Last month, I led a class at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s University for Seniors titled “The Pursuit of Better Possibilities.” We explored how all of us can lead more meaningful and resilient lives in our 60s and beyond. In the class, we talked about the importance and value of being creative and connected as well as discovering ways to simply be present and curious.

During the last session, I showed an interview with Dr. Jane Goodall on Netflix where she spent the last six minutes looking directly into the camera and shared her last message to the world. This interview was not aired until after her death. Goodall talked about how each of us has an important role to play on this planet and that our lives matter. She reminded us that we are part of the natural world and proposed that we can make a difference in addressing climate change and responding to the destruction of the biodiversity on the planet. She encouraged us to do everything possible to make the world a better place.

In that same session, I played a scene from the movie Patch Adams where the main character is standing before a medical review board defending himself and declaring his desire to become a doctor. When a member of the board addresses  their concerns about his nontraditional approaches to helping patients and dealing with death, Patch states that death is not the enemy but that the most terrible disease of all is indifference.

For those of us who live in Duluth, how can we not become indifferent to the very clear and dramatic challenges that we are facing with climate change? In what ways can we take some time every day to remind ourselves that we live on the planet Earth and, at the same time, remember to act with reverence and respect in how we treat this planet in our private and public lives? Throughout our days, where can we take greater responsibility in leading more sustainable lives? What can you and I do to make Duluth a better place for all of us?

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reading about the latest climate news from around the planet. The CO2 atmospheric levels continue to rise and most of the scientific community is now expressing concerns that we will surpass the 1.5 degree Fahrenheit rise in global temperatures that was proposed at the Paris Agreement. Also, the loss of ice in Greenland and the Arctic, as well as sea level rise, are happening sooner than expected.

Back in 2010, Bill McKibben published his book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. McKibben presented some of the more significant climate and weather events that had taken place over the past few years as clear evidence that the planet Earth was changing. In 2008, the Economist reported that the temperatures on the Antarctic Penisula were rising faster than anywhere else on Earth, and hydrologists in the United States were predicting the drought across the southwestern region had become permanent.

He wrote, “Earth has changed in profound ways, ways that have already taken us out of the sweet spot where humans so long thrived. We’re every day less the oasis and more the desert. The world hasn’t ended, but the world as we know it has — even if we don’t quite know it yet. We imagine we still live back on that old planet, that the disturbances we see around us are the old random and freakish kind. But they’re not. It’s a different place. A different planet.”

When all of us wake up in the morning, it might be helpful to take a moment and reflect upon the fact that we live on Earth, and our planet has been changing in some very dramatic ways. Take some time to think about how we can think and live more ecologically, how we can lead and embrace more sustainable lives, and how we can give back to the planet in the hopes of restoring our natural environment.

Duluth’s future depends upon us not becoming indifferent and not forgetting that we all have important roles in protecting and restoring our planet. Walk or bike instead of driving. Go to the grocery store with a backpack instead of using plastic bags. Build a garden in your yard instead of mowing grass. Join and support groups like 350.org, Sierra Club, Citizens Climate Lobby and Third Act.

We must remember and appreciate the many gifts we receive from living in Duluth and on this planet Earth. And we must always look for the many opportunities to pursue our better possibilities in helping create a healthier and more hospitable Duluth and Earth.