Healthy Planet Healthy You Ximena Yáñez

"The Earth is our home. Unless we preserve the rest of life, as a sacred duty, we will be endangering ourselves by destroying the home in which we evolved, and on which we completely depend.” – Edward O. Wilson.

The air we breathe, the food and water we eat and drink, the shelter we build, the clothes we wear, the goods we use, and the medicines we take – all these come from Earth’s rich and vast biological resources. However, within the last 500 years, humans have forced hundreds of species into extinction, and while the Earth has always experienced changes, over the last century, our activities have caused ecosystems to change at an unprecedented rate. This devastating rate of extinction is putting our planet in the midst of an accelerated sixth mass extinction event that otherwise would have taken thousands of years to happen. It has taken us a great effort to accept that everything is connected… and actually, some of us still think we are isolated from the rest of the world.

But there is still hope as whatever we do as individuals, families, and communities, adds to the global solution. The time to act is now and the world needs all you can give!

Since the beginning of human civilization, water has been a recurrent topic in different affairs including religion, science, medicine, philosophy, and poetry. Since the planet was formed, the amount of water has remained the same, this means that the water we use today is recycled water from millions of years ago. However, as human activities are diverting water to the ocean and polluting it, freshwater is becoming one of the scarcest resources on the planet… and unfortunately, we keep treating it as a dispensable commodity. Water is essential for life and we depend on safe water for our health and livelihood. What we know for sure is that for our own survival, we must treat water as a very valuable and precious resource… because it is.

CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases that keep the Earth's surface warm and cozy and has been present in the atmosphere since the planet was formed. About 2.5 billion years ago, plants developed the ability to photosynthesize which made CO2 concentration steadily drop until 30 million years ago when it stabilized at less than 300 molecules in every one million molecules of air (or 300 parts per million ppm).

However, during the Industrial Revolution, CO2 concentrations started to rise as the result of massive emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels, large-scale deforestation, and intensive agricultural practices. We already hit a record concentration of 425 ppm; a level that has not been seen in 30 million years. We’ve also seen a faster rate of planetary warming since the 1980s, which matches the timeline in which the long-lasting CO2 concentrations were exceeded.

Despite the warnings, there has been a delayed response from governments and industries around the world. If we keep waiting for someone else to take the first step, we might lose our window of opportunity to change the climate tendencies. We are still in time to start bending the curve, but it all starts with you, me, and each one of us as individuals. Because if not now, when? and if not you, who?

Regarding the climate crisis, we are seeing increased stress -especially in young people- caused by worries about the future of the planet and our lives. Although some people might think of these concerns as being rooted in irrational fears, climate change is scientifically undeniable and a real risk to our survival, so it is rational to worry about it. This uneasiness has been named eco-anxiety and is generally used to explain negative emotions experienced in the face of environmental problems. However, this anxiety can be a suitable response to climate change challenges: you can release disturbing eco-anxiety and use it as fuel for action.

You have the right to decide for yourself, so allow us to tell you the story of how we got into this crisis and what are the odds if we fail to act during the next 7-10 years. There are many things you can do for your personal benefit and, at the same time, to support global efforts toward a healthy planet.

During the last 10,000 years, temperatures stabilized allowing the planet to be as we know it today. Around 1950 human activity and the exponential rise of human pressure on Earth started to become a game changer and a new geological epoch was born; in a single lifetime, we have warmed the Earth by more than one degree.

Let’s deep dive into the story of how we got into this crisis, and what are the things YOU can do for your personal benefit and, at the same time, to support global efforts. Let’s talk about hope because there is still time and together, we can make things change for good. How you live and what you eat will determine the course for the next years: reaching the tipping point or returning all planetary boundaries to safety.

Ximena and Lorenzo will share with you their understanding of what's happening in the world concerning the climate and health crisis, but centering on hope and possibility. They will talk about the importance of switching our minds from survival mode to an abundance mindset to face these challenges from a place of potential. They’ll also explain how our health and the planet’s condition are deeply related, and remind us of our ability for choosing our future. This episode will explain how taking care of our home is a true expression of self-love, and how to make a start by acknowledging failure as an opportunity to grow.