This week, I came across an interview with one of my sheroes, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, on the podcast, How To Be A Better Human. Here is a transcript of the interview.
Dr. Johnson is a marine biologist, climate activist, and teacher. She is fearless about facing climate change as it is, and she has an infectious, buoyant spirit and an amazing sense of wonder about the natural world. She’s anything but doomy and gloomy. And she breaks the science down in understandable ways and offers very practical suggestions for how we can work, individually and collectively, to save the planet from disaster.
Dr Johnson’s new book, What if We Get It Right?, is a compilation of essays and interviews with scientists, farmers, poets, filmmakers, landscape architects, and visionaries who imagine a future where we look at possibilities and solutions for our collective future. (It even includes an anti-apocalypse playlist!)
One of the things I love the most about the book is her Venn Diagram to help us get unstuck. It is so simple and elegant, and useful. She uses it for climate action, but I think it could really be a guide when deciding how to help in any kind of collective endeavor. It asks 3 simple questions: What are you good at? What brings you joy? And what work needs doing? The overlap of these 3 things is where to start.
What IF we can turn climate change around? What if we can get back to democracy? What IF we can envision a future that is colorful and beautiful, and where people have basic needs met, like affordable housing and food, healthcare, and safety?
What IF we can find a way to live sustainably? What if we have a democratic society with due process and free speech? What if we find peaceful ways to resolve conflict where we recognize the inherent dignity in every person? What if we could save bugs and plants, and animals from extinction and pass along a beautiful, vibrant world to our grandkids?