People were visibly shaken after the election, and I saw a post online that said, “Goodbye America.”

No and never. There’s an old song “Pick Yourself Up” that tells you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again. I found it on YouTube and it can give us a boost and much more.

We are still America, and those of us who individually belong to nonprofits and organizations doing exemplary work know it with clear determination: We are Americans and it is business as usual. We will feed the poor. Fight for the environment and best sustainability practices. Help communities devastated by climate events. We will continue to come together to save our oceans and fresh water. And much more.

Yes, it’s a new day, but for many of us, it won’t change our work to help our fellow Americans.

I received a message this morning from one of my conservationists who said, “I am grateful for all the good people in my life and all the good work we have done. We did everything we could. So, one thing at a time. We can continue to spread peace and trees.

This offered an immediate shift in mentality. Thank you, dear friend.

To me, we know that climate change has destroyed our world. This will not change. Hurricanes will continue with a ferocity due to warming oceans acidified by CO2. John Morales, a veteran meteorologist from Miami, broke down in tears as he watched Hurricane Milton approach Florida. “It’s just… horrible,” he said. Maintaining his composure, Morales talked about the storm’s wind speed and how it was gaining strength as it moved through the “record heat” waters of the Gulf of Mexico. “You know what’s driving this, I don’t need to tell you,” Morales said. “Global warming. Climate change.”

Our country and all countries are financially buried by the consequences of each hurricane.

But then I had a eureka moment. As a climate educator who had just arrived in New York to form my new podcast project COOL, I was also part of the press seeking to report on Prince William’s Climate Earthshot Prize. There I was, in New York, filming my first climate podcast and meeting people from all over the world and I realized that one of the contributors to Prince William’s Earthshot Prize was Elon Musk.

It appears Musk has deftly navigated his way through an administration that has not been supportive of climate education. But Musk built a car to reduce climate emissions. I don’t think he will turn around and change his efforts to cool our planet.

It occurred to me that if you were passionate about fighting climate change and wanted to get the most bang for your buck, wouldn’t it make sense to get in the ring and support a man there where you could do something? greater progress within an administration?

I think Musk’s long term goal was to make electric cars affordable to the mass market. I think Elon Musk believed that sustainable energy was fundamental and that self-driving cars could save millions of lives. In his “Master Plan, Part Deux” memo, Musk explained that Tesla’s goal was to showcase the possibilities of electric vehicles, energy storage systems and photovoltaic solar tiles.

I’m planning my next climate podcast featuring the local exemplary work of Frontier Park’s LEAF RELEAF urban forestry infrastructure climate change effort.

After that, I’ll be leading the next Podcast Project COOL podcast with Prince William’s Earthshot Prize. On November 6, the finalists received one million euros to continue scaling up their exceptional efforts in the fight against climate change. “We want to make this decade the decade in which we transform the world for good, one solution at a time, from the ground up,” Prince William said in a speech delivered on stage in a giant reusable dome erected for the ceremony near Cape Town Harbour.

So remember that old song by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, “Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off and start again.”

We are Americans and we are all part of this book of American history. You can be sure that we will continue to write an incredible story!

Diane Esser, from Girard, is a documentary producer; founder of Plant it Forward; and event coordinator for Butterflies For Kids and the environmental program Address Earth Kids.

This article was originally published on Erie Times-News: Opinion: Erie environmentalist sees hope in Musk-Trump partnership