Post Climate Camp update

It’s been two weeks since Climate Camp and having spent the week away from electricity and computers, I came home culture shocked and unable to pick-up on my blog again.  But I’ve wanted to, because so much happened there and has done since.

This was the third Climate Camp I’ve been to, and it was awesome to see how it’s grown and has become an annual event.

I love the feeling of unity the Camp offers – from your die-hard environmentalists, to the Buddhists, to the feminists, to the locals down the road, and to those who simply don’t belong to a category, working together to fight a global issue.

I love the style of community the Camp offers – the whole camp dividing up tasks to keep the Camp running, from cleaning, cooking, liasing, press etc.  The way over a thousand people can make decisions based on consensus is admirable and makes campers feel empowered and listened to, like we all should in our daily lives.

I love the essence of the Camp and what it is standing for – the protection of a whole.  The protection for the things you care about, the things I care about, and all the things the campers care about.  There’s no limit in the things we want to protect.

And I love the solutions the Camp offers.  It says NO to coal-fired power stations.  It says NO to third runways at Heathrow.  But it gives alternatives and says YES to a different, better, healthier, more just, more enjoyable and cleaner life.  I don’t see why we would want any different.  Can you?

This lady and her baby sum it up beautifully…

Green Finger Crazy

I’m loving what I can do with iMovie.

Here’s another Green Finger video.

Britain from Above

We can’t normally see or picture the impact of our lifestyles on the earth – be this our travel to work, our flights abroad, or the way our commodities and food reach us.  But this BBC video with satellite tracking and computer imaging, although used to demonstrate migration, is a good tool to visualise the intensity of our day to day lives.

Can you just imagine the extent of our daily carbon emissions according to this video and the blanket of pollution we are building up?

Learning from friends

Sometimes friends share information with you that shocks you so much it has the impact of a meteor.

Casper’s nugget fact would make most people think twice before using plastic bags ever again when shopping.

Guess how many plastic bags the world uses per year?

500 billion per year!

Think again before using another plastic bag.

Al Gore’s Second Round on Climate Change

For those of you still not convinced about the urgency of climate change which we seem to be staring in the face, here’s one of the widest known climate communicators speaking out again.  His new presentation offers evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting.

So to prevent all the doom and gloom, our challenge is to act with a sense of “generational mission” to set it right.

Climate Camp: Be Prepared

It’s already started and I know I’m already a day late, so I’m in the process of eagerly packing my bag.  Already, the Climate Camp based at Kingsnorth in Kent has already been receiving awesome coverage.

The government is planning to build 8 new coal-fired power stations, locking us into an energy system that burns the dirtiest fossil fuel that exists.  Not only is this going to fuel climate change even more which is disastrous, it sends a message out to the rest of world, especially emerging economies such as China, that this is acceptable.  And it simply isn’t.

If you are concerned about climate change or want to learn more or even just want to have some fun with energetic people, join us at the Climate Camp!  It could change your life.  If you can’t come during the week, come at the weekend for the day of action on the 9th August.  If you can’t make that, follow what is happening there and give your support!!!! =)

VisionOnTV are producing a whole series of short video clips throughout the camp which makes good browsing…

The International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY)

Today IGGY welcomed Casper and I to have a session with a group of talented young people from all over the world, revolving around our Voyage to the Arctic and how that has inspired us to set up UK YCC.

Most importantly the session tapped into the role of young people on the issue of climate change and with the inspiration that we were hoping to trigger, they gave it back to me ten times over with their enthusiasm and belief to be change makers.  With fantastic suggestions on what they can do as part of the climate change movement, we left with safe knowledge that we’d just made a hundred more friends and that we weren’t alone!

Thank you for letting us speak!

Be an activist. Be Humankind.

Oxfam’s new look.  It’s vibrant, it’s optimistic, engaging and empowering.

Oxfam is asking us to be the change we want to see in the world and be humankind…

UK YCC Power Meeting

Today Casper and I had another of our power meetings…

Lots of flip chats, pens and discussion, we couldn’t have done it without the tub of M&S chocolate biscuits that always seem to be a feature of our meetings and Casper never fails to supply.  I can see this becoming problematic in terms of dress sizes…