“Climate change is real. And it is happening right now,” said Leonardo DiCaprio during his impassioned Oscar acceptance speech. He continued, “It is the most urgent threat facing our species. And we need to work collectively and stop procrastinating.”

 

https://youtu.be/u5QwpOPvehs

 

What I’d add to his moving speech is the following:

Climate change is about water. Too much water, too little water, rising water. Warmer temperatures will lead to about eight to ten percent more water cycling around our planet, enough to fill twenty Nile Rivers. Fred Pierce in his book, When the Rivers Run Dry, sums up the effect of climate change simply: “Wet places will get wetter, and dry places will get drier.”

Our global climate has moved into unchartered territory. According to the United Nations World Water Report, our planet will warm anywhere between 2 and 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit within this century. Warmer temperatures and wetter winters are here now. This week the LA Times reports, “the number of extreme heat days — in which the high temperature exceeds 95 degrees — will triple or quadruple in parts of L.A. County if nothing is done to control greenhouse gas emissions” by midcentury.

Drought areas watch the clouds pass overhead without releasing a drop.  Instead, clouds dump snow and rainfall on already too wet areas. Too common are images of swollen rivers spilling ungracefully into streets, homes and cropland. And snow drifts that look like they are out of a science fiction novel.

What can we “the collective” do about it? 

Food production is responsible for one-third of all greenhouse emissions.  We need to be engaged participants in what we eat. Just as food has the power to rewrite the story of water scarcity on the planet, food production must be an integral part of the conversation in climate change.

 

Five action steps you can do NOW. Don’t procrastinate:

1. VOTE the environment. Donate time and financial resources to candidates and propositions that offer solutions to climate change. Like Leonardo DiCaprio said at the end of his speech,

“Support leaders around the world who do not speak for big polluters of the world or big corporations but for all humanity; for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions of underprivileged people who will be most effected, for our children’s children, and for those people whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.”

2. Eat organic food. Conventionally raised food is dependent on petroleum for fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Support food systems that keep both microorganisms and fossil fuels in the ground.

3. Support sustainable farmers. Shop your farmer’s markets and/or support sustainable farmer’s nationwide with directories like Eat Wild. This army of farmers around the country are stewards of the land, water and air.

4. Don’t waste food. It takes valuable non-renewable resources to produce food. We throw away half the food produced. Plan and organize your food. And serve smaller portions.

5. Eat less meat. When you do, always choose organic.

Organically raised meats is the better choice because organic rules require animals to be in the pasture  a minimum of 30% of the time.

The best choice, buy meat (from your eggs to red meat) from farms who rotate the animals on the pasture. When animals are rotated on the pasture, the land is never over grazed.

“Let’s not take this planet for granted,” said Leonardo DiCaprio.

There is power in the collective.

Eat less water at the kitchen table!

Be well,

Florencia

You might like these article too:

Spread the Love and Win Water Saving Swag

Climate Change Talks and You

Does Your New Year’s Resolution Include Doing Good in the World? Here are Some Ideas

Decorate With Less Water