Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash
Peter Kalmus won the Walking The Talk Award from Transition US. for making a significant effort to align his lifestyle with Transition values.
Here is the transcript of his acceptance speech on Oct. 31, 2018:
It’s interesting that Transition started because of Peak Oil. Now it’s pretty clear that Climate Breakdown is the real emergency that we are facing. So I urge Transition, don’t ever let go of that part of who you are. Transition means transition away from fossil fuel. The main reason I had to reduce my own emissions is because I just hate burning the stuff. As a climate scientist I’m hyper aware of the impacts of burning the stuff.
Science is a way for uncovering the truth. It also provides means for looking into the future in ways that we can’t do otherwise. And what I see is really terrifying. It just feels really yucky for me to burn it and that’s the main reason that I have reduced. The second reason I reduced is to shift the culture.
CO2 is an interesting kind of pollution. It accumulates and stays in the air for thousands of years. And it’s also interesting because it is invisible and you can’t smell it and it’s all around us. It’s embodied in everything that we see when we fly, when we drive, it’s completely around our lives but the fossil fuel system hides it away. There is no warning on airplane tickets. When you fill up your car you don’t see how much is actually going in there.
We need people to actually vote through their actions to shift the culture. We need leaders like you guys. A lot of environmentalists are saying that it’s a mistake maybe to focus on individual action but I see that as a false dichotomy now.
Collective action enables individual action by shifting the system, and individual action enables collective action by shifting the culture. We can’t have collective action with carbon fees and dividends, if people aren’t voting for that. So we have to raise awareness of the public by voting with our actions. So those are the two reasons I do it. Thank you.
You can watch Peter’s acceptance speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8c_t_NGQPQ&feature=youtu.be 17:58-20:24
--------Sylvia Holmes.
Peter Kalmus won the Walking The Talk Award from Transition US. for making a significant effort to align his lifestyle with Transition values.
Here is the transcript of his acceptance speech on Oct. 31, 2018:
It’s interesting that Transition started because of Peak Oil. Now it’s pretty clear that Climate Breakdown is the real emergency that we are facing. So I urge Transition, don’t ever let go of that part of who you are. Transition means transition away from fossil fuel. The main reason I had to reduce my own emissions is because I just hate burning the stuff. As a climate scientist I’m hyper aware of the impacts of burning the stuff.
Science is a way for uncovering the truth. It also provides means for looking into the future in ways that we can’t do otherwise. And what I see is really terrifying. It just feels really yucky for me to burn it and that’s the main reason that I have reduced. The second reason I reduced is to shift the culture.
CO2 is an interesting kind of pollution. It accumulates and stays in the air for thousands of years. And it’s also interesting because it is invisible and you can’t smell it and it’s all around us. It’s embodied in everything that we see when we fly, when we drive, it’s completely around our lives but the fossil fuel system hides it away. There is no warning on airplane tickets. When you fill up your car you don’t see how much is actually going in there.
We need people to actually vote through their actions to shift the culture. We need leaders like you guys. A lot of environmentalists are saying that it’s a mistake maybe to focus on individual action but I see that as a false dichotomy now.
Collective action enables individual action by shifting the system, and individual action enables collective action by shifting the culture. We can’t have collective action with carbon fees and dividends, if people aren’t voting for that. So we have to raise awareness of the public by voting with our actions. So those are the two reasons I do it. Thank you.
You can watch Peter’s acceptance speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8c_t_NGQPQ&feature=youtu.be 17:58-20:24
--------Sylvia Holmes.
