I Care Deeply About...

How to Take Back Our Power

I care deeply about reducing our consumption, living simply, and protecting nature. I care deeply about saving our wild forests that are naturally capturing carbon and sheltering biodiversity. I care deeply about stopping the burning of fossil fuels—including burning trees for dirty energy.

I care deeply about adding more rivers to our National Wild and Scenic River System and designating every roadless area left on public lands as Wilderness. I care deeply about our oceans, estuaries,salt marshes, beaches, tidepools, and saving marine life—from whales to plankton.

I care deeply about the miraculous migration of monarch butterflies and halting pesticides, herbicides, and toxins that threaten all of us. I care deeply about sage grouse as wilderness icons of the sagebrush sea and keeping that ecosystem safe from the needless destruction by oil and gas that is in turn ruining the atmosphere for all of us. I care deeply about a strong Endangered Species Act.

I care deeply about losing three billion birds in North America in my lifetime and this small window we have to protect their habitats from destruction and birds from outdoor cats, window collisions, light pollution, and toxins.

I care deeply about scientists and preserving federal funding for long-term ecological research. I care deeply about the future of journalists, a free press, public radio and TV, local newspapers, investigating reporting, and truth and facts over propaganda. I care deeply about supporting grassroots nonprofit environmental groups and their staff that are doing the brave work every day of protecting our public lands, waters, and wilds.

I care deeply... Try it. Start writing or sharing what comes to you in conversation with a friend. I learned this prompt from Heather Cox Richardson on her video of January 26, 2025, as part of her advice on how to take back our power. Now is the time to do that. Now is not the time to quiet down, wring our hands in despair, weep, and hide at the onslaught of bullying, cruel, racist, unlawful, destructive, and hideous barrage of Trump executive orders and Republican bow-downs to the far right. Richardson reminded us that many of Trump’s orders are deeply unpopular across all political divides. For example, a vast majority didn’t want the violent offenders of January 6th pardoned and let loose on our streets to terrorize us and make our lives less safe.

I care deeply...I'm amazed at how I feel the power flooding back by writing that prompt and letting what is deeply felt flow forward. I know I am among millions of people who care deeply about the fundamentals of kindness, tolerance, justice for all, nonviolence, fairness, and truth. We will not let hate rule. We will not let billionaires, industrialists, and exploiters run rampant over this country.

I care deeply. It can be overwhelming. I could just keep going, because so much is under attack. But it’s less overwhelming if we know we are in this together like an immense flock of birds in synchronous flight. We can buoy each other up and cover a lot of ground.

What to do next? For starters, please watch Heather Cox Richardson for her positive messages and suggestions for tangible daily actions--while remembering to take care of our health, find ways to renew, to laugh, and to reach out to friends and family. Spend time in nature nearby for refuge, contemplation, and tapping into the wonder of this still beautiful world—like the hover and plunge of a kingfisher in a clear pool on a halcyon day.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” -- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Belted Kingfisher art by Sheila Dunn, Bend, Oregon