🌟 HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD 🌟



Written By: Zach Champ
Photographs By: Steve Gonzalez & Zach Champ

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS TO BE SAVED 

It is no understatement to say that society and human civilization is facing great changes and challenges.

Climate Change is the biggest threat to global modern civilization, and it is, unfortunately, all our fault. Our lack of foresight as a species placed us in this predicament.

An insatiable desire and thirst for nonstop progress in industrialization and technology, combined with greedy and short-sighted profit-seeking behavior has led us into an unstoppable and unpredictable disruption of nature’s natural cycles. Atmospheric greenhouse gases have increased dramatically, and now our planet is heating up and causing our precious arctic ice caps to literally melt away.

This has caused a mind-boggling amount of water, that once was locked up in the form of ice, to disperse into the surrounding ocean. The result is a catastrophic rise in sea level which we can already see devastating coastal areas around the world.

To make things worse, these melted ice caps have also released methane gases that the ice had kept stored at bay for thousands of years. These methane gases are the same gases that we are currently struggling to deal with as a result of our industrialization of the globe. This has led to an even more exponential increase in global temperatures. Climate Change has quickly gone from a fantasy nightmare scenario to a real-life existential threat to our human way of life.

Photo Courtesy via Unsplash.com (Photo By Patrick Hendry) 

You can read our other articles on Climate Change here: 

https://www.hoodiegoodies.com/blogs/local-impact-making-lasting-change/climate-change-is-a-calamity-we-should-all-be-concerned-about 

https://www.hoodiegoodies.com/blogs/local-impact-making-lasting-change/how-to-save-the-world-from-climate-change 

THE REAL PROBLEM

Why did we allow this to happen? We all know the answer: corporate greed and political corruption and inattention. Powerful environmental legislation has been passed over the last few decades to help regulate the environment and way companies interact with nature and her resources, but corporate lobbying has reduced the impact of these laws, and in some cases convinced the government to remove important restrictions regarding pollution and waste.

Greed and corruption haven’t just caused environmental issues. It also has led to political instability- abroad in foreign countries and now ironically here at home as we face a domestic political battle between conservative and liberal factions of our government.

This crisis is eerily reminiscent of the time leading up to the U.S Civil War...

The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse by Thure de Thulstrup 

THE THREAT AT HOME

Right now America faces an unprecedented political challenge. Corruption and greed in American politics (and business) is the single largest existential threat to the republic and democracy. Unless we address it with a new American ethos and perspective that focuses on the greater good we will be stuck in a chaotic cycle of political instability, recession, and potentially violent conflict. There is no need for us to go down this dark path. America is destined for greater and more glorious achievements.

It is important that America resolves these issues because it’s not just America that is having problems right now. Around the world, democratic countries are facing pressure from authoritarian and nationalistic regimes. The global specter of Fascism has returned and only America and her allies can stop Fascism- as long as we ourselves do not succumb to it!

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH POSITIVE CHANGE

You cannot change the system from the outside. You have to change it from within. This is known as revivification and means “to impart new life or spirit”. In order to change the way government and society works we must become active participants and use our creative and intellectual powers to influence and operate.

There are three dimensions to changing the world. They are in order: change as an individual, change as a group or organization, and change as a society or community.

To change the world you must first start with creating change in yourself. We all have negative patterns of behavior or thinking that limit us from reaching our true potential and finding happiness within ourselves. This is a normal part of the human condition. What defines us is how we approach these negative behaviors we develop, and whether we can constructively defeat them and replace them with positive behaviors.

When we actively create a change in how we live our lives this creates a cascading effect that expands out to our close friends and family and from there into our communities. We become role models and examples to our closest peers. Others see us setting and achieving goals, and that in turn inspires them. This is the driving force and secret sauce of growth and transformation- it can be contagious!

Want to learn how you can get directly involved in building your local community?

Check out our article “Top 5 Ways to Build Your Local Community” only on Hoodie Goodies!

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AS AN INDIVIDUAL 

The first important step to saving the world as an individual is to think positively. There are many things that we need to be concerned about living in modern-day society. There are also serious global threats that we face as mentioned earlier. However, if you have a pessimistic outlook on things or if you are depressed then you will not have the mental resolve or fortitude necessary to conquer these challenges.

Mental health is critically important to an individual’s success. If we don’t have positive and fulfilling thoughts about ourselves and loved ones, then we put ourselves in a dangerous position that can prevent us from achieving our goals. To help maintain our mental health, individuals need to possess high degrees of self-awareness that can help them regulate their thoughts and emotions.

One way to exhibit self-awareness in high-degrees is by setting goals. We can’t move forward in life if we don’t set goals for ourselves and pursue them! Setting goals is part of having a growth mindset which is one of the highest degrees of self-awareness. With a growth mindset, you recognize and understand that all mistakes are lessons that you can learn from, and your conscious focus is to always move forward and to grow and become better as an individual. Your goal should be focused on finding out how to make the most of every situation and to develop yourself fundamentally into a higher being.

What other changes can help individuals grow so they can help save the world?

Perhaps the next most important thing is to make an effort to have fun and enjoy ourselves in our everyday tasks. If more people focused on having fun as a personal goal they would see huge improvements in their personal relationships and their own lives.

Having fun and finding meaningful ways of personal enjoyment is part of maintaining positive mental health. Joy and happiness are the gateways to enlightenment and transcendence!

So what happens once you have mastered your thoughts and feelings, or at least come to understand control them effectively?

The next step is to develop the trained operator mentality because you are now preparing yourself to become an agent of change!

You need to become TTG- “trained to go”, meaning you must start acting like your life is a top-secret mission, with the same demeanor, resolve, and general skillsets of a hardened battle-tested warrior.

What kind of skills? The skills of the creative-operator include:

• Public Speaking
  
• Creative Writing
  
• Graphic Design
  
• Rhetoric
  
• Symbolism
  
• Social-Engineering, Persuasion, and Influence Tactics and Methodologies
  
• Entrepreneurship
  
• Propaganda and Deception
  
• Leadership and Teamwork
  
• Surveillance, Observation, and Spying Tactics and Methodologies

As a true creative warrior, you must fortify your mind, body, and soul with exercise and practice so that you stay sharp!

The creative warrior fights on the front-lines of the culture war, and like a true American hero does so for the benefit of all his community.

Why do you need to be so tenacious and prepared? Because as an individual trying to save the world you are fighting one of the biggest uphill battles in life itself, which is to overcome adversity and implement your creative vision into reality!

This is no easy task, and we must be serious in our efforts if we wish to be successful and fruitful in our endeavors.

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AS A GROUP 

An individual can accomplish many great things by themselves, but at the end of the day, a single person can only get so far. If you are truly trying to make a splash and big ripples in the pond, then you need to know how to work cooperatively, collaboratively, and creatively with others.

Teamwork makes the dream work! The easiest way to start working with other like-minded folks is by joining or creating a local interest club. Clubs bring people together from diverse and various backgrounds over a common love or pursuit. They can be a great way to learn social, public speaking, project management, leadership, and organizational skills.

Another similar way to make an impact and difference with a group of people is by organizing or helping out with an event.

Events are fun! Everyone loves going out and meeting new people, especially people interested in the same passions and causes like them. Events are a great way to promote a charity, inform an audience about important issues, or to collectively channel the energy of the crowd towards positive change!

Consider the following: what if you knew your neighborhood had a problem with people littering trash in the public park?

What could you do about it to make it stop?

Well, imagine if you organized a local community trash pick-up for the last Saturday of the month, and created fliers to promote it, and told the whole neighborhood about it. Then on the last Saturday of the month, you go to the public park and find 10 people who showed up ready to pick up trash! You all spend only 3 hours that morning walking around cleaning up all the garbage, and suddenly the public park is pristine and pure again!

Think about how easy it is to implement a solution like this for a problem that many people would often say is pointless or not worth pursuing…

We must remember that we set an example for others with our actions.

Don’t forget that it’s greed, corruption, and lack of ethics which have created the problems in our world today. If we work earnestly towards making the positive changes we wish to see in the world around us then we can potentially inspire others to do the same. If more people are inspired to action, then suddenly it becomes a growing phenomenon upon which, when there is sufficient mass, larger cultural shifts can occur.

This is truly how revolutionary change is made in the world!

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY 

Are you well-respected within your community?

Do you think you have good ideas to help implement positive change and growth in your community?

Then you should probably try running for a local office!

This Could Be You!   

Most counties, townships, cities, and other similar local governments have several public positions that annually need to be elected and filled. This can include local school board positions, city council positions, county clerks and magistrates, local sheriffs offices and more! There is plenty of opportunities for a person to run for a public office and to directly be a part of the local government.

Another way to create change as a community is by sponsoring the growth of local businesses!

We need more small businesses in America, especially in rural areas where often economic growth is stagnant and reliant upon the manufacturing and agricultural industries. Every town in America should have the same general collection of small businesses like coffee shops, small book stores, computer and electronics stores, pet stores, and the like. No matter where you go in America, most communities need these types of services. If we encouraged the development of small businesses to address those services versus relying on large-scale retail giants like Wal-Mart or Target than we could create economic opportunities for citizens and revitalize once vibrant downtown's and main-streets across America that are now shuttered and struggling to maintain.

We need to work together as a community to help each other not only in building businesses but to also build the critical infrastructure we need to succeed moving forward into the future.

We are in desperate need of new and updated schools, a new renewable energy grid that will help us replace our dependence on fossil fuels, and creating more local community gardens and farms to address food production and distribution in urban and rural communities.

These are efforts that can only be fully realized through cooperating and working together as a collective. It requires various groups, including non-profits, businesses, and agencies to work together to create a plan of action and to execute.

Only by working together can we prevail and overcome all of our challenges!

HOW HOODIE GOODIES IS SAVING THE WORLD 

Our goal at Hoodie Goodies is to show you what’s good in your local neighborhood, and to help inspire and influence our audience so they can go out and help improve their communities!

We want to be a beacon of light for those looking for a way to make a meaningful and positive change! That’s why our mission statement is “to influence human culture”.

You can read more about Hoodie Goodies, our team, and what motivates us to do what we do by reading our article “Hoodie Goodies for the Greater Good” here.

Hoodie Goodies currently has several projects which are allowing us a chance to help with the greater good.

One of our biggest projects is our Precious Plastics Initiative. Our objective is to create a small scale plastic recycling center that can recycle plastic waste into usable everyday objects for local residents of our Washington D.C neighborhood. This is our way of addressing the issues of climate change and plastic pollution.

You can read more about our Precious Plastics Initiative by reading our article here