Sustainable Steps

Climate change is here. Forest fires are raging harder each year. Hurricanes are gaining intensity as oceans warm up. Droughts and floods and extreme weather are making crops unstable. Polar ice caps are melting, causing sea levels around the world to rise and coastal communities to experience flooding. All of this is driving up the cost of living — food, energy, travel, insurance, and more — so much so that we’re all feeling the pinch.

The good news: We have the tools and knowledge to reverse this crisis.

The bad news: We’re not using those tools. Not fast enough or effectively enough, anyway.

Why aren’t we?

We don’t realize that every single one of us has the power to be part of the solution — in a real way that makes a real difference.

And that’s fair. It’s unlikely that one of us can change the world by planting a pollinator garden and recycling all our soft plastics. The big, broad changes really do have to come from industry and governments. We need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels yesterday and put that money into clean tech solutions instead. We need incentives for businesses of all sizes to keep their carbon footprint minimal. We need healthy food — without hormones or Roundup — to keep our soil (and ourselves) in good shape for real crops to thrive. We need excellent public transit — high speed trains connecting villages to cities so we can leave our cars at home. And so much more.

But to get the government to implement these changes, we need a population that demands them. We need to make it mainstream — not the radical fringe — to expect good policy and believe that it can work.

Sounds like a pipe dream.

Maybe it is. Maybe shortsightedness, greed, and fear of change will keep us on our trajectory toward heating up the planet to a temperature that can’t sustain life as we know it. A few of our world leaders seem hell-bent upon taking us there, and our consumption habits are helping them do it.

But maybe human decency — and intelligence, and innovation, and adaptability — will help us rise to the occasion. There are other leaders out there (some call them Middle Powers) who are low-key working together to create a world order that’s fair, prosperous, and sustainable. This is the side we want to fight for. The kind of people we want by our side for the journey. And the best way we can think of to get rid of our climate anxiety and help our kids have the best shot they can.

Sustainable Steps is based on the premise that through collective action, we can shift the momentum, fix this planet, and make it a great place to live for generations to come. But we have to actually do it.

How does this site work?

We’re a blog, a shop, and a game.

The blog is the simplest place to start. Browse at your leisure, jump in with comments or questions when you have them. Share them with friends if you think a post might help someone you know.

The shop is eco-friendly streetwear that speaks — sustainable steps in visual form — designed to encourage people to wear the conversation in a casual way, to spark thought without having to shout about it.

The game is a step counter — for people who like to count their sustainable steps. Take action to earn Steps that you can spend in our shop or on charitable donations that we’ll make in your name. It’s free to join, free to play, free to win.

Jump in wherever feels right for you. Engage as much as makes you comfortable. This site is all about countering climate anxiety by being engaged in the solution. It’s also meant to be fun — a journey we can all sustain!

Consumer demand changes what companies produce, and voter demand changes what governments do.

All we have to change is what we’re asking for.