Long before I tied into a rope or placed my hands on sandstone, I was surrounded by my rock-climber parents’ stories of adventure, exploration, and deep respect for the natural world.

On a massive, windswept swath of private farmland in Box Elder County in northern Utah, local residents are worried about what “the cloud” will feel like when it finally lands.

Emotions are the driving force behind climate action, according to author, teacher, and climate activist Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson. Indeed, words like “heartbreak,” “courage,” “healing,” and “belonging” appear throughout her work like signposts marking the heart’s journey—sometimes her own—from climate despair to commitment to self, nature, and community.

Like something from a fairy tale, Slovenia’s Soča Valley possesses an almost ethereal beauty.

On warm spring mornings, kayakers glide past downtown Chicago’s glass towers, their paddles cutting through water that reflects the skyline in shimmering blue. Along the riverwalk, joggers and families pause to watch herons stalk fish near the shoreline. It is a scene that today feels ordinary, almost serene.