How a Random Guy Trumped the Greatest Minds from China and the USA on Climate Change
In May of 2006, I had the chance to attend the China-US Climate Change Forum hosted by the University of California at Berkeley. To an eco-geek, the list of speakers was star-studded with Nobel laureates, professors from top universities, famous innovators, and leaders from the business communities in China and the United States. The conference opened with the premier of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, just before it hit theaters. Before a university worker’s strike altered plans, Al Gore himself was slated to join the stage.
But it was a random guy in the audience who stole the show with a single insightful comment in the closing moments.
During the conference, speakers had argued the benefits of different types of solar panels; they had showed environmental progress from some of the world’s largest corporations; they had represented government opinions; and they had detailed the economics of climate policies. In addition to these positive developments, the evening wasn’t without some finger pointing between the US and China over which country is more responsible for climate change and which should make the first big move.
After the last speaker had cleared the stage the conference was opened to audience questions. Most drew out details from the speaker’s lines of reasoning. Then a slender man in a well-worn brown jacket stood up. With short, grey hair he looked a youthful sixty.
His tone was quiet and respectful. He said (paraphrasing), “For three decades, I’ve heard speakers say things similar to what I’ve heard today. Thirty years ago, they were called doomsdayers. Today, we know enough to respect their opinions, but we still haven’t changed our lifestyles. I take good care of my clothes and they last a long time. I have short, cold showers and I don’t own a car. These solutions aren’t complex. They’re right before every one of us.”
When he sat down, there was a moment’s pause and then the auditorium filled with applause.
The man’s point, as I took it, was though we should all take the initiative to push our governments and businesses to act in environmentally sustainable ways, it’s a two way street and the other side starts with individual action. In all the talk of the latest thin film solar technology and the goods and evils of corporate environmentalism, somehow even the great speakers at this conference had forgotten to bring the message home, literally.
Since then, I’ve also treated my clothes a little better, taken more short, cold showers, and lived (and well) without a car. You may also do some of these things or other things to help build a more socially and environmentally responsible and sustainable society. If so, I’m glad to know you.
Read More About Everyday Activism
Everyday Activism: Dining Without Disposables
Tips 2.0: The Nature Conservancy’s “Everyday Environmentalist”
Family Activism: Mothers and Children Want Stronger Climate Legislation
Five Tips For Talking To Your Children About Climate Change
Photo source: taufiq @ eyecreation via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
What an insightful post. Nice to know that simple is still effective. Frightening to know that 30 years later, not much has changed.
Just wanted to mention that anyone who’s undecided on the principles of global warming should do a quick check on the actual amount that the IPCC is reporting that the world has warmed by in the past eight years.
Here’s a clue : Not as much as you might think.
Yeah genius! Global warming is just another load of crap. So take your cold showers and drive your polluting Prius’s you ignorant morons, I laugh my a** off at your arrogant posts every day of my life.
I believe that only a small percentage of the population has the integrity and discipline to voluntarily “take short, cold showers”. The cost of energy and the wealth of individuals will ultimately be what determines the amount that is used by most people.
Great job! I just read that since 1998 the earth has been cooling down. It’s working, were doing it!
Yes, we can posit every technological solution in the world, but the enviros will not be satisfied with any solution that doesn’t change human behavior. Wind turbines are bad because they might kill birds, nuclear is bad because you have to store the waste, putting lime in the sea to soak up CO2 or iron on the coral reefs is totally taboo. No, everyone has to take cold showers and bike 10-20mi to work. These enviros dismiss out of hand any attempt to make our industrial society compatible with nature without radically changing everyone’s lifestyle. And so I don’t listen to them.
Are you serious? This is the great pearl of wisdom?
Let’s begin with the fact that 30 years ago the “doomsdayers” were calling for a new ice age, not global warming. That alone should tell you something about the whole subject. But then let’s address this guy’s lifestyle.
Are we to call him a hero, the wise guru on the hill, because he takes cold showers and doesn’t have a car?
That’s not realistic for most people in the industrialized world. Let’s try again. Let’s work on drilling for more oil while investing in alternative fuel sources. And quit reading these articles! Do you know how much energy you’re wasting right now with your computer?
liberal bs, take your cold showers and wear old clothes, I am sure we will all notice a difference
not much has changed including our climate
Solar tech at Wal-Mart will change things. Throw in serious tax credits for families making the purchase and off we go green.
I live in the rural south, Washington, NC, and the local NASCAR/Pro Wrestling family needs more than warm fuzzy feelings to adopt eco kewl living.