Climate Solutions:
How We Create a Better Future
In this year’s webinars I’ll be focusing on how we can change the future. I don’t want my kids and the rest of the next generation to live in a world made unrecognizable by climate change, and I’m optimistic that we can turn this crisis around. As we go along, I’ll try to synthesize some really good ideas I’ve encountered into a realistic vision of a future worth striving for. I’ll also consider various strategies for minimizing future climate impacts and discuss the relative costs and benefits of different paths.
Change is hard, but it can also be exciting. Let’s see what we can do together!
All webinars 4-5:30 PM EDT
June 15, 2022
Visualize a Better World
Do images of climate disasters leave you feeling depressed and powerless? Regain your power by focusing on a vision of the world we can create through climate action, then relentlessly steer toward that goal. We already have all the tools we need! In this post-fossil fuel world, everything will run on abundant clean electricity, the air and water will be cleaner than anyone remembers and people will be healthier. We will have more green spaces and a resurgence of biodiversity. This is the world I want to leave my kids. With courage, stubborn optimism, the power of cooperation, and some creative 21st century thinking, this is a world we can make.
July 6, 2022
The Economics of Climate Change: Cheaper to Fix than Ignore
For years, powerful forces have told us that the high cost of climate action will hurt the economy, while ignoring the costs of climate impacts. This strategy, focusing on just one side of a complex issue, is a classic form of disinformation. Now the world’s financial institutions are coming to grips with the crippling economic risks caused by climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Learn about these risks and why financial institutions are concluding that it is better economic policy to curb climate change than to ignore it. The recognition by economists that climate action is a good investment is a necessary step to obtaining effective climate policy. Plus, we already have all the money we need to pay for climate action– can you guess where it will come from? One of the sources may surprise you.
July 27, 2022
Indigenous Views of Nature and Rebuilding Biodiversity:
Back to the Future
The extractive economy of the 19th and 20th centuries stems from a culture in which humans see themselves as above nature and free to exploit the natural world for commercial advantage. This view has now gotten us into serious trouble. In contrast, most indigenous cultures consider humans part of the web of biodiversity, with dramatically different outcomes. What can we learn about rebuilding ecosystems and biodiversity from the wisdom traditions of indigenous peoples, and how might applying that knowledge help us build a vibrant and healthy post-fossil fuel world?
August 17, 2022
We Need an Epidemic of Climate Action
We are way behind on actions needed to curb climate change, but big social changes can sometimes occur far more rapidly than expected. Reaching a social tipping point for climate action may only require support from a surprisingly small number of people. We may now be closer than we think to a wave of people-power that will produce the required actions. By understanding the mechanisms of behavior change and the dynamics that can lead to social tipping points, we can potentially accelerate the adoption of climate solutions.
September 7, 2022
Let’s Talk About Climate Change:
Motivate Everyone You Know To Be Part of the Solution
I’ll discuss some key ideas for how each of us can be agents of social change in our own networks and communities, speeding our nation’s approach to the social tipping point on climate action. Together, we can do something to help curb climate change and make a better world for our kids and future generations. Let’s get started!
If you want a pdf file of all the webinar descriptions to share, click here
The Climate Corner 