After years roaming the open seas, Sal Monn felt an urge to return to the waters of his birth.  The ever so faint scent of Whatcom Creek drew her on.   Finally, the stream she’d last swum through as a tiny fry opened before her.  Sal easily finned upstream as several of her long-lost siblings joined her, their compulsion to push onward growing by the hour.  Then suddenly, the carefree journey ended abruptly.  A massive 40-foot, boulder-strewn, seemingly insurmountable waterfall rose high above, its gushing torrent raining down on the salmon siblings pooled below. “How will we ever scale that?” Sal moaned.

       Elsewhere…after millennia roaming and populating Mother Earth, Hugh Mannkind had grown quite scientifically sophisticated.  So much so that he understood the dramatic changes Earth was experiencing were not chance occurrences.  The increasing drought in some areas, massive flooding in others, growing wildfire threats and melting glaciers were the result of his use of those oh-so-convenient and plentiful fossil fuels. 

       In 2015, Hugh took stock and determined that to avoid climatic catastrophe, he needed to limit additional atmospheric warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) more than pre-industrial average temperatures.  But by 2022, the Earth’s atmosphere had already warmed more than 1degree Celsius.  Suddenly, his relatively carefree Earthly journey ended abruptly.  A massive, seemingly insurmountable global challenge rose before him.  “How will we ever reduce warming rapidly enough to stabilize the climate?” Hugh moaned.

       Back at the waterfall Sal carefully studied her siblings’ attempts to gain finholds against the rushing waters.  After several failed attempts, Sal leapt to a ledge a few feet up. She was able to hold her position in a relatively calm pool.  Then she made another successful leap and another.  An overwhelming compulsion to preserve and propagate her species drove her onward.  Then with a frantic mighty leap Sal cleared the final hurtle and landed in  calmer waters above.

       Inspired by Sal’s courageous efforts, Hugh devised several “tools,” each a part of a collaborative climate-stabilizing cocktail including clean energy sources, advanced energy efficiencies, “smart” appliances and energy tools, soil and water carbon sequestration (draw-down) techniques and more.  Driven by an overwhelming compulsion to preserve his species’ Earthly home, Hugh is steadfast in his commitment to achieving the goals set in 2015.  After all, what other choice does he have?  Hugh Mannkind is forever …Earthbound.

       Peering over the top of his reading glasses - “Hey Millie, did you read this?  It’s the latest thing - going ‘Au Naturel.’ Maybe we should try it,” Milford grinned.  “Whatever are you talking about, Milford Microbe?  For heaven’s sake!  Microbes don’t use clothes, so what’s the big deal about going naked?” Millie asked shaking her head. (Do microbes have heads??)
 
       “Oops! Sorry Millie,” Milford apologized. “This isn’t about clothes.  It’s a different sort of ‘natural’, a set of procedures farmers are using to improve the soil and water and that also help soak up excessive CO2 in the atmosphere.  They call these practices Natural Climate Solutions,” he continued reading.  “Some sub-categories or alternative names include agroecology, regenerative agriculture, natural carbon storage, and climate-smart ag.

       “It says here that some decades-old farming practices have led to problems like soil erosion and compaction, groundwater pollution and algae blooms in our ponds and lakes. But having better fertilizer and manure management, planting cover crops, using low or no-till planting techniques or pasturing herds using rotational grazing can be win-win-wins.  They leave the water cleaner, reduce greenhouse gases and improve soil fertility for higher crop yields.  Some farmers are even swapping annual crops for perennials; take agroforestry for example,” Milford read.

       “I wish Farmer Brown would go ‘Au Naturel’” Millie mused.  “Then you and I could breathe a little easier.  And with a little better oxygenation,” she winked, “Ooolala! we’d feel like having more kids.  The more we multiply, the healthier the soil; Brown would appreciate that!  I wonder why he hasn’t tried some of this.”

       “Deciding to make changes is always hard.” Milford said. “So right now only about 6% of agriculture fields in Wisconsin use cover crops even though it’s great for maintaining root systems that hold soil in place and feed us microbes. It takes education about these best practices, policies and regulations that support them and financial incentives to make trying new techniques worthwhile. 

       The next morning two pairs of boots stood right on top of Millie and Milford.  And wouldn’t you know, Aggie A. Gent and Farmer Brown were discussing these very practices.  “By golly, I’m going to give them a try,” Brown said.  “Because, after all, this is the only home we’ll ever know; it’s where we’re all forever…Earthbound.”