Better Questions

“Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.” When I saw that quotation from Zen philosopher Alan Watts, I immediately thought of climate change and wondered how a question could be asked in the right way to present solutions. Instead of asking, “What can we do?” maybe a better question would be “What WILL we do, right here, right now and on into the future, to actually create a livable future?” My response is Stop and Start. For instance, globally, we need to stop using fossil fuels. Personally, we can start by switching to companies that use only green electricity, after doing due diligence to check that this is actually the case. Globally, we need to stop producing meat. Personally we need to stop eating meat, fish and chicken and switch to a vegan diet. The law of business is “Find a need and fill it.” No demand, and the industry declines and can switch to alternatives. I saw a documentary about an English farmer who moved to the Pyrenees to farm cattle. Tourists started coming and sitting near the cows for the calmness. He built yurts and a new business of Cow Visiting instead of raising beef. Usually I would suggest switching diet slowly – but time is short. Personally, we can also lobby for marine-protected areas (MPA’s) around our countries, to protect both marine animals and kelp, which is even better at sequestering carbon than trees. These are just a couple of suggestions. I’m sure you have many more good, practical and sustainable ideas. Please feel free to share them in the comments section. Thank you. Blessings on you and on our struggling planet.