A ray of sunshine in a sea of negativity.  We’re living in unprecedented times with so much negativity surrounding us, it’s worrying, stressful, and exhausting.  In the middle of this, I heard some good news that left me feeling hopeful. 

I was watching 60 Minutes and their interview with internationally respected geophysicist Michael Mann. He shared some good news with respect to climate change and global warming.  He said, with the older models, used to calculate burning carbon, it was thought that even after we stopped the carbon burning, temperatures would continue to burn for decades but with newer more sophisticated experiments, they’re finding that

if we stop burning carbon right now, temperatures would remain pretty much flat, they would not continue to increase.

We would only be committed to the warming that has happened up to that point.  That is huge news.  If we stop burning carbon now, we stop the warming of the planet.

I went from feeling overwhelmed that even if we stopped burning the fuels the temperatures would continue to rise to now feeling hopeful. If we stop burning carbon now, we can stop the burning of the planet.  And the beauty of this is, we know how to fix this – by reducing our use of fossil fuels. 

Don’t confuse this with reversing the damage that is already done.  We don’t have the knowledge now to bring the temperatures back down to normal but men and women are working on this problem as we speak.  America is the land of ingenuity, this country has inspired generations of creators and innovators, so I have faith that in the not too distant future, someone will figure out how to pull the carbon dioxide out of the air to bring our planet’s temperature back down to normal.  In the meantime, we have work to do to reduce the use of fossil fuels. 

Here’s another bit of good news coming on the heels of the 60 Minute interview.  

“48 species have been saved from extinction by conservation efforts.” 

“Extinction rates for birds and mammals since 1993 would have been ‘three to four times higher’ without action.”  This shows that all the efforts being done are working, it’s not wasted.

Can you imagine a world without this cute pygmy hog?  LOL. Thanks to the conservation efforts we don’t have to.  

Many of you have heard that as a result of the coronavirus the air is cleaner than it has been in years – Milan, Italy saw pollution drop as much as 75%.  Animals are thriving in places where their numbers had been dwindling – the demand for seafood (due to restaurant closures) has the fish stocks thriving bringing whales, dolphins, and seals into areas they hadn’t been seen in decades. 

All of this leads me to feel like change is happening and a burned-up planet is not inevitable. We can make a difference.

Did you know that 6.5 million people are employed globally by the renewable energy industry?  Saving our planet is not only good for us in the long run, but it’s helping to reduce poverty, spurring innovation, and creating jobs – 6.5 million and growing every day!

We need to look for the positive and try not to be overwhelmed by all the negativity.  What gives you hope in these trying times?  Let me know in the comment section below.

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