Photo by Chantal Bilodeau

How do we hold hope and grief together?

How do we acknowledge the incredible losses – of species, of communities, of habitats – and continue to believe that a just and regenerative future is possible?

How do we become friends with complexity and uncertainty?

How do we bring our whole selves to the climate conversation: not just what we think and what we do, but what we feel and who we are?

How do we find poetry – both the poetry of this moment and the poetry of tomorrow?

How do we love deeply, strongly, powerfully, knowing it will hurt?

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 4

Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash

A man wakes up one day and thinks:
How can agriculture withstand extreme weather events?
…
He pushes the thought experiment further:
What if cows lived on water?

The man goes to work and designs engineers builds a 10,000 ft experimental dairy farm that floats on pontoons.

Daisy is brought aboard –
and into a self-sustaining circular system.
She drinks rain and desalinated water.
Her poop feeds a soccer field, which in turn feeds her.
Her milk is processed into products for the people nearby.
…
The man feels he might be on to something.
Daisy thinks the view is unbeatable.

Inspiration: Are Cows at Sea the Future of Farming?

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 3

Photo by Chantal Bilodeau

A vast brownish landscape stretched under a vast blue sky. Apocalyptic-looking industrial farms spew out fumes. On the side of the highway, billboards warn against driving under the influence, advertise addiction treatments, and proclaim that Jesus loves me.

I wonder
Does He, really?
I wonder
What about the Earth?

I search online for images of what this land used to look like, what it should look like. Nothing comes up. I vaguely recall stories of tall grasses and bison. I recall stories of abundance. There were Indigenous communities here once.

I wonder
What does Jesus think of all this?

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 2