Some Good News (for a Change!)

By Amy Lenzo
(first published in the ICE blog)

Two media communications coming out of the first part of 2016 are making my heart sing!

The most recent was Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscars “Best Actor” acceptance speech for his role in The Revenant. In it he spoke out forcefully about the critical threat of Climate Change, giving specifics about the collective response he sees needed to address it and a special shout out for First Nations peoples whose “voices have been drown out by the politics of greed”. It brought a smile to this man’s face as well:

Leonardo-Acceptance

The other was Al Gore’s latest TED Talk on the Case for Optimism on Climate Change, where he talks first about the continuing seriousness and ongoing effects of climate change, and then moves on to share some of the changes we ARE making and how those changes are impacting what is now possible, and what our future can hold. A hugely inspiring talk from this courageous and visionary Nobel Laureate:

Film, Media Shortlink

“This Changes Everything” – A book review

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This Changes Everything
by Naomi Klein
Knopf Canada, 2014.

Reviewed by John Scull

“At nearly 500 pages plus 60 pages of endnotes, Klein has written an imposing book. Most of the space is taken up with case histories to illustrate and reinforce Klein’s arguments. Klein is a very good storyteller and she has done a great deal of research; the book is a goldmine of specifics. In this discussion I summarize her conclusions, omitting most of the factual background for those conclusions. I assure you it is there.

In chapter after chapter Klein convincingly makes her points, but I do not believe she succeeds in her main point that it is capitalism vs. the climate. In fact, she even suggests several “capitalist” solutions to the climate crisis. As I will describe later, I believe she has done something even more valuable by reframing the issue as Extractivism vs. Blockadia, abstract economics vs. our connection to the earth.”

Read the full review here.

 

Books, Reviews Shortlink

The EarthLab Carbon Calculator

Nick Uren from the EarthLab Foundation sent us this tool to help us each make a personal difference in the fight against climate change.

EarthLab Carbon Calculator

Tools Shortlink

From John Seed: October 2011

News
John Seed  has just received word that The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s “Australia-India Council” has agreed to fund his expenses for 6-weeks of Climate Change, Despair and Empowerment workshops around India from Feb 2012.

Reports
The International Day of Action for the Amazon on August 22, 2011, was great! Photos (downloaded as a pdf) and TV News Clip:

Upcoming Programs
November 4-7
Nourishing Ecological Identity – A Wild Journey in the Tarkine with John Seed
Nov 25 – Dec 2
Buddha by the Beach (download pdf), Dharma Gathering, Mid-north Coast NSW, Australia

Links
The Rainforest Information Center

 

Events, Media Shortlink

Great Blogs

Read EcoIntuition.wordpress.com, by Liz Harrison, because – in her words – We’re all Connected…

And here’s another great blog, by George Marshall, that explores “the psychology of climate change denial”: climatedenial.org.

Links Shortlink