7 things you can do to make a difference, which also improve your life

"The ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible. Thousands of populations of critically endangered vertebrate animal species have been lost in a century, indicating that the sixth mass extinction is human caused and accelerating. The acceleration of the extinction crisis is certain because of the still fast growth in human numbers and consumption rates. In addition, species are links in ecosystems, and, as they fall out, the species they interact with are likely to go also. In the regions where disappearing species are concentrated, regional biodiversity collapses are likely occurring. Our results reemphasize the extreme urgency of taking massive global actions to save humanity’s crucial life-support systems." - Gerardo Ceballos, Paul R. Ehrlich, and Peter H. Raven, Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.

For land vertebrate species alone, 515 species currently face extinction with populations under 1000. Another 388 species have populations under 5000. Data shows that many of these species have lost more than 77% of their populations in the last 100 years, something that researchers estimate would have normally taken 10,000 years at crisis levels. Of the species with fewer than 5000 members remaining, 84% live in the same affected areas as the species with 1000 members remaining. Wildlife scientists are warning that extinctions beget further extinctions. This snowball effect can irreversibly impact all living organisms on earth.

The world is nothing but a tapestry of symbiotic relationships and interdependence's. The documentary "How Wolves Change Rivers" demonstrated the power of trophic cascades, where the re-introduction of wolves into Yellowstone national park actually changed where the water flows were going through a series of trophic cascades.

Today we face the challenge of our species history: the complete and utter collapse of our natural ecosystems. This isn't just about climate change, this is about the coming together of dozens of existential threats to the continued existence of the human race, all coalescing at the same time, largely due to one thing: the way we live our lives.

The good news is, we still have time to reverse this. And many of the actions we need to take actually IMPROVE our lives at the same time. Maybe not in terms of the amount of things we have, but in the quality of the time we enjoy on this earth. It's our duty, our responsibility as not only the cause of this problem, but also as the most powerful species on this planet, to make the changes necessary to preserve our natural ecosystems for the generations to come.

It's easy to point the finger at the Exxon Mobil and Shell of the world and say "see those guys there, they are the bad guys", without understanding that it's our demand that they are supplying. And in the end, history has shown that if there is money to be made, then unchecked capitalism will provide someone to fill that demand. So the ONLY way to solve this is via Death by 1000 cuts. It is by a groundswell of change, which begins at home.

Today I focus on 7 changes that each person can make, which not only make a positive impact but also make our lives better for doing them.

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Young Family trades city life for a horse farm over at Barn Boots and Country Roots:

Also check out Gardening in the North:

Music credits:

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Videos:

[LynnDerriman]

I'm just starting my Permaculture journey and just thrilled by how practical and sensible all of the basic principles are. Working WITH nature rather than AGAINST it. My ultimate goal is to feed my husband and myself, in our retirement, entirely from our food forest, using rain water collection and solar energy. Would love it if you could share your views on water and solar Keith. Stay fabulous!!!! 🤗

[SAROXBAND]

I cannot watch this video enough! Recommending it to all my friends and loved ones because this can CHANGE the world! Bless you friend 🙌

[evangrills]

Hey there
My name is Evan! I am currently a professional baseball player. I’m playing the professional league in Taiwan and I’m actually originally from Whitby but now live in Ottawa with my family in the offseason! I have been heavily studying permaculture, soil science, environmental science and much more to do with these subjects. Being in Taiwan and away from my family i have tons of free time to study and learn. If I’m not reading or writing about all these subjects I’m watching a lot of your videos, your channel is great.

I was looking online to see if I could contact you but could not find any ways. I would love to talk to you about these subjects and learn from you and ask questions. I was wondering if your interested in helping me. I live 20 minutes from Ottawa in the country, Our family has 5 acres and I’d say about 3 that could be turned into a thriving food forest. As soon as i retire and also in the offseason i want to prepare the land for creating this. Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions

Hope to hear back from you and hopefully connect

[STANE]

i disagree little bit with the message on the topic on meat.
I will share resources that helped me get wider range of information and helped me have more complete picture.

Paul Chek (Dr. Diet stuff, Metabolic typing)
Paul Saladino
intermittent fasting (there are multiple but Peter Attia is one i like)
Mikhaila Peterson (Jordon Peterson's daughter and her Lion diet)

I know that we both agree that forcing people to eat or not to eat something is wrong.

Given that you are from Canada and how much you loved meat i am assuming you have genetic predisposition to be able to function optimally on a diet that includes meat (not everyone has to undergo meat only diet like Peterson's)

Also you do so much good with the world it would be a shame if any issues induced by diet that is incompatible with your genetics arose.

Be mindful and pay attention to your body, mind, spirit and you can live longer and HQ and produce more gifts to the world.
Maybe next chapter for you is only plant based diet but don't be afraid to stop it if it doesn't feel good.

Hope this helps

[marylyn]

I live in an apartment and don't have a balcony. However I have just discovered sprouting. Baby steps.

[rachelholdt]

One decision I've made for my family is to use animals in our permaculture system because they are an integral part of the ecosystem's health. We are unable currently to bring more native species of herbivores onto the land, like bison, so I'll be using livestock. The livestock will be in a limited area at any given time, allowing the other wildlife to use the unoccupied spaces. Since the large predators are essentially gone, we have to provide that role in our local ecosystem. It's crucial for the health of the herbivore herds to regularly cull the weakest members of the herd. Right now I'm working on the unused areas of my family's farm. Eventually I plan to expand permaculture to the entire farm, which is around 1200 acres. Livestock will be critical to the operation of the farm. They'll do a lot of the work for me instead of large machinery. It will take time and proven success on a smaller scale to convince some of my other family to follow the path I'm forging. Good thing I'm thinking long-term!

[abeltatek]

Man, I'm knee deep into mental slavery and doing things I don't want to do. I'm taking super advanced courses at school which I absolutely hate. I want to take the easiest classes possible but my parents want me to "go to a nice college, nice job, nice house, etc." but I don't want that. I've been watching your videos, other channels on permaculture and regenerative farming and that's what I want to do. I don't need much money, and I don't need a high school diploma or college degree to do anything that I now want to do. Last night I went outside and looking up at the sky and moon was more fulfilling than any big house, nice car, or nice job ever will be. Hearing you say that you left that high paying 4 year program makes me wish I could just leave these advanced classes and have more time to be out in the nature doing things that I want to do. It's crazy how very few people do this. I keep begging my parents to take me on a hike or some nature reverse, and both my dad and brother laughed about it and my mom won't go unless everyone else goes. I'm so happy that you chose nature over money and wish you all the best. Maybe you should add a cat to the family so it can trot along throughout the property :-)

[PawsOnTheBalcony]

I'm glad to see that I'm already rigorosely following 4 of your points, and trying to improve with the other 3. After growing annual foods on my balcony for 6 years now, my permaculture life will start next year, after I've done the necessary certification course to buy agricultural land in my country. So excited!

[KitchenGardenTherapy]

I live on 25' by 125' urban lot, but started my mini food forest, because Anything is better than Nothing! Thank you for inspiration.

[ianlang]

OMG eco-anxiety suddenly I have a name for that gnawing dread feeling lol

[liabobia]

I call buying shipped food "eating gas". Usually gets a rise out of folks, which prompts the conversation, which usually ends with me unloading extra seedlings on them.

[familychannel]

Love your channel. We discovered permaculture 4 years ago and have been turning our suburban lot into a food forest with an emphasis on insect rehabilitation and native plants for pollinators. Definitely have that existential dread as I have 2 young children. I fear for the future so we do what we can. We don't eat meat often. What we do eat is rabbit that I raise myself. Thanks for getting the word out. If everyone made some small changes we could do a lot of good.

[adamgrout]

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good—-Haven’t heard someone say that in a long time. Nice work!

[TheWoogeroo]

Eating meat from a sheep farm 10 miles away that grazes on grass is 1000x more eco-friendly than air-freighting avocados into Europe.
Living in uninhabitable areas of the world is far more polluting than living in a reasonable temperate climate where you don't need to run aircon or deal with months of snow.
Living in a flat in a city is 1000x more eco friendly than living in a remote area in a single family house.

We need to have realistic taxes to encourage good behaviour rather than following insane vegan propaganda that pushes an unhealthy gimmick diet.
All organic farming relies on manure, which only exists with a balanced agricultural practice of animals and vegetables.

I'm afraid that reducing the world's population is far more viable than making rich people change their lifestyle. A war specifically designed to reduce the population is likely and will be a scary thing.

[sharonagoren]

I love your honesty. I found permaculture through my search for veganic (gentle) growing methods so I was first vegan and then became a permaculturist. Unlike you I come from a culture that is much vegetarian and I actually became vegetarian through marrying one. For you it would definitely be harder, therefore I appreciate your honest striving! You have a fascinating story! When I expressed my goal of becoming vegan, like you are doing now, I didn't know if I could. A free 22 day vegan challenge came on my feed. As soon as I signed up my world entered a new level. the education I got in those 22 days was amazing. I earned food prep and shopping and many culinary tricks. I learned about health, animal behaviour and human compassion and about the link between ethics and health. I have been vegan for 8 years and my husband for 7.

[PaleGhost]

That warning can't stop me because I -can't read- already have existential dread.

[debbiehenri]

Brilliant video. Although I didn't go quite fully into the existential dread thing - there was a time I did feel horribly guilty about one day leaving my son behind into what is going to be a very difficult planet. I still dread what's to come, but that's why we plant these permaculture projects, isn't it? It's not just for us in the here and now, but as an added insurance for our kin when we've gone.

From the beginning, I decided my permaculture project would be a little more than food. Pines for making into replacement fence posts, a few more as Christmas trees. Some trees are there for making into structures - willow arches, obelisks, tunnels, fencing. A few different types of tree are grown/coppiced for firewood - as I do have a multi-fuel stove (heating/water).
Last week, I planted out some new Saponaria seedlings - as I read they are 25% better at producing a lather than Indian Soap Nuts. (They prefer a light dappled woodland or edge-of-shrubbery position, so a lot of us can grow these under our fruit trees/bushes. So far, nothing has tried to eat them, not slugs, snails, pheasants and voles - all of which seem to like trying anything once).
I'm going to try using Saponaria as a replacement for all types of cleaner products, whether it's clothes, surface cleaner in the kitchen and bathroom, skin, and dirty dishes (we're a vegan/vegetarian family, so there's no need to use heavier duty commercial washing up liquid).

We went totally vegan a couple of years ago - now bear with me, if you think I'm yet another carnivore-basher. I'm not. But this might help someone out there who's having the same problems as I once did.
A few years earlier I'd developed digestive problems that eventually resulted in intolerances to over 100 foods (the very worst being gluten, honey, and green tea). I was also often tired, losing concentration, forgetful to the point it looked like I was developing early-onset dementia, and had severe insomnia.
After lots of hospital appointments, dieticians, numerous tests, etc, I had to go on an extensive elimination diet. Only when I excluded meat of all types (including fish) - did I finally get better.
After a bit more research, I discovered there are a growing number of people developing a similar set of food intolerances and symptoms. Some blame has been put on the amount of glyphosate being used to dessicate grains that are fed to cattle, this chemical accumulating in their meat. Glyphosate has been proven to attack and reduce the bioflora in the human digestive system, reducing its efficiency, and this can then kick off food intolerances - which of course leads to an unbalanced diet and the other symptoms.
It took me 'just 2 weeks' on a vegan diet to fully recover from a whole set of debilitating problems which had been plaguing me for years.
We only pulled back from veganism to vegetarianism some time after we went into lockdown (due to so many products being sold out in the ensuing panic-buying madness that swept the world...) - buying in a little normal cheese, since some protein-rich foods like beans were given 'purchase limits.' We continued to do so afterwards, although we do swap the dairy cheese for a very yummy, (if expensive) smoked vegan cheese our local sells now and again.


So, this is not a 'don't mince day-old chicks' thing, because I did once eat meat and I'm 'not' actually that much of an animal lover beyond tigers and butterflies...oh and bees, parrots & giant manta rays. My experience is only here because you or someone you know might be having the same dietary problems as I did. A vegan or vegetarian diet might just be the answer, even if it's intermittent, to give your 'system a rest and time to recuperate.'

[eberhardhermann]

I stop eating meat about 4 years ago. I am 49, everybody can do that. Industriell meat system is so bad, if you see it once you just stop eating meat. There are tons of reasons to stop or reduce drastically meat consumption. Go for it. Greetz from a lazy german guy :-)

[CassandraGreco]

This was great. Really appreciate you mentioning reducing meat consumption and veganism. A lot of people who care about the environment as still resistant to reducing meat. I was vegetarian for a long time and resistant to going vegan and thinking I could never go vegan because of eggs and cheese. I've been vegan for a few years now and wish I hadn't been stubborn and had done it sooner. I'm going to be starting my first permaculture food forest this year with a goal to grow as much as our own food as we can. Thanks for your videos!

[davidcupples]

along with everything else - chip in to plant trees. Trees for the Future is a good group of long standing. Rainforest Alliance. some others. Human existence is in dire straits. Act now.