I grew up in a cul-de-sac in Florida. My fondest childhood memories were running down the street to the river bank with my brother. Often we would pretend to be Steve Irwin, except we would catch lizards rather than alligators. On weekends, my dad would take us fishing. We rarely caught fish, but we loved being able to observe the wildlife around us. I never lost that sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world. I currently work as an entomological zookeeper at the Florida Museum. Our motto is “inspiring people to care about life on Earth.” I work with both spiders and butterflies—one species almost universally feared and revered. My interest in the evolutionary relationship between bugs and plants and my passion for sustainability had led me to go back to school to study environmental engineering. Everything on this Earth is inextricably connected in ways we still have not discovered. I want to be part of the solution. I’m sure it comes at no surprise to you: we are in the midst of an environmental disaster and a biodiversity crisis. I want to help develop more sustainable ways for dealing with waste management and water treatment. As I grew older, I watched how the biodiversity in my backyard and down by the river dwindled as pollution and runoff killed off wildlife. I loved participating in local river clean ups, but I was always distressed by how much of our waste ends up in our rivers. Now that I live a little over 200 miles from home, I rarely make it out to the river to clean up, but I do carry a bag with me to pick up trash I see when I walk my dog. My advice to my family and friends who want to reduce their carbon footprint is to start small and build sustainable habits that enrich your life. Everyone cannot afford an electric vehicle, but if you can manage to bring reusable bags, pick up waste when you see it, recycle and reuse what you can, you are off to a good start. Making sustainable choices makes me feel like I am doing my part. The butterfly effect of small acts of kindness and respect for the environment add up. Calling and emailing your local politicians about your support for sustainable programs also doesn’t hurt. I think the most important step we can make is discussing how climate change impacts our lives with the people around us. Even though climate change has become a politically divisive topic, the consequences affect everyone. Lower income communities are often impacted the greatest by environmental disasters. No one wants a hurricane to destroy their home or a wildfire to destroy their community, but these are precisely what happens when we do not care for the world.