We have much to learn by studying nature and taking the time to tease out its secrets.

The truth is, as most of us know, that global warming is real and humans are major contributors, mainly because we wastefully burn fossil fuels.

There is a gyre of discarded floating plastic the size of the continental USA in the ocean. In it, plastic trash outweighs plankton 40 to 1.

From year to year, environmental changes are incremental and often barely register in our lives, but from evolutionary or geological perspectives, what is happening is explosive change.

So now the challenge is to imagine a different world where our wealth is in human relations and the things we do together, and we learn to live in balance with the rest of nature.

Outright bans on plastic bags may not be the best solution, but education and incentives to get people to stop using them are necessary.

Each of us has the ability to act powerfully for change; together we can restore that ancient and sustaining harmony.