The planet seems to be coming apart at the seams by our hand.

Technology has allowed us to bend the natural world to our wishes, yet we have been short-sighted stewards of the environment, facing a growing set of consequences for our actions.

Technology has afforded us instant communication across the globe. One would think it would be unifying, yet tribalism is on the rise.

Change is different. And disorienting. The instinct is to retreat into the cave and wait for the danger to pass. To cling desperately to the old ways, where we felt safe and life had order, because that is how we want to remember them.

But change is a constant. Better to accept it with open eyes, so we can be prepared to survive it. The same bipedal animal that has the capacity to inflict such an impact on the entire planet is the same biped that has the capacity to discover and innovate and learn from past mistakes.

Some bipeds are not retreating. Some are running up the hill to get a better view. It is these humans on whom I am laying my hope for a good future. These humans are my heroes. They are gathering data, pursuing an understanding of the facts, using that to create new technologies and new ways of thinking that will enable life on this planet to thrive.

Also my heroes are the people who are living their lives with kindness, with respect for everyone, doing what they can in large, and even the smallest, ways to help us heal ours and the environment’s wounds, speaking up against injustice, caring for all.

Denial is not conducive to action. Trying to control people who do not want to be in your cave is counter-productive. Turn to the data; fear only has power over the uninformed and misinformed. Understanding is where magic becomes science. Embrace the challenges, declare, “Bring it on, give me what you’ve got, and I’ll do something awesome with it.”

This, IMHO, is the only way forward.

– Giovanna Whyte  
  Kenninspring Studios