Opinion : Climate Crisis
We are living in extraordinary and alarming times. I’m seeing my social media filled with extreme comparisons—Charlie Kirk being likened to figures like Jesus, MLK, Lincoln, and JFK—and on the flip side there is even praise for his death, which is sickening as well.
These extremes are baffling me.
Meanwhile, the most urgent crises are happening silently and directly : our planet is being depleted, and our responses are insufficient.
The true crises we are ignoring …
Biodiversity Loss + Ecosystem Collapse
Global populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have declined by ~69% since 1970 … Up to one million species are threatened with extinction, many within our lifetime and more than 70% of all ice-free land has already been altered by human activity.
Soil Degradation + Nutrient Depletion
Around 20% of agricultural soils globally now suffer from severe potassium deficiency. In case you didn’t know … annually, 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil are lost, and it can take up to 1,000 years to form just 2-3 cm of topsoil (topsoil is necessary
Climate + Human Health Implications
More than half of our global GDP depends directly or indirectly on ecosystem services and by some measures, 85% of wetlands have already disappeared globally.
Without urgent change in where we place our attention, our energy will flow into idolization and culture war spectacles rather than the survival of life itself. Soil depletion, species extinction, mineral exhaustion, and climate change are deeply interconnected. Billionaires and extractive systems built on inequality are complicit in accelerating this depletion. This isn’t a sprint—it is a marathon toward either collaborative restoration or irreversible collapse. If we prioritize de-growth now, we may have a chance—I will choose sustainability over burnout again and again.
We need shared leadership, circle-keeping, and matriarchal wisdom … We must reorient our attention toward what sustains life : decolonizing our systems of power, soil health, biodiversity, indigenous wisdom, and the relational bonds between humans and our Holy Earth. Truly loving God / Creator / Spirit (wherever your prayers of Life go) requires recognizing unity. We are not separate from other beings, from ecosystems, or from future generations—we are a part of a Great and Holy Oneness, we are of each other and of this Earth, you are my brothers and sisters and I am your sibling too …
Citations I’m Referencing because where are some of you even getting the facts that inform your opinions … may we all remember what we learned in grade school about reviewing our sources.
World Wildlife Fund, Living Planet Report 2022.
Washington University in St. Louis, “Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss”
United Nations, “Biodiversity and Climate Change”
University College London, “Potassium Depletion in Soil Threatens Global Crop Yields”
IPS News, “Global Soil Degradation: It’s the Greed, Stupid”
Photos : courtesy of People Magazine, Shocking Photos of Climate Change
