Episode 206

A Conversation with Leah Rampy and Reconnecting Earth and Soul amid Climate Chaos

Episode Summary: today we are joined by Leah Rampy to discuss her book Earth and Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos, a project rooted in her lifelong connection to the living world. Leah shares how her book draws from her extensive experience in understanding climate change, biodiversity loss, and leading retreats and pilgrimages that invite deeper ecological connections.  

Leah shares her journey from corporate roles to advocating for environmental stewardship through initiatives like "Save Our Soil," while addressing the dangers of "othering" and promoting a kin-centric view of nature, leading with the heart, and embracing the grief and joy of climate change. 

Highlights include: 

  • The inspiration and journey behind Leah’s book Earth and Soul. 
  • The grassroots movement “Save Our Soil” and its focus on local regenerative farming and habitat creation. 
  • Leah’s transition from a corporate career to environmental and spiritual work. 
  • The principles of somatic leadership and how they can apply to environmental advocacy. 
  • Balancing grief and joy in the face of climate change and the importance of ritual and community in navigating these emotions. 
  • The concept of kin-centric ecology and the practice of reweaving our relationships with the natural world. 
  • The value of local pilgrimages and connecting deeply with the nearby environment. 

About Leah Rampy: Leah is the author of Earth and Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos. Leah is a writer, retreat leader, and educator who blends ecology and spirituality through personal stories and practices to help others deepen their relationship with the natural world. With a Ph.D. in curriculum from Indiana University, Leah currently lives with her husband in a co-housing community in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 

To connect with Leah, visit https://www.leahmoranrampy.com/.  

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Leekei Tang, Brian Tormey, and Jenn Swanson.  

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert, and podcaster from Paris, France.  

Brian is a Real Estate Title Insurance Professional and Goat Farmer in the US.  

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer, and community Connector, helping people help themselves. 

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For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac (one of Amazon best-selling books of the year!), visit thecarbonalmanac.org 

Want to join in the conversation? 

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives. 

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up! 

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater. 

Transcript
Speaker:

Hi, I'm Christina.

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I'm from Prague.

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Hi, I'm Jen, and I'm from Canada.

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Hi, I'm Oladunji, and I'm from Nigeria.

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Hello, I'm Liki, and I live in Paris.

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Hi, I'm Brian, and I'm from New York.

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Welcome

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to Carbon Sessions, a podcast with

carbon conversations for every day, with

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everyone, from everywhere in the world.

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In our conversations, we share ideas,

perspectives, questions, and things we

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can actually do to make a difference.

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So don't be shy and join our Carbon

Sessions, because it's not too late.

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Hi, I'm Brian.

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Hi, I'm Liki.

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Hi, I'm Jen.

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And today we are very excited to have

Rampe, who is the author of a book

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called Earth and Soul Reconnecting.

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Amid climate chaos.

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And Leah's a writer, a retreat leader,

an educator who weaves ecology and

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spirituality, personal stories and

practices to help others deepen their

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relationship to the natural world.

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And she's got a PhD in curriculum

from Indiana University.

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And she lives with her husband in a

co housing community in, and I'm not

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going to say this right, Shepherdstown?

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Did I say that?

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You said that right.

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Yes.

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And, uh, and they have, uh, the

Rampys have two adult children.

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And so Leah, we are delighted

to welcome you to this podcast.

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And I want to start off by

asking you, um, when, when was

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this book brewing inside you?

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first of all, let me say I'm really

happy to be here because I've been

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happy to follow you all for a while.

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So it's a pleasure to, to join you

and to get to see you on the screen.

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Uh, the book, um, probably is fair to

say it's a lifetime of brewing because

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I have tried in the book to go back

and connect to some of my earlier

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experiences and to remember what it

was like to feel so deeply connected.

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To the living world.

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The sort of more pragmatic answer to

that is I've been actually doing the

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writing for a couple of years, informed

by work that I've done in trying to

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understand climate change, biodiversity

loss, species extinction, and also

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work that I've been doing, leading

retreats, pilgrimages, and so on, and

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inviting people to connect more deeply.

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with the living world.

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So that those have all shaped and formed,

um, a desire to write on this topic.

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And it's really been the last two years

that have been, okay, time to do it.

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And the book is out now

or it's just coming?

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It's out.

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It was out in February.

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Oh, fantastic.

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Fantastic.

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Great.

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All right.

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Anybody have a question

they want to jump in with?

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I'm happy to go first.

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Um, so Leah, I, you know, there's

a lot of questions I have for you.

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Um, I'm going to go first a little bit off

book topic and ask you to share a little

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bit about sort of the soil culture, the

work you're doing there in West Virginia,

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which is, which I think is its own sort of

like background context for your writing.

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To me, it seems like.

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Well, yes, it is.

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Thanks for asking that because it's

something I really enjoy talking about.

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I should be clear that this is not a

topic that I'm an expert in, uh, soil

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health, but it is one that I've read

a lot about and I'm really interested

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in and excited about when I first

moved into this co housing community.

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Of course, it was easy to connect with

people who had, uh, similar interests.

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And one of those was

around climate change.

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We talked a long time about what we might

do to help our small community and our

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region attend more to climate change.

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And we kind of took the side tour,

thanks to some of the work that we were

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doing and taking classes from Kiss the

Ground, to say, let's just focus on soil.

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And so we, we created this

little grassroots movement.

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Not very good name for soil, but

we created this volunteer group,

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I'll say, uh, called Save Our Soil.

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And our intention is to support local

regenerative farms, to encourage buying,

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eating, growing food locally, composting.

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And then we have a program called Lawns

to Life, where we encourage people to

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exchange their lawn for habitat, for the.

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Native species, and we also, of course,

there's some food for us into that

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mix as well, and we do presentations

and invite people to come to our

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community because this is something

that we practice in our own little

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spaces outside our door, but also in a

community garden and in a conservation

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area that's around our community.

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I'm curious that there's been, I've

been sort of in a number of discussions

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recently around this, this sort

of like lawns back to life kind of

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topic of planting native grasses.

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Can you I feel like we've got listeners

in all corners of the globe, but lawns are

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pretty common in many of those corners.

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Can you dig into that part a little

bit more and, and share a little

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bit like, what does that mean?

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Well, you know, we're one of, we're a

culture that seems to think that the

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more you, uh, create a grassy area in

front of your home, the more status

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or the more beauty that that creates.

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And I think for many of us, that

was kind of drilled into us that

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you had to keep the lawn nice and

neat and goodness knows it couldn't

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be more than a few inches tall.

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And certainly homeowner associations

have that as a as a rule.

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Oftentimes, and if it's not a rule,

it's kind of a standard and people

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frown upon neighbors who would let

their, their lawns go wild, takes a lot

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of water, takes a lot of fertilizer.

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Most of the grasses we grow are

non native, so they're feeding

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no one, including the soil.

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So the, the hope, the intention

is to say there are so many native

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species that are desperate for

food, why can't we help them out?

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Well, and it's, and I'll say this, our,

our local library here did this recently.

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They took sort of a, an addition, a

big space of the acreage and sort of

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intentionally took what had been lawn

and, and recreated it and it, and

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they put, they installed a walking

path in and now they, the only trim

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and mow the walking path and the rest

of it is all just native acreage.

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very much.

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Um, now newly planted native

grasses and it's just lovely.

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Like it's just this one, I grew up,

uh, you know, as a cattle rancher out

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in Oregon where that's what we had.

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We just had native grass, you know,

we just had these huge fields that as

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we rotated the cattle around, they,

you know, they left behind and then

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it grew up and then we went cattle

into what was like a big meadow and

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it was just, we didn't plant seeds.

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We didn't do it.

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It was just whatever was

growing there, right.

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Sort of natively for a long time.

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And to be able to go walk through like

sort of these like native meadow spaces

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is it's all a really lovely experience.

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Um, so thanks for helping lead that.

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Um.

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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Thank you.

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Yeah.

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I, I may take us now like an

entirely different direction.

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Um, but one of my other questions,

you, you've got some of your own

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professional roots are in some pretty

large corporations like American Express

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and Fannie Mae and sort of like, you

Very large, I don't know what fortune

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100, probably maybe fortune 500, but

you know, very large corporation.

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And I'm curious as you know, we're sort

of going through this place where we

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recognize that companies need to be

some of the thought leaders in making

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change patterns and supporting process

pattern changes all the way down through

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their operations in so many ways, like.

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What was, what was it like being inside

those companies and any thoughts and

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guidance to other people who are working

in large, in both big companies and

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small as, as to how they can think

about bringing some of this connectivity

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that you talk about in your book?

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Into experiences inside their company.

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Yeah, I think that's a,

that's a bit of a tricky one.

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And I want to be honest that by the time I

was really interested in what was going on

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in the world in terms of climate change,

I had moved out of the corporate world.

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And had begun to do executive

coaching, leadership development,

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and then eventually moved

into, uh, leading a non profit.

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So once you're in the non profit

world, as long as your mission

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aligns, you have a lot more freedom.

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To be speaking in ways that are sometimes,

uh, might feel quite constrained

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if you're in the corporate world.

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I know that there are more organizations

interested in going green and, you know,

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my, my children are better examples

of this than me because they join in

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with environmental groups within the

organizations where they work and

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really appreciate that opportunity.

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But my own personal experience was.

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Not one of paying much attention

at all to what was going on in

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the world outside of my door.

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You know, it was much more the

typical, get in the, walk down the

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stairs, get in the car, open the

garage door, drive to work, park in a

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parking garage, go up to your office,

and put your head down in work.

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And it was really, not only not was

I not paying attention to uh, climate

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change and to biodiversity loss.

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I was really not very connected

to the world around me.

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I would, I missed it and I

would love being connected.

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Um, when I could on a vacation

or a weekend or whatever, but

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there were long periods of time

that, that was not my priority.

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So I'm chagrined to say that.

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I'm not particularly proud of it, but

I also want to be honest because, has I

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lost, I lost track of what was important.

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Yeah, which can, which

can happen to all of us.

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I mean, I think it does

happen to many of us.

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Um, that's great.

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And I was wondering, um, if there are

moments when you have this trigger,

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trigger moments when you realize that

I have to leave this corporate world.

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Um, and do something else with my life.

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I spent two years trying to figure

out how I was going to leave

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and if I was going to leave.

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And it, at the time, was more

about wanting to spend more

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time with my youngest child.

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in particular.

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So that was the, that was the

genesis, but I loved my job.

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It was a good one.

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It was what I had worked hard for.

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It had the kind of trappings that, um,

no one would have been sympathetic if you

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told them that you're, you know, laboring

over whether you should leave this job.

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So those make it, um, you know,

they, they don't use the term

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golden handcuffs for nothing.

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It, You know, it's very hard

sometimes to leave, and I kept trying

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to figure out, well, what is it

I want to do if I'm leaving this?

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And I couldn't figure it out.

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So finally, I decided I just had to take

the plunge in order to even be able to

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figure out if there was a there there.

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Now, I don't know if you're interested in

this, but Um, after that, a few years, a

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colleague and I did a series of interviews

and focus groups with people who had

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left large organizations, um, after

they got to the job they had aspired to.

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And.

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It was always that first move

was so incredibly difficult.

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And then we tended to find that

once people made that move and

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sort of knew they could survive,

it was easier then for them to make

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a second or a third or a fourth.

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They weren't so deeply attached to it.

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But making that first one was a

really big, Decision and a big leap.

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I can, I can relate.

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Me too.

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I can relate too.

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I had, you said something about

not feeling connected and I, can I

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read something from your book here?

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Of course.

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I love this.

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We are made for oneness.

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Born of the stars as are all beings

we are inextricably of and within the

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holy mystery itself Whether we know it

or not whether we live into it or not.

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We cannot separate ourselves

from the shimmering web of life.

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Ah

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That's just beautiful and when when did

you feel that connection after you left

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when did you feel like you were more

connected to that shimmering web of life.

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So forests speak to me, um,

individual trees as well.

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I've taken to saying sometimes I think

because I grew up in Kansas where there

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were so few, they were so precious to me.

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But, um, So, I would say those kinds

of experiences always had the power

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to halt my busy mind and let me drop

in more to, um, an embodied feeling.

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of being connected and being present.

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So that could happen in a, you

know, walking around the yard.

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If I could get my busy mind to

stop, it was more likely to happen

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in a place where I was surrounded

more fully by the living world.

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And then I would be really

be able to slow that down.

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But it took me, um, probably

years, maybe five years or so

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after leaving the corporate world,

because I didn't fully slow down.

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I kept doing executive coaching

and leadership development work.

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So I had more spaciousness in my schedule,

but not so much, um, a change of scene.

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in some ways.

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So it was a long process

of unwinding for me.

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I'm a slow learner when it

comes to some of these things.

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So it, it really took me a while to get

clear that that was what was important.

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When I was working, um, In the, um, in

the nonprofit world, I was executive

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director for Shalem Institute, which

is a, uh, an institute that supports

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contemplative living and leadership.

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And so I was inviting people into the

world and retreats and in pilgrimages,

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and that was such a rich gift.

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You know, what a retreat was in the

corporate world was really turned on

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its head when we're talking about the

kind of retreats that I started leading.

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It was a whole different kind

of experience for me as a leader

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and certainly for participants.

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So a lot of my, um, a lot of my

discovery has been in going with others.

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You know, kind of in an, in accompanying

others into quiet or into open

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spaces, into microscopic beauty.

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Um, I just, in accompanying, I

find it a heart opening experience.

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That's, you know, something that I've

got a few friends as teachers that

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they, you know, you ask them, how

do you handle the stress, um, You

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know, corralling 23rd graders, right?

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Like they're, you know, like all this

energy and stress and, and they're like,

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you know, the joy is like seeing their

eyes learn these things for the first time

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and like getting to keep reliving that

pure, that deep, pure joy and excitement

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is like a thing that I have a few friends

that like hearken to in that space.

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And, and the way you said that

Leah reminds me of that teacher

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mentality of like getting to.

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The joy is getting to watch someone else

come to that, that, uh, that moment the

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first time and you get to keep redoing it.

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Um, it's interesting that

you say that sort of thing.

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We.

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For our, we have a twice a year

sort of retreat for my company,

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for our, our leadership and

the, and we rotate who plans it.

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And one of the, the team member who's

planning it this year is a lover

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of the outdoors and has advocated

for, and with a little bit of little

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bit of pulling everyone along has

gotten the leadership to agree to go.

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do it as an outdoor retreat as

opposed to sort of our classic, you

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know, we all gather together, we fly

in and sit in the conference room.

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And, you know, we might go out to

a dinner that night, but instead

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of going out and going camping

together, um, and having our meetings.

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So it's, it is a full new, she's

a very respected team member.

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She's been with us 20 something years,

and she's got enough, uh, uh, chips

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with all the other managers that

she's like, this is what I'm leading.

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This is what we're doing.

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She got everyone on board.

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So I'm excited to see if maybe.

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Maybe those conversations and strategic

things are, maybe there's, there's a

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difference if we're doing an outdoors,

not, not in a conference room.

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Uh, Brian, I would love to hear about

that because I really, I would be

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curious if relationships, um, change,

you know, there, there is something,

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there's something around a campfire,

you know, there's something about

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starlit nights that's different.

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Different pace.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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No, I'm excited to see how it goes.

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Oh, I will, I will report back to you.

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Good.

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Is there, I'm curious as you

witness people sort of go through

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that transition a little bit.

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Are there other things that you think

to encourage them now that, you know,

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there's some of that waking up that you

then help send them down the pathway of

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like other little, you Habits or patterns?

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Like I tend to think about

things as like pattern change.

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Like, are there other little changes

to their own daily patterns or habits

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that you encourage that might help keep

nourishing that little spark or flame?

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I love that you asked that.

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Um, I had a teacher who reminded

us that, you know, you're

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always practicing something.

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So, even though we can think that

how many thousand times it will

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take to establish a new habit,

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but it only starts when it starts because

otherwise you're continuing to practice

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your old habit and reinforcing that.

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So it becomes very embodied.

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Um, when I was doing executive coaching,

I did a fair amount of work and

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study in the, in the somatic field.

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And that was really helpful for me because

I had cultivated a life of the mind and

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I think that my own experience is that

a relationship to a tree or a plant

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or a bird or whatever is much less

likely to happen if I am only about,

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um, understanding their biology, uh, be

sure I'm, Being sure that I could name

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what they are, you know, identifying

sounds, whatever, if I'm coming at it

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from a mind space, it's a different

relationship, like it would be with you.

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You know, if my, if my entire relationship

with you was around content and problem

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solving, that's very different than if we

see each other from more of a heart space.

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In the natural world, I would say the

invitation is to go to our senses.

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And, you know, and, and take

them one by one and refine them.

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Because for me, if I keep practicing

over and over what I'm thinking about

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and how I will speak and how I can

articulate what I want to say or write

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or convey, I am less practicing listening

or, or taking in the smell of the pines.

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or hearing all of the sounds in a forest.

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There's a practice, a Celtic practice

called tuning the five stringed harp,

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which Jen's nodding, you probably

read in the book, you know, taking

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one at a time, each of those strings

of the harp, each of those senses.

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And just focusing in on that and tuning

it and staying with it and sharpening it.

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You think about our ancestors and

how generations back, they would

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have had to know those things.

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They wouldn't have lived if they hadn't,

you know, so they would have had to know

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that and they would have to, you know,

it's a, it's a sensory experience, it's

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a gut feeling, it's a heart opening.

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It's all of those somatic

practices that I invite people to.

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Over and over again and

slowing, always slowing.

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I was reading something this morning

from the center, uh, for action and

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contemplation, and it was speaking to

that, it was speaking to, you know,

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it's not all about, um, the business

, the, the brain business and, uh,

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and more, uh, more about the heart.

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And, uh, and so in that, I'm, I'm

thinking you have a chapter in here,

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uh, called Dancing with Grief and Joy.

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And one of the questions I have is

about, uh, is about the grief around

339

:

what's going on with climate right now.

340

:

And, and how does one mitigate that?

341

:

How does one, I mean, how does

one accompany people through

342

:

that maybe is a better question.

343

:

Yeah.

344

:

Yeah.

345

:

Yeah.

346

:

I like the way you adjusted

that because I, I don't think

347

:

we can mitigate the grief.

348

:

Um, it is here.

349

:

Um, it's surrounding us.

350

:

We are not going to live long enough, any

of us, to have a future where the grief

351

:

is not present around the loss of so many

things in this amazing, beautiful world.

352

:

If you read, I don't know, I think

it's in the Washington Post and

353

:

may well be in the New York Times.

354

:

If you've read recently, I think it

was the day before yesterday, about the

355

:

howler monkeys in Mexico falling out of

the trees, dead or dying, because they

356

:

are both malnourished and dehydrated.

357

:

And it is true.

358

:

just simply heartbreaking.

359

:

There is no way that we cannot

find ourselves full of grief if

360

:

we're paying any attention at all.

361

:

So rather than say, what

do we do about that?

362

:

How do we avoid it?

363

:

Could we stick our head in the sand?

364

:

You know, could we cover

our eyes, cover our ears?

365

:

Which I totally understand is so tempting.

366

:

I think the question is how

do we open larger, larger?

367

:

How do we open ourselves more and more?

368

:

How do we allow our hearts to break

so that we hold that grief along with.

369

:

The awe and the wonder and the beauty

and the joy, because it is also there.

370

:

And so my concern is if we deny

the grief, we numb ourselves.

371

:

And in numbing ourselves, then we numb

all experiences, you know, or we just

372

:

don't get to choose to be sort of numb.

373

:

And so.

374

:

We want to be fully alive and present to

this amazing world and to each other in

375

:

these edge times as difficult as they are.

376

:

That's the dancing.

377

:

It's holding, holding both and

finding the beauty that exists both

378

:

alongside the sadness and sometimes

the beauty that exists within.

379

:

that loss as well.

380

:

So not an easy thing for me.

381

:

It's the only way I see to be with.

382

:

What is happening?

383

:

For that, do you have any practical

tips to raise an open jaw?

384

:

Well, in a way, in a way, Leaky, they're,

they're kind of the same practices,

385

:

right, that you would if you were

going to experience awe and wonder.

386

:

And you may want to start with the

awe and wonder as your practice

387

:

because it's everywhere, you know.

388

:

Um, but it is opening the senses.

389

:

You know, it is opening the heart.

390

:

If you think about being with, um,

a good friend who is grieving and

391

:

maybe you don't even know why, you

just know they're in a really state

392

:

of, you know, a deep state of sadness

and you're sitting with them, whether

393

:

they say anything or not, you know,

you notice their eyes are welling up.

394

:

You notice that there's a way in

which they're holding their bodies.

395

:

You know, that's grief

and your body knows that.

396

:

And it responds.

397

:

And you feel tears welling up in your

eyes, you know, so if we're talking about

398

:

the for talking about being in nature

in a place where there's a lot of loss.

399

:

I think we don't have to try to do

anything except to simply be there.

400

:

Now grief is best held, um, with ritual,

you know, and we probably have to invent

401

:

a lot of those because we don't have

some that maybe, maybe our ancestors did.

402

:

So ritual.

403

:

And with others who are like hearted.

404

:

Um, Much of what we have to bear

would be very hard to bear alone.

405

:

So, both with other humans and with those

more than, more than humans in the world,

406

:

we join in, in our grief and in our joy.

407

:

Um, Leah, may I ask a question, um,

for our audience, can you help talk

408

:

through and explain somatic therapy

and sort of just explain that term

409

:

and what it means and sort of the body

of practice behind it a little bit?

410

:

You had some great commentary.

411

:

Yeah.

412

:

We're about it and it.

413

:

And it feels very applicable to

this conversation and your thoughts.

414

:

Yeah, sure.

415

:

So what I was, uh, what I was working on

is what was called somatic leadership,

416

:

which simply says you don't just

walk into a room as a leader with

417

:

a voice and with an action plan.

418

:

You walk into a room as

a fully embodied person.

419

:

And so we would all know that difference.

420

:

We would be able to see it because

people expect words and body to align.

421

:

And when they don't, we don't trust them.

422

:

So if I were to say to you, sure, Brian,

I'm, I'm very happy to help you with that.

423

:

With my arms folded.

424

:

You wouldn't feel that.

425

:

Right.

426

:

And for our audience listening,

like Leah just embodied the opposite

427

:

of her words in the context here.

428

:

Leah was definitely telling

me no with her body.

429

:

And in tone, we, you know, tone, Brian,

because we learn so much from tone.

430

:

So it's the words, the tone,

the nonverbals all aligned.

431

:

We think that our words matter, but

people, people read us far more from

432

:

our nonverbals and then our tone

and our words are kind of frosting.

433

:

On the cake.

434

:

Yeah.

435

:

So when I talk about somatic

practices, um, what I'm talking

436

:

about is a practice that invites me

to be open, present, and available.

437

:

That would mean to be open, present,

and available is, let's say, let's say

438

:

we were in a setting and I was your

boss and you came in to talk to me.

439

:

And I was sitting there answering emails

and picking up phone calls in the middle.

440

:

You would not have the sense that I was

open, present, and available to you.

441

:

That's one piece of it.

442

:

You know, the other piece is kind

of like determining our intent and

443

:

holding that intent, um, in a way

that we're embodying it as well.

444

:

It's like we are the declaration

of what we want to accomplish.

445

:

It's not an out there in the speech.

446

:

It's a fully embraced sense.

447

:

Yep.

448

:

You're doing it.

449

:

See, we're both doing the up and

down that nobody can see, but

450

:

Leah and I both just made the

same gesture of just Yeah, yeah,

451

:

it's hard not to because that's

what we're talking about, right?

452

:

We're talking about the

importance of embodying.

453

:

And so we're trying to

figure out, this is it.

454

:

This is my whole problem with my book.

455

:

I'm trying to write about

things that actually are.

456

:

don't have words, you know, and

now I'm trying to explain a concept

457

:

through words that I'm really

talking about is beyond words.

458

:

So here we go.

459

:

Embodiment, incarnation.

460

:

Oh, I was just going to ask

about, um, kith and kin, and if

461

:

you wouldn't mind talking about

that, explaining that to us a bit.

462

:

Sure.

463

:

Sure.

464

:

So, uh, indigenous scholar Enrique

Salmon speaks about kin centric ecology,

465

:

and the idea that for many, uh, if

not most indigenous peoples, there is

466

:

a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood

with the more than human world around.

467

:

Robin Wall Kimmerer is, um, an author

I think so highly of, and I really,

468

:

um, would love to just sit at her feet

for long extended periods of time.

469

:

She writes over and over about

kinship, that we are the younger

470

:

brother and sister, that when you

look at the evolution of the universe.

471

:

We come last, so we are

the least knowledgeable.

472

:

Trees, for instance, have been

here far longer than we have,

473

:

so they have practice, they have

a knowing that we don't have.

474

:

And it's, so that's one

way of thinking about it.

475

:

Another way of thinking about it is to,

um, not assume that our intelligence is

476

:

superior in every way, but to understand

that many beings have their own unique

477

:

intelligence, some of which we just

haven't even begun to learn about yet.

478

:

We started out, Brian, we

were talking about soil.

479

:

Well, think about, you know, what's going

on under this top layer that is amazing.

480

:

It's connected.

481

:

It's sending messages.

482

:

It's sending nutrients and receiving them.

483

:

I mean, there's this whole amazing

system that we didn't even know

484

:

about until fairly recently.

485

:

We certainly didn't know how trees were

exchanging nutrients with each other

486

:

underground and keeping each other alive.

487

:

So, so there is so much

intelligence in this world.

488

:

And so this is also another

way of, of honoring that.

489

:

So when I'm speaking of kin,

I am intentionally doing that.

490

:

That's a habit I am trying to establish

to break my habit of othering.

491

:

So anything I treat as othering.

492

:

Other, other than human, or other than me.

493

:

I begin to slip into this.

494

:

Um, sense that it is

something I could use.

495

:

It's something I could own.

496

:

It's something that serves me and my

wants, and that it doesn't have this

497

:

viability of its own, and I think

it's a slippery slope because once

498

:

we other, um, let's say the land

around us, then maybe I other the

499

:

people who are living on that land.

500

:

And they too are not like me.

501

:

And maybe they're lesser than.

502

:

And, um, there's a, there's a, Amitav

Ghosh in The Nutmeg's Curse talks

503

:

about how the words brute and savage

were cultivated to hold people as

504

:

other, and therefore being other, you

were allowed to do what you willed.

505

:

to be dominant over.

506

:

So that's maybe a whole lot longer

than you wanted, but that's a piece

507

:

of the kin, is trying to re establish

a, a more, uh, appreciative and

508

:

loving focus with what's around us.

509

:

Now kif, I just sort of

went back and grabbed that.

510

:

That's a historical term that was

occasionally used to mean the land.

511

:

Um, and then It somehow

fell in to be kith and kin.

512

:

It was just sort of like

one phrase all together.

513

:

And because I needed a word, I, I really

said, let's put kith back there with land.

514

:

So we have the land and the

beings on the land, the kin.

515

:

Um, because that was a concept

I really wanted to talk about.

516

:

Is that, you started your book , in

the introduction, telling the

517

:

story of a woman who's weeding.

518

:

Um, as weaving in, in Dun, um, weaving

a piece of cloth, or, I don't remember

519

:

exactly, but, and I was just struck

by the word weave, and weaving.

520

:

It just resonated with me so strongly,

like, you know, the, I mean, what is

521

:

lacking today is to weave us, or it's

to weave a relationship with the world.

522

:

Everything around us, we have this

umbering relationship with everything

523

:

around us, whereas I think what, I

think this is what we're trying to

524

:

explain, that the right attitude

is to weave our stories, our, our

525

:

life, our, our evolution together.

526

:

I mean, maybe I'm, I'm

misinterpreting the, the sense of.

527

:

I totally agree with you.

528

:

Yes.

529

:

Yes.

530

:

It's a journey, it's a

journey of reweaving.

531

:

I actually started out, that was the title

I was using, Reweaving Earth and Soul.

532

:

Actually I started Reweaving

Soul and Earth, is what I was

533

:

calling it, in edge times.

534

:

Um, those were important to me.

535

:

And then I had a publisher who

said, nobody's going to know

536

:

what you're talking about.

537

:

And I was like, that is

what I want to talk about.

538

:

Um, so yeah, so it, so it evolved,

but yes, I'm glad you picked up the

539

:

story of the woman weaving the world

because I think, uh, you know, it's an

540

:

old story and some of these rich old

stories can be interpreted in so many

541

:

ways, even by us, you know, tomorrow.

542

:

May be a, a way we interpret that's

very different than today, given

543

:

whatever comes our way, we keep, that's

what a good story should have, right?

544

:

That richness of being able to,

uh, to explore and hold it and, and

545

:

look at it in many different ways.

546

:

And, and I don't know if you want me

to say a bit about that story or, yeah.

547

:

So this is a story of the old woman

weaving the world who is in a cave,

548

:

probably not very far from where you live,

uh, but you can never find this cave.

549

:

And all day long, she sits and weaves

the most beautiful fabric in the world.

550

:

Every so often though, she has to get up

from her weaving and walk to the back of

551

:

this cave, this cave that, um, is very

deep because it's important that she stir

552

:

This big pot that is on the fire that

is full of the roots and the seeds and

553

:

the nuts of this living world and if she

doesn't stir it then it might burn and

554

:

who knows what problems that might cause.

555

:

So she walks very slowly to the back

of the cave and as she is stirring

556

:

Stirring and then very slowly

returning because she is very old.

557

:

There's a black dog who awakens.

558

:

He's been lying there

all the time at her feet.

559

:

And he begins to gnaw on the weaving

and pull on one thread and then another

560

:

and then another until pretty soon all

of the weaving is lying on the floor.

561

:

When she returns, then she sees all

of her beautiful work in disarray.

562

:

And she pauses, and she looks, and

then slowly she bends down, and she

563

:

picks up one of the threads, and a

new design takes place in her mind,

564

:

and slowly she begins to reweave a

new and even more beautiful design.

565

:

Can I just confess that that story struck

me so much that I actually told it.

566

:

At the beginning of a sermon, I'm a

minister, so at the beginning of a sermon,

567

:

um, because it was just so perfect.

568

:

That's so good.

569

:

I heard a friend, I had a

friend who told the story and I,

570

:

you're more perceptive than I.

571

:

The first couple of times I heard

it, I went, okay, where's that going?

572

:

And what an annoying thing.

573

:

And I've told it to people who are like,

well, why didn't she just put the dog out?

574

:

Because clearly this is

going to happen every time.

575

:

Why is she leaving the dog there?

576

:

And my response is, because it's a story.

577

:

And you know, you're going

to have to resolve that.

578

:

I, you know, I don't

tell you what it means.

579

:

So anyway, but yeah, so it took me a

while to get it, uh, in my heart, you

580

:

know, and, and now I love the story

and it means everything and nothing

581

:

and different things every time.

582

:

I love it.

583

:

There's the sort of almost the

instead of putting the dog out because

584

:

let's say that represents entropy,

like sort of like all this chaos

585

:

and all these other things, right?

586

:

Like Um, we know we can't, and

so if we can't, let's be at

587

:

peace and make something new and

beautiful out of, you know, there's

588

:

so many layers to that lesson.

589

:

I wanted to go back to, I think it was

like a minute ago, because it, it echoed

590

:

really strongly for me, my, many of my

friends, but especially my coworkers hear

591

:

me talk incessantly about what I refer to

as, as others do, it's my term, as the us.

592

:

them dynamic, right?

593

:

And sort of our, our anchoring in our

evolutionary biology around like our

594

:

brains are hardwired to create and draw a

distinction between two different things.

595

:

Right?

596

:

I'm holding up here on the video,

two different coffee cups of

597

:

different shapes and types, one's a

thermos and one's a classic ceramic.

598

:

Well, they're both coffee cups,

but they're two different, like

599

:

you can look at them and be like,

well, those are not the same thing.

600

:

They're very different.

601

:

They have different colors and shapes.

602

:

And attributes, but they're

both coffee cups or tea.

603

:

They're, at the moment,

they're both tea cups.

604

:

Um, and I talk a lot about how we're

wired to find those distinctions.

605

:

And it's like our prefrontal,

like our cognitive side that

606

:

needs to help us undo that.

607

:

That thing that naturally

just happens, right?

608

:

Um, and we find that challenge in

so many places in, in, in our daily

609

:

life, whether it's around, you know,

affinity towards political groups or

610

:

religious or of sexual orientation,

just all these different things.

611

:

And I'm curious, you know, any wisdom

that you might share with our audience

612

:

about how we do that, that practice,

how, how do we go back to the practice

613

:

of overcoming that innate, natural.

614

:

You know, pattern recognition

and pattern differentiation

615

:

function with, that is part of our

species and many other species.

616

:

How do we overcome that on a, on a daily

minute to minute basis in a way that

617

:

helps us take that us dynamic and spread

that circle to include some of the them

618

:

and make our circle bigger and bigger

and bigger and, and it's both throughout,

619

:

you know, expanded amongst us humans.

620

:

But then also to look at these, I was just

reading about the howler monkeys that you

621

:

mentioned, which I had not yet heard that

story and looking at them being like,

622

:

those are the size of my kids, right?

623

:

Like, and they're dying from

heat exhaustion from a heat wave.

624

:

And you know, like that's hard to

think about if you really pause and

625

:

reflect on like, what's happening.

626

:

You know, and, and that group.

627

:

So I, I go back to my question, I

guess, being like for tips and wisdom

628

:

on how we widen that us perspective

and then be more inclusive of the,

629

:

what otherwise might be the thems.

630

:

Yeah, well, um, you know, here's my hunch.

631

:

Um, I, as you said, our brains

are really good at that.

632

:

They're really good at differentiating

and, and there's certainly times

633

:

we need to differentiate, right?

634

:

So that's an important brain function.

635

:

My hunches go to the heart, because

the heart knows how to keep drawing

636

:

bigger and bigger circles, right?

637

:

The heart has this limitless capacity

for compassion and so in that continual

638

:

opening of the heart, we hold the

mind in a little bit more of a Well,

639

:

we let the mind stay in its place.

640

:

I think we're so, me, I'll stay me.

641

:

I'm so practiced because I

spent years of practicing.

642

:

Let me back up and say that I was

a female executive trying to move

643

:

ahead in a world full of men.

644

:

You do not think I was leading

with the heart, do you?

645

:

I mean, really.

646

:

you know, that was not

how the game was played.

647

:

Now, I was trying to be kind to people.

648

:

I'm not saying that, but I'm saying

I became really practiced in logical,

649

:

rational, um, Interactions, problem

solvings, argument and decision making.

650

:

So my practice has been,

needs some balance here.

651

:

That needs to balance out with a heart

that is more open and caring and loving.

652

:

There's a contemplative, uh, phrase

called the mind and heart, you know,

653

:

to bring your mind into your heart.

654

:

We also know from those who study the

heart that a lot of the information

655

:

comes in through the heart.

656

:

We just send it to the mind, and then

the mind, depending on what we're

657

:

letting our mind do, can take over.

658

:

So, that's my hunch, is that when, uh,

When we can't get out of the othering or,

659

:

you know, the, making the distinctions,

um, when we're so annoyed about how that

660

:

person, you know, took over something

that we were supposed to do and that

661

:

was mine and what are they doing

interfering, or I'm feeling dismissed.

662

:

It, it, we've got to drop, you know,

we've got to drop into that hard space if

663

:

we don't want that to be the place that

we are, you know, living and engaging.

664

:

in that moment or in all

of our moments, perhaps.

665

:

That make sense?

666

:

I have a question now about, um, what

the right response has been to the book.

667

:

It's been out since February and I

just wonder what conversations are you

668

:

having now, now that it's out there?

669

:

Yeah.

670

:

Well, conversations like

these are so, so back up.

671

:

I wrote the book because I said, this is

the conversation that right now, as far as

672

:

I can tell, this is the conversation that

I want to be in for the rest of my life.

673

:

Like, I feel like this is the

conversation I'm called into.

674

:

So here we go.

675

:

I've already told you, you know,

candidly about my background and I will

676

:

tell you occasionally or maybe more

than occasionally, I warp into this,

677

:

do I have enough reviews on Amazon?

678

:

And where I'm really trying

to live is in these absolutely

679

:

wonderful, enriching conversations.

680

:

that are so meaningful

to me and to others.

681

:

And so the responses that I really just.

682

:

You know, care about, someone wrote

on, on Goodreads something along the

683

:

lines of, I'm so glad I found this book.

684

:

It's the first time I've been

able to breathe in months.

685

:

I mean, that's why I wrote the book,

you know, if there are 10 people

686

:

who feel that way, I'm done, right?

687

:

I mean, really.

688

:

Um.

689

:

I'm So that would be worth two

years, two years of work, two

690

:

years of writing and another year

of getting it out in the world.

691

:

That would be worth it if, if

people could, um, see a way to hold.

692

:

How we will live in these

times on the edge of such loss.

693

:

I will say that it seems to be the

people who most resonate with the book

694

:

are those who are already working really

hard for this world and are feeling so

695

:

sad that you know, they They don't see

the difference and um, so I just, I'm

696

:

enjoying being a companion on the road

for people who are in that kind of space.

697

:

I resonate with all the viewer

on the bridge because I've just

698

:

started reading your book and

after the chapter I felt, wow.

699

:

I feel really, you know, there's a way,

there's something I can do, and uh, and

700

:

maybe I'm just not looking at the issue

the right way, and there's another way.

701

:

But at the same time, I feel that

it will take so much time and so

702

:

much resources and so many, all

the people need to be involved.

703

:

So what can we do?

704

:

I know.

705

:

I know.

706

:

Well, I think yes and yes.

707

:

Um, I mean, I want everybody

to be involved and I also don't

708

:

know what it's yours to do.

709

:

And that's what I want you to find, like,

what is that one thing that's planted deep

710

:

within because we can't do everything.

711

:

And that's not easy for some of us who

are used to trying to take on the world.

712

:

Your one, your one thing may be

that you bring together people to

713

:

have these kinds of conversation.

714

:

And that is not, you know, that should

in no way be considered not enough.

715

:

I mean, that is a huge gift to the world.

716

:

And so then you pour everything you

have into that, and you know that you

717

:

are making a difference beyond what you

can know and what you will ever know.

718

:

And that the difference you're making

may not even show up in your lifetime.

719

:

I don't know.

720

:

You know, I mean, we know, you

all know that so much of this

721

:

climate, um, chaos is baked in.

722

:

I mean, it's baked in.

723

:

If we made these drastic changes

now, dramatic changes, not drastic,

724

:

dramatic, not drastic in that they, we

would probably all have significantly

725

:

better lives than we imagine.

726

:

Were we to make these kind of significant

changes and be so much less involved in,

727

:

you know, you know, consuming and needing

and anyway, before I fall down that hole,

728

:

um, I mean, that's the problem, right?

729

:

There's so many threads we can, we can

follow here, but you know, so it's baked

730

:

in and we are going to be facing loss.

731

:

So I see, I see that we

just have to save that.

732

:

You know, we can't lie to ourselves

and each other and I, I don't believe

733

:

let's not tell people the truth because

you know, it will make them do nothing.

734

:

I think we tell them the truth because

they, they have a piece of this.

735

:

Every single person has a piece of this.

736

:

So I'm going to tell you that it's bad and

I'm also going to tell you that it's not.

737

:

That your possibility is living into

that gift you have been given and giving

738

:

it as fully and freely and generously

as you possibly can in reciprocity and

739

:

gratitude for all the world is giving you.

740

:

And to see those things and to lift

them up and to, yeah, all right, I'm

741

:

going to quit because I'm starting

to do, do Jen's sermon for her here.

742

:

Yeah, you did.

743

:

I'm just like,

744

:

This is wonderful.

745

:

Thank you, Leah.

746

:

Thank you.

747

:

Anybody have another question?

748

:

I'm looking at our time and I know

we've kept you quite long here.

749

:

Oh well, I love it.

750

:

We could do, you know, I'm

sorry, sorry we're not sitting

751

:

around the campfire, you know.

752

:

Well, yeah, I'm actually

curious about that.

753

:

Maybe we can all at some point

come, or even just virtually.

754

:

Yeah, we could do that one day.

755

:

Yeah.

756

:

But I'm curious about the, the

privilege of the second places in the U.

757

:

S.

758

:

and internationally that you're leading.

759

:

What are those places and what's

the goal and how does it feel to,

760

:

you know, to do this privilege?

761

:

Well, so, um, I've done probably, I

don't know, pilgrimages, um, and, um,

762

:

to really wonderful, beautiful places

from the Pacific Northwest to, uh, the

763

:

Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland.

764

:

I'm not doing them anymore, and I'm

not doing them anymore because, um, a

765

:

colleague of mine, Beth Norcross, who runs

the Center for Spirituality and Nature,

766

:

and I, um, have been collaborating on

some different programs together, and

767

:

we're currently writing a book together.

768

:

She challenged me somewhere along the

way to create a pilgrimage close to home.

769

:

So, um, You know, that kind of

sunk in with me, that we shouldn't

770

:

have to go far in order to go deep.

771

:

That makes me, I think there's another

layer to that maybe that wasn't

772

:

intentional, which is without that

expanded travel footprint, right?

773

:

We, we sometimes, I was actually just

chatting with someone, um, here in the U.

774

:

S., it's Memorial Day weekend, a

classic sort of start of summer,

775

:

um, big, everyone goes somewhere

and, and has a big barbecue.

776

:

And they said, oh, where are you going?

777

:

And I said, I live in a beautiful place.

778

:

Why do I need to go anywhere?

779

:

I'm going to spend time, my family

might regret this, but I said,

780

:

we're just going to spend time and

like work in our backyard and just

781

:

be here in this beautiful place.

782

:

I already live.

783

:

I don't need to go to

some big destination.

784

:

And so Leah, it's interesting as you take

the idea of pilgrimage and bring it local

785

:

and say that, you know, there's something

local to you to find your, there's also

786

:

like a reduced footprint that you create.

787

:

As a result of making that

decision to not go to this.

788

:

Absolutely.

789

:

That's not lost on me at all, Brian,

because that, you know, that it, it,

790

:

it has a sense of a little, well, a

lot of dis ease to be, you know, and,

791

:

and I justified it for a long time

talking about what rich experiences

792

:

people had, which I believe are true.

793

:

And yet, yeah.

794

:

Yeah.

795

:

Yeah.

796

:

Maybe to bring this slightly full

circle, you know, I don't know, maybe,

797

:

you know, A year and a half ago, I

can't remember exactly, we did a podcast

798

:

recording with, um, uh, sort of an

innovative thinker named Joshua Spodek,

799

:

um, who also has a great podcast, uh,

The Sustainable Life and, and, and,

800

:

you know, teaches and all those things.

801

:

And one of the things that came out

of it for me, Josh and I then started

802

:

working on some other things sort of

on the side together and, and he is.

803

:

His reflective questioning caused me

to have a lot of, um, really looking

804

:

at the impact of my own life and my

work travel and all these things.

805

:

And, and even just all every last little

bit of my daily behaviors came into

806

:

reflective as I was thinking about it.

807

:

And actually it was the grief and

the stress from that self reflection

808

:

became almost overwhelming.

809

:

And this is something I'm

right on the podcast here.

810

:

You know, it really led to just a level

of overwhelming stress and, uh, which

811

:

then led to like not sleeping, exhaustion,

and then led to other health things, um,

812

:

that culminated last, um, last January

and not happy health moment for me.

813

:

And, uh, and a lot, some down deep,

but that was some of this like

814

:

wrestling with the grief of all

these things as I looked around.

815

:

So maybe as we.

816

:

Um, come back to, uh, the beginning

of this podcast, maybe share with our

817

:

listeners here some of the, your thoughts

and wisdom on dealing with that as, as

818

:

you do, as you, as you pick your head up

out of the sand and look around and absorb

819

:

the things happening, you, you can't help

come to the rational conclusion, Oh my

820

:

goodness, this is really not good stuff.

821

:

And, and I.

822

:

All of us are contributing to the not

good stuff in one fashion or another.

823

:

Um, so thoughts on like how to

deal with those, those big emotions

824

:

that can come out of that and

the sort of the stress, anxiety.

825

:

Well, I think to the degree possible,

you know, I said this before,

826

:

we want to go together, right?

827

:

So we want to be with others.

828

:

Um, you know, and we'll, we'll help, um,

not deny what we're feeling, not tell us

829

:

that it's wrong or that it's untrue, but

acknowledge the truth of it and be in a

830

:

place where they invite us into the and of

it, the joy, the beauty, the, the wisdom.

831

:

So that's, that's one thing.

832

:

Um, I don't think we can always look

at it all the time and always hold it

833

:

front and center that we have to go

into those places and be nourished.

834

:

So I can go into the woods and I can

look at, you know, so many trees that

835

:

are being decimated by invasive species.

836

:

And I can also go in there and enjoy.

837

:

It's shady.

838

:

It's beautiful.

839

:

The canopy is gorgeous.

840

:

The, you know, the amazing

network underground is doing

841

:

these incredible, magical things.

842

:

You know, I can smell

the air being cleaner.

843

:

There's, I can sit with that.

844

:

And, uh, I have to because

that's also part of our healing.

845

:

I think we have to keep healing ourselves

so that we can do this work so that

846

:

we cannot dull ourselves, you know, so

that we can hold this grief that is.

847

:

And I think sometimes our companions,

you know, our, um, John O'Donohue talked

848

:

about our anamkara, our soul friends,

soul friends that accompany us and, you

849

:

know, listen deeply to our feelings.

850

:

Our soul friends can be trees or

birds or, you know, a beautiful

851

:

grassy knoll or a prairie, whatever.

852

:

And so sometimes it's going into that

soul friend and just listening, like,

853

:

keep breathing in until we can let

those thoughts go and be with what is.

854

:

I use the, you know, I think of the

metaphor of walking along a cliff edge,

855

:

of being on the edge, and you know,

there's the, the wind and the waves

856

:

are pounding below, and part of a cliff

is carved out, and we don't know how

857

:

long it will last, but that doesn't

mean there aren't little flowers.

858

:

Growing along the edge.

859

:

It doesn't mean that you can't reach

out and take the hand of somebody

860

:

next to you and pull them back.

861

:

It doesn't mean that you can't help

each other over the rocks and stones.

862

:

It probably does mean that the path

we're going to be creating isn't clear.

863

:

Um, I, I don't know who,

you know, this is the thing.

864

:

The old woman came back and she stopped.

865

:

And she waited, and I think we're

on a threshold where we have to

866

:

wait because I don't think it's

clear how a future that leads us to

867

:

mutual well being is going to emerge.

868

:

And so I think there's some waiting

that we're also doing, which is not

869

:

an easy place for most of us to be.

870

:

It's very hard.

871

:

So we're doing some waiting to

see what's invited and what is,

872

:

what is Earth's invitation that

we can walk along with her.

873

:

Um, but in the meantime, you know,

there's part of this deepening our

874

:

gifts and our own sense of, you know,

call and invitation that we have.

875

:

It's not easy.

876

:

It's, it's definitely not.

877

:

Um, and, You know, we look for

all those little wonderful sparks

878

:

of sparks of joy and bird song.

879

:

The idea of waiting there, but finding

those flowers and sort of the things

880

:

that are flourishing there and, you know,

being a little bit with them patient with.

881

:

You know, the, not that they're cognizant

of the risk of being on the cliff

882

:

side, but just sort of being patient

with like just being where they are.

883

:

You know, you just provoked for

me when you said that there was a

884

:

favorite quote that I've had and

I'm going to have to go back up.

885

:

I don't know if it's Neruda.

886

:

I can't remember who said it.

887

:

A burning patience has taken us thus far.

888

:

If people want to, uh.

889

:

Find you.

890

:

Leah, where do they find you?

891

:

I, I often say I have a

very cleverly named website.

892

:

It's leahrampey.

893

:

com.

894

:

So, yeah, so you could go there.

895

:

I do occasionally put

out a little newsletter.

896

:

I do lead retreats and you can see

where I'm doing that on, on the website.

897

:

I am on Instagram at Leah Rampy.

898

:

I'm on LinkedIn at Leah Rampy and

I'm on Facebook at Leah Rampy Writer.

899

:

So, and the book's available, you

know, at the usual places and go ask

900

:

your local bookstore to order it.

901

:

Thank you so much for sharing

your wisdom with us today.

902

:

I'm so glad that you had me.

903

:

What a delightful opportunity.

904

:

I feel really, uh, I feel really

energized and privileged to have had the

905

:

chance to talk with the three of you.

906

:

You make a terrific trio.

907

:

Thank you.

908

:

Thank you.

909

:

So wonderful having you here, Leah.

910

:

It feels very privileged to talk with you.

911

:

Thank you.

912

:

Yeah.

913

:

Well, and thanks for all of the good

work you're putting in to the world.

914

:

You've been listening to Carbon

Sessions, a podcast with carbon

915

:

conversations for every day, with

everyone, from everywhere in the world.

916

:

We'd love you to join the Carbon Sessions.

917

:

So you too can share your

perspectives from wherever you are.

918

:

This is a great way for our community

to learn from your ideas and

919

:

experiences, connect and take action.

920

:

If you want to add your voice to the

conversation, go to the carbonalmanac.

921

:

org slash podcasts and sign up

to be part of a future episode.

922

:

This podcast is also part of

the Carbon Almanac Network.

923

:

For more information, to sign up

for the emails, To join the movement

924

:

and to order your copy of The Carbon

Almanac, go to thecarbonalmanac.

925

:

org.

926

:

Be sure to subscribe and join

us here again, as together

927

:

we can change the world.

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When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.

The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system, ocean acidity, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, extreme weather events, the economy, human health, and best and worst-case scenarios. Visually engaging and built to share, The Carbon Almanac is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change.

This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late to for concerted, collective action for change.