Eaarth Feels

Fifteen women, representing hundreds of years of women's empowerment work, discuss the need for humanity to embrace  collaborative, compassionate feminine energy at this time  in order to heal Mother Earth.

"Here is the challenge of our time, dear beings: To truly open our hearts to the wonders of Interbeing, to live a connected, open-eyed, open-hearted, wide-awake life of awareness and responsiveness to what is happening on our beloved planet, this comes with a cost. And that cost is an intensity of grief." Modern mystic Amber Samaya is an artist, a visionary, and an oracle. In this reflection shared on her website, ambersamaya.com, she shares her experience of deep grief of "being born into an earth family that is poisoning each other and our one and only home." Samaya also calls to each to experience our grief, for in experiencing it lies to key to our personal and collective healing.  

As children communicating with the natural world was a part of our everyday life.   Travel back to a time when you KNEW you were a part of something larger. Can remembering our truth help us avert the climate crisis?

Can humanity view nature as “an ally,” not a foe, in the quest for sustainable human development? U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres  makes this plea as we confront three simultaneous environmental emergencies: climate change, biodiversity loss, and air and water pollution. ***Read with author's permission***

Our differences can be divisive OR if we can remain curious, they can offer us an opportunity to look for solutions with new eyes. Author Dana Simson, author of Come Together, suggests ways we can dispel the drama and collaborate toward a livable future .

Mother Nature issues yet another warning in the guise of unusual freezing temperatures in Texas. resulting in the life threatening shutdown of infrastructure.   In an absurd twist, fossil fuel funded politicians and media continue to negate the connection. Bob Koehler provides clarity.

What if counteracting the climate crisis were as simple as reallocating where you spend your dollars? Liz Christou, author of Spend Green and Save The World, joins Rose to discuss what's possible when we spend mindfully.

Carl Safina responds to the January 2021 paper "Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future". in which 17 climate experts concur : 1)  Future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. 2) Questioning what political/economic system is prepared or even capable to handle these impending disasters, 3)  acknowledgement of "an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public"

In this special edition of Eaarth Feels Podcast, eleven climate professionals from around the globe address how individual actions can thwart the biggest existential crisis known to humanity.

Have you noticed how petroleum products are everywhere you look? Our everyday lives are completely enmeshed , from our modes of transportation to the aspirin we take to alleviate our headaches.   In this opinion piece printed on February 5, 2021 in the New York Times, Michael Patrick F. Smith uses his first hand knowledge as an oil rig swamper to illustrate how pervasive our oil addiction is, why our dependence will not disappear soon and  and suggest  ways we can better support the men and women in the oil industry as we make the transition away from fossil fuels. *Read with permission of author*

As the government of India sets its sights on corporate investment and exponential GDP growth, their legislature passed three new agricultural bills in September without input from the millions involved in small farms. In response, tens of thousands of Indian farmers, and workers in support of the farmers, have taken to the roads and streets, shutting down highways and rails in an effort to be heard. 

In this February 1, 2021 essay by George Spain-Warner from Exploratree.blog  we are given a look at the on-going capitalism vs climate fight and the opportunity to evaluate the impact Covid-19 has had since it stepped into the ring.

Plastics have become an essential part of our modern lifestyle. They are lightweight, durable and cheap. But here’s the thing...though they offer numerous benefits, plastics originate as fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases from cradle to grave. Perhaps once we add in their environmental costs, they aren't a bargain after all.

Despite the worldwide downturn of energy use due to Covid-19 in 2020, global renewable energy capacity set a record and 2021 is expected to be even better.   Richard Matthews is the owner and principle writer of The Green Market Oracle, covering the convergence of sustainable capitalism and the global environment. Richard's articles have been featured in over 50 publications including a United Nations Development Programme report, Scientific American, ENN, and CleanTechnica.

As we look forward to a more just, equitable future can we shift our economic model away from merely continual growth to incorporate both a social foundation for all peoples as well as an ecological ceiling?  British Economist Kate Raworth has created Doughnut Economics as this future looking model, now being adopted in progressive cities around the globe.

"Global people’s movements and women leaders have been organizing for decades for climate justice, and community-led solutions. We the people continue to act with fierce love for our communities and the planet in mind, and will hold those accountable for the damage they have done, while continuing to offer a different path forward. We call for the protection of Mother Earth, and we envision a healthy, thriving, just world for current and future generations. This moment must be a turning point, there is no other option." Osprey Orielle Lake and Katherine Quaid ofWomen's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) make the case that climate justice cannot be achieved without women's leadership, particularly the leadership of women of color and Indigenous women. Originally published on CommonDreams.org.  

Every dollar we spend creates the world we live in. Creating change can be as simple as reallocating those dollars. By shifting our investments can we fuel the world our hearts know is possible? Christine and Rose are joined by Dr. Craig Jonas, founder of CoPeace, who believes it is possible to grow your money for good. 

In Chapter 8 of  The World We Have,  Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us of our inter-being with all of Nature, while emphasizing that as we kill off our natural environment we are essentially bringing about our own demise.   Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet scholar and human rights activist. He has traveled the world for over 50 years speaking about the need for peace.

Bob Koehler, an author and self-described peace journalist, talks about how the current chaos may be just the thing we need to spring us forward into action and evolve into a more peaceful, just, and renewable society.

"As the New Year asserts itself — a year that begins in global lockdown and political shock-and-awe — an extraordinary question emerges: Are we on the brink of real change?" Robert Koehler, a self-described "Peace Journalist" and author of Courage Grows Strong At the Wound, looks at whether there is a possibility of true evolutionary change at this moment in history.