Watering the crops, Eco Yoga Park, General Rodriguez, Argentina The Eco Yoga Park, an hour outside Buenos Aires, doubles as an organic farm. Volunteers like Larissa from Stuttgart, Germany, not only get to stretch their bodies with daily yoga classes, but also learn about permaculture as they help grow 80-90 percent of the food that is consumed there. In 2010, Argentina was hit by severe drought, drastically reducing crop yields. But the farm at Eco Yoga Park fared better because of its staff’s dedication to permaculture farming techniques.

Hayden Bean planting a seedling as part of a Force Majeure project, Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, California, USA Force Majeure is a study center created in 2007 by American land artists Helen and Newton Harrison in response to global warming. In 2014, they began a project at Sagehen which involved planting seedlings at various altitudes to see which will survive our changing climatic conditions. Many artists, environmental organizations, community groups, and even large corporations are jumping on the tree-planting “bandwagon” as more trees mean more atmospheric carbon dioxide will be absorbed.

Rob Hopkins of The Transition Network displaying local British currencies, Paris, France Heads of state from nearly 200 nations met in late autumn of 2015 for the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) to establish a global agreement about reducing carbon emissions to keep temperatures from rising no more than two degrees Celsius. Rob Hopkins, a founder of the grassroots organization The Transition Network, was one of many stakeholders who came to Paris during the climate talks to promote positive actions citizens can implement such as creating local currency to keep money circulating in their communities.

Village Chief Samorn Khengsamut, Khun Samut Chin, Thailand Chief Khengsamut gives presentations to all tourists who visit their village to educate them about the impacts of sea level rise and the resulting erosion of their land. Rising seas have forced villagers to move their homes further inland four or five times in the last few decades, but now they are running out of space to move. The Chief knows she needs to be an outspoken advocate for her community to get the public’s attention and raise funds to aid her village with the construction of new buildings.

“Climate Justice” sign on door at the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, Nuku’alofa, Tonga. -- Even though citizens of developing nations like Tonga have a much smaller footprint than those of industrialized societies, parishioners at this Catholic church are still encouraged to minimize their carbon usage. Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on climate change asked people of all faiths, not just Catholics, to wake up to the reality of climate change: “We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.”

Patrick Landewe and his son, Saugerties Lighthouse, Saugerties, New York, USA Lighthouse caretaker Patrick Landewe and his wife Anna have a small carbon footprint since, when this picture was taken, they lived in the lighthouse where they work. But their footprint got even smaller once they built and moved into a tiny houseboat. According to The Tiny Life website people choose to live in tiny houses for many reasons including “environmental concerns, financial concerns, and the desire for more time and freedom.”

Laila Gordon holding one of her family’s hens, Brooklyn, New York The Gordon family have 13 laying hens in their backyard that produce about five dozen eggs a week during peak season (spring and summer). Laila said she likes when they get the cute and fluffy baby chicks for the broody hens. But, her parents, Tom and Nazmin, appreciate the fact that the fresh eggs are higher in nutrients than store-bought ones and that the hens provide rich compost soil for the garden. The family also gives food scraps to the hens, which eliminates their overall waste.

A good Samaritan cleans up Tom Nevers' beach, Nantucket, MA This resident told me that whenever she comes to the beach to walk her dog she always brings a bag to clean up garbage that has been left behind or washed up on the shore. Like the woman in Nairobi repurposing plastic bags, I was encouraged by her personal efforts to do something for her local community.

EM “Bud” Skidmore feeding his chickens, Edisto, South Carolina, USA In this small, mostly conservative community just south of Charleston, Bud told me that instead of talking to his neighbors about climate change (which  might “shut down the conversation”), he talks to them “about the things they love – like hunting and fishing.” In that way, he gets people from many different backgrounds and viewpoints to work together to care for our shared natural resources.

Earthship home, Taos, New Mexico, USA Primarily made of used tires packed tightly with earth, these Earthship homes are part of the “Greater World” community project in New Mexico. The community’s main objectives are: to reduce the economic and institutional barriers between people and sustainable housing; to begin reversing the overall negative effect that conventional housing has on the planet; and to create a less stressful existence for people in an effort to reduce the stress that they in turn place on the planet and each other.

Biodigestor toilet, Rancho Mastatal, Costa Rica This two-stall biodigestor toilet turns human waste into fuel. The resulting gas is used to power a small burner in the kitchen of the main house at Rancho Mastatal, a sustainability education center where guests can take permaculture design courses, learn about fermentation, and natural building techniques.

The Thames Barrier, London, England, 2012 The disastrous North Sea flood of 1953 that took the lives of over 2000 people was the catalyst for the building of the Thames Barrier. As of February 2016, the barrier has been closed 176 times since it became operational in 1982, preventing both tidal and river flooding. Since sea levels are continuing to rise and the Thames Barrier is expected to reach the end of its design lifespan in the next fifty years, the British Met Office established the Thames Estuary 2100 project to provide research and advice to protect from “flooding or other serious water hazards that could result from climate change…now and into the next century.”

Mickhel Waldron, a student intern at the Red Hook Community Farm, Brooklyn, New York, USA In addition to providing paid internships to local youths, this farm also has a weekly farmer’s market and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and composting programs. A goal of the organization’s mission is to “strive to transform vacant lands into vibrant urban farms, improve access to healthy, affordable produce, and nurture a new generation of green leaders.”

Two young girls participating in a Witness Tree “Postcards for Politicians” event, New York, New York, USA To coincide with the People’s Climate March in September 2014, I held an audience-engagement event in New York City where visitors created postcards addressing their climate concerns that were then sent to American politicians. In exchange for making a postcard, participants took home one of my “Witness Tree” project  images. One of my primary goals with this project is to get citizens engaged in climate actions including urging their legislators to enact more protective climate laws.

Daniel and Marion Ingram, 2017 People’s Climate March, Washington D.C., USA Married since 1960, this couple does everything together – including protest. They told me they had been protesting outside the White House every Wednesday since Donald Trump took office. As a holocaust survivor, Marion said she believes it’s her responsibility to protest injustice. “My advice to young people is: Become active. You can’t rely on us because our time is finite. It’s your future. Resist, boycott, do everything that is necessary.”

Representatives from the Damayan collective at the People’s Climate March, New York, New York On September 21, 2014, approximately 400,000 people gathered in New York City to demand that world leaders take action to end the climate crisis. While this march was happening in New York, another 2,645 events were held in solidarity in over 150 other countries around the world.

The future home of Future, a solar power company, Elk Grove, California, USA Many environmental activists have long promoted solar power as one of the best choices for renewable energy. According to a March 2016 study by the Solar Energy Industries Association solar power was expected to double that year and keep growing. This photo was taken in 2014 when the company had not yet broken ground.

Home raised on stilts, Braithwaite, Louisiana, USA I returned to Plaquemines Parish in New Orleans two and a half years after Hurricane Isaac devastated this community in 2012. I noticed some of the homes were being raised up on stilts while others were not. According to new flood policies by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), residents here had four choices: pay $100,000 – $200,000 to elevate their homes to new standards, pay several thousand dollars for yearly flood insurance if they don’t elevate, forgo flood insurance altogether and risk losing their home to the next hurricane or flood, or move away. Many residents have lived in this close-knit community for years, so leaving the place they love, is not an option for them.

New sand dunes erected after Hurricane Sandy, Mantoloking, New Jersey, USA Many communities around the world are trying to come up with ways to protect their valuable real estate from severe storms and flooding. But many of these “solutions,” such as creating or reinforcing dunes, re-nourishing beaches, or raising homes, are only temporary fixes that may easily be damaged again by the next powerful hurricane or storm surge.

Wind turbines, Altamont, California, USA Many of these wind turbines in north-central California have been there since the 1970s after being installed in response to the energy crisis that plagued the United States during that decade. The Altamont Pass Wind Farm is still one of the largest in the U.S. and with nearly 5000 turbines, this region has one of the largest concentrations of wind turbines in the world. Many of these older models are being replaced by modern slower-moving turbines due to concerns about birds being killed by their high-speed blades.

The temple at Eco Yoga Park, General Rodriguez, Argentina People come from around the world to visit and volunteer at Eco Yoga Park. Established in 1996, it is part of a large international chain of ecological villages. Volunteers work for approximately four hours a day in activities such as organic gardening, vegetarian cooking, and eco-building.