There's supposed to be more time: the words, the theme of my week.
It started on Sunday with my preschooler asking how many days she had left of school. There's supposed to be more time; she burst out and into tears when I said 4. It continued into Monday, her sadness over the ending of her time at her magical nature school contagious. There's supposed to be more time for you to be little, I thought, walking back to my car at drop-off. On Tuesday, when the haze of smoke in the air settled over our coastal town and the sun turned red, coinciding with the first day of a new soccer session, I thought it again.
There's supposed to be more time. Before I have to make my child wear a mask to practice, before I question the coach's decision to keep it outside, before I wonder about skipping it. There's supposed to be more time before the climate crisis becomes a daily part of my child's life.
Of course, I knew it would eventually come to this—knew my child would have to navigate the climate crisis for much of her life. For years, I've heard friends on the West Coast talk about keeping their children indoors on days of poor air quality. Already, according to UNICEF's Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI), more than half of the world's children live in countries at high risk for climate and environmental hazards. I know the climate crisis will eventually linger underneath every choice my child makes about everything, from the careers she pursues to where she lives to the things she eats. Still, I had hoped, selfishly and foolishly, that the place of her birth would give her more time.
On Wednesday, when she asked to go outside after school, and I said yes, for a few minutes, but only if you wear a mask, I did it with practicality mixed with horror. My child, so used to masks from the pandemic, looked at me and asked, Because the air can make me sick again? Yes, the simple answer, but I know eventually she'll ask how the generations that came before her let it come to this. I’d like to know that too.
Much has been said and written about gentle parenting (much of it eye-rolling about how millennials are too earnest of parents or are ruining parenthood the same way we ruined Applebee's.) But think about the heart of gentle parenting: a partnership where both the child's needs and the parent's are seen as valid. What if we applied that to the climate crisis? The need to cook, for instance, is reasonable, but so is my child's right to clean air. So, while no one was actually going to take the gas stoves away, maybe there's a way to cook delicious food that will still allow my child to have an outdoor high school graduation in 13 years. Or while I don’t understand the need for a weed-free lawn I’m OK with it, as long as that need doesn’t result in poison drifting from my neighbor’s lawn into mine where my dog and child play. Of course, the onus shouldn't be on individuals to change the world, but if it wasn't already, the response of the politicians (all of them) and the corporate leaders to the air quality this week should make it clear that no one is coming to save us.
So what can we do?
First, while the air quality is still awful:
Hold off on yard work and outdoor exercise.
Stay inside (pets too) with the doors and windows shut.
Don't burn candles and reduce the use of your gas stove, both of which can worsen the air quality.
If you do go outside, wear a mask to reduce your exposure to pollutants.
Second
Talk about the climate crisis. The more we talk about it, the more actions people will start to take and mitigating the worse of it will require a whole culture shift.
Learn about clean energy, which can reduce air pollution.
Think about the things that bring your joy, your skills and then figure out how you can use them to take climate action in your community. We have the solutions, we need the action.
When it's safe, soak up as much time outside as you can.
~ Bridget
P.S. Here are a few things that I've been up to:
Published: Tourist Destinations and Climate Change: How to Travel Respectfully for Teen Vogue and for These Teens, a Unique Beekeeping Program Teaches About Much More Than Honey for Modern Farmer.