I applaud your optimism, of course. But I've noticed that just about every writer who is proposing solutions to our global crisis is following a futile "what if..." paradigm--that is, "What if everyone on the planet did what I want them to do?"

Unfortunately, this won't happen. Ever. We are all too different, too tribal, too addicted to our own comfort zones, too greedy and short-sighted. In other words, we are animals, like all the others.

So what then? Give up and reconcile ourselves to our imminent collective extinction?" No, not quite. We ourselves can change, but "change" is not really a transitive verb. We cannot change anyone else. What we can do is start where we are, and do whatever is within our own power and influence to grow gardens, grow community, and grow awareness. This means talking to our neighbors, one to one, even if they are very different from us. It also means creating local initiatives that make it easy and inviting for others to do what we want them to (i.e. grow gardens, community, and awareness) and difficult not to. It means to take care of everyone and abandon no one, and to devote our lives to learning, teaching, healing, and creating.