It is no small thing to be human on Earth.

The opening words of my new book inspired a newsletter (this one).

It is no small thing to be human on Earth. These are the opening words of my new book, coming out in May 2026. (More on that soon.) As I passed the manuscript to my publisher, I realized those words had also become something of a taproot—sent down into the soil, a vision of and commitment to seasons of growth to come.

The book, I hope, is a first bounty. A mast year, even, for all those seeking support on their climate journeys. But in this time of trouble and possibility, the need for creative sense-making is vast and ongoing. Though I’ve been at that for more than 25 years—with All We Can Save, The All We Can Save Project, Circles, Climate Wayfinding, A Matter of Degrees podcast, a TED Talk from back in the day, Drawdown, The Drawdown Review, Between God and Green, etc.—I somehow feel like it’s only just begun.

Some book babies, circa 2012–2020. The family will grow in 2026.

This newsletter will be an ongoing space for tending that taproot of inquiry and discovery. To really go wild with the metaphor: I hope to grow Human on Earth from sheltered sapling to steady trunk and full canopy, mingling roots with others along the way. I hope it contributes to a shared forest floor—all mossy, leaf-littered, and thick with the cycle of life—a space to go well into the dark as needed, and also to reach for the light.

Root/reach inspiration: an elder water oak neighbor. I call her QN.

I’ll be sharing weekly how I am seeing, holding, and working with the wild, awesome endeavor of being human on a planet that is changing—because our youngster species is changing it. (Awesome, as in impressive and daunting both, evoking admiration and apprehension too.)

I’ll approach this not-at-all-small thing in a range of small ways:

• Guideposts that are helping me navigate.

• Ways the heart is breaking open.

• Paths of possibility we might walk.

• Why it’s all so very worthy.

• Inevitably: generous questions, practical frameworks, word-nerd etymology, poem-ish musings, myriad curations, beauty.

• Throughout: deep takes > hot takes.

My undergraduate advisor at Sewanee, Dr. Jerry Smith, was fond of the saying: “Specialization is for insects.” (All reverence for their spectacular, essential niches.) I’ve brought that spirit to all of my work—loving the full sweep from soul and song to strategy and solutions. I’m eager to wade deeper into the entanglement of everything here. How our own lives echo, collide with, and complicate the bigger shifts at hand. How those bigger shifts imprint our work, our dreams, our most intimate contours. How we become part of the terrain of transformation.

One thing I know for sure: Being human on Earth is not something we can do alone. So, let’s slip on our boots and go it together.

P.S. Here’s a playlist for Sun Day—curated by Bill McKibben and our crew at The All We Can Save Project. Join the big day of celebration + action on September 21 ☀️