Climate Change with Tony Pratte: What’s All the Fuss About?

The climate is changing. Yet, the term “global warming” often gets misunderstood. It all seems to be happening much more visibly and much more intensely lately, which indicates that something is actually going on.

In today’s episode, Tony and I discuss how to speak to others about controversial subjects, why we need to see the bigger picture, and we also talk about the importance of coexisting in the best way possible in this beautiful world of ours.

I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach! I am back today with another conversation in our series on climate change. Tony Pratte, my sometimes guest, sometimes co-host, is joining me on the show today.

In the last podcast that Tony and I did together, we started a conversation about the emotions that arise in people when climate change, or what I more accurately refer to as “the climate crisis”, comes up.

Ground Rules

In our last conversation, Tony and I set the ground rules for how we, as human beings, can talk about the issue of the current climate crisis. We spoke about how we can still manage to have that conversation even if we do not see eye to eye. We discussed compassion, grace, trust, and transparency, all of which are qualities that most of us would like to have in our lives anyway because they will serve us well in any situation.

The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule for having any controversial conversation is to treat people the same way you would want to get treated.

Honoring yourself

Many of us tend to think we need to be altruistic and always take care of everybody else. Honoring yourself and your health, wellness, and wellbeing is also very important, so remember yourself, too, when having those conversations.

Challenges

We have some big challenges right now in our society. Many of us do not feel that we can change things, even though some know that is not the truth.

The big picture

Everything we do and all of our decisions ultimately ties to the big picture and little steps can lead to big changes. So, we need to know what to do and to whom we need to listen.

Communication channels

The vast number of communication channels that we have today, with all their different points of view, make it hard for us to know who to listen to and what to believe.

New possibilities

Many people fail to question things. There is a tiny group of people, however, who are willing to take action and challenge the currently accepted narratives. They are willing to be the bridge-builders to open up new possibilities and share new information.

Things are changing

We are currently seeing impacts that we have never seen before in our lifetime. The climate is changing rapidly and many people desperately need food, medicine, and employment. We need to find a way to supply all of those things without disrupting our precious planet.

The way we are living

The way we live is impacting the earth faster than it can react positively for us.

What will happen to us?

The pandemic has shown us that the earth will be able to correct itself and keep on going. So, the question is, what will happen to us?

Time

Our concept of time is not the same as how time relates to the earth. The earth works in cycles that can last for millions of years. We, as humans, tend to relate to time in terms of the length of our lifetime, so we do not know what the earth can handle.

What we know

We know that a different lifestyle exists relating to three billion people living on the planet versus ten billion people. We need to start thinking about how our lifestyle is impacting the earth.

A new way to live

We need to find other ways for so many of us to live on the planet and maintain a similar lifestyle without harming anyone else or the environment.

Solar panels

Ten square miles of solar panels in the New Mexico desert could power the entire USA commercially. There are some trade-offs to that, however, in terms of resources, so we need to find a way to balance things out.

A goal

We need to look at everyone on the planet as stakeholders and find a way to put our problem in front of us rather than putting it between us. To help improve things for as many people as possible without taking anything away from others, we need to develop accountability and take responsibility.

Tony’s goal

Tony’s goal is to have today’s conversation influence someone else.

And for that person to have a similar conversation with their friends. And then for those friends to have the same kind of conversation with some other people. And so on.

If that happens, we may eventually be able to see some positive changes. Also, a conversion from a problem mindset to a solution mindset.

Coexisting

In many ways, the climate crisis reflects many of the things going on in the world today. There are things that we need to figure out to coexist in the best way possible in this beautiful world of ours.

Referral Links:

My website Green Home Coach

Book: Living Green Effortlessly

Facebook Group: Love Your Everyday Green Home

@greenhomecoach on Instagram and Facebook

Global Weirding with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe on YouTube 

Matt Ridley’s “A Lukewarmer’s Ten Tests” (PDF Download)

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