Some Big News: An Earth Day Launch

I’ve been promising some big news for a little while now. Well, earlier this week, on Earth Day, a special and unexpected launch took place.

Head here for a transcript, also available on Apple and some other apps. (Note the transcript is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully serves to provide greater access to these conversations for those who need or like to read.)

Recorded at San Francisco Airport on 22 April 2024.

Title slide: In the redwoods just outside San Francisco, where a woman passed us on the trail and wished us happy Earth Day. (The local radio station also played nature sounds all day.)

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Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from the film Regenerating Australia.

The RegenNarration playlist, featuring music chosen by guests (with thanks to podcast member Josie Symons).

Transcript

AJ: 0:28

G'day friends, Anthony James, here for The RegenNarration. And now for something completely different. I've been promising some big news for a little while now. Well, you might be able to hear the conspicuous sounds of an airport in the background, though it is quite quiet at the moment. The news is that my family and I have just arrived in the Americas, specifically in North America, Turtle Island, and, more specific than that, in San Francisco, where we're just about to be picked up by the most popular guest on the podcast, as it happens, and dear friend now, Paul Hawken. Yes, for those who've been listening a while, RegenNarration meets Regeneration, or something like that.

AJ: 1:13

In all seriousness, this is a very unexpected turn of events for us. My wife and I both last travelled internationally 17 years ago. We both resolved at that time independently, as it happens, before we even met that we weren't going to do any more of that. Flying is just so energy and emissions intensive and inherently disconnecting from the earth. Obviously, though, I have enjoyed that aerial perspective and even nearly won a songwriting award with a friend with a song I wrote up there once, but hey, we'd also had a good share of that energy-intensive form of travel by any measure, so perhaps we could help leave some greenhouse gas space, as it were, for those who hadn't experienced it which, let's face, it is most of the world, let alone future generations and meantime, perhaps we'll take some of that pressure off the atmosphere and all the related consequences we're coming to know too well. So in the time since our passports expired and, to be honest, that emissions intensive travel wasn't missed, as you well know we turned our attention to getting to know our own country properly, and the podcast really grew legs when we embarked on a journey around Australia back in 2018 and thought it might be worthwhile sharing some of what we learned along the way. Of course, in doing that, I didn't shut the rest of the world out. There have been strong global connections, explored throughout the years online and with those that lobbed up on our shores. Some wonderful new friends have been made from that too, which again is a large part of what led us to being in this airport right now. But we have prioritised getting out on country and connected with it in a way we never had, via the people who are enabling it to regenerate in all sorts of wonderful ways, the people who are enabling it to regenerate in all sorts of wonderful ways. In a sense, being here right now was the next logical thing to do, having returned to Australia 20 years ago from an incredibly blessed time living with Mayan and Mestizo communities in Guatemala for several years.

AJ: 3:21

I shared a little of this the last time I released a personal tale on this podcast, in episode 91. Essentially, I guess I was a kind of independent volunteer, as conventional frames would put it, offering whatever I could to a rural municipality called Freba Toromera, las Casas In return for a place to stay and a tab at the local restaurant. That's all a bigger story, some of which squeaks out on this podcast from time to time. But for all that I was doing in Guatemala, all that I still believe was worthwhile, and for all the wonderful relationships shared, I ultimately couldn't help but feel that my very presence reinforced the impression that countries like mine remained the benchmark of development. After all, I could go there and work for supposedly nothing, certainly no salary but wow, the rewards. And of course, ultimately I could leave. Just about no one where I was could do that. Now, this in no way disparages the brilliant, full-hearted and gutsy people who do continue in the field, as we say, of international development. I'm humbled to have met many awesome folk and, oh, for a while could I see a wonderful, meaningful life into the future in Guatemala. I love that place still, but for me, I guess there was another call and, it's fair to say, part of that call was also the country of Australia, as in the land, sea and cultures, a sense of home, perhaps for the first time, and that's a longer story too, really. Anyway, those 20 years ago I resolved to head back to Australia, try to get upstream of the unsustainable systems of international development, you might say, and work to change those benchmarks and narratives. You can imagine, then, how strange it was to have found ourselves even considering this a couple of years ago.

AJ: 5:23

Our great fortune was to receive some wonderful invitations through the podcast, and increasingly we were learning about how some of the burning questions in Australia were being answered in some way abroad. So, to cut a long story short, over that couple of years we started to take the suggestion that we travel beyond our country more seriously. I tested the idea against the number of you listening, even to check against indulgence, and was it worth the intensive impact. Sure, we travel slow there or here, like we mostly do back home, but to the other side of the world first, as you might be imagining hearing this, all we got while the concerns were shared was affirmation it was important, it would contribute. Even. We need you to do it. So if I have faltered in any way with this, it's in believing that nice press.

AJ: 6:23

There was one particular conversation I shared with recent podcast guest judith schwartz about this. While we made the decision, she asked when we were thinking of flying over. I broadly said april 22. I just pegged a date in at that stage for the sake of it. She said oh, earth day. I admit I didn't know that, never paid much attention to isolated days or earth hours or whatever. Not that I'm dissing those efforts either. Judy said what a great narrative for the start of the journey, and I thought you're right. If we're gonna do this, that's the day we leave and that's the narrative point. So here we are Happy Earth Day.

AJ: 7:07

I've also admitted to more than one person, though, that if someone said to me they were going on a journey dedicated to the regeneration of the living world, starting on Earth Day, and the story starts by flying to the other side of the world. I'd have thought what a ning-nong. A lesson in judgement, maybe, but also a measure of how strongly this call dare I use that word started to sound for us, much as it did back in 2018 when we first went around Australia with a similar motivation. Back then, we said to each other let's be prepared to be changed. And wow, we were. I could never have imagined what has played out in the last five years. As I said recently on the 200th episode of the podcast, I never expected to be doing this here with you. Well, we're saying the same thing again right now Be prepared to be changed. What will this turn of events hold?

AJ: 8:08

What is consistent with the ethos I returned from Guatemala with, I guess, is that the journey is for an extended period and maybe the whole time, even in the US, as a listener recently responded Ah, right to the heart of the systems and stories we live by, and, wow, at an interesting time too. No, so here we go, still following the thread of the setting of the goals of those systems, the nature of those stories, right through to shaping what we take as normal and even possible. And hey, the US is certainly also the heart of so much brilliant regeneration. So so yeah, continuing the approach forged back home, we'll get out on country with people doing some of those extraordinary things, learn and share, see if we can't weave a few more unsuspecting threads together and produce more of the so-called impossible.

AJ: 9:04

There is something else too. The first place I ever travelled internationally to was Turtle Island, the part we call Canada today, nearly 30 years ago. Funnily enough, though, I had nothing to do with farming for many a year more. It was to a farm, the family of my partner at the time, and hello, if you happen to be listening, all interesting to look back on now. Anyway, I did feel a very strong affinity to this continent. I don't really know why, aside from, of course, its incredible landscapes and cultures of all descriptions, but there did feel something deeper. So the fact it's calling me back unexpectedly now, well, we'll see what reveals itself on that front too, I guess.

AJ: 9:52

And in case you're wondering, yep, we looked at getting across the seas to North America, turtle Island by cargo ship, though, again, as another listener recently pointed out, that's not much better environmentally when all things are considered. There's sailboat, of course, which I do love the thought of or sails on cargo ships. That's coming on, but it's a whole other time frame and skill set and connections to make. Not a reason not to try, though, is it? Who knows? Maybe we'll make some of that happen. On the way back, there's our favourite travel mode bicycle touring. Geez, that's a magic way to go. Talk about connection with people and country and good old self. We could start by following the regenerative threads through Asia on bikes. That'd be interesting and vital too, I think, for all sorts of reasons, but that's not where the call is yet anyway. So those were some of the twists and turns in deciding if this upholds notions that we talk about all the time here Stewardship, integrity, perpetual reciprocation with nature. I trust we've chosen right. I can't tell you, I'm sure we have. I feel a bit like when I see a big winter swell come in and I'm not sure whether I should mix with it and take it on. But once you decide, you are, you go for it and you trust. As for Earth Day, as usual there's so much more amazing stuff to the story when you stop to pay attention.

AJ: 11:20

Earth Day traces its origins to a grassroots movement that emerged in the US during the 70s. The inaugural Earth Day, held on April 22, 1970, not long before I was born, was a response to mounting environmental concerns. Earth Day began as a student and teacher-led process. Sounds familiar today, doesn't it? This mobilised 20 million people across the nation on that first go to advocate for environmental protection. The movement gained momentum, contributing to all sorts of things the establishment of the EPA, passage of other key environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act, clean Water Act and, more Fair to say, now I'm approaching this Earth Day more respectfully, respectfully, gratefully and meaningfully than I've done before. So in honor of all those brilliant people instigating that part of the movement in the lands we'll be privileged to travel on shortly, and in honor of all of you doing your parts too, here we go. This whole podcast thing's been an honor project, really. I've said it often. You just try and stack up to your part of the bargain when you get to meet the sort of people and share the sort of spaces I do, all the more in my incredibly privileged position of being supported in this financially by a number of you. That honour only dawns on me more the more I do this. So thanks very much. So we'll see where all this leads us in the privileged presence of cultures, ancient and new, in the Americas this time around. I hope you continue to enjoy sharing the journey together. Do keep in touch, jump on board Patreon to help support us doing it, if you can, and, of course, to enjoy behind the scenes photos and footage, etc. With all my gratitude, I'll be back in touch with more soon.