Day 2: Reckon

How do we reckon with the past and the long term impacts of climate on our communities future? 

How do we reckon with how practices of extraction, disinvestment, and scarcity that create the climate reality we are in?

How do we advance solutions rooted in restoration, abundance, and love.

Guest Speakers:
Marsha Jackson // Co-Chair of Southern Sector Rising
Veronica Coptis // Executive Director of Center for Coalfield Justice

Introduction by:
Colette Pichon Battle // Vision & Initiatives Partner, Taproot Earth

Tap into RECKON by…

Connect with us @taprootearth on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

Transcript

0:01

Day two, Reckon. When we're with each other in moments of crisis is what lays the strongest foundations for us to move through, right? Whatever is next, whatever is coming. Welcome to day two, Climate on Tap, Rituals of Remembrance and Restoration. Reckon. What does it mean to truly reckon with the past and the long term impacts of climate change on our communities futures? How do we reckon with the long term impacts of impacts of practices of extraction, disinvestment and scarcity that created the climate reality we're in? How can we advance solutions rooted in restoration, abundance, and love? This episode features powerhouses from the Gulf to Appalachia, two regions grappling with a shared history of extracted systems, and a deep culture of resistance and power building. In this episode, we will hear from Ms. Marsha Jackson and Veronica Coptis. Marsha Jackson is the Co-Chair of Southern Sector Rising. And Veronica Coptis is the Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice. In conversation from Texas to Pennsylvania, passing the mic to Ms. Marsha and Veronica. Well, hello, Marsha. I'm really excited to get to learn more about your work. And just really curious to know more about what in Dallas are you reckoning with right now? What are your challenges? And how is it in your community? Our organization is Southern Sector Rising. That arrived because of the environmental issues that we had right next to my house. And we live in the rural area in Dallas, Black and brown communities. And it started as... I was a spokesperson, because when you start fighting these issues in the city of Dallas, they kind of have the issues to retaliate against you. And so I became the spokesperson because it didn't make me any difference about speaking. It started out with what was supposed to be recycling. Never did happen. So there ended up being 180,000 tons of roofing next to my house. And so we're fighting environmental injustice because it's a flood zone area. And I just figured that they can come do anything in the low income area. And not only that environmental injustice, we also have the same issues of flooding here because we are in a flood zone. And just recently because of the dry land, all the fires here. And it really hurt Veronica, when people call you because they need help and who do they go to? So those are the kind of things that we really, really are trying to work on, and trying to have this vision and a mission that we're we're changing our mission to extend further up in environmental justice. A lot of a response recovery. I've been there. I've been in the flood too, so I know exactly how they feel. I mean, that really resonates a lot with me. You know, I'm also in a rural community. We're also impoverished. And it just makes me think of we held a community meeting a couple days ago around coal mining. So we live where there are still massive coal mining operations. And when the mine moves under someone's home, it likely destroys the structure of their home, takes their water. And our rule in our state is kind of what we refer to as you break it, you fix it. So then the person has to negotiate with a billion dollar company to try to get their repairs fixed equitably. And we hosted this workshop about knowing your rights around that. And in a small rural town, over 50 people showed up interested and wanting to know what they do. How do they stop the coal mine? How do I make sure they clean my water or replace my water at the end of the day? And it just, you know, I think that's the on the ground local things that we're reckoning with. And then at the same time, in southwestern Pennsylvania, because we also have massive fracking operations, too, and we know the oil and gas industry is like looking for that next market or that next scam. As I like to say as well, too. And we're really tackling with both within progressives, Democrats, who people would perceive to be on our side and also Republicans, to not just invest more of our tax dollars into climate solutions that just funnel money to the fossil fuel industry. And how do we talk to people about it? And also how do we push back or not come off as we don't want any solution or all of your solutions are bad and like here's what you should drive forward. So I think that's a hard thing to navigate, especially when you're talking to, folks that are still struggling to pay their bills or why should they care about this issue? Or I don't have clean water. Even though we're all in different regions and different areas we kind of go through some of the same things also. And some of the main questions that we always get and I get in my community,"Why are you still there?""You know, if this is happening why don't you move?" And I said,"Why should we move? You know, we have our right just the same as anybody else." And these companies just really coming in a here where we've been decades. When we first started, I really didn't have any of my elected officials. And in our community, our elected officials were Black. And not one of them even came to help rescue, even the Black community didn't come to help rescue because no one understands environmental injustice. And just like you said coal mining, they don't understand that and that's the reason why now we have to educate because if we don't, what will happen to our family? We have to do this because of our family that we have, because of my community here. And I'm sure you're going to do the same thing with your family and your kids. Because when we first started I had great, great grandkids. I couldn't even let him come over here because of the pollution that we have here, it causes a smell, the pollutants. If you continue hearing my voice while we are talking that I have them permanently damaged because of this it caused damage to my vocal cords. So that's another stance that I have to continue fighting, who wants anybody else to go through that? And no it's not just environmental, like you said, fossil fuel. We have to continue our voice. We have to be out there for everybody else. We experienced this, I don't want anybody else to experience it. And I'm sure you do. Also speaking on that what motivates us to continue doing that, I don't know if you had the same problems that we have. We really didn't have any elected officials to continue to help us. Not locally, not statewide. We just didn't have them. So I don't know if you're still going through those same issues as well that we're doing here in the city of Dallas also. So I really resonate with the like,"You need to move." Or,"Why are you still here?" I actually think 90% of why I'm still living where I grew up is because I had a powerful person in the coal industry be like,"If you don't like it, just leave." and the rebellious part of me is like,"Nah, guess what? I'm never leaving now." I think that's been a challenge in my organizing career. When I knock on someone's door. I was just tabling at a community event before this. How do I help my neighbor understand that we can actually make a difference even though we're up against billion dollar companies, governments that are corrupt. And we've seen small progress. We don't have state or federal elected officials that are in our corner. There's massive issues with money in politics and how do we navigate that or get the pay to play system out of our political sphere. But our ground game and our organizing and education has made a huge impact at the local level. And we have some county commissioners now that maybe won't come out and say,"We don't need fossil fuels in our future." But they're not resisting any other alternative. They're not digging into a fossil fuel- only economic vision for the county. They're like,"We want everything and anything that'll bring good jobs, invest in clean water, and improve our schools, our quality of life in the region." And that has been motivating to start at the local level, have people see it there and then from there, more power together, we can hopefully make those same shifts at the state and federal level as well. Joining together and meeting so many different allies, just like we're talking, and just like Taproot, and I met so many people through there, that I think that makes the biggest difference. Because when we have other allies, they help support us and we're working on the same policies, that we can get this done. We can get a rip. It takes a while, what people don't understand, even with just the pipe or what we did with Shingle Mountain. It it took almost three years before this move. Even though it's new, we still have work to do because the property still has a hill of lead on it. So we're trying to make our officials still see that that still is a harm to our community. Not only my community here we're right on the banks of a creek, you know, Trinity River. So you got to understand that the flood zone, when it rains, now there's a crate of big water where the shingle was, is running off into the creek. So it's not only polluting my community, it's polluting other communities where that's flowing. We not only just have that from where I went to, we have a Lane Plating Superfund. And that's another issue that I hope and we're still fighting on that we have a committee, that the EPA understands that this has been five years. Five years is too long to have all those cancerous, pollutants on our property. And you're not doing anything about it. The state is saying,"Use testing, testing—" is it why because it's in the Black community that you're not doing anything else about it? They know that they have those pollutants there and is seeking over to the neighborhood property. Now, you're just now trying to go get permission to go test them. We have to continue fighting. We have to continue pushing these policies to make these government officials know that the health of the community is more important. Just the same thing I feel about the flood zonings. You know, the flooding areas. Is some kind of way that we're going to have to continue pushing these policies and we're going to continue talking to elected officials that the engineering needs to be - they needed to up the engineering portion, the planning in those areas. I know that said we flood in our area, they opened the floodgates. So the minority people can have more flooding here. That's a scary thing. And I feel, you know, my heart goes out to all the communities and I try to fight so much because I was a Red Cross disaster team member. But now working with everybody else, I think that we can do a little bit more to help our own community in disaster response recovery. And that's what I hope to continue working on because it burdened my heart and it hurts me when people call and say,"Ms. Marsha, what can we do? Is there somebody we can contact to help us on our response recovery?" And so we're working on that now. I have seven years' experience and I'm still at Red Cross, but it wasn't helping our community as we felt that it should be. So I hope that these plans that we continue working on just spread them out booklet, educate our community. Just like the fossil fuel, the coal mining we need to educate more get a booklet, get our description, and let them know who to contact. Where are we? We're here for you. You know it's not only just - I grew our organization, we have a multitude of allies that's gonna help with fighting. Reach out to us, that's what we're for. And we'll call our other allies to come out and help to rescue, everybody for that. This really makes me think about when I am feeling down or how do we get through this? Growing up in Appalachia, we've always had little resources. We've always been the place where we're supposed to power the nation. But our people have always been super creative, really, resilient. They know how to lead resistances. The birth of the labor movement really came out of some of these hills and hollers. And it just keeps me grounded to be like,"Our people have done this before, our people have envisioned new futures before, and we can do it before." And even when we're talking to folks at the doors it's like,"Okay, yeah you're unhappy with X politician or X person in power, those people are going to come and go from decade to decade. And we are the ones that are going to be here. Our families for centuries to come." We have been before and we will be in the future. And so we're the ones that can hold this change that can hold this knowledge and can create and paint this vision forward. And one of the things about climate resiliency, I will say when people are like,"What is the best way to be resilient to climate crisis?" I'm like,"Do you know your neighbors?" When an accident hits, those are the people close to you. Have you talked to your neighbor? Maybe you don't politically align, but when that happens, no one cares if you're a registered Republican or Democrat. They're like,"Your house is being damaged. How do I help you?" Humans are naturally helpful people, and knowing who your neighbors are and what's your plan and how to navigate around that. And then when we'll talk to folks as well, and one of my favorite things is as an organizer, people love to complain and be like,"Here's what's wrong, and here's what doesn't work, and blah, blah, blah, blah." And I'll always ask,"But what are you doing about it too?" It's one thing to complain and are you willing to take that next step into action to change it, to do something, to figure out where you could increase our power around it. It's really important to me also that we let our community know that we are here. You know, since you said that, we ran into so many problems that people did want the help but they don't want to do the work, and they're afraid of retaliation also. It was so exciting to see people did come over to rescue us and our community that was fighting with us. They didn't know us. You know, they were over in more, some of them, in the more affluent part of town. They didn't know anything about Southern Port until they saw that. And they did come out and help. We had to do PMA, you know, and you have to do that sometimes. You have to put those officials on notice. We went to our mayor's house and we did a mock trial, a whole kind of mock trial at the city council house. So they don't like that, but sometimes you have to do that. We were just beginning to have a civil disobedience right before they decided that they were going to move the Shingle Mountain. You know, they filed a lawsuit on that. So sometimes it does take that, people don't understand. But I think that when they start seeing you doing that then they start saying that they want to do something."Okay, I see, they are making moves, doing it." These companies will still try you and still try to do the same thing. Like what we're still going through there. But you have to stay persistent on that, just like we're talking about reckoning. You start that you, you recognize, you've got to recognize these issues. You're still playing, just like our issues here. The companies are not supposed to be near a residence without a C.O. and S.U.P.. We have to go back and challenge the city, know exactly your policies. And continue challenging them. Let them know that you are educated on your own policy. If you don't know there's people out there that help, and that's what we're all about. I constantly want to get my community back like it used to be. It was a green community and that's what we're working on right now. If you go back in and look at some of those sites that we have, it's not green anymore, it's black, and what black means to me is it's dying. That property is dying. So we're working really, really hard to get that greenery back in. My community is called Floral Farms. And that's exactly what we wanted. We want the floor back on, also. My group's also not only working on that part, working with the group on Fossil Fuels. We're also working on the fracking. So we're all around, it's not just environmental any more. We're there to help support everybody else. And I'm glad that you're speaking on your organization and the work you're doing because you're educating me on those areas, also, and that's what we're out there for. I'm in Texas and you're there, so it's time for us all to reach out in all other kind of regions and help everyone. I was just going to say, talking to you brings me hope. I know we have huge hills to get over but I think the one thing in this moment that doesn't make me feel as daunting with everything we're reckoning with. And it's kind of like a negative in a positive, but there are more people feeling the pain. There are more people in struggle. And while that's disheartening to know, that more people are experiencing the impacts than ever have before in our country. It's also, to me, this beautiful opportunity to bring those people together, to unify those frontline communities together. And to really have the power to take action, to innovate, and to shift our systems to work for the people that they've intentionally neglected forever as well too. And we're seeing that so robustly here on the ground at the Center for Coalfield Justice, where there was a, after the Roe v. Wade ruling, and people were worried about abortion access and reproductive health in our little tiny town, you know, 300 people showed up for a rally outside of the courthouse and are like, "These are our rights and we're not going to step back and we're going to fight for them." And even with the increase of extraction, right, like we are having to constantly grow our organizing team to be able to field the intakes, to be able to invest in those leaders and move them through. So I think ten years ago when I started this work, I was probably a little bit more alone, a little less optimistic, right? Like, no one cares about what's going on. And now I feel like we are losing people sometimes because we don't have the ability to hold everyone that's hungry and looking for a place to start creating change. We're here in Dallas and just heeding our website that we get people, you know, in the other suburbs and other cities in East Texas and saying that they need help. What can I do? And I work every day, so sometimes I often say,"Okay, I wish I wasn't working. I wish I could go to those places and lend a hand," you know, and I expanded my organization, and we're trying to do that also because it hurt my heart there's so many people out there that need help, but they don't know where to go to. You know, who to contact. Just like East Texas, they said they don't have anybody so it's time to organize there and educate the people in those areas. And that's a dream that I hope would come true and I want to do. I was just telling a regional organizer at Texas for a Green New Deal that we need to go in some of the West Texas towns, you know, reach out to those organizations, let them know that we're here. If we let people actually know that we're here, I think that they'll feel more comfortable when they see the action happening. And then we can just grow as a multitude in those areas, also. What motivated me— so, I saw this work— let me tell you, when we first started, I never met so many people. I have so much—they would say,"Ms. Marsha, you got your own gate," But it doesn't, it still doesn't seem any different to me. As long as I'm out there helping people, that's more enjoyment to me than anything. I have been asked constantly, a lot of times,"Ms. Marsha, what's next for you? Are you going to run for city council?" I thought about it, then I said, "No." I think my work is better on the outside because when you're on there behind that horseshoe are some things you can say and some things you can't say. So my voice is really for the people, it's not for the government policy part of it. But if you can be straight, and you help your residents and your community, they don't want me anywhere. And I'm just going to speak the truth. So I might as well stay behind that pole and continue our work as we're doing it. The thing that brings me the most joy in this work is investing in others. And I mean, I remember being 16 years old, seeing a coal mine expand, going to the country store, everyone just saying we're supposed to accept it. Everyone in high school being like,"That's just right, like, that's what happens, that's the status quo." And the isolation, being like,"Well, okay, what the heck? What do I do? no one thinks what I think is wrong, is wrong." And that wasn't the truth, really, right? Like, there's a much bigger power dynamic— you talked about the retaliation that happens, right? People didn't agree with it, but they were afraid for what the industry would do, whether it be fire them and their job, or call them out publicly in their society, or their friend network, or not. And after that day, and when I got into a higher level role in an organization, it was like my commitment then, right? No other young person, or any person, do I want to feel alone in whatever they're struggling and going forward. And is that harder today? You know, I think a lot has changed in the age of technology, in social media, in false information, in some of the powers that be that we fight, I would argue, have little to no ethics or morals in how far they'll push back as well, too. And it is a massive challenge. And I think having conversations with you and Dallas, and, you know, the other partners across, EJ partners I know, across the country and seeing the work at Taproot, like it gives me more hope because the more we're connected together, I always think of this like a Whac-A-Mole, right? They're, like, "Oh, well, this community won, and so we're going to like go to this community and they're not talking to each other." But the more we're coordinated, right, we're going to win that game of Whac-A-Mole and no matter where they go, we're going to whack the mole back down into the game. And it's these connections right, this coordination, that is going to make us have a future that works. I will say, honestly, I don't have the answer to how we push back against the flow of false information into our communities. And particularly where I organize, in a rural community, it's like— where people get their news is Facebook. And that is, as we know, not the most credible place to always be getting your information, what it means. So I'm curious, right. In your community, are you dealing in the new era of media, technology, social media, has that shifted any way in which you're looking at building power and making changes? Yeah, like you said, most of it is Facebook, I think. I had an interview today with a reporter and she got the information, what we're fighting again, the new battle from Facebook, from one of the friends. And she got to investigate. She also reached out to my attorneys and asked them the same question that we were asking from the city, it's they don't have C.O. and H.O.P., how are you allowing them to operate anymore? She's not getting answers just like we do. So what we did, when we're not getting answers, we do go to social media. And I think that's the way that you reach out to them, once you start reaching out to social media, they don't want you to go to the press. They don't want it out there anyway. So then they start responding. But what I thought, it was just so funny, that when we did start going to the press and when we did start speaking, even my city council, my district reached out and said, "Oh, Ms. Jackson, I'm there for the community, I'm there—" You never been there before, so why are you there now, you know? I saw a state senator at a meeting. He said, "Oh, I had to come over and speak to you, I'm here for you." You've never been there for me, not one time. So all of a sudden when the publicity is there, now you're there for it, but you haven't lifted at finger. I have respect from our community, from other people, also. And that's exactly what we're doing. I just do. I just admire of experience that I have received. You know, they helped educate me also in how I can provide more empathy to the people that's going, that's going through some of these challenges that they have. What did bother me or hurt me so much as a Red Cross, I said this earlier, as a Red Cross disaster, that I had 35 homes that was assigned to me during the hurricanes last year and the year before. But, when it starts getting to the place that they can't do anything else for you, you got to tell people they have to move out the hotel, where are they going? You know, how are they going to rebuild their homes? Where are you going to send these people to? And that hurt me so much. And I think that my main reason why I got withdrawn so much from Red Cross, and what I'm doing, and we're working on this response recovery. And that is something that is more important because just to listen to my clients, even when I left, without pushing, I did things for them that maybe I shouldn't, but I can't— I'm a person also. I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother, and great grandmother. Just imagining my family would go back out there and they'd have nowhere to go. People don't have money like that. They don't have money to rebuild. So you're putting people out there on the street. It's too much happening. So that is a big fight that we have, and reckoning, educating the community, but also have these resources out here to help people. When you see that, you know, that is so hurtful, you know, to be in that position. But when you see that, that we can provide these resources and I think that's life, that's where we go— we have to help these people continue with their future and their life. I really like hearing that, right, and just some aid work I've done in the past, that's what breaks through these barriers, right? These political barriers, these like, false— but maybe we have different ideology barriers, but it's like when it comes down to it, they're going to never forget that you're the person that helps them. Right? Find another home, or get the problem fixed. And that trust, right? Like, that experience is really hard to break again, right? When you're like, next time you gotta knock on that person's door or ask them to take action. I always think about, like, when we're with each other in moments of crisis is what lays the strongest foundations for us to move through, right? Whatever is next, whatever is coming. And I think about that you know, one of the campaigns we worked on and I, I just— you're talking about the campaign that you've been working on since 2018 and we've been engaged in this campaign around getting a state park protected while getting accountability to damage that was done, protecting it from additional damage, and making sure the government didn't neglect, like, whatever the accountability was. And this has been a 10-year, 12-year campaign that we've been engaged in, and it was in early 2005 that the park was damaged. We've never let go, right, from the day that happened our community never stopped persisting. We held a festival—we hold a festival, still hold a festival, every year that brings people to the state park, explains it as a jewel, like a public resource to our communities, and the coal company can't get away, right, with making it not be there. We finally fought for settlement money to start to revitalize the park, and they built a brand new spray park and swimming pool there. And, you know, I grew up at the state park before we lost the lake and have all these fond memories with my dad on canoes and fishing. And it has been really eye-opening and heartwarming. This past few weekends, I was able to take my kids to the same state park, right, and not the same memory, we still don't have a lake back, but they got to go to this swimming pool that they thought was, like, the coolest thing ever, and these spray parks, and all of this stuff. And then with our organization, this is right in the heart of coal country, where we organize, we've worked with the state to make that whole facility self-sustaining, right? So the water is recycled, and reused, and cleaned. They put a solar parking lot. So it's the parking lots that have the solar panels on top so all the energy that is generated to run the facility is powered by the solar energy and people's cars are parked under it. And the most interesting thing we hear just from bystanders who don't even know who our organization is, is like, "Wow, this parking lot is so cool!" Like, "Why doesn't every Walmart have a solar parking lot over top of it, and they could power it and keep our cars cool." So even just like, it may have seemed like when we were talking about this tiny little thing,"What is that going to matter in the community?" But the fact that someone who's never seen a solar panel in their small town before saw this solution that could happen. And now they're asking, right,"Why isn't this in every single parking lot we ever build right from this point going forward?" I know that it's a town here, not far from us, but it's been 50 years, one of the contacts with the NAACP used to be on environmental— she was trying to help fight that, also. And they call it Sam Branch, and Sam Branch has no running water. And I think that's just ridiculous because the water treatment center is not even five miles from the community. I thought it's so ugly that the commissioner said,"Well, it's just the community, there's not enough people there." But they've been there over 50 years and they have their own property, so I don't understand what was the reason. No running water. None whatsoever. And that's just, it's terrible. Right down the street, they reached out to me the other day and asked,"Can your organization help? We have this petition." They called every morning three months for them. And that's been there for all the decades. You know, and it's—there used to be slavery there, but now the Supreme Justice is approving them to go here with an eminent domain to bring a bullet train through there. And those kinds of things that, it's some kind of way that I want to continue fighting and see what we can do. It's terrible, the Supreme Court, the rule on things like that. And they're really not thinking about the community or anything at all. But just to kind of wrap up or tell you about what we're doing now with our Southern Sector Rising, we have Floral Farms neighborhood association, and we're support. I'm in that, that's my community. For Southern Sector Rising I'm also supporting and we're working with HKS Pro-bono. We're advocating for a park in that area that used to be Shingle Mountain. Our community, as we said, is a rural community. We have no sidewalks, we don't have no public transportation, and most of them do not have high speed Internet. I only have high speed Internet because I have a nonprofit, you know, and that's just ridiculous in this time. Also in some of the homes in this community, they do not have a city line. They're still on a septic tank. So we're still trying to advocate some of those— this is 2022, and you still don't have any of these kind of items here? We don't have a grocery store in our neighborhood. I have to go to another suburb, you know, for a grocery store. So we're still trying to advocate for those kind of things in our area. But back on the park, at this park, the city owned that property. Now, the only thing they have to do is donate their property to us and these allies are going to help build on that. They have not allocated for that, none whatsoever. I'm fighting here in my community. It doesn't make sense that the city of Dallas, in my district, we have eight illegal violations that we're still fighting right here, even after Shingle Mountain. So I'm going to continue pushing on those until they act on it. I just got an email from a councilman, he said when he returns he's working on it. That's too long. They should have been. We've been fighting on this since 2020, and they have not did anything. They let that happen. But you know, the same problem we have when our trash bin is out too long, they want to give us violations. So those are other things that we're working on. Why are you giving the residents violations when you have business here that's violating, you do nothing about it. Down in east Texas, the fracking—still going on. So you know, we have to be able to have that support and helping people in those areas. We're still reaching out, we're still getting people and that's what I like, that people are reaching out to us and then we'll share those with different allies also. And same thing for your organization, Veronica. We're in Texas. You know, all you have to do is send an email, look up my organization, send in mail, that we're here, we're here for you. And that if we have to travel, sometimes that's exactly what we're gonna do. Same thing for our Texas hub. And that's what we're beginning to work on, now to go into different areas here in our region, to cease on these environmental issues. And I think that's what other people need to do, other organizations need to do. Get out, go visit our communities, Go visit your suburbs, your other cities close to you that, you let them know that you're reaching out, that, "We're here." We need to join forces on that. The community continue writing these policies, send them to our local, our state, and our U.S. Senate. You know, to let them know this is what is here and this is what we're not going to put up with. We had meetings with our Environmental Protection Agency. She did apologize. She wasn't on board when I had the issues, but she's here to help do everything we can. And so when they tell me they're here to help do anything they can, that it's time that we hold them to that. You know, I like to make notes on it so I can go back and present those notes that you told me that you have. And then we have that record that we continue doing on those areas. Yeah. That's so exciting. I mean, I've been so inspired just by talking to you and hearing, and our similarities, and same, right? Like, if you need help, give us a call. If we have questions I'll give you a call. And I just want to echo, right? If people are wondering, right, like how do they learn? How do they grow? Most of my growth has come by visiting other communities maybe in similar or the same struggles, but that—you gotta get out, right, and experience more than just what you know. And that's going to make you stronger when you go back home to your place as well. Thank you, Ms. Marsha and Veronica. Tap into Reckon by taking a walk in nature. Reckon with what is at stake. Reckon with how we hold the urgency of a world on fire, and our stewardship and care for nature right now. Share your story and tag @TaprootEarth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #ClimateOnTap. We'd love it if you share Climate On Tap with your people. Send them this episode or invite hem to sign up for the series.