This cartoon brings up so many profound truths: It’s up to us. Start small. Little things matter. Don’t give up. Expectations are everything. Be the change we want to see in the world. It’s always worth nurturing or creating something. Focus on the positive. And on and on.

Of course, it’s not always that simple to plant flowers (literally or metaphorically). It’s easy to get paralyzed by thinking that whatever we do won’t be enough. I know I get caught up in that. I’m only one person; what can I do? Does it really matter? It reminds me of the story about a storm that has stranded thousands of starfish on the beach. A child is walking along, picking up the starfish, and throwing them back into the sea, knowing they won’t otherwise survive. An adult passing by observes, “There’s so many, you’ll hardly make a difference.” The child pauses and then replies, “But I’ll make a difference to this one.” In some versions of the story, the adult starts throwing starfish back into the sea after hearing the child’s response. Other adults start helping, and eventually, they are all saved. Such a powerful illustration of how any of us can lead by example – we don’t need an important position or millions of Twitter followers – we just need to do the right thing.

 

This cartoon reminds me how important it is to do whatever we can to make the world a better place, whether that is planting flowers, saving starfish, or genuinely listening to someone with different political beliefs – or inspiring other people to do those things. And it reminds me that no act of kindness, creation, growth or nurturing is ever too small for those who receive it.

 

I have a question for you: What percentage of Americans do you think support climate change actions? Think of your number, between 0-100%, before reading on.

 

I was in Colorado over the holidays and lucky to get there, given all the flight cancellations and weather issues. I returned to California in the middle of the atmospheric river that dumped much-needed rain across the entire state – just a bit too much all at once. Fortunately, there was no flooding in my neighborhood, but lots of downed branches, trees, fences, and multiple power outages. It’s sunny again, but there will be more storms, more drought, and more wildfires in years to come. It is easy to feel anxious about the state of the world, about the health of our planet.

 

Especially when it feels like most people don’t care, right? What percentage did you come up with above? If it was 43% or less, you’re in good company – that is what most Americans believe. But we’re all wrong. A recent study out of Princeton found that twice as many people support substantive climate policy as we think – somewhere between 66-80% of Americans are in favor.

 

The study’s authors argue that this false belief that people don’t support climate action holds us back from pushing for it or talking about it because we think others won’t agree. But if we know that isn’t entirely true, we can shift our focus towards speaking about climate actions more broadly and transparently, which can help move the needle.

 

I’ve been inspired recently by the actions many individuals and organizations take on climate issues. I get to read about a different one each day through the Carbon Almanac Network’s Daily Difference email. Did you know, for example, that Connecticut just passed a bill to require climate change education in all school districts? Or that France is mandating parking lots of 80 spots or more to include solar panels? Or that in the UK, they’re converting the roofs of bus shelters into green rest stops for pollinators? Or that there is a non-profit organization in the Netherlands developing ways to pull plastic out of the ocean? Neither did I! But every time I read about one of these, it’s proof that people care and that we are capable of making a difference.

 

We can believe that our future will be better, and we can help make it happen, or at least increase the odds. Here’s to planting flowers wherever we are, so that we shape the world around us into what we most want it to be. Looking forward to seeing what we can plant together!

 

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If planting flowers and saving starfish sounds familiar, that must mean you’re one of my long-time readers – yay! I’ve shared this post several times, in various iterations, off and on since 2018. I hope you enjoyed it this time around.

 

And speaking of long-time readers, this is my 52nd official Summit Register post. If I wrote weekly, that’d be a year’s worth of posts. But since I am on a decidedly slower schedule than that, this represents 9 years of writing this blog, or an average of 5-6 posts a year. I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with you and look forward to sharing more thoughts about life in the years to come!