What’s the difference between climate and weather? What is climate resilience? Climate change hasn’t affected me so is it real? What about heatwaves? Can I get assistance in adapting my house? What should I be doing, and what about my children?
Last year, as someone deeply concerned about the climate crisis, I trained as a Climate Reality Leader, under former Vice-President Al Gore and his team. The aim is to engage with others, share the education, encourage change and assist with other people’s concerns, and I write articles, appear on podcasts and do presentations. There’s great strength when people work together. I’m thinking of creating a platform, website, Facebook Page or similar where people can share information, thoughts, ideas and would like to judge the interest with this simple poll, please. Thanks. Please feel free to add any comments.
It may be possible to put this poll in a more user-friendly and indeed analysis-friendly format - @graham or @billybutcher or @james can advise on this.
Governments are unlikely to really act unless told by the people. Research shows there’s a lot of people who would do more if given some guidance and leadership. Once that starts rolling, we can achieve great changes for a much better world, including the survival of many who will struggle.
There is a danger that you will form an echo chamber. While it’s good to discuss with like-minded people, groups with strong feelings and commitments to particular topics tend to exclude those who feel differently, either by trying to convert them or by showing them how wrong they are.
Asking questions like this, I would expect the kind of answers you get to be predominantly aligned with your hopes. i.e. those who are anxious or concerned, and those who are engaged and doing something will be those who engage with you. I see Geof has already posted twice in the thread, and he’s possibly the most environmentally focused person on TP.
I don’t have magic-bullet suggestions, but rather to encourage you to keep looking wider at engaging those you have not previously touched.
Thanks for replying, and completely agree with your comments. I used to engage often with those who denied climate issues, but they’ve become fewer and probably happy where they are. On the other end of the spectrum, I converse with the scientists and authors and writers like myself, who puzzle at why we are not doing all that we can and urgently; on a war footing is the term often used. It’s the bulk of people in between that I’m hoping to reach, busy with life, and maybe not sure what to do, perhaps reluctant to ask questions. Appealing to the masses and being viral on social media is all somewhat beyond me, but under the Climate Reality Project, we are asked to perform acts of leadership, even if it’s just to get people talking. I also volunteer as a mental health first aider and climate anxiety, especially amongst the young, is a rapidly growing problem. Thanks again.
To me western gov’ts won’t do anything until it affects economic performance and thus their ability to stay in power (or rather until they realise it is already doing so). Sorry to be cynical but I have spent 40+ years working in this field and now it seems we are going backwards, not forwards. There was a lot of “people” interest in 70’s and 80’s including massive people protests, that led to changes and some good measures. The first green parties appeared, 1982 UN conference sparked all sors of things, there is a long long list of positive changes. Many since abandoned.
Global earth day, which came out of huge protests in 1970, has just celebrated its 50th anniversary……
Perhaps looking at the history might be useful to show a way forward, rather than repeating failures.
My personal view is that we need a complete, radical change of the system. What we have now isn’t democratic, and I’m appalled at what they get away with.
I’ve had a similar engagement Jane but when I introspect honestly I don’t find cynicism. You have to be realistic, of course - humanity, and many other species, are in a hell of a mess. But I feel there is hope. Voting for green parties is on the increase all over the world - most are still small, of course, but other left parties are increasingly incorporating green ideas into their own programmes (I know many French environmentalists last time felt that Mélenchon’s programme was actually ‘greener’ than Jadot’s).
I also feel younger people are much more aware and inclined to activism than older generations - my kids’ friends and other young adults I come across here in France I find deeply impressive in all sorts of ways - much more so than I have found other age groups most of my life.
It’s true we are heading for a crisis - as Hutan says ‘we need a complete, radical change of the system’ - I think it could go either way - but I do feel hopeful. Maybe I’m just a ‘glass half full’ person!
I’ve seen a lot of crises in my life, during two careers, although nothing as serious as what we are in now. I do know that sticking with it and doing everything we can will bring us through. That doesn’t mean that people, and all living creatures, won’t suffer and some/many may die, but the alternative is what? To do nothing and accept.
Geoff is right with regards to the youth, which is now a huge movement growing all the time. They merit our support.
Governments, the fossil fuel industry, big businesses and we, as individuals just need to be persuaded to make changes. We already have most of the technology, and the rest will follow soon. Some of it isn’t yet perfect, but there’s no need to keep debating it, it’s better than we what are doing at the moment and it will get better. And, very importantly, there will be jobs, growth and a better economy to be had by making these choices.
I know a few really, really impressive young people. Focused, energetic committed and just wonderfully thoughtful. Sadly when I look at our village and little town their numbers are dwarfed by the young people who are exactly not that. There was not a single vote for for the greens in the presidential election in our commune.
Maybe proportions are different in towns, but there of course you have the disenfranchised young people who struggle to survive, let alone care about the survival of the planet.
Hutan, I see that you’ve joined the pseudo religious cult run by Al Gore, the blokes a complete charlatan. You need to some more facts on the other side of the argument and read something like ‘CLIMATE CHANGE : THE FACTS’ edited by Alan Moran. There has always been “climate” ever since the earth was formed and there are definable cycles of heating and cooling and there’s nothing man-made about it, more to the point nothing you can do about it.
My guess is you won’t find any ‘facts’ in that book Lawrence. It’s actually by the Institute of Public Affairs (Australia) - a notorious extreme right-wing lobby group funded by dirty industries (the Murdochs, of course, plus tobacco, oil and gas, forestry, mining, pesticides/genetically modified organisms, etc.).
Alan Moran is not a scientist, let alone a climate scientist, he is an English motor industry market analyst turned Australian policy wonk, noted principally for advocating in September 2005 using Australia as a dump for global nuclear waste, now just an employee of said Institute of Public Affairs (Australia).
Don’t fall for it - the truth is almost all proper, peer-reviewed climate scientists agree about human driven climate breakdown:
select Build Poll and follow the instructions from there…
