Dewey Droppe loved being a water molecule.  Who wouldn’t?  He’s gotten to travel the world dropping down as precipitation in exotic locales and swept up again by evaporation over and over again. 

         One day, while slowly drifting with the river current past Sum Random U., Dewey noticed a chilly nip in the air.  Suddenly he stopped short.  His composition changed, locking him in place.  He’d never experienced anything like this and began to panic.  “Help!” he cried out. “I’m frozen in place!”

        “Of course you are, silly.  It’s cold out.  What did you expect?” I. C. Crystal, the cute molecule frozen next to him teased.  “Haven’t you done this before?  I love being a solid!” she burbled as other molecules quickly began freezing around them both.

        Meanwhile, inside the lecture hall overlooking Dewey’s river, Professor Climey Tologist was wrapping up his lecture on climatic tipping points.  “So for example, as liquid water cools it reaches a “tipping point” when it suddenly flips into a different state of matter and becomes a solid, namely ice.  Water can easily flip back and forth depending on the temperature.  But climatic tipping points are different in one hugely important way.  Once they flip, there’s no going back.  The entire climate flips into a ‘new normal’.”

        Prof. Tologist’s next slide listed potential climatic tipping points that the Earth is rapidly approaching. These are the result of the burning of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, which inhibit heat from escaping Earth’s atmosphere. The most alarming tipping points shown were: the loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, permafrost thawing, and the collapse of both coral reefs and of crucial North Atlantic ocean currents. 

        “Once any of these tipping points flip, the relatively stable climate the world has known since the ice age will change in dramatic and unpredictable ways,” Prof. Tologist continued.  “It’s scary stuff.  But it doesn’t have to happen.  While no one of us is going to prevent the climate from flipping, each of us can do our small part to reduce our personal use of fossil fuels and to demand that decision-makers act.”

        Dewey and his new friend, Ms. Crystal, continue to travel the world together. They’re heartened to see each human acting to protect the only home any of us will ever know.  Right here, where we’re all forever… Earthbound.

        Finally recovered from the inaugural festivities, the young 2024 began sifting through the stacks of folders and documents Old Man ’23 had left scattered throughout the office.  Hours later - “Holy moly! I don’t know if I’m up to all this,” he mumbled to himself. “Just look at this environmental file alone.  Climate disruption, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather events, plastic pollution and on and on.  And this current, nasty political divisiveness makes it all the worse,” he sighed.

        So when ’24 assembled his staff the next morning, he began with this sober announcement.  “You’ve all read the reports.  I’m afraid SOGGY has launched another attack.”  A collective gasp spread throughout the room.  SOGGY (Sour Grapes and Grumpy Yahoos’) evil goal is to spread depression and disillusionment.  It’s a cruel, soul-sucking monstrosity.

        When the room quieted, ’24 continued. “Team, we can’t do this on our own.  It’s time to bring in the Woman from A.U.N.T!” A spontaneous cheer arose from the team.  A.U.N.T., (the Alliance to Undo Negativity Today), is a stealthy international undercover organization whose mission (not unlike Superman’s) is to fight the never-ending battle for truth, justice and the public-spirited way.  A.U.N.T.’s highly skilled specialists are trained to combat cynicism and lethargy wherever these foul feelings arise. 
        
        Early the next morning, the A.U.N.T operative, Dee Lieght, slipped out of her trench coat and stood before ’24 and his team. “I’ve examined the evidence,” Dee said somberly.  “There’s no time to lose.  This calls for our most powerful weapon - hope.  But no ordinary hope will be sufficient.”  Then turning to ’24, she continued, “Sir, we need … ACTIVE hope!” Dee said with a sparkle in her eye.

        “Active Hope*,” she explained, “isn’t a thing; it’s a practice. It’s something we DO rather than have.  Active Hope involves three key steps.  1. Take a clear view of reality. 2. Identify the direction or value you’d like to promote.  And, 3. Take actual steps to move in that direction.  Sir, Active Hope will get people out of their lethargic funk, energize them, and propel them toward building the world they want and that we need,” Dee concluded.

        “Excellent!” ’24 beamed. “We CAN build a better world, and we must.  After all, this is our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
 
*Thanks to Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone