“What if We Get it Right?” Excerpt
Marine biologist and policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, offers a guide to uncovering your environmentalist superpower and creating real change.
By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Published: Sep 17, 2024 12:35 PM EDT
To get it right on climate change, we need dreamers. Lean into your imagination. Don’t look only at the list of problems—look also, right next to them, for the possibilities. Dream not only about the world we want to live in, but also how we can build it, together.
What’s important for the journey ahead? Out with: maximizing short-term profits, lollygagging and delay, bankrolling climate pollution, the primacy of shareholders and private property, playing small, and individualism. In with: ecological regeneration, accountability, doing no harm, re-localizing, justice, and collectivism. Nature first. Community foremost. And with maximal swiftness.
Here I’ll offer what I believe to be the sexiest word in the English language: implementation. Because we already have most of the solutions we need. We, all of us, need to get to work, and to pick up the pace. Even though you probably didn’t personally do much to cause the climate crisis, we need your help cleaning up this gargantuan mess. We need to build the biggest, strongest team possible to take on this gnarliest challenge humanity has ever faced. And we must do it with gusto.
Another word I love, that is perfect for this moment, is “leaderful.” Social movements can be fragile when they’re helmed by just a few prominent leaders. We need many leaders to accelerate the transformation from an extractive economy to a regenerative one. Maybe you are one of those leaders. And if you don’t want to be out front, that’s more than okay. It’s about being useful and advancing solutions, not about being a hero or an influencer. Well . . . maybe be an influencer—not in the Instagram model way, but in leading by example. There is a soft power in how you spend your time and money, how you look out for each other, how you roll up your sleeves and make change.
What joyous work can you do to help address the climate crisis? How can you be of use? I am thrilled to say this is what I get asked about most these days, as more and more eyes are wide open.
Too often, the climate movement and the media tell everyone to do the same things: Vote, protest, donate, spread the word, and lower your carbon footprint. And, yes, it’s great to do those things. But all too rarely are we asked to contribute our specific talents, our superpowers. Here’s one way to think about what you, specifically you, can do. It’s a climate action Venn diagram with three overlapping circles.
What are you good at?
What are your areas of expertise? What can you bring to the table? Think about your skills, resources, and networks—you have a lot to offer.
What work needs doing?
Are there particular climate and justice solutions you want to focus on? Think about systemic changes and efforts that can be replicated or scaled. There are heaps of options.
What brings you joy?
Or perhaps a better word is “satisfaction.” What gets you out of bed in the morning? Choose climate actions that energize and enliven you.
