Patrick - South East Champ 08

Calling All Surrey Schools!

GreenFrog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:17:00 GMT

Please excuse me... A brief interlude for Surrey people....

We all know that we need to get the word out there. We've got to get in schools, and tell people just what's going on. And then we've got to tell them what to do about it. (And then they've got to do it...)

(Of course, that is pretty much the story of changing what we do.)

So here's a plan. If you go to school in Surrey, and just happen to be want someone to speak about climate change, I'd be very willing to lend a hand. I'd love to do assemblies, talk in lessons, do talks, etc. etc. as the Climate Change Champion for the South East. So if you're interested, check with your teacher and get back to me!

Together, we can solve this global crisis.

p.s. Good luck working on climate change in your school!

War Effort

GreenFrog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:34:00 GMT

The Second World War took place in an extraordinarily intense five years. Almost unbelievably, the whole breadth of society became focussed on one desperate ambition, united by shared thoughts, passions and a simple love of freedom. For many everyday people, this demanded that they lay down their life. In a blunt sentence, never before in human history had such a show of international bravery and personal courage been so raw and heartfelt as in that epoch-making straggle of years. Against the powers and tragedies of the age, society became - for a fleeting moment at least - of one dream, spectacularly important and overridingly crucial.

Now, just over the brink of the millenium, could it be that we have entered the next global war? Could it be that we have that same desperate straggle of years, that one dream, that unifying ambition? Are we a world at war?

Here's the picture. 2015 will probably be a defining moment in the battle against climate change. Seriously. We might have just seven years left in which to peak emissions. After 2015, we must be declining. If we fail to do that, we risk a 2*C rise in temperature, after which climate change could spiral out of control.

When I discovered this, I felt empty. Frankly, it's dangerously easy to feel despondent. But if we all think we're too small to be any meaningful part of the solution (and there very much is a solution), then we're not going to get anywhere. When one individual objects to driving, flying, switches off the lights, refuses standby, cuts down on meat and gets on a bike, they are part of a worldwide war effort. And yes, I do think we're at war. And it's a war we can win.

We are at war with climate change.

This is actually a tremendously exciting fact. Look at this. We've achieved the kind of communal effort necessary before. And in a mere five years. And as if this wasn't encouragement enough, this time, the sacrifices we're being asked to made look tiny and simple compared to the sacrifices made by those in the '40s. This is a crisis we know we can challenge.

Being part of a war effort doesn't mean an end to fun. It doesn't mean we lose out on having a great time. If anything, it means we'll be making a better world, and that is fantastic.

And that's why we've got to keep on fighting.

Patrick.

Let's Lobby the Seventh Name...

GreenFrog — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:57:00 GMT

Ok. Let's get one thing straight. There are, to quote Friends of the Earth, only seven people who can really tackle climate change. Seven. I've seen their list. Of course all the regulars are there - the president of the States, the president of China, our own prime minister. The list saunters happily on. But the seventh name is perhaps the most interesting. It's an un-heard-of, a Z-lister, a Don't Know Who That Is And Don't Particularly Want To kind of name. And yet it's stuck on the end of such an illustrious list. Perhaps I'd better elaborate.

I’ve been thinking more and more about that last figure. And, surprisingly, the conclusions are surprising (unsurprisingly). If they were to change, the effect would be, quite unequivocally, of groundbreaking significance. With them on board, climate change could be tackled head-on, with uncompromising resolution. That single person can do so much. Bizarrely, this absolute nobody is absolutely crucial. And yet they’ve been overlooked.

This guy could change the world. He could overhaul politics, revolutionise shopping, force industrial change... pretty much anything I’ve thought of, he’s got the power. He’s superhuman. He’s basically his own shade of green.

And then I thought a bit more (and that is surprising). We need to lobby this guy. We have to get him on our side. It would be the equivalent of getting the Man in the Moon to make the Moon go the other way round the Earth. Just hopefully without all the tides messing up. Simply put, this is big.

So what on Earth is stopping him? If his peers are capable of dragging a three-and-a-half-thousand kilometre wide rock out of orbit (and I’m telling you they are), why can’t he speak out on climate change?

Such formidable heroes of our planet should not be taken lightly. So who is it? If we get them to change, we can work wonders. If we get them to change, we can rethink the green movement from the ground up. If we get them to change, we are almost unstoppable.

Ok. I give in. You see, for fear of sounding like some kind of painfully-clichéd agony aunt, there’s a little superhuman in all of us. That seventh name is You.

From Downing Street to Holland: Being a Climate Change Champion

GreenFrog — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:43:00 GMT

If I’ve ever experienced a life-changing weekend, I think this one might be a pretty tough contender: casually popping into Downing Street, sprinting through the greenest streets of Amsterdam, and venturing out into the mist-ridden North Sea. I’ve met some of the most inspiring people I could hope to meet, and felt a tremendous urge to make a difference. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I can hardly begin to describe it.

Meeting the Prime Minister was, perhaps unsurprisingly, amazing. I’m pleased to say that he did appear genuinely concerned, and we’ll all wait with baited breath for his stance on the upcoming Climate Change Bill. With him plunging straight to the issue of refugees, it became clear that he sees it as a moral concern alongside a political one, and I’m distinctly optimistic that action is stirring behind that Number 10 door!

What really struck me from the whole experience is that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do when standing up to climate change. Teenagers, politicians – even houseboat owners – are striding forward in fantastic ways, and, having seen them, I can’t wait to do the same. I may have learnt a lot from last weekend, but it’s the rest of the year that will put it to the test. So I say... let’s be a force for change!

Defying Convention

GreenFrog — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:08:00 GMT

In less than a hundred years, this age - this generation - will have assumed epic significance.The definition of life itself, and this is no exaggeration, is to be forged in our choices now. This is it. We enter the final window for action before the chance is lost. It is time to defy climate change.

Standing up to the norm has, historically, been the domain of visionaries, enlightened, courageous individuals with selfless determination. Yet this time it's different. Not only must we exercise extreme willpower and resolution, but we must stand together as an entire people, crucially as an entire planet. There cannot be compromise, submission, or scepticism. In the time it has taken you to reach this comma, about 60 football-field sized areas of rainforest have been irrevocably destroyed, and, by the end of the day, 137 species will be lost forever. We cannot over-emphasise the severity of the situation.

Yet something is changing. The mere fact that you're reading this sentence is proof of an incredible, global shift. For the first time in human history, power lies with you. What you choose to do - and here is the most brilliant truth - has worldwide implications. You have the power to stand up to climate change. You have the power to make a difference. We as a people are forming the greatest movement the world has ever known: the relentless force for change.

There is cause for optimism: as long as you believe, then that force for change is unstoppable. We must dare to defy inaction. Power rests with us, though what remains to be seen is how we use it. Let's not waste the chance.