Evelyn R. Swett Photography
  • By Degrees
  • Portfolio
    • Compost Compositions
    • Reframing the Narrative
  • Join Me!
    • Upcoming Events
    • EcoChallenges
    • Let's Work Together >
      • Compost Conversations
      • Portraits
  • Store
  • About
    • Profits for the Planet

Puzzles, Part 1: Reparations

12/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Reparations:
the making of amends for a wrong one has done,
​by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.
Picture
Eiffel Tower at Night, 2012
It's been three years since the Paris Climate
Accord. Apparently one of the reasons the Unites States has
withdrawn ​is that we do not want to pay our fare share of climate expenses.
Picture
Picture
It really is a puzzle. There are all these messy pieces, but the parameters are clear.
We have to transition away from carbon-based fuels as quickly as possible.
And as the recent National Climate Assessment Report suggests,
we don't have much time. The warnings have been loud and
clear this year, with enormous fires and storms.
But our leaders ignore the signs...
Picture
My left ankle, taped
I get it.
​I'm now doing physical therapy for injuries
I received during the summer, but ignored.  It was just too
​inconvenient.  But, if I had acknowledged the irregular pains, and if
I had actually rested it right away, my ankle might have healed a lot ​faster.
Does this sound familiar? Let's just ignore the problem.
​It might go away...
Picture
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 2016
I don't know about you,
but I display this kind of behavior all the time.
In my head, I know one thing. In my heart I know another thing.
And then I act as if none of those understandings or feelings existed! 
Picture
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico 2016
On a trip to Mexico a few years ago, we had a beachside room that was not very romantic - - Each day, the tide came higher and higher and each night I woke to the sound of
waves crashing beneath me. It was frightening. I vowed to never travel
again. I did not want to be part of the problem...But guess who's 
going to Mexico with her extended family this year?
It was just too good to pass up...
Picture
Lyn's Lifetime Air Travel Record
What about the climate?
Yes, but what about my extended family?
It's a choice many of us make all the time, especially around
holidays. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, like when I first see all those
puzzle pieces in a pile on the table, I took action by gathering data. 
I may be an artist,
but I value real information. 
The facts. So I investigated the climate impact of my traveling. Here's what I discovered: When combining all trips I have taken alone and with my
family, beginning  
with my first international ​trip to Ireland & England, in
1974, 
​I have traveled 208,674 miles on 105 different trips. That's the
same distance as flying eight times around the equator. 

​Total Carbon impact: 141.26 tons. 
Picture
Lyn in London, 1974
What's a gal to do?
​Cross her arms, plant her feet,
and say "so what?" Or, perhaps, get on with it and
take responsibility? 
I'm tired of ignoring warning signs and not taking
action, so I went online and learned that 'all' I need to do was pay
$4,146 to offset
​the carbon impact of my family's adventures. 
(www.myclimate.org).
Picture
Florida sunrise, 2007
A carbon offset:
a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases
made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere. 
Picture
Textiles in Ecuador, 2011
I had been petrified to learn what we might owe for our family's amazing adventures
and it was that fear that had kept me from exploring offsets 
sooner. But here I
am, still icing my ankle and feeling rather stupid. If we had paid offsets
as we went we would not have this debt for which we had not
budgeted. I wonder if our leaders feel stupid too...

Picture
Railway station in Germany, 2012
Sometimes, as hard as it may be, we have to admit
our mistakes and pay our fare share for the privileges we have.
Given the National Climate Assessment's re-evaluation of our current climate
circumstances, it seems appropriate that we pay the carbon debt we owe
as quickly as possible. ​I
t's just the right thing to do.
Thank you, President George H.W. Bush.
Country (and planet) before self. 
Next week, in part 2, I'll
​talk about how.
Picture
In my sister's car somewhere in Montana, 2015
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Evelyn R. Swett celebrates
    how creativity and climate action converge to inspire joy
    and new ways of being.
    Picture
    compost re-imagined
     Let's ReFrame!
    is a bi-weekly newsletter that hopefully inspires joy & new ways of being. It will include links to recent blog posts, updates about my work, and, best of all, inspirational action prompts for you to explore your creativity and passion for the world you love. Oh, and I promise I won't share your information (that would be so uncool) and I don't actually do promotions, but that text is required.

      Subscribe to
      ​Let's ReFrame!

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Archives

    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    Art & Climate Action
    Big Little Things
    Citizenship
    Climate Action
    Clothing Conversations
    Community
    Creativity
    DIY
    Energy At Home
    Exhibitions
    Goodbye Stories
    Green New Deal
    Hanover
    Landscaping
    NH
    Object Lessons
    Personal Reflection
    Photography
    Place
    Planning
    Rip Road Neighborhood
    Sierra Club Ready For 100
    Trade Offs
    Trade-Offs
    Tradition
    Travel & Transportation

    RSS Feed

Join the conversation and sign up for Let's ReFrame!
Check out the description below**.

(Oh, and I promise I won't share your information (that would be so uncool)
and I don't actually do promotions, but that text is required.)
You can unsubscribe at any time
Picture
603-715-4468
PO Box 378 Hanover, NH 03755
evelynrswett at gmail dot com
Submit
Picture
© Copyright 2019
Evelyn R Swett Photography
All Rights Reserved


**Let's ReFrame is a weekly newsletter that hopefully inspires joy & new ways of being.
It will include links to recent blog posts, updates about my work, and, best of all, inspirational action prompts
​for you to explore your creativity and passion for the world you love. 
  • By Degrees
  • Portfolio
    • Compost Compositions
    • Reframing the Narrative
  • Join Me!
    • Upcoming Events
    • EcoChallenges
    • Let's Work Together >
      • Compost Conversations
      • Portraits
  • Store
  • About
    • Profits for the Planet