What Did You Do Once You Knew?
After I turned down an invitation to join friends for drinks and dinner because I had to give a climate presentation, my buddy asked me: “Why do you do this? You could work less and make more if you went back to marketing.” It made me stop and think. Why am I doing it?
If I’m truthful, the real driving force is that it gives me a purpose. It’s a challenge… one that demands the best I can give.
It’s an opportunity to use my talents, skills and experience to communicate, educate and gently persuade. Because climate touches everything, it piques my curiosity. Every day is a new chance to learn about the science, the politics, the communications challenges, the technologies and the social justice aspects. To deal effectively with our climate situation, we must redesign everything – our patterns of resource use, our education systems, our economic systems, and our systems of governance.
That is fascinating.
I’ve come to realize that if we address the root causes of our climate crisis (growth economies and consumer societies), we can fix many other societal woes. If we can change the way we see the world — the explanatory maps we use, and the value systems we base our decisions on — we can affect massive change throughout society.
Reducing fossil fuel use to net zero will end wars over oil. No more pipeline leaks. No more health problems from air pollution. No more political power wielded by the likes of the Koch brothers. Once the infrastructure is built for distributed solar and wind and other clean sources of energy, prices will drop… the sun doesn’t send a bill. Most importantly, a post-consumer society will change how we live and interact with each other.
Working as a transition enabler and an evolutionary activist deeply informs who I am, how I spend my time, and my day to day experience. I am eager to see what’s up ahead and hopeful that I can influence the outcomes.
What if human civilization isn’t headed towards oblivion? What if the human species is hatching out of its infancy, and we are standing at the precipice of an evolutionary upgrade?
