Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" is a documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.
The mission of our community is to inspire action at every level: from
individual action, up through our communities, to the state, national
and international level. The actions are all shifting our civilization
to a sustainable future. Let's work and take action together. The time is now. The hope is you. Let's begin.
I've been reading the Power Line in the Juneau Empire . . . I have been e-mailing all over the country about conditions in Juneau and what you're all going through . . . most folks are using the story of what happened in Juneau as a wake-up call, Katrina style, about a somewhat false sense of security in urban (non-village) life . . . I used to think that the effects of climate change would manifest themselves like in Alaskan native villages . . . coastal erosion, flooding, etc . . . but in Juneau's case . . . climate change is hitting in the pocket book and folks no doubt will loose their homes or have power turned off and become climate change refugees not because their home washed into the sea, but because their bills were too high . . . the awful thing is that when climate change manifests itself in a condition like bankrupcy or debt, it has an added stigma of a kind of lack of foresight, or lack of financial planning, or something . . . like blaming New Orleans residents for living where they do . . . the best way I have found to understand this kind of reaction is this: It is one of the five stages of grief (the process by which humans deal with tradegy):
Denial "It can't be happening."
Anger "Why me? It's not fair."
Bargaining "Just let me (waste energy) for one more day."
Depression "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"
Acceptance "This is real. We've got to change our behavior and deal with it."
The problem is how te get people through all of the stages and to the point where they are not paralized by fear and can actually do something . . .
Anyway, I am paying attention in Anchorage and wanted to let you know.
I know that people are going without heat.
Like it or not, denial or not, we are all in this together . . . Juneau is only the beginning, so it is important that we learn how to understand, cooperate, tell the stories of what is happening, and "be there" through climate change impacts.
I can't help but completely agree that the only thing that seems to motivate change in most people is rising prices.
We have all known for years that oil consumption is way too high and ruining the environment. But only when gas prices soar to $4.00/gallon do people start making changes with hybrid cars and public transportation! I once yelled out in a high school class that I wished gas prices would be at least $6.00/gallon to raise people's awareness, and further, to punish Excursion-driving soccer moms who usually have only themselves in the car for wasting so much gas and causing so much pollution.
According to this pattern, until the price of bottled water becomes a concern, people will (for the most part) continue to use single-use water bottles and let them end up in the trash. And until we can get our cities to ban plastic bags or charge for each one, people will continue to use them at Ralph's and forget their re-usables. Until Starbucks charges for their cups, people won't think twice about their daily coffe-cup waste that could be saved so easily.
It is our job to prove this pattern wrong. In the face of so many people who just...don't care...it is challenging. I suggested to my roommate the other day not to buy bottled water, and she responded with a simple, "I just don't care."
Battling on in light of this apathy is perhaps our reason for being here! We need to rally together and get laws passed to inspire change, albeit through rising prices. A law will be on the ballot in California to ban plastic bags at grocery stores. A great way to start making change is lobbying for changes such as these in your own town, or if you live in CA spread the word and gain support for the law. Read more about it here.
I prefer the CFs over incandescents. The hydroelectric power to our town just got whiped out by an avalanche so we'll be sweating every wasted kw hour for a while here. Maybe paying 5X what we're used to will help us learn to conserve better.
:( Drunken Vegan (in the dark)
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."~~Albert Einstein
The problem is how te get people through all of the stages and to the point where they are not paralized by fear and can actually do something . . .
Anyway, I am paying attention in Anchorage and wanted to let you know.
I know that people are going without heat.
Like it or not, denial or not, we are all in this together . . . Juneau is only the beginning, so it is important that we learn how to understand, cooperate, tell the stories of what is happening, and "be there" through climate change impacts.
Keep tellin' your story . . .
Becky in Anchorage
I can't help but completely agree that the only thing that seems to motivate change in most people is rising prices.
We have all known for years that oil consumption is way too high and ruining the environment. But only when gas prices soar to $4.00/gallon do people start making changes with hybrid cars and public transportation! I once yelled out in a high school class that I wished gas prices would be at least $6.00/gallon to raise people's awareness, and further, to punish Excursion-driving soccer moms who usually have only themselves in the car for wasting so much gas and causing so much pollution.
According to this pattern, until the price of bottled water becomes a concern, people will (for the most part) continue to use single-use water bottles and let them end up in the trash. And until we can get our cities to ban plastic bags or charge for each one, people will continue to use them at Ralph's and forget their re-usables. Until Starbucks charges for their cups, people won't think twice about their daily coffe-cup waste that could be saved so easily.
It is our job to prove this pattern wrong. In the face of so many people who just...don't care...it is challenging. I suggested to my roommate the other day not to buy bottled water, and she responded with a simple, "I just don't care."
Battling on in light of this apathy is perhaps our reason for being here! We need to rally together and get laws passed to inspire change, albeit through rising prices. A law will be on the ballot in California to ban plastic bags at grocery stores. A great way to start making change is lobbying for changes such as these in your own town, or if you live in CA spread the word and gain support for the law. Read more about it here.
Keep up the writing!
Waste Less.
Emily
Thanks, Nathan!
I prefer the CFs over incandescents. The hydroelectric power to our town just got whiped out by an avalanche so we'll be sweating every wasted kw hour for a while here. Maybe paying 5X what we're used to will help us learn to conserve better.
:( Drunken Vegan (in the dark)
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."~~Albert Einstein
I am currently changing my light bulbs to compact flourecent lightbulbs.
Nathan Plum