Susan Bauer-Wu is president of the Mind and Life Institute – a non-profit based in Charlottesville. It was co-founded by the Dalai Lama who agreed to meet with climate activist Greta Thunberg online. It was late in Virginia, early morning in India and the middle of the night in Sweden, but Bauer-Wu says more than a million people listened in and learned about feedback loops – dangerous natural cycles that are speeding up climate change.
“We have these really big old trees that are dying because of global warming, but what happens is when these trees die, all the carbon that they have been pulling from the atmosphere all these years all of a sudden gets released,” she explains.
Which, of course, makes climate problems worse. The same is true for melting permafrost which releases methane that had been trapped underground for centuries and for the loss of a white landscape -- snow and ice that reflect the warming rays of the sun.
The conversation sparked Bauer-Wu’s book – A Future We Can Love – in which she explains that small changes in the way we live can make a meaningful difference. She points to five key areas, beginning with shopping, and advises us to buy local.
"If we look at produce it’s healthier for us. If it’s products that are made locally we’re supporting local businesses and we’re cutting down on the fossil fuels to transport them," Bauer-Wu says.
Then there’s the way we eat.
" We know that plant-based diets are healthier for us but also have a significant impact on climate change and the environment. Beef – agricultural cattle – actually contributes a lot to global warming."
And the decisions we make about travel.
" Is air travel necessary?" she wonders. "Are big, comfortable cars with bigger engines really necessary?"
If we have money to invest, Bauer-Wu says we can influence the decisions made by corporations, and all of us can take part in elections.
"Voting is really important. Having people in office who are taking the climate crisis seriously can make a big difference."
She quotes many experts in her book, including one Canadian biologist who believes we could end the climate emergency if ever person on Earth planted six trees, but – of course – most people live in cities and do not own land. Bauer Wu says that’s okay.
"Cities can be better for climate change than rural areas, even suburban areas, because there’s the ability to have more condensed living and working spaces. We can make cities a lot more energy efficient and help people get around, but there are community gardens in cities and there are still beautiful parks, and there are opportunities for communities to come together to keep the city green and enjoy being with one another."
And the author notes that planting a tree is not as powerful as protecting our woodlands.
“As we are looking at development, it is really critical that we are stopping old trees from being cut down, and clear-cutting is really catastrophic.”
She knows change is difficult, but she takes comfort from history, pointing to times like the Second World War when many Americans were unified in support of a cause.
"That gives me a lot of hope that it’s not too late, that we’re not alone and that there is a lot that we can do together. I believe it’s the toughest challenge we have faced as humanity."
She advises us not to focus on the sacrifices we might have to make but to recognize that less can be more and that we must enter what she calls The Age of Enough.
“We actually have a lot to gain if we look at shifting our lives in ways that might bring us more pleasure in living a simpler life," Bauer-Wu concludes.
The book is A Future We Can Love, and the author will be at New Dominion Books Saturday, June 24th at 4 for a free presentation and conversation.
You can listen to Sandy Hausman's interview with Susan Bauer-Wu here :
