Dear Mothers Earth

Dear Mothers Earth,

We are far from living in right relationship with you and your children as as current levels of production and consumption and the culture, policies and practices that support such unsustainable levels continue to grow. Protections for corporations, political roll backs, etc., make it easier for companies contaminate the land, air and water; they make it easier to drill for and extract fossil fuels; they reduce oversight of toxics and safety; and on and on. And i’m afraid that our practices as humans as a whole, led by colonizers turned enslavers turned capitalists have caused severe and irreparable harm.

HARM to the Mothers Earth

and her many biospheres who see species loss each day

you can’t bring back the dead, nor

the role they played to provide balance in the ecosystem

HARM to Indigenous peoples throughout the world whose

worldviews and practices held sacred the relationship and

for millennia lived in right relationship with the Mothers

many memories across generations of those

forcibly moved from ancestral lands and the

relationships they held with those lands have been severed and

Colonial ideologies and cultural practices have made many forget

HARM to the psyche and soul of humans who think that we

sit, untouchable, at the top of a man-made hierarchy and

the earth exists to serve us

even our best and most imaginative thinking still

leads to solutions that depend on technology

industrial production and consumption

HARM to the billions worldwide impacted by climate-related

hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, sea level rise, displacement, disease

There is a tremendous sense of urgency on a massive scale for humans to fundamentally shift how we show up in relation to you and your children, our relatives. And we should do that. We must also address the urgency to slow climate change by drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions. And to demand federal, state and local policies that protect people and the planet. There is also a need to engage in political education programs - study history, what worked and what didn’t in terms of principles AND practices. But culture is slow to change Mother. And i am afraid that humans won’t change fast enough to do anything meaningful within the short time frame we have. And with the notion that Black, Native/Indigenous and many other people of color and poor folks are expendable, not only do i not feel confident that the ruling race/class will do its part, but that they will actually fight against people who oppose their efforts. There are many instances of this.

Things are pretty bad, though we see the worst impacts disproportionately felt by Black, Indigenous, people of color and and poor folks who live in areas already vulnerable to environmental injustice, sea level rise, etc. I think that what i would want to say to other humans, particularly those who may are being called to fulfill a higher purpose, but don’t yet know what that is is the following:

It has been said that we are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last to be able to do anything about it. Scientists around the world agree about the urgency of the climate crisis. Yet despite vast scientific evidence and immeasurable harm from climate disruption, efforts to address the climate crisis have been woefully inadequate and the threat to humans and all life systems continues to grow rapidly.

While the Industrial Revolution improved life on earth for billions of people, that progress has come with grave threats to all of humanity. Historic power imbalances intensify the harms, with those least responsible for climate change being the most impacted and possessing the least resources to adapt. Vulnerable communities, including indigenous communities, communities of color, poor people, elderly people, women, youth, immigrants, people with disabilities, the global south, and others who have been systematically marginalized, are frequently excluded from mainstream climate debate and from subsequent development of policies, mitigations and adaptation measures.

The window to meet this historic challenge is closing. Effective responses to the climate crisis have been hindered by the ongoing corrupting influence of fossil fuel and other polluting industries, and by a lack of political will and power to implement equitable and bold solutions. Holistic and comprehensive policies that integrate equity and justice and achieve net zero emissions target and limit climate warming to 1.5 degrees have been lacking. Equitable and bold action is needed now.

I would also want to share with my human siblings some things i write a couple of years ago in preparation for a panel on climate justice organized by Rev. Leo Woodberry with the New Alpha CDC in response to the question “Why action on climate is so urgent?” These remarks simply summed up what many have already known and been articulating: That the consequences that we will face as a global population—and that many are now facing—are considerable. There are growing economic consequences exceeding over $500 billion per year from climate change related crises with impacts that could lead to disruptions and damage to critical infrastructure and property, disruptions to labor availability and productivity and increasing costs of conducting business, domestically and internationally.

Social consequences resulting from economic instability and the displacement of people due to extreme weather events (increased flooding, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, etc.) are certain and include the mental and emotional trauma stemming from displacement, loss of loved ones and property and disruption of community networks; increased demands on social services and health care infrastructure, which may be less available as economic crises increase; and worsening of conditions for people already vulnerable to climate change, including Black and Indigenous People, communities of color, low income communities, people who live in rural areas, immigrants and more.

As conditions become more extreme, the likelihood of human rights violations increases as what happens in when martial law is implemented to counter increased People’s demands for shrinking services to meet their basic needs and when access to food, water and housing is denied to people because they lack the financial and/or social capital to demand equity in their access/distribution, etc.

Ecological consequences continue expanding and deepening as a warming climate brings extreme dryness (drought) in some areas and extreme flooding in others with greater frequency and intensity. Climate change is also increasingly eroding the necessary protections and ecological processes that have previously provided protection from coastal flooding, increasing massive die-offs of pollinators essential to the food system, and increased wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, etc.

Public health and quality of life consequences are showing up as increased cold- and heat-related deaths, greater frequency and severity of allergic reactions and illnesses, increased exposure to disease-carrying insects and pests and mental health stressors. Also plant and animal consequences that destabilize the food chain and drive animals and plants to extinction.

A few years ago an IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) special report came out on the impacts of global warming stated that nations will need to take unprecedented actions to cut their emissions over the next decade. The United States is ranked as the world’s #2 emitter of greenhouse gas emissions [We are in trouble.' Global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2018] and shows no signs of slowing. As one of the leading emitters of Greenhouse Gas emissions United States has a responsibility to do all it can to address the crisis. And as one of the leading historical emitters, whose technological and economic advancements have been driven in large part by its history of colonization and enslavement, it has an obligation to assist its own residents and other countries in efforts to adapt to, mitigate and/or relocate to safe places because of climate change.

Though i write this letter you you, Mothers Earth, i know in my heart that this is really a letter to myself. A letter with important reminders to guide my thoughts and actions. Thank you for listening.

With Gratitude,

Ife