ENVIRONMENT

Stop Talking about Climate Change and Global Warming

It’s the wrong message.

“Forecasting Armageddon has become trendy of late, with a great deal of attention being given to an interpretation of the Mayan Calendar suggesting that Mother Earth is destined for doom in December of 2012.”

— Seth Shostak

Let’s see if we can have a thoughtful discussion here.

Let me also just get it out of the way that all of my work is in education, the environment and empowering women.

The school I ran is the most eco-friendly, environmentally oriented school in the world. We run mostly on solar, have hosted Dr. Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva, our students have led some of the largest environmental initiatives in Indonesia, we run our buses on biogas, and the entire school is made of bamboo and there is no air conditioning.

We were awarded the 2012 Greenest School on Earth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

So I’m not some guy sitting on the sidelines.

But our messaging is completely wrong when it comes to the environment and climate.

Another Angry Activist

I can’t tell you how many angry activists I’ve been around in my life.

And while I get their message I find them draining. But if anyone grew up where I did near Berkeley, CA you will know what I mean.

I was at a talk the other day at the school I’ve worked for over 10 years, Green School Bali. It was being given by a very famous wildlife photographer who shoots for National Geographic.

His work is excellent and he is fighting for a good cause.

But his message was convoluted, hypocritical and judgemental.

There were over 200 people in the audience, mostly students. He asked the room if anyone fished. One person raised their hand but of course others in the room fished but didn’t want to expose themselves as they saw the trap.

He asked if they did catch-and-release or ate the fish. They responded that they did catch-and-release.

He then proceeded to explain how vile and terrible it is to catch-and-release. Any sense of connection was now lost with that person.

It was also clear to the audience this person judged anyone who didn’t see the world through his lens.

His message was doom and gloom, end of the world. If you didn’t follow his rules than you were a bad person.

And while he put himself up on a pedestal for his wildlife work, he made unusual comments about having multiple girlfriends and other sexual innuendos. He swore through the entire presentation and then would dismissively say sorry.

And to me this was the point.

He had his own morality code to which he feels everyone should adhere.

I could see the students tuning out. Even though this is considered to be one of if not the most environmentally conscious schools in the world, his message was potentially falling on deaf ears.

But it is also the hypocrisy that I find so strange. From how he was talking I assume he was a vegetarian. I was a vegan for 10 years but stopped for health reasons.

Yes, there is an argument to being a vegan.

But don’t be fooled that eating a plant isn’t causing harm. The amount of fish and livestock that have been killed pales in comparison to the amount of wildlife that has been slaughtered by tractors and tills and pesticides.

The tills tear up the microbiome, destroy the nests of burrowing creatures, wipe out insect populations and eliminate forests. The agricultural industry is also responsible for the greatest poisoning know to man when they sprayed DDT across the fields in the 1960s and then used cancer-causing Roundup to eliminate weeds.

I am not knocking what people eat. I do think we should always know where our food comes from and also only eat what we would kill.

But it is the absolute aspect of his messaging that doesn’t work.

And this is the same when it comes to climate change and global warming.

Science vs Science

There is science that shows humankind is responsible for global warming and climate change.

There is also science that shows humans aren’t responsible and that it is just a natural cycle.

We debate this issue endlessly as we do with everything. And the end result is that people simply move further into their corners and those in the middle tend to move towards the more positive messaging.

Why are we even discussing this? These are such lofty topics and the reality is that no one actually knows the answer. Not even the “specialists”.

Here is what we do know as fact: we need clean air, water and soil to survive.

So let’s focus on making these three areas better which in turn addresses the issues of global warming and climate change.

The only difference is that no one can deny if a river is polluted. No one can deny if garbage is lying on the ground. No one can deny when a forest has been cut down. No one can deny the towering landfill hiding behind the hill.

A Journalist, A Migrant Worker and Hope

I was working at Green School a few years back when a writer from Der Spiegel, one of the largest magazines in Europe, was visiting our school. His schedule was extremely tight and he let us know that he only had time for a 1 hour discussion. So I met him promptly and we talked.

He told me he could only be there for that one day. But I saw him the next day. And the next. I asked him if all was OK as I thought he had to leave.

“Chris, I travel the world going from conference to conference on environmentalism. They are working on exactly the same issues as you and your staff and the students but all they do is complain and blame. I come here and I see all the work your kids are getting done and how they are changing the world for the better. They have hope and they are happy. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen.”

This journalist had been beaten down and burnt out by the negative, endless messaging of the doomsayers. He heard it so often that he didn’t believe there was any hope.

Until he came to our school with our students.

If we want to continue debating whether we need to be on the side of Doomsayers or the Hopefuls, then we are going to be in an endless loop and get nowhere.

We need to understand that this is not an OR but an AND situation.

We can we be aware of issues such as climate change AND be positive AND be action oriented.

Life is too short to wake up every day and be miserable. Being grumpy won’t clean the rivers or feed the poor or prevent trees from getting cut down. Being grumpy actually accomplishes nothing which is maybe why these people continue to be so grumpy.

I’m heading to a lunch meeting now to meet a man from Bangladesh who started SDI Academy in Singapore. When he arrived in Singapore he couldn’t speak English so he set up this program to assist migrant workers and he is trying to set up a school in his home country.

He is dealing with an incredibly challenging and dire situation that I have observed first hand during my time in Asia. But he is smiling and taking action and meeting with people to improve the situation for others.

These are the types of people who inspire others.

This is how we get things done.

This is hope.

🙏 🦋 🌲

Please share your your comments and insights. What are your feelings on the messaging? Thank you.

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