Thank you for sharing this, Melissa. I needed the boost, having recently fallen into a morose state of climate pessimism myself! And you are absolutely right: despair is the Enemy with in— for if we assume that nothing can be done, nothing WILL be done to avert catastrophe.

My own view is that our chances of stopping the fossil fuel-driven juggernaut are slim, to be sure, but our best bet, starting immediately, is to relocalize our economy and our energy infrastructure as quickly as possible, while simultaneously keeping up steady pressure on policy makers to end fossil fuel subsidies and put a steep price on carbon emissions. My go-to slogan for all of this is as follows: Grow Gardens, Grow Community, Grow Awareness!