With spring being the season of rebirth, rejuvenation and regrowth, I thought this would be a good time to simply stop, step back and take a look at the big picture.

To think about all the people in Duluth who have somehow stayed strong and stayed committed to addressing climate change in our city. It is really remarkable how many people we have who are using their gifts and talents to help our greater community become more resilient and environmentally just.
To them, and everyone else in Duluth, I would encourage all of us to celebrate this season by discovering a renewed sense of hope and thereby becoming more resilient in our ongoing endeavors, both individually and collectively, to create a more sustainable and hospitable city. 

In their book Active Hope, Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone talk about climate change not being a distant threat for future generations but something that has already arrived. And at the same time, they propose that we can embrace the concept of active hope as an ongoing practice where you and I get a clear picture of reality, identify what direction we’d like things to move in and the values we’d like to see expressed, and then take steps to move ourselves or that situation in that direction. 

So, to keep hope alive, all of us in Duluth need to help each other gain a better understanding of climate change as well as to appreciate its current and future impacts upon our city. We also need to collectively identify what direction we want to take our city in, and then decide what steps we must take to move ourselves in that direction. And we must embrace those values that will create a more ecological, sustainable and environmentally just city.

Macy and Johnstone wrote, “When we share our cause with others, allies appear; synergy occurs. And when we act for causes larger than ourselves, the larger community for whom we do this will be acting through us.” 

I have a renewed hope and faith in our future when thinking about those in Duluth who have shared their causes with others and engaged the greater community to be more connected, collaborative and compassionate. 

There’s Jenna Yeakle with the Sierra Club. Lisa Fitzpatrick with Duluth Climate Mobilization. John Holden and Phil Fitzpatrick with Climate Emergency Poetry. Brett Pence with Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light. Brett Cease and Eric Enberg with the Citizens Climate Lobby. Stine Myrah with Minnesota Public Interest  Research Group. JT Haines with Minnesota Center For Environmental Advocacy, Libby Bent with Duluth For Clean Water. Jamie Harvie with Bag It Duluth. Alice Tibbets with We Walk In Duluth. Jordan van der Hagen with the Duluth Waterfront Collective. And the list keeps getting longer.

In her book A Field Guide To Climate Anxiety, Sarah Jaquette Ray wrote, “Our imagination is a resource we should fiercely protect. Our attention, too, is precious. We frivolously give it away and let others take it at a great cost to ourselves, those around us, and the Earth. Our attention is fertilizer, sunlight, and water, encouraging whatever it focuses on to thrive...Train your thoughts and actions to be like sunlight and rain. Nurture the qualities, understandings, and attitudes that build resistance to climate change. Discipline your mind to choose and create the world you desire.”

At this time, we need to remind ourselves how much we need each other, and to find every opportunity to celebrate our personal and public efforts to create and build a city on the hill that represents the best we have to offer. To be inclusive. To be inspired. To be intentional. To be inquisitive. To be insightful. 

Recently, I spoke to a group of college students from Duke University for a symposium on environmental justice. When asked about how we can remain confident in our work on climate change, I talked about the significance of cultivating certain qualities or states of mind to carry with us. They are to be curious, connected, compassionate, community-minded, creative, and collaborative. 

In this season, and in our city, let’s cultivate a renewed hope and a deeper sense of resilience as we adapt to and mitigate the climate changes we will be facing today and tomorrow.