Yes, I’m writing this the day after Earth Day for a reason. I love that beautiful day we take to soak in nature in my favorite season of rebirth and new growth. However, the flip side of the appreciation that comes with being an ecologist these days seems to come with an inevitable degree of compassion fatigue. I didn’t think I’d get here, but I feel like burying my head in the sand. The bad news is overwhelming, and I can’t stomach it anymore. Maybe though, there’s a positive to this: I can’t take hearing about the things I cannot do anything about (or seemingly at least). I immediately click away from the negative environmental stories that once drew me in like clickbait; it all just brings on a feeling of hopelessness, and furthers a feeling of not being able to act meaningfully on it. I feel like I’m protecting my head, and maybe there’s a good side to focusing on the actionable, which has been an overall priority lately in my life.