On Valentine’s Day UVA Press released an anthology called Solastalgia: An Anthology of Emotion in a Disappearing World, edited by Paul Bogard. “Solastalgia” is a Latinate word for eco-grief. I have an essay in the book. My essay is called “Step-by-Step Instructions” and it says about what you would expect it to say. Feel the pain, shift your thinking, do something, heal. I’m looking forward to reading what other people have to say about eco-grief.
What You Can Do
I wrote this list for the book.
Set yourself up in a life as sustainable as possible. Build a belief in your own resilience. Boost your preparedness. Prepare to do without. Prepare to travel less. Sell your car. Prepare that big ag is not going to feed you. Start growing food. Learn to cook. Go as long as you can without shopping. Build to withstand extremes. Don’t build a new house. Restore an old property. Install unit-based solar with no grid hookup. Dig a well. Decarbonize your economy. Use recycled wood. Learn to carve. Recycle paper. Actively create a support network. Have people over. Cook for them. Go on a walk with them. Host a tree walk. Go plant trees. Celebrate a birth or a birthday with a new tree. Give a tree as a wedding gift. For Christmas, not only buy trees for friends and family but plant them. Stop mowing so much. Cancel a flight. Stay home. Connect to your place. Lobby for federal logging restrictions. Fundraise to buy a vacant lot for an orchard. Buy a clearcut outside town and replant it. Buy a forest and save it. Protest a tree being cut. Put up a tree swing. Share the stories.
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