Sometimes the hardest part of my day is reminding myself of the present. Probably the most important thing any of us can do is be present in our lives. But that proves always to be easier said than done.

I suspect in simpler times, it was much easier; everything we did had a direct effect on our survival. Everything we did was effecting the present. Now, we don’t hunt for our food, run from predators, or find emergency shelter during a storm. We go to work, sit in cubes, surf the internet. There is little reason for our minds to stay present; after all, we know that we’ll be sitting in that space for the next eight hours and that nothing of any consequence is likely to happen. Now, our minds are free to wander. Free to think about what we’ll do tomorrow. Encouraged to think about what we want for our lives in the next five years, ten years, after retirement.

But, if we’re living in our thoughts of tomorrow, then who is taking charge of our lives right now? Who is driving? Unconsciousness is driving. Unconsciousness in drivers seat of the present means that choices get made (or don’t get made) at a time when they actually matter, but you’re not there to oversee the changes that are (or aren’t) occurring.

The choices we make in the present, effect what happens to us tomorrow. Our ability to effect and change tomorrow depends on what we do in the present. It is simply a matter of seeing that tomorrow and five years from now does not exist. Yesterday does not exist. They are simply concepts and moments of present that have already passed us by or have yet to occur. When tomorrow comes, will we not see that we are living in it? Will we be sitting around thinking about the next tomorrow?

Living in the present means accepting the current moment just as it is. Making the best of the moment, regardless of where it is or what you’re doing. Sometimes, it may bring us to the realization that the present is not making us happy, but that gives us the chance to actually effect what our tomorrow will be, right?

If we are unconscious in the present, then when the tomorrow we are planning for becomes the present, we will be no more conscious than we were yesterday, for we will still be thinking about tomorrow. The present is the only place to make change a reality. Tomorrow will always be a concept in our minds of which we cannot impact unless we turn our attention to now.

So, take a moment every day to practice recognizing the moment. Remind yourself this it is real and tomorrow is not! It is a difficult practice, very difficult because we are all so well versed in thinking ahead.

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As an environmental scientist by trade, climate change is something I spent many years learning about in college. I read about it often, and I am always astounded by how many people choose to believe that it is a farce; a ridiculous concept. The comment thread at the end of articles astound me. Really? I mean… really? How can it be that so many people do not understand the issues and challenges that our Earth faces today? How can it be that not every citizen of this Earth doesn’t understand what they are contributing to?

I suppose that very thought brought me to today, where I am choosing to write more about getting informed about the problem than I am about any one specific issue surrounding our climate change crisis. Take exhibit A below (compliments of the Nature Conservancy website).

Everything on Earth is cyclic in nature, including the patterns of weather and climate change. The graph above details every carbon dioxide spike in Earth’s history, as records in ice cores on the planet. The current level of carbon dioxide far exceeds all previous levels ever recorded. I find it hard to believe that there can be an argument to explain how the spike we see on the graph representing today could be a result of anything except us!

If you are willing to accept the possibility that these measurements taken by scientists from around the world might hold some truth… some intrinsic value, then inform yourself about how this happened and why. Only once you accept and understand the problem can you find the motivation for change. Here are some great places to start:

• The Environmental Protection Agency has some great information on how our human development has spurred the recent climate change; if you’re not quite sure about what greenhouse gases are, the EPA has information for that too.
• Need a beginner’s guide to climate change? Here’s a great place to start.
• Check out the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change. Here you can get worldwide information and view points that go beyond America.
• The National Resources Defense Council has additional information regarding the many effects of climate change.

There is a wealth of information on the internet about climate change. Take advantage of it and refuse to ignore the situation. It is exactly that ignorance that has brought us to where we are today. It’s a funny thing that people cannot seem to make serious change unless faced with life-or-death situations. This truly is life-and-death; it’s just not life-or-death right now, it’s later or someday or sometime non-descript moment in time that we all choose to ignore as important.

We’ve all hear about the need to reduce our carbon footprints, donate to organizations who are working to find new clean energy technologies and to correspond with our governments to promote effective change. But how many of us really do our part? Does society just decide that it won’t effect them, so who cares? Do they lack the ability and foresight to make the connection between our lifestyles and the spike at the end of that chart?

What stops us from saving ourselves and the rest of the creatures on this planet? That’s really what we would be doing it for after all, right? It’s not about saving the Earth. The Earth will effectively “save itself” from us if we continue on our present course. The Earth will heal. We don’t have that options. Our race cannot survive our poor choices.

Here are some additional resources to help inspire action.

• Find out what your carbon footprint is.
• Here is some information on what you can do at home, work, and at school. Every little bit we can do will help in the long run.
• Checkout these organizations who are working for us to spur change in government policies.
  • Greenpeace International
  • Stopglobalwarming.org
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • The National Resource Defense Council

No one is going to be able to stand up and say that they have done everything they can to effect climate change. I happen to recycle, work actively to reduce my carbon footprint, use environmentally friendly products at home, and participate in websites devoted to trying to save the planet. But I could do so much more. We all could. So, the question to ask yourself is not if you’re doing EVERYTHING you can, but can you do just one more thing? Can you donate? Can you educate? Can you reduce your driving? Every single, little, minute step each one of us takes towards correcting the climate change crisis we currently face, will go a long way when multiplied by one billion, or two… or three or four. We are all in this together- so inform yourself. Inform others. In this case, ignorance will definitely not lead to bliss.

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