I don’t post often, at least not recently. This post is both an update on the mounting climate consequences and a recommendation for a new book, Wild Free and Happy.
My perspectives and analysis have shifted since the late 1980s when I developed the1WOW program. Back then I thought youth could make a better world by learning how to improve the quality of leadership exercised and practiced by their classmates. While still true, it was a naive idea.

I’ll get into the background of that statement below, but many will be visiting so as to access and download a free copy of that book. The author, Richard Adrian Reese is sharing Wild Free and Happy freely in native Word docx format (only 670.8kB.) You can download it by clicking here. He also suggests that it could easily be converted to other formats like EPUB or MOBI.
I converted the document to those two formats easily using Calibre, but Word Press isn’t allowing me to share them here. If given that option, I had a royalty free stock image I wanted to apply as a cover. Such an image would enhance visibility. This image is what I wanted to include.

Background
I created and presented the 1WOW School Program back when I didn’t grasp the human cultural mandates on growth, let alone the intensity of consequences human behavior were unleashing. My few posts on climate here have only hinted at the changes I’ve seen coming since I retired. Soon after setting up a retirement home, our house was enveloped by a flooding river, something that no one had seen here before. Similar climate related disasters have entrapped millions of people globally in the years since. How would youth have a chance to fix things and survive when the entirety of global society is manifestly unsustainable?
As I was reaching those conclusions and a year after taking a course out of Penn State by Prof Richard Alley on Climate and Energy, I took a related course on Sustainability. Although the course content ignored and lost all perspective of sustainable. [Note: sustainable refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time, often relating to methods of using resources in a way that does not deplete or permanently damage them. It encompasses environmental, economic, and social dimensions to ensure that future generations can meet their needs.] The course had one huge benefit, it introduced me to Richard, one of two awesome course teaching assistants (TAs).
Over the 10 years since, Richard and I have exchanged email and comments on social media. I have more awareness of the science of the climate issues, but on many issues, Richard knew far more. He has read over 600 books by experts in anthropology, geology, climate, energy and more . After 25yrs of research, in-depth note taking, cross referencing assessing and consolidating, yesterday Richard posted: “Greetings!  I’m delighted to finally announce the official release of a writing project I’ve been working on for 25+ years.  Wild Free and Happy explores our long and bumpy relationship with the family of life.  It spans from our ancient tree dwelling ancestors to the rowdy mob of eight billion outside our windows today.”
This post is primarily written to allow easy access to my friend’s manuscript. His book is a tour de force on detailing the many ways our species has diverted from the ways that continued the web of life on Earth. We had been part of that web for most of our time here but the consequences of our cleverness are now abundant to see. What we’ve become is not sustainable and he documents just how much of what we do has brought us to this point. Once you read his introduction, you may not want to put it down.

For those (many) who doubt the above assertions
To read some extremely solid science, consider this quote and linked statement just released by Dr. James Hansen:

“Climate change is intergenerational injustice, as innocent young people and their children will suffer the most severe consequences. Equally, it is international injustice, as nations that have done the least to cause climate change stand directly in the path of the gathering climate storm.”   ICJ. Press Briefing by James Hansen

Dr. Hansen lays out the issues in clear language in a panel discussion, related to the climate proceedings now underway before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands.
I applaud Dr. Hansen for his persistence in resisting societal desires to seek a way for everyone to thrive, though I think it will at best only delay our demise. Human society exists because of the materials and energy it consumes as a super organism. The transition to cleaner options would have been difficult if begun a century ago – before we fully knew the need or had options, well before we grew to over 8 billion people clamoring for a “better life.”

Next, move onto a projection of where this is leading, these images are from an in-depth review of the climate crisis now unfolding. Many of the images were new and useful for teaching. I found the post to be a realistic assessment of what the latest science is telling us.
Near the end a question is shared about why post such information, again with an honest response – one I found more optimistic for humans than my usual opinion.
From Richard Crim’s Crisis Report of Dec 9, 2024

This One World, Our World website was designed primarily for teachers, their students and parents. I’ve avoided writing my full opinions because they are now so bleak. The time and growing frequency of climate consequences (symptoms of human societal behavior) are no longer easily ignored.
Good leaders are still better than the alternative. The basic lessons might ease some suffering, but the simpler days of the 1990s are gone. Be gentle with each other. Here is how I expressed it for Thanksgiving 2024.

Many of my friends and family are feeling stressed at what we understand may soon be changing. I share such concerns over climate, politics, and personal/ family health…

My wish for each of us is the serenity

to accept the things we cannot change,

courage to change the things we can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

May we live one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time.

true in our character and actions

with family, friends and strangers alike.