{"id":3345,"date":"2023-11-13T18:49:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T18:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onenatureinstitute.org\/?p=3345"},"modified":"2023-11-13T18:57:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T18:57:25","slug":"connecting-climate-biodiversity-and-well-being-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onenatureinstitute.org\/stories\/connecting-climate-biodiversity-and-well-being-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting Climate, Biodiversity, and Well-being Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fighting climate change seems overwhelming and disempowering. Sometimes, this narrative runs around in my head (I wonder if it sounds familiar?):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe climate is changing, and we are crossing the <\/span>environmental thresholds<\/span><\/a> scientists said we had to meet to survive. Hurricanes and forest fires are getting worse. This summer in Washington, DC seemed hotter than ever \u2013 what are we going to do next summer and the summer after? The winter seems so mild; will it ever snow for Christmas again? But what can I do? Will my changing out my light bulbs really help when this global juggernaut just keeps barreling to the inevitable conclusion of destroying our planet? Will we have to give up all the good things in life to even make a dent in climate change? Give up vacations \u2013 driving and flying both use up too much fossil fuels. Give up air conditioning when we need it most\u2026 will we just have to go live in caves? I will have to give up everything I love. UGH. I don\u2019t know what to do about it. It seems hopeless.\u201c<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Surely, I\u2019m not alone in this unhelpful thought spiral. That is pretty much the worst combination – feeling overwhelmed and powerless can paralyze us from making any changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then, there is the biodiversity extinction crisis. Wildlife species are going extinct at ever-increasing rates. A new article in The Guardian says that the number of 1 million species threatened with extinction (a figure described in the<\/span> 2019 assessment<\/span><\/a> of The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (<\/span>IPBES<\/b>) is <\/span>now at 2 million (mostly reflecting new and better data on the extinction threats to insects<\/span><\/a>) There are so many people all over the world who love wildlife, and yet the threats to wildlife existence keep increasing – pollution, habitat loss and conversion, poaching and illegal wildlife trade, invasive species, and climate change\u2026. It seems absolutely insurmountable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate change and biodiversity\/habitat loss aren\u2019t separate crises. Greenhouse gas emissions are one threat to planet Earth and her inhabitants, but the loss of resilience of the entire natural system is also critically important. Even if we could find rapid technological solutions to reduce emissions, we still have to address the ways we use the earth and her \u201cresources\u201d unsustainably, or we will never be able to sustain a liveable planet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no question we are on a path of environmental destruction in the pursuit of unending economic growth, but at least it is making people happy, right? Well, not really.<\/span><\/p>\n

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About ten years ago, when I really started my deep dive into <\/span>what happiness and well-being meant to me<\/span><\/a>, I also started learning that<\/span> happiness can be measured<\/span><\/a> and that people were doing it! Like in Bhutan with Gross National Happiness, which emphasizes growing the well-being of the Bhutanese over growing the economy of Bhutan. I joined a group called <\/span>Gross National Happiness USA<\/span><\/a> and even became the Board President for a while!<\/span><\/p>\n

I participated in a short section of the <\/span>Happiness Walk<\/span><\/a>, a walk across the country organized by the co-founder of Gross National Happiness USA, Paula Francis. She walked from Vermont to Washington, D.C. (where I met and hosted her) and then from D.C. to California and back to Vermont. Along the way, she asked people what really mattered to them. You can <\/span>read her book <\/span><\/a>to learn all the details about her adventures on the walk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The answers she got along the way were similar to mine and are probably similar to your answers. Social connectedness (including connections to family, friends, people, and animals) was the top response to the question, \u201cWhat makes you happy\/what matters most in life\u201d. The next most common responses were in the area of psychological well-being: a sense of life satisfaction, purpose and meaning, mental attitude, and emotions. Spirituality was at the top of the list as well (connection to something higher than self, faith, spiritually-based beliefs). Many people also mentioned nature, including the importance of the interconnectedness of animals\/nature\/human wellbeing. As far as I know, not one person said, \u201cThe most important thing to me is having way more money than I could ever spend, even if I have to exploit animals, nature, and other people to get it.\u201d<\/em> That isn\u2019t part of the majority of people\u2019s value systems – and yet, it is basically how the global economic system works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The exploitation of the earth and other animals doesn\u2019t make people happy. Connection makes people happy. Why do we hold on to the idea that growing the economy at the expense of the planet and the happiness of the people on it is the only way to go about our lives? How can the system be so out of sync with the values of the people who make up the system?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps we can shift our ideas about what addressing climate change really involves. Instead of a future life of deprivation and gloom, changing our personal approach to life and our global systems could result in LESS exploitation of nature and MORE happiness. Maybe knowing that species, habitats, and the climate are rebounding would reduce some of the existential dread and eco-grief that reading the news can cause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So – an individual who breaks out of society\u2019s march towards prizing economic growth and money over all other values can live more aligned with their happiness and well-being. And a society full of people living in alignment with their true values can stop the march toward planetary destruction at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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OneNature is a member of the <\/span>Wellbeing Economy Alliance<\/span><\/a>, a collaboration of organizations, alliances, movements, and individuals working to transform the economic system. They have a fabulous video that shows the shift already underway to a well-being economy. I invite you to watch it and get a little dose of inspiration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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