Braised White Beans and Greens With Parmesan

My backup dancers and I recently visited Hyde Park, New York, and the historic estate of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

Everyone should have a silver jacket.

The woman who toured us around the Roosevelts' home told a story about how the World War II black market for rationed goods dropped after the president gave one of his radio broadcast "fireside chats." He warned that American troops would lack what they needed to survive if, say, a woman who wanted to make a new shirt made a black market purchase of silk that could otherwise have been used to make parachutes. When the president personalized the negative effects of people's actions - their loved ones in the military could die - people changed their behavior, at least according to this tour guide.

Most people I know don't take simple, everyday steps against climate change, like minimizing their driving by combining errands, or eating less meat and dairy, or hanging some of their laundry to dry. We could conclude that the consequences of climate change haven't been sufficiently personalized by sufficiently influential people. 

This confounds me, though, because how many of us have NOT been personally affected by, say, a climate-change-fueled severe weather event in recent years? A good chunk of the United States was breathing smoky air for days or weeks this summer when Canadian wildfires raged, for example. Isn't it personal enough to draw polluted air into your lungs?

As far as influencers, I'd be thrilled if any high-level leader would suggest to their followers that they can and should help prevent the increasing damage (human, economic, societal, natural, etc.) that is a hallmark of climate change. A new U.S, government report, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, makes the problem clear, but I guess there is not an equivalent of FDR today to describe it to people in a way that inspires action.

I'm no FDR, needless to say, but I'm asking you to make the small sacrifice of meat as a step toward environmental sustainability. Feel free to do this for the entirely selfish reason that in the long run, it will help YOU avoid extreme heat, flooding, power outages, smoky air, and other features of a world that is warming.

"Braised White Beans and Greens with Parmesan" (NYT Cooking) is an example of a great meatless meal, allowing you to avoid the environmental problems associated with raising livestock. I forgot to buy a fennel bulb so I just added extra onion, and instead of pepper flakes, I chopped up some jalapeno and sauteed it with the onion. 

We ate it with biscuits. My backup dancers and I liked this dish, finding it a very palatable way to eat kale, which is so healthy but can sometimes be tough and bitter. I used about 4-5 ounces of chopped kale. 

Backup dancers in New York's Hudson Valley