The Unlikely Activist

New survey added...take a minute to weigh in

Real quick...you'll see a new feature, a short survey, in the sidebar of this blog. It's for you, and me, to track the pulse of eConsciousness and ultimately make future entries and content more helpful and relevant. So take a few moments to consider, and then answer the question as you see it. We will all be grateful.

Thanks-giving carries on...

The turkey has come and gone. The sandwiches now eaten. The leftovers...soup. But the sentiment lingers.

Pausing for a moment in my efforts to save the planet, I find it useful to be reminded of what we have to be thankful for...and how thank-less are the lives of so, so many who share this space and time with us. This thoughtful video will take you there, too.

George Schiffer, I don't know who you are, but...thanks.

Can art save the planet?

Art is an amazing thing. If we open our minds to it, it can move us greatly. And if we let it move us, it can further expand our minds. So it goes for environmental art, or ecoArt, or land art. Some who create and study it, and who know much more about it than I, define such boundaries. But by whatever name you call it, take a little time to get to know it.

With this post, I'm opening a new door for exploring the interconnected world of sustainability. I invite you to see for yourself. And if art in some way fuels your eConsciousness, do share your thoughts with us. A while back, I was awestruck by some photographic images I saw on a web site recommended by a friend. What I saw has to this day inspired me. It's called Forests Forever, and if you visit, make sure to linger amongst the Baobab trees--it's well worth it.

The Green Museum is a fantastic place to start an exploration of art and the environment, all on line. Links to exhibitions and featured artists provide a broad palette of styles, media...and interpretations about our relationship with the natural world. The site is a great resource for books and writings as well, and tools for educators and others who see the place for environmental art in your schools and communities.

As Tricia Watts, art curator and founder of a non-profit organization called ecoartspace observes in the online journal LANDviews, "Who is better equiped than artists--thinking outside the box, employing their creativity and resourcefulness, and a love of beauty--to envision a more sustainable world?" Ecoartspace is the vehicle for bringing us the contributions of these artists, through exhibitions at established museums, and by undertaking various artist/community programs.

Again quoting Tricia Watts, "Ecoartists can be thought of as midwives for the earth, facilitators of environmental education, consultants for environmental restoration and visionaries for transforming ecological communities." Both the LANDviews and ecoartspace sites will connect you with a wealth of fascinating and thought provoking examples.

When I finally had to call it a day and stop following links to artists' sites and showcases, I was overwhelmed by the power of art to grab and engage on such a vital topic as sustainability. I felt as though I better understood something very basic, and that art, rooted in the expressions of our early cave dwelling ancestors, is an essential part of our creating a healthy relationship with our planet.

Climate change is for real. No it's not. Yes it is. It's not. It is...

Been caught flat footed on global warming lately? Have the skeptics been getting the better of you? Don't panic.

Many thanks to a bright fellow named Coby Beck for his tremendous contribution to ending stalemates like the one above. First, he's compiled a very long list of the questions and issues that skeptics raise about Global Warming. Then he's provided succinct answers, backed with enough of the science that it can still be understood by non-scientists. He's also provided links off the answers for deeper exploration. And, finally, he's organized them all by category so we can find our way around easily.

This fantastic material is all just a click away. You'll find it on Coby's blog, A Few Things Ill Considered, and also on the Gristmill, to which Coby is a contributor. Take your pick, but do click. Now.

As any of us who've been caught fumbling when trying to make headway with a diehard skeptic, this will give you comfort...and may even help win a convert or two along the way.

Earth photos extraordinaire...or, environmental thrills and chills

I don't know about you, but in the midst of all the noise and advocating and all...I need to take a break.

And being a visual person, that usually means finding a way to get out and stare at the horizon, the sweep of the ocean, or even just the amazing painting-like bark of our Stewartia tree. Something to remind myself of that to which we're connected.

But yesterday, as if by magic, I followed a link trail that eventually led me to this.

Now, I won't go on philosophizing here, but suffice it to say that looking at our planet from a scale that makes us all but invisible gives me a combination of thrills, and chills. I'm awed by the unspeakable beauty that appears in the patterns and colors of Earth from space. So natural. So immutable. But it comes with a bittersweet taste, a reminder that even from these distances can we tell that all is not well.

Something in me wants to cry: don't touch the art.

p.s. Thanks to USAToday.com for the tip. The photo above appears courtesy of the Smithsonian, via AP.

A balanced view of political gains

I may have my own political persuasion, but I've chosen not to make it a top item in this blog. Why? Because I want Republicans too (oops, I gave it away) to feel comfortable coming here for information.

While current politics prevail, it is clearly Democrats who are most visibly dealing with the environmental agenda in its many facets. And so, the enthusiasm which greeted Tuesday's election results is certainly merited. An email I got from Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club pointed with obvious satisfaction to victories by numerous green Democrats over their non-enlightened, or even obstructionist opponents. Under current circumstances I'm thrilled with the outcome.

But consider this (and I paraphrase from a stirring speech given by Deval Patrick following his election as the new Governor of Massachusetts). The job of the newly elected is not to govern for the winners...but to govern for all. On the environment and sustainability, this is especially relevant, because if we don't effectively engage people across political lines, we will all be losers eventually. Democrats alone will not get the job done. If we cannot motivate people of all persuasions to understand that a healthy and balanced planet is the concern of everyone, then broad scale success will never be possible.

To that end, I invite readers from all persuasions to open your minds to the common ground we all stand on. Realize that within your political frame there exists room for respecting and tending this finite planet. And only by so doing can we ever all win.

I was encouraged when I came across this Action Alert on the web site of the REP, or Republicans for Environmental Protection, just this morning:

The Republican Party must learn from Tuesday's election results by focusing on urgent national problems and rediscovering traditional conservative stewardship.

Republicans for Environmental Protection congratulates our endorsed candidates for the U.S. Senate and House who won November 7 in a difficult year for Republicans. REP also congratulates California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the re-election that he earned through his results-oriented, environmentally responsible administration.

So celebrate the results of our political process, but remember that it all starts with you, with your neighbor, their neighbor, and on and on...

One month in...time for a gut check on eConsiousness

I began posting here because I saw an opportunity. A chance to cut through the complexity and confusion surrounding sustainability. To weed out the hype. To show how interconnected the issues, and the answers, can be. And to bring eConsciousness to more people in personal and relevant ways.

Sounds like a viable premise, doesn't it? Nonetheless, to make sure I'm not suffering from any illusions I figured the one month mark was a good time for a sanity check. And guess what? Along comes a large-scale consumer survey that seems to back me up on a number of points. Coincidental or not, this is powerful stuff that needs to be heeded.

Thanks to Joel Makower, noted mover and shaker in the sustainability and green business arena, for alerting me to this. In a recent entry on his blog Joel ponders Why Americans Don't Go Green, and gives us some advance research findings from a survey conducted by ecoAmerica, a non-profit focused on consumer marketing.

Here are a couple of the survey's high points (Gleaned from Joel's writing. The full survey should be released on ecoAmerica's website sometime in December '06):

1. There is no common agreement on what environmental concern means or what to do about it. The issues are too many, too diverse for agreement. My takeaway is that we need to find ways to tap individual motivations and meaningfulness. This energy can be harnessed in a new kind of consensus for planetary health that allows for a multiplicity of views and contributions.

2. Environmental complexity is paralyzing. The ways that an event can trigger a chain reaction, and upset any number of intricately balanced natural systems, are difficult to grasp. Joel points out the need to "show how problems can be addressed through simple, incremental changes in behavior," and I agree. The sheer volume of expertise that showers down on us day in and day out can be paralzying, to say the least. Moreover, things like good old scientific debate actually fuel the skeptics, who exploit the way our understanding is advanced for their own naysaying agendas. The answer, once again, lies in enabling a new kind of communication with the individual.

There's more on Joel's blog, and plenty more to come when the full study is released, I'm sure. Keep an eye out for it.

Meanwhile, I'm going to take all this to the bank, and redouble my efforts to make this blog a place where connections can be made and eConsciousness can truly be sparked and nourished. And, by the way, the lines are open (just click on 'comments' below and go for it) for you to kick in as well. I think we'd all like to hear from you.

Eye on the north...where more than the climate is heating up

What have we done? Report after report. Article after article. I fall into a pattern, guilt bubbling up when I hear once again about how we're impacting the far north, the frontier of global warming, the glimpse of things yet to arrive in our warmer climes.

But wait! What is this I'm hearing on the radio?

"We get journalists up here year-round. They come in migrations just like the snowbirds and the other animals and they want to see eskimos falling through holes in the ice or houses falling off of bluffs. We'll roll with whatever's going on. Our culture's built on change. We're strong, durable people and we just keep adjusting."

I have to admit, that got my attention. And the rest of the story held it there--right over the edge of discomfort. Discomfort and guilt. It was then that I realized, in a way I hadn't before, the complexities and the personal conflicts raised and around global warming. The denial of people already in the line of fire. The oversimplification of painting the scene with a broad brush.

The segment above comes from an interview with Richard Glenn, of Barrow, Alaska, who joins other Inupiat Eskimos and northern dwellers on public radio's excellent series--Frozen Assets, on Marketplace. True to form, this series makes you squint at global warming in a slightly different and illuminating way, if you know what I mean.

Give the series a listen or a quick read. I think we in the lower 48 can all use a dose of reality as seen through the eyes of people who are already dealing with what's to come. Real people. Some facing problems. Others opportunity. But still, another wake up call for us all.

Fueling the case for global warming action

Back after several days of 'health leave' I'm staggered by the volume of news and developments coming our way in the interim. There's a fascinating bit on Biomimetic Ocean Power for underwater electricity generation inpsired by kelp fronds, at WorldChanging.com.. And a warning that insects--yes, mosquitoes and the rest of the baddies as well as butterflies--may increase their populations at higher rates with warmer climate.

But the most talked about news I unvoluntarily dozed through was the release in the U.K. of the 'Stern' Review on Global Warming. By now, you all must know something of its key revelation: that "the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economics costs of not acting." It goes a long way to taking us beyond the pictures we have in our minds of melting arctic ice and smokestack-obscured sunsets. It helps us visualize the coming real economic and human costs--supporting untold numbers of climate refugees, dealing with floods, droughts, and storms...and yes, those damned mosquitoes.

I can't argue with the facts and figures, as many, including the folks over at my current favorite Environmental Economics site will. I can, however, do my best to urge that you make this topic number one at your dinner table, in your business, or in your emails. True, government (especially ours) will have to set its denial aside and redraw its policies for big things to happen--but your action and your voice are critical to making this happen.

I'll leave you with a look at the short and long executive summaries of the Stern report, a cogent review of the work by WorldChanging, and an insight into the nitty gritty environmental economist's take on it. Give 'em a look, and go forth confident that one by one we'll see the powers that be coming to grips with reality.