups and downs. There was a lot of good that came out of the conference. Thousands of people gathered for it in Glasgow, Scotland; thousands more participated virtually from around the world. There seemed to be more media coverage, not just of the conference but of the climate crisis in general over the past couple of weeks. Big promises were made, including plans to reduce methane gas emissions and deforestation, initiatives to protect the oceans and more. A new analysis from the International Energy Agency showed that fully achieving all net-zero pledges to date and the global methane pledge by those who signed it would limit global warming to 1.8 degrees Celsius. That was some of the good, but there was plenty of bad.
The fossil fuel industry sent 503 delegates to COP26 more than any other country. Many of the people most likely to be affected by the climate crisis either couldn't attend or were given what felt like a mention and brief place as a pr tactic. A Washington Post investigation found that many countries underreport their greenhouse gas emissions in their reports to the United Nations. As soon as President Joe Biden left COP26, it felt like the American media started to pay less attention. And the pledges are just that. The leaders that made them, including President Biden, still have to sell them at home before they have a chance to be implemented. They are not guarantees, and some like the promise to end deforestation have been made before.
So how do we keep the focus on the planet, especially as the U.S. prepares for the 2022 midterms? How do we make the invisible visible all the time, not simply during COP26, or when the wildfires turn the sky strange colors around the country, or rising sea levels make paths to the beach no longer accessible?
Contact your elected officials and voice your support for the initiatives coming out of COP26. And then hold them accountable. Set yourself a reminder right now to contact them once a month, reiterating your support and asking them about the progress they've made to cool the planet. We can use all the reusable straws we want, but real, lasting change requires policy change. Make sure you are registered to vote in the 2022 midterms, and when the election comes along, vote with the planet in mind.
And don't forget about your state and local elected officials. Get in touch with your school board and ask them where the schools' energy is coming from and what the schools are doing to divest from fossil fuels. What about your town itself? Where's that energy coming from, and how can your city or town make it more sustainable? How are your state representatives voting on environmental issues? What are they doing to support COP26 on the state level?
Cooling the planet requires keeping our attention on healing it while acknowledging that there will be steps forward and backwards that happen at the same time.
Until next time,
~ Bridget
Published: How My Toddler Reminded Me of the Joys of Composting for Modern Farmer.
Reading: Everything on how much the sea level will rise in my coastal town.
Working: On a story on the new farm at the Javits Center in New York City for Civil Eats, how to inspire a love of nature in children for HipCamp and a condiment gift guide featuring Saltverk and other sustainable food companies for Martha Stewart.