One Good Wall
For the last two weeks, I’ve had a gnawing anxiety in my chest that I’m sure a lot of readers here are familiar with. The election, the climate, the too-soon dusks of November — none of these are working in my favor right now. In times like these, though, I work extra hard not to get down. It’s not easy, but this time of year I’m always kind to myself, and I try to find inspiration wherever I can get it. But it was with some surprise that I found inspiration while looking over the UN’s reports on this year’s global climate meeting, COP29. I’ll admit that this is not where I typically look for silver linings. The world is far behind its climate goals, and the climate doesn’t give it whit. Physics being what it is, the planet will keep reacting to greenhouse gases, no matter what promises are made or broken by the humans running around on its surface. But actions do matter (sometimes regardless of the outcome), and I was heartened to see a long-term initiative underway in Africa, the Great Green Wall. Launched in 2007, the endeavor, which spans 11 countries and involves even more, aims to put a swath of trees and other plants across the Sahel. Through an “integrated landscape approach,” each country is trying to alleviate land degradation while undertaking climate change and conservation measures. The goal is to rehabilitate 100 million hectares of land, capturing 250 million tons of carbon along the way. Inna Modja, a Malian-French climate activist, describes it as a potential solution to “a whole lot of problems.” And she thinks it can be done, with the kind of optimism I need. “My belief in this ambitious and really gigantic project relies in [sic] my belief in people,” she says. “We don’t want the planet to stay like this. We are really willing to fight for it. So I invite women, leaders, and everybody to come together, and we will make it.” Will that wall get built? I don’t know. Stranger walls have been raised. That’s less important to me right now than knowing that beyond the bounds of the United States, the world is moving forward. Even now, I choose to believe, as so many others do, that a greener future is not only possible but damn-near inevitable. With or without us.
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