There is hope. I promise. Young people just won their case against the state of Montana. Ecuadoreans braved escalating political violence to vote against oil drilling in the Amazon. Brazilian deforestation is down by enormous amounts since Lula took office. They’ve invented hydropanels that synthesise pure water from the air. People are farming in solar parks. A ship just launched for its maiden voyage using rigid sails designed to mimic wind turbine blades. EV sales are taking off, and, more crucially, cities are re-assessing their very relationship with the car. By the 2024 Olympics the river Seine will be safe for people to swim in again. More and more people are replacing their gas boilers with heat pumps. Solarpunks are growing crops in their back garden and distributing them to their neighbours. Great tracts of land are being given back to nature. Young people are channelling their energies into meaningful careers. Pilots are leaving the aviation industry. Yes, the world is dark and terrible and full of awful dangers that keep you up at night, but we are a huge movement that grows every day in numbers and power. Your small actions matter. Our collective triumphs are increasing. Things are going to get harder, extreme weather will be more common, but with ingenuity, resilience and crucially, COMMUNITY, we can build an equitable world on this strange, tired old planet. See you in the future.
I just want to add.
Today, a librarian ordered a book that her community needs, even if it might be controversial in her community.
Today, a man dropped off his weekly contribution to his local food bank.
Today, someone picked up trash at the local park. A woman swept up the litter by her stoop. A man sorted the recycling in his break room.
Someone volunteered at their local shelter. Someone reached out to a friend who needed help. Someone delivered a casserole to a family in mourning. Someone mowed the lawn for their elderly neighbor.
Someone left water in the desert. Someone was a court advocate for a minor in the system. Someone sent an email to their elected officials.
Someone filled a little lending library box. Someone bought something off the wishlist of a teacher or community group. Someone drove someone across state lines and didn’t ask why.
Someone practiced using a coworkers neopronouns in the car on the way to work. Someone said thank you to the bus driver. Someone helped pay for a stranger’s groceries. Someone painted a protest sign.
A lot of people, in a lot of tiny ways, tried to make their world better today.
They’ll do it again tomorrow.
The world can be big and overwhelming and sometimes it feels like we’re all helpless. But any small thing you do that makes the world a better place, if you can do it, it’s worth doing.
Tiny things matter.