#TheOverview

Welcome to The Overview, a weekly newsletter in which Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh offers an expansive look at the latest events in climate and culture—and how it all fits together.

All in #TheOverview

Children of the Evolution As the ecological crisis continues to unfold, our evolution is now contingent on our ability to reconnect with the rest of life on Earth.

True Nature With our recent victory in the Senate and a new administration just weeks away, we have been given the opportunity to make critical changes.

An Ending, A Beginning You are alive. Someday, you will die. Of these two things I am certain.

Participation Mystique There is a doorway inviting us not only into a deeper awareness of ourselves as part of the world, but to participate in it more wholly.

The Opening Worlds much smaller than ours end every day and that what begins with a fracture gives way to a flourishing.

Climbing Mountains There is a shared experience that at times outweighs even our passion for the world: the feeling we are carrying it on on our shoulders.

A Just Transition In refusing to act on climate change, we often focus on the climate part—but on a deeper level, isn’t it a denial of change?

How Do You Sleep? As far as scientists have been able to determine, every animal species on Earth needs rest in some form or another—including you.

Nothing Ever Ends According to the laws of nature, nothing is created or destroyed, only transformed.

What the Water Gave Us Tom Robbins once posed the question: If our planet is 70 percent water, then why do we call ourselves earthlings and not waterlings?

A Cascade Effect This week's edition of The Overview serves as a special introduction to Atmos Volume 04: Cascade, coming October 26th.

What’s Love Got to Do With It? What does love have to do with the ecological crisis? Just about everything.

Front and Centered For all who don’t understand why racial justice is climate justice: How can we fight for the sanctity of life and exclude humankind from it?

The Long Journey The lifecycle of a salmon is one of the most awe-inspiring of any creature—a heroic journey of transformation, persistence, and sacrifice.

Matters of Life and Death There can be no peace without justice—and if a system repeatedly fails to create justice, then there was never peace to begin with.

Perspective Shift Coined by Frank White in 1987, the overview effect refers to the cognitive shift reported by astronauts after viewing the Earth from space.

Imagine That If imagination at its highest potential is artistry, how can we not understand the whole of nature to be the ultimate embodiment of it?

Trust Fall Holistic thinking doesn’t mean trying to solve the puzzle all at once; it means trusting that we each represent a piece of the picture.

Prevailing Winds The far Right continues to deny the epidemic of racism just as it denies the pandemic, the climate crisis, and the way the wind is changing.

Ecopsychology Nearly three decades after the term ecopsychology was introduced by Theodore Roszak, the field of study seems to be finally taking root.

The World Within We don’t often consider ourselves amalgamations, and yet thousands of invisible species are working in harmony to keep the one "you" alive.

The Fabric of Everything An individual thread might break easily on its own, but when woven with others, it suddenly becomes strong.

Rewriting the Story Rewriting the future of the Earth will require us to rewrite the climate narrative, including what’s at stake and what we are capable of.

A Perfect Storm Do you know what conditions are required for the formation of a storm? 2020 does.

A Place Called Home The root of the word ecosystem is the Greek oikos, meaning home—the place that birthed us against all odds

Déjà Vu For all of science’s advancements, it has yet to produce an explanation for the everyday phenomenon of déjà vu.

The Chrysalis As our country reforms in revolution and returns to purpose in protest, perhaps we will find that the DNA of a new nation is already within.

A Forest’s Strength We are beginning to understand that we are only as strong as the forest to which we belong—an awareness that each of us must uphold.

The Dawning Perhaps this is the greatest awakening of all we are seeing this year: the understanding that we, each of us, are suns.

By Moonlight Humanity’s fascination with the moon is ancient, holding not just an unconscious association but an aspirational one as well.

Amplification This week’s newsletter is dedicated to the important stories and perspectives published this week by Black journalists and writers.

Burn It Down Social and environmental injustice are rooted in the same sickness, a disregard for and violation of the sanctity of life.

Like a River Runs Water can be passive. But it can also be a force to be reckoned with, when it decides to be.

Regeneration and Renewal Every single species possesses cellular regeneration in some form. You might even say it's what unites us.

The Truth of It All As long as we deny the existence of systemic racism, class inequality, and environmental injustice, they will continue to flourish.

A Return to the Heart The lungs may be how we breathe, but without the heart, oxygen would never reach the rest of the body.

Sing Through My Voice Who are we to doubt the voice that we have been given, or that of another?

Introducing Flourish/Collapse Is it still possible for us to return to a point of flourish without collapse?

#TheOverview #FlourishCollapse

Healing We get the chance to start acting on behalf of life again, instead of betraying it—and in doing so, we might just be transformed.

Selenicereus Grandiflorus Nature holds certain constants—unvarying truths that even humankind in all of its arrogance has not been able to upend.

Alone Together “I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other.”

Coronation Corona is the scientific name for the aura of plasma around the sun, most clearly seen during an eclipse. In Latin, it means “crown.”

Quarantine The coronavirus isn’t a disease, it’s a symptom—a symptom of our perceived isolation and immunity.

Are You Triggered Yet? Panic is a virus that is both diligent and dangerous when left unchecked.

Mirror, Mirror In order for there to be a climate revolution, there needs to be a revolution in consciousness.

Holding Patterns If we want to create a sustainable world, we first need to create sustainable lives for ourselves.

A Pale Blue Dot Thirty years ago, a satellite leaving our solar system took what would become the most iconic photo in the history of space exploration.

Enantiodromia We must fight harder than ever before for the natural world, but we must do so with a balanced perspective.

On Trial Something deeper is being put to the test in 2020: our ability to integrate everything that is happening around us.

What’s Your Poison? President Trump has repealed or weakened close to 100 environmental laws and regulations.

Feeling the Heat Fire has the power to burn our world to the ground, and if we continue to create the conditions for it to do so, then it will.

A Destructive Force Nothing is heavier than shame, and you can be of no help to the world while carrying its weight.

Face Values We have been suffering, but much of the world is beginning to wake up and face its values.

What Are You Afraid of? "I am telling you there is hope. I have seen it."

Isn’t It Symbolic? “Symbolism in this country reigns supreme,” says Bryan Lee Jr., Design Justice Architect.

Fire and Ice In Greek mythology, it’s said that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and granted it to humans, a gift that was given to us and us alone.

Finding Freedom A force of unity is our only sure path to finding freedom, both within and without.

We Are Still In As with any democracy, America has never been defined by its leader, but rather its people—and the people have spoken.

The Call of the Wild In 2018, a member of the endangered Southern Resident orcas was spotted carrying her dead calf on a journey that lasted over 1,000 miles.

What If? “Is there a dimension where we didn't poison our planet? Is there a dimension in which we acted as proper stewards for our environment?"

Introducing Latitude Introducing Atmos Volume 02: Latitude. Happy exploring.

It’s Simple, Really Out of all the narratives pervading the climate crisis conversation, perhaps the most dangerous is that it is too complex to solve.

Science Says Amidst deliberate deceit, we must unite behind the science.

A Wave of Change "We are not just some young people skipping school. We are a wave of change. Together, and united, we are unstoppable."

Act Now (or Forever Hold Your Peace) “We are united in our demands for urgent action to save the planet.”

Have You Lost Your Mind? It might be human nature to break down, but it is also our nature to rebuild—once we set our mind to it.

Up for Debate Real victory comes from the discovery that there might still be tillable ground here—and that a healthier democracy might yet bloom.

A New Hope The true measure of heroism is not always succeeding in slaying the enemy single-handed, but continuing to fight on, encouraging others.

Our House Is on Fire When leadership fails us, we use our individual flames and together, we ignite a movement. We fight fire with fire.

Language, Please “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”

What’s the Big Idea? "If we don’t do anything within these next 11 years, there will be irreversible damage to our world.”

New Horizons "Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around.”

Mother Earth Since time immemorial, traditions the world over have deified the Earth as a woman, equating nature with divine femininity.

Growing Through It Growth is always possible. It’s up to us to create the conditions for it.

It’s About Time “The most precious resource we all have is time,” Steve Jobs famously said. The question is, how will we use it?

Food for Thought “Civilization requires energy, but energy use must not destroy civilization.”

Innovation They say that necessity is the mother of invention.

Good Grief Ecological grief is arguably one reason people avoid informing themselves about climate crisis.

Up In the Air “What we do over the next 10 years will determine the future of humanity for the next 10,000 years.”

Choose Wisely Whichever way forward we choose, the important part is that we do choose—that we take action, and do so consciously.

Fight for Your Rights "For us, as indigenous peoples, the land is where we pray, it is our church."

Death Becomes Us One million plant and animal species are now at the risk of extinction.

Adaptation Denial is a luxury that is no longer affordable for anyone, sinking cities and supposed world powers alike.

Evolution “Design today is not about designing the product. It’s about designing the process.”

Talkin’ Bout a Revolution Ryan McGinley first garnered the attention of the larger art world with his 1999 self-published book, The Kids Are Alright.

Problem-Solving If there is any hope for the future, it just might rest in our ability to solve problems, no matter the odds or how large in scale.

A Turning Point “We are here, and we can make this world better and better.”

Welcome to the Atmosphere "I try to inhale the weight of the cataclysm that we are authoring. Embrace the discomfort. That is what I feel is being asked of us."

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