The torrential rainstorm had pounded the countryside throughout the night.  Now, the first rays of dawn stretched across the landscape.  In that first light, Rich realized a new neighbor had moved in under cover of darkness.
       
        “Howdy,” he called.  “I’m Rich, Rich Soyalls.  Welcome!”
       
        “Whoa!  What a wild ride.  Where am I?” the newcomer called back from the muddy quagmire.  Will E. Rhode explained that before the storm he had been covered with rows of young corn plants, apparently up-stream somewhere.  He went on to tell the sad tale of how, decades ago, he was healthy, fertile topsoil.  “But after years of mismanagement, I guess I’m not surprised that I’ve been torn from my home and now am a wrung out muddy mess.”

        Rich, on the other hand, had soaked up that healthy dose of rain and never felt better.  Settled in this same location for hundreds of years Rich Soyalls hosts a vital, living ecosystem chockful of decaying matter and roots that feed all manner of tiny creatures and micro-organisms.

        “Yeah, I work for Ima Wizepharmer,” Rich explained. “She treats me well, and I grow some great crops for her!  Wizepharmer follows a few basic practices: 
        - Minimize disturbing me. 
        - Cover me with mulch or crop residue.   
        - Keep me well stocked with roots by planting cover crops and rotating in perennial and     forage crops.  
        - Foster biodiversity by varying crops and cover crop rotations.

        “And catch this bonus!  Humans are complaining about all the carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere these days.  They say there’s 411 parts per million(ppm) in the atmosphere.  The long-term average has been 275 ppm since humans first arrived.  So there’s way too much, and it’s messing up the climate!  But these practices pull boatloads of carbon out of the air and incorporate it into the soil making me even more fertile.  I love that stuff!”

        Rich and Will agreed that folks like Wizepharmer are true Heartland Heroes.  Not only do they feed the world, but by using these best practices they draw climate-disrupting carbon out of the air and put it into the soil where it grows vibrant living ecosystems.  It’s a Win-Win-Win: healthier, more stable soils, greater crop yields, and less climate disruption.

        What’s not to like?  With today’s environmental challenges, we really can’t afford to do less.  Because this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.

        Renae and Olive were packing away the church nativity display for another season.  As Olive wrapped up the baby Jesus figurine, she remarked, “It’s really quite amazing!  In our Christian tradition an earth-shaking transformation took place some 2,000 years ago.  Jesus gave us an enlightened vision of The Spirit and taught us a new way to relate to one another.  Humankind was lifted to a higher level.”

        The women continued to work quietly then Renea said, “Maybe now’s the time to take the next step higher.”  “What do you mean?” questioned Olive.

        Renea told Olive about a recent article in the journal Science.  It stated, "Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change.  Continuation of ‘business as usual’ would result in great loss for both humans and the Earth.”  The article lists a litany of human impacts: 70% of land surfaces altered, 77% of major rivers no longer flow from source to sea, the tally of animal species going extinct is rising, biodiversity is being lost. 

         “Yikes!” Olive cried.  “That’s scary!” 

        “You bet it is.” Renae replied.  “But we humans are smart, and hopefully wise as well.  The author says in order to save the planet and ourselves ALL of us need a better understanding of how tightly woven together humans are to the natural world.  Then we need to apply that understanding ‘system-wide across technological, economic and social factors.’ The good news is, we humans have advanced to the point where we are able to understand our world as never before.  It’s time to apply that understanding and make sustainability the new ‘business as usual’ rather than the exception,” Renae concluded.

        Olive furrowed her brow then said, “I’ve got it!  This January instead of making resolutions for just the new year, I say we make a new DECADE resolution.  Let’s make the 2020s the decade we humans embrace a new, healthier relationship with the natural world.  No more willy-nilly extraction, consumption and discarding of Earth’s resources.  This decade we commit to a new way of life,” Olive A. Newway declared.

        “I’m IN,” Renae Sance agreed.  “Jesus showed us how to transform the world; now it’s our turn.  We’re the stewards of this beautiful planet, and this is the only home we’ll ever know.  So we really have no choice because we’re all forever… Earthbound.”