Our Nature | A Sunday Sentiment
- Jan 12, 2025
- 2 min read
The era of unnatural disasters must require unnatural accountability.
The flames have a name. That name is climate change.
While LA burns on the heels of an 8 month drought amidst a 2024 record of the hottest year on Earth since 1880, with the previous top 10 records being every year before (2015-2024), we stand in shock as we witness wild flames obliterating domesticated humanity.
A disaster once reserved for poorly congested tinder-box towns at the turn of the century has now come knocking in neighborhoods far from the grip of the hillside catastrophes we’ve grown accustomed to associate with NATURE - the flood, the rain, the hurricane, the wildfire.
By implying disasters like this are natural, we numb our capacity to think & act beyond REACTION. As if natural events are beyond our prevention.
Preparation, sure, but prevention? Impossible.
It’s unnatural for us to imagine we have the collective capacity to alter our global ecosystem. Accountability does not come easily in the face of a wild born crisis.
And yet, we’ve seen the hills of Appalachia in the wake of Hurricane Helene & the streets of Valencia in the ripples of the Spanish floods. And, as we speak, we see coastal flames consuming a city whole.
This isn’t natural.
While it’s a political, economic, & cultural problem to solve, the impacts could care less about personal beliefs. It demands collective awareness and action. Some things must grow beyond religious or political boundaries. Things like air, water, wildlife and yes, even climate.
As we process the knocking of an increasingly unpredictable climate on our door, we recognize the jarring toll it takes on our psyche.
This week, you’re invited to to join 2 grounding events that address the intersection of CLIMATE, TRAUMA, LAND, COMMUNITY, HISTORY & FUTURE.
1 - A film screening of the Climate Baby Dilemma w/ panel including @shoshoneelder @raeoquirrhdial at USU on 1/16
2 - A Fireside Shoshone Storytelling & Soak w/ @shoshoneelder on 1/19 1 PM to commemorate the Bear River Massacre and elevate our shared role to steward the Earth through consciousness over consumption.
Act unnaturally.
