Removing blame and judgement of myself was key. Understanding that each day was one small step and not a requim on my character, you know. Discipline and focus aren't things ANYBODY just has, they aren't even really personality traits. You wake up each day and make a value judgement about how you spend your time. Flossing, reading a book, working out, whatever.

Another way I've heard this expressed is that each day you succeed or fail "small". Don't overweight small mistakes.

Lastly, change one thing at a time. It's really hard to form new habits, so make one change and after a few months, if you are holding it steady, make another. Eventually this adds up.

I wonder if this technology can be re-purposed to allow spiders to talk to cats?

I know there was a researcher working on that, but he became quite weary.

I would disagree here. Tons of measures of biodiversity have been in free fall for a long time. Unregulated groundwater use has dried up springs and driven species to extinction without most folks even noticing. The west was always fragile, and what we see now is a pale imitation of nature due to 12,000+ years of depredation and degradation. Though certainly things have accelerated in the last 150 yrs.

And the race to the bottom of the Ogallala aquifer threatens to bring it back all over again! Yaaaay! But don't regulate groundwater use or anything, we have traditions out here!

For real though: the IRA bill has serious money allocated to regenerative ag, super cool that the feds are actually investing in something like that. Hope it helps, not my area of expertise.

Sure, I agree. We shouldn't build giant cities in the desert either. Or let private equity buy up water rights and sell them to the highest bidder. Lawns and golf courses are ridiculous.

But look how water is allocated and who is using most of it in the west. Look at the insane things our systems of water law have incentivized. Look at the lawmakers who refuse to change the systems of incentives. Look at the ranchers and farmers (most of them) who refuse to do the most basic water efficiency changes because they've got the private property rights, and their traditions. It's the biggest piece, by far.

It's almost as if pumping water out of every aquifer with reckless abandon for 150 yrs combined with global warming and surface water regulations that encourage overuse and waste has consequences!

It's unbelievably hard for me to be sympathetic towards farmers and ranchers in the west as what they've wrought comes home to roost. Anyone with an honest bone in their body could see this coming 100 years ago.