Nani summed up a lot for Angela and I at dinner last night. She said, “With Climate Change, we have two options: we can stop what’s going on (which no one seems to be doing), or we can adapt. Maclovia is a beautiful example of adaption and resilience. She gathers her herbs wherever life has taken her.  While her husband has been through two wars, she’s raised six amazing children. She’s moved to many places around the United States as an air force wife, and she’s found beauty and health in every place she encounters. Maclovia’s work is at risk of adaption.

If drought dries up New Mexican land, it will become difficult for Maclovia to harvest her herbs.  The more we alter the landscape and climate, the more we will alter Maclovia. Her business relies on the ability to grow and harvest plants in a certain environment. Taking away that privilege would take away years of knowledge that Maclovia has acquired.  When it comes to climate change, there’s more at stake than land and weather: people’s knowledge and essence are at stake as well.

To understand even further, not only is Maclovia’s livelihood at stake, but also the art of herbalism. An entire process of medication would be threatened if the planet warms. Herbalism is a cost effective way to cure basic health issues with no side effects. Preventative health remedies, like herbalism, could potentially save billions of dollars in health costs. If people took care of their stress levels, watched what they ate, exercised more, and used Maclovia’s herbs everyday for issues prevalent in their lives, surgeries and hospital visits would decline.  Unfortunately our society isn’t set up to support something like preventative health. More people getting sick means a demand for drugs and synthetic medicine, which support an industry and stimulate an economy.  More surgery means more people can pursue surgery as a living.  With our society praising the economy, health care shouldn’t have to adapt to capitalism, preventative health should not be overlooked, and herbalism shouldn’t be forgotten.  The landscape is important to our health in many ways besides providing us a suitable habitat. In my opinion, our culture should pay more attention to the benefits of herbs.

As Nani puts it, “as we take away parts of nature and our landscape, we are taking away parts of humanity.” I think this applies to Maclovia’s story as well as most people’s stories. There are many places in this world that I would describe as part of who I am, and the nature of the landscape is important to these places.  For example my family has created countless memories spending my childhood winters in Aspen, Colorado. I can’t imagine living without visiting the snow-capped mountains every year.  In addition, my family has also spent our summers down the Jersey Shore. If sea level rises, who knows what could happen to the thin strips of land along the coastline.  These places are threatened by climate change.  While cities and communities can adapt, those that lie on the shores of the ocean may never be the same. When these places go, so will parts of my soul. 

As Maclovia has taught me, we need to teach our children better values, like respecting the land.  It’s important to stay enlightened and hopeful.  If everyone chose respect over discouragement, most global issues would be resolved.  The world right now may be in a state of complex issues with an unimaginable future. The mural Nani’s painting is a reminder of why it’s important to stay positive and always look on the bright side of life. 

Here we are honoring a woman full of wisdom and plants that grow naturally in our own backyards.  We are showing people that it is better to notice the beauty in what we already possess instead of constantly craving more. We should incentivize using what we already have instead of making new and throwing old away. There is importance in the elderly, there is importance in living simply, and there is importance in herbalism.  While we must adapt to a new future, new landscapes, new technologies, one thing remains the same; noticing beauty and utility will always be to your benefit. Anything can be beautiful, anything can be useful, you must desire to see it.