World Wildlife Fund Speaks for the Climate Campaign

They say when you can’t write at all is when you should write the most. I don’t know how true that is, but I’ve been suffering from writer’s block since early September. And as much as it sucks, I had to get myself up and write this piece. These are two of the best things I love in this world; nature and poetry. World Wildlife Fund has brought those two things together. They are launching Speak for the Planet campaign.

This campaign has featured five prominent poets. Their poetry, accompanied by visuals, is designed to move audiences and inspire them to take action for the planet.

Check out their first video from Craig Santos Perez, a celebrated Chamorro poet, and environmentalist. Here is a snippet of it.

The Last Safe Habitat

By Dr. Craig Santos Perez

I don’t want our daughter to know
that Hawai’i is the bird extinction capital
of the world. I don’t want her to walk
around the island feeling haunted
by tree roots buried under concrete.

I don’t want her to fear the invasive
predators who slither, pounce,
bite, swallow, disease, and multiply.
I don’t want her to see paintings
and photographs of birds she’ll never
witness in the wild.

I don’t want her to
imagine their bones in dark museum
drawers. I don’t want her to hear
their voice recordings on the internet.
I don’t want her to memorize and recite
the names of 77 lost species and subspecies.

The power of poetry and climate change.

I have experienced the power of poetry. Its uplifting, positive, and life-changing effects on human life. Poetry is life itself. Those few words contain intentional hope, abounding love, and paralyzing fear. We connect, empathize, and experience the people and things around us through poetry.

In a time when the world is hurting in all ways, poetry is the cure. It is the medicine that treats us and calms us. It is the cold water after a long thirsty day. And what better way to use it than to help protect our environment?

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According to the WWF Living Planet Report, populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have decreased by 69% on average since 1970.

The World Wildlife Fund, the foremost conservation organization in the world, works in nearly 100 nations to address the most urgent problems of wildlife, people, and climate. They work to protect the natural resources on which we all rely and create a future in which both people and the environment flourish. WWF combats the risks causing the climate crisis, conserves and restores wildlife and their habitats, and works with partners at all levels to promote sustainability.

Speak for the Planet campaign

It aims to make us feel we have something worth saving — and to inspire waves of collective action for our planet.

Our health, happiness, and economic prosperity depend on biodiversity. Understanding the causes of nature’s deterioration is crucial to changing this course.

According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), five major factors contribute to the loss of biodiversity. They include modifications to land and sea use, direct exploitation of creatures, pollution, climate change, and invading non-native species.

Our greatest threat now is generally acknowledged to be climate change. We may anticipate more storms, heatwaves, and droughts, endangering the survival of many species on this planet.

People are more motivated to fight climate change if they empathize with its effects. We achieve this through poetry.

And science supports this. For instance, a recent study discovered that poetry boosts empathy in readers and, as a result, can be a powerful tool for communicating these messages and altering behavior.

Poetry can actualize the effects of climate change to readers by using symbolism, metaphors, and storytelling. Some challenge the systems accused of increasing this global crisis.

I have learned over time that you do not need motivation to act. All you need is to start. So take out your pen and write some eco-poetry. Support poets speaking against climate change, buy their books, and read.

Save the world, a poem a day.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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