Climate change is here.

40 years ago, a fisherman’s boat dock in the Florida Keys was easily above water, even during high tide. Today the same dock is under the water, even during low tide. Slowly, the effects have crept up and will continue to increase.

Climate change affects food supplies. Fish in waters that are warming, swim northward into cooler waters. Drought brings water shortages affecting crop irrigation. Farm animals need crops to eat, but the cost of crops is rising. The cost of human food is rising too.

Rising food costs tied with the rising population and war during climate change can cause food shortages.

Wheat is the main staple of the American diet. Rising temperatures are already reducing wheat production. (Nature Climate Change)

In the United States, there is a growing block of small farmers who are preparing for such bad circumstances. Lenore Baker and her husband, Dave, are chestnut farmers. After researching benefits and sustainability of the chestnut tree, they planted a sampling on their property in Mauckport, Indiana. Today they have planted over 200 trees.

Historically, the chestnut kept communities alive during times of famine in the Old World. The nut is high in protein, has vitamin C, is gluten-free, low in fat, and contains complex minerals, vitamins and nutrients. The chestnut can be dried and ground into flour for the making of bread or pasta and can be added to soups or eaten whole. Vacuum packed, it will last for years.

The American chestnut tree nearly died out from a foreign fungus, but Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, where Lenore purchased her trees, has crossbred it with the Chinese chestnut tree, giving the American chestnut a vaccination of resistance.

The chestnut tree is large, does not need constant watering, and produces large nuts at only seven years old. Bakers Organic Chestnut farm is located not far from the Ohio River, which creates a fog each morning. Grow tubes, invented by the University of Florida, surround the trunk of each planted seedling and collect the fog’s early morning moisture, making the trees “self-watering.”

Another benefit of the chestnut tree is its ability to retain carbon from carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas that causes global warming and climate change. Deforestation and burning fossil fuels contribute to the rise in carbon dioxide, which according to NASA, is at 404.93ppm. In 2005, the level was below 380. It rises a little each year.

“Increasing forest cover has been identified as an important way to slow climate change.” (Purdue University)

Specifically, reforestation with chestnut trees—a fast-growing tree, can slow the effects of climate change in the United States. The chestnut tree can be grown in North Florida north up into Massachusetts and west into Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Missouri.

Lenore Baker is like Issachar—a woman who sees the times, and does something to make life better. Lenore’s father kept an organic garden and helped develop her love of raising her own food. In high school, Lenore studied horticulture in a college dual enrollment program. At age 18, she became a certified horticulturalist and used her skills in a work-study opportunity at a local government hospital. Today, Lenore and her husband Dave, are pioneers, implementing her knowledge, preparing to feed the country and clean the air.

Bakers Organic Chestnut Farm is small, but growing. Lenore and Dave are looking forward to investors who are like-minded. They plan to expand the farm from 24 acres to 100 acres.

Americans—we must all look forward into the future, which will be different from what we have known. But with knowledge we can overcome obstacles, even those which are life-threatening. With creativity, new businesses, like the Baker's, can be sown, ready to reap fruit in due time. If you live in an area which will grow chestnut trees, plant three, four or five 35 to 40 feet apart. The chestnut tree is a tree of life.

Brian Mast walked in the Memorial Day parade holding an American flag, his wife and children watching from the sidelines. He remembered his fellow soldiers, brothers, who had lived, fought and died on the battlefield. Men gone to war for their country. Tears cascaded openly down his face. He felt no shame.

Brian Mast is a young man. But at age 36, he has the experience and wisdom of a man twice his age. As an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, Mast was a demolitions expert, diffusing bombs. One day, one moment was all that was necessary—an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded, leaving Mast without his lower legs. A finger on his left hand also was gone. He later woke up at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Washington D.C., his wife and baby seated nearby his bed. His thoughts: “Will I ever walk again? Will I be able to hold by child?”

He had lived and worked to defend the United States.

When a man or woman loses a limb, an emotional change occurs. Loss has occurred. Loss of limbs. Loss of abilities. Loss of health. Loss of work. Loss of identification with one’s role in life. Mentally, it is a difficult place to come out of, and often includes post traumatic stress, depression, and guilt. Guilt about those who didn’t make it back alive.

Rehab follows: learning to handle pain, maneuvering, becoming accustomed to prosthetic legs, and finally adapting to a new way of life back at home.

Brian Mast is an overcomer. He is a victor, a warrior. Mast comes from a line of military men, his father and uncles were all in the service. His purpose in life has not changed. He states, “Everyone has a purpose in life. My purpose is to defend this country.” Though he’s no longer on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, he sees Washington D.C. as his new battlefield, where change is made and voices are heard.

Coming in to the political realm from the military as a counter-terrorism specialist, Mast brings fresh new ideas for handling terrorism:

First, name the problem for what it is—radical Islam. ISIS is now a worldwide threat.

Second, security professionals need to have appropriate training and experience. “For example, TSA employees at the airports are entry-level workers. They do not have the experience that those in the military have. We should be hiring our veterans who know what to look for as TSA employee and former military canine handlers to sniff out bombs.

Brian Mast has held high-level security clearances. To work at this level he had to be polygraphed. “Why not polygraph those coming into our country?” he asks. “We can ask a person, ‘Have you ever thought about committing an act of terror in the United States?’”

Brian Mast is not the typical citizen running for election. When he speaks, he does not speak as a typical politician, but as one of the people. He is a man who nearly died, and whose service to his country he gave without gain. Yet, he still has a voice, and uses it. Mast speaks up for veterans, their healthcare, and their needs. He speaks up for the rights of Americans to defend themselves. He speaks out about his personal beliefs in God and Christian education.

Brian Mast has a degree in Environmental Science from Harvard. A clean environment is extremely important to him. As a citizen of the Treasure Coast, Mast has toured the waterways with authorities and is speaking out about the water problems and knows what can be done to fix them. He is thinking of the future. He is thinking of his own three children. He wants a clean America, without the burden of heavy taxation for them.

America, let us still do great things. Let us elect men like Brian Mast who say what they mean, and mean what they say. Men who keep their word and leave no one behind.

Brian Mast’s message to others: “If you’ve been broken down as I was, you can still be used for something great.”

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