The Green Flash

Thank you Noble Ones, for reading this! Thank you for caring. Thank you for your time, your talent, and your dedication. This post is here to recharge your batteries, so soak it up.

   We’re smart, passionate, proactive, problem solvers. We’re “fixers” for our planet. There’s a compelling desire in us to preserve our home, and we work with others who feel the same way. In another era we brave hearts might have been abolitionists, or suffragettes, or 3^rd Reich resistors. I don’t have to ask you to rise up, because you already have. What better company could we possibly keep?

   As a decades-long environmental speaker, activist, volunteer, and Congressional liaison on climate, I’ve wrestled with myself to maintain my awareness on the positive, on the solutions, rather than the disaster movie aspects of the Greenhouse Effect. But my humanness has sometimes struggled with the immensity of the problem, drifting back to lack, fear, depression, anger, and frustration. Now while that’s really fun???

   My Higher-Self reminds me of Car and Driver Magazine’s” advice for negotiating difficult terrain. And this is a GREAT metaphor for any challenge you may have. Yah ready? Here it is: “When you go into a skid, keep your focus on where you WANT to go.” So NOT in the ditch, or at the brick wall, keep your eyes on the prize, imagine the goal you want to see completed, and lean into THAT. This doesn’t mean stick your head in the sand or give up. By all means, stay engaged. But while fear, anger, despair, judgement, and resentment can be cathartic for a few minutes… long-term it only saps our strength and weakens us. Philosopher Noam Chomsky said, “If you lose hope, then sure enough, there’ll be no hope”.

   So, banish cynicism, NO MATTER WHAT, because that will NOT lead to progress, in fact, it’s not just a buzz kill, it’s a total waste of time. Even ONE of you holding the vision of a brighter, better, future is more powerful than throngs of folks who are marinating in fear and anger.

Some clear-eyed fire in the belly is great – but ONLY if its brief and it spurs POSITIVE action. I remember a friend’s comment, “Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I’m NOT gonna build a house there.” So let that anger and resentment go as soon as you possibly can, life’s too short to waste.

   Why am I an Environmental Activist? Because I choose hope. Hope and GRATITUDE, and JOY. I’m thirsty for it. In fact, I know that our strength, our resilience, our effectiveness, lies in Happiness and Appreciation, that’s more than hope, it’s our secret weapon. It’s the antidote to fear and anger. It’s where we create success. There is opportunity in everything, even chaos. So, when pondering the state of our climate and all that needs to be done, I invite you to remember to elevate your mood. Imagine being overjoyed by huge environmental progress! Let that be your energy pack, your driving force. THAT’s where the Magic happens.

   My life’s experiences have shown me that thoughts have power. So do words of course, so give it a try… think about how you’ll describe the possibilities of our “climate reality”. Envision and speak the world you want to see into existence. This takes a little discipline, at least until you get into the habit of it.

   By focusing on positive outcomes, we’re still aware, we’re still walking the walk, the ONLY thing we’re surrendering is hopelessness and failure. That sound OK to you? My most effective meetings with policymakers, coworkers, even family members, were when I’d pictured success beforehand. This is a very powerful political act.

   Vote with your ATTENTION. Tune into what you WANT, mentally create the reality you desire. It WILL empower your actions. Appreciate yourself! SEE the good that you and others do and visualize phenomenal progress. Remember, “I’m not going to let the things I can’t change, stop me from making a difference on the things I CAN change”.

   Envision that it’s going to be OK. “When in drought, think of the deliciousness of rain.” Hold that high-5-feeling of success, Know it. And if you’re struggling – that’s OK, fake it til you make it. The magic still works. Ride that high vibe and the Universe can’t help but bend toward happier and healthier outcomes. You want to save the world? Then picture it healed.

   So, keep the faith. Not blind faith, but intelligent, informed faith. Because we know what’s possible. In fact, infinitely possible. The truth is that we are awash in clean energy and large-scale climate solutions.

   From the DOE and the National Renewable Energy Lab this, “The U.S. has the technology and resources to more than meet the projected 2050 growth in electricity demand through improved energy efficiency, and produce 80% of the remainder from renewable energy sources.”

   Mark Jacobsen, Stanford’s director of the Atmosphere & Energy Program told Scientific American back in 2009 that, “We can meet the world’s energy needs with wind, water and solar in 20 years without nuclear, for the same amount of $$ that we’d spend on fossil fuels anyway.” Nowadays that’s even more true, and clean energy is getting cheaper and cheaper all the time.

   Solid research on climate restoration shows that, “We have the ability NOW, to capture ALL of the carbon pollution that humanity has put into our atmosphere since the industrial revolution and return it to the ground in 11% of the world’s currently unused cropland.”

   We have the technology right NOW to create marine forests of kelp that will sequester massive quantities of carbon and create healthier oceans and clean jobs and income. We can Moonwalk ourselves back from the edge of the cliff onto solid, stable, and much safer ground. When pollution goes down, economies rise. So think of our success as inevitable.

   Lastly, shake off the defeats, celebrate our successes, and picture waaaay more of them. Begin and end your day with gratitude and the vision of a healthy planet Earth. You will come away refreshed, renewed, and more resilient to whatever life has thrown you. Eyes on the prize. With every positive vision, every act of gratitude, we are moving humanity up the ladder. Not haters, Healers. THAT is where the magic happens. Like they say, clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.  ❤                         

Powerful, quick & easy, climate action for you to take right NOW: The Senate is considering including carbon pollution pricing (with dividends going to the public) in the budget reconciliation package! This would be a huge step forward on climate. Scientists and economists agree, this will plummet our climate pollution emissions without hurting our wallets. Simple directions to write Pres Biden at http://cclusa.org/write-biden and ask for a carbon price.

Thanks & Love ❤

The sign for PEACE, VICTORY, and now VACCINATED is becoming a real thing. One quick hand gesture that instantly shows others that you’re safe to be around, removes anxiety, and sends thanks to others who have done the same. A triple entendre that will shift us from fear to healthy harmony. Please adopt this symbol when in public and spread the word instead of the virus. THANKS #V=VACCINATED #VACCINATED #Victory #Peace

I happily invite you to spend some time with us today and tomorrow Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th starting at 1 pm PST enjoying The Power of Collective Climate Action. Hosted by Citizens’ Climate Lobby, it promises to enlighten, educate, and empower your environmental work. Brimming with a lineup of great speakers including 3 sitting Congress Members: Mike Levin, Lou Correa, Mark DeSaulnier, and Irvine’s Mayor Farrah Khan. Click HERE and press SCHEDULE to choose what you want to see and join the Zoom. No matter where you are in the U.S., or whether your focus is on Youth Action, Environmental Justice, Engaging the Economy, Business, Labor, Communicating with Progressives, Conservatives, or beyond, peruse the extensive 2-day program and hop onto whatever topics most interest you.

To see the full program and join anytime during the conference Click HERE and then click on SCHEDULE to choose what you want to watch and join the Zoom. And remember to tune in for this Sunday’s 3:15 pm PST Breakout (Track 1) where I’ll be speaking on…

Magnifying Your Message – Harnessing Media Opportunities Getting priceless news coverage is easier than you think. Whether you’re working to save our climate by putting a price on carbon, lessening plastic pollution, supporting community choice energy, or any other worthy environmental endeavor, we want to help you succeed in magnifying your message in a BIG way! Let’s enlist broadcast media to win hearts and minds, increase public awareness, and make miracles together. Join us for an inspiring session that will expand your skills whether you’re wooing Congress, broadcast media, or your new best friend.

As always, I’m grateful for the noble work you do! – Eve Simmons

If you know anyone who is wavering about who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, please send them this excellent, well sourced, new article from the New York Times. It demonstrably shows how President Trump has turned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into a wrecking ball to our environment. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html

It’s not easy to cope right now, so for those of you who are holding the light during the apocalypse…

My family is lucky. We live in an urban oasis with glorious west facing views from the front of our home. They extend to almost every room in the house. But from the south side, not so much, and that was depressing. There’s lots of necessary asphalt, neighbors trash cans, many cars and an RV. It may seem trifling considering the times we’re living in, but because our home has long served as a sanctuary for me, those unpleasant views had challenged my positive outlook – literally. Finally, a solution presented itself. My husband recently retired and one of his hobbies is crafting stained glass. I designed a simple pattern with nautical bevels, clear water-glass and a ribbon of color around the edges. Tom executed it beautifully. Now, instead of feeling frustration and anger about views beyond my control, I’m transported by prisms of sparkling light, light that was always there, it was only my perspective that has shifted. Our vista isn’t completely obscured, just softened. I know exactly what lies beyond, but appreciation becomes my main focus. I’ve accepted what I couldn’t change, the ugliness, and enlisted help with changing the things I could, for the better. There’s truth on both sides of the glass, but with a bit of creativity and determination, my gaze now lies upon the beauty, the serenity, the light. It seems a good analogy for coping with life these days. If you’re feeling this world’s a mess, grieving over what’s lost, I hear you, I feel your pain. And then I surrender to the joy. So do what you can to make a positive difference, appreciate your own good work and those who’ve helped along the way, then look for the beauty in yourself and in any given situation. Remember the water-glass, and let that soak into your soul.

Don’t miss this rare, free, live opportunity to Zoom with renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann, on Thursday, July 9th, 4 pm PST. This event is brought to you by my good friends at North County Climate Change Alliance.

Register now while spots are still available. You can even submit a question to Dr. Mann.