As I sit in my currently 90 degree apartment, unable to control the temperature even with a wall A/C unit that apparently stops functioning properly when the weather outside goes above 80 degrees, I think about how little control we have as humans. Just watch any documentary about global warming and all the disaster that weather will wreak on Earth if we don’t act soon enough . . . it kind of seems like those images are coming to life on the news right now. Wildfires scorching San Diego, snow in Colorado in May, “worst ever” floods in Bosnia and Serbia—is this the beginning of the end?

Weather is SO much bigger than us. We try to do everything we can to protect ourselves, our lives, our buildings, our property from it and it just ain’t a force to be reckoned with.   I value every drop of water I drink or that cleanses my body in this Dust Bowl-like, multiyear drought. I recycle everything that I can, I buy sustainable vegetables and meat, and it all just doesn’t feel like enough.

Living in California is so rad because there are so many different climates to experience. I chose one extreme for a road trip to Death Valley with my mom on Mother’s Day weekend. Not having cell phone service for almost 24 hours really puts things in perspective. Driving through arid and windy terrain makes you realize that no matter what we do, or what we try to control, the Earth is still going to go on with or without us. Unless an asteroid hits us (but even still, that only stopped the dinosaurs!). Seriously, stopping global warming isn’t just for the Earth, it’s about our survival as a species.

The basin of Death Valley has the look and feel of a dried-out sea. But despite “drying out” it’s still there, salt flats and all, a reminder that the earth is ever-changing and ever-evolving. Not being able to control Mother Nature doesn’t stop me from wanting to experience it.   There’s just something about seeing natural wonders (driving by them or climbing through them) that really humbles you—from the Grand Canyon to Niagara Falls. You get to see first-hand how these places have evolved and adapted and will continue to do so. I’m currently reading a book about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, which would scare a lot of people and is quite scary, but I have to do it; even if it means I might get trampled to death by elephants, that’s got to be at least a fast way to die, right?

Speaking of being scared, try driving through a sandstorm, which is exactly what happened on our way back to L.A. from Death Valley. Sand and dirt and wind do very nasty things to a car. It hurts even more when it’s a brand-new one. The lesson? Something goes wrong in our day to ruin it and we’re not happy anymore (like having to replace your windshield due to said sandstorm). Something goes wrong with Mother Earth and she humbles us with her resilience. She also reminds us, again and again, of how little is really in our control.