Report from The Climate Project (Al Gore)
Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 11:57:27 PM PDT
I write this on my flight back to California from Tennessee after having completed the training for the Climate Project. As many of you are aware the Climate Project was launched by Al Gore to train 1,000 people to give his climate crisis presentation to community groups around the country to build a movement to save the planet.
I have taken many trainings in my career but this was different.
On walking into the hotel for registration to the training the first thing I noticed was how everyone’s interest in connecting with others. I met a dozen folks including young post-doc from Maine on the way to our evening at a music club – once there we grabbed a table with the high-schooler Ben with a Beatles hair cut, the Swede who worked translating climate science docs on the east coast and Mark, organizer from Iowa. Everyone wanted to be there and wanted to know others who were there.
Mr. Gore welcomed us; the group had dinner. I met Colin from Connecticut who ran for state Senate and planned to do it again as well as Susan the mayor pro-tem of Charlotte, NC. And that’s when I noticed the second thing – this was not just a group of activists. That would become even more apparent over the course of the weekend: Susan, mother of 2 from Minnesota tentatively but determinedly exploring an area totally new to her because she was so moved by An Inconvenient Truth; teachers and lawyers; the FEMA worker so angered by what she saw in Alabama after Katrina that she dropped everything to help the community full time; several evangelicals; Mike, the former Alabama state senator; and Dylan a tech-writer and neighbor of mine just three blocks away from my home in San Mateo. None of these folks had ever done anything like this before.
The next morning Mr. Gore opened the session and gave the presentation. Riveting and scientifically unassailable – undiminished by repetition – and with great humor. The rest of the day was Mr. Gore and a noted scientist discussing it in detail, answering questions, pointing out the numerous thoughtful nuances in content and style – but also making tweaks on the fly. Perhaps the funniest moment came when someone noted that his insurance costs slide showing increasing insurance costs due to extreme weather events had numbers with percent signs but should have been dollar signs – to which Gore deadpanned, "you can’t imagine how glad I am you pointed that out."
We had a Q&A and closing with a question from Taylor, the youngest member of the trainees at 14. Why has he done this presentation for so long? Mr. Gore told the story of nearly losing his son, the impact it had, and of the sense that we all are so clearly at risk of losing what is most precious. His emotion – grief, anger, determination, inspiration - was tangible and shared by all of us.
That remarkable mix of emotion was there throughout the weekend - and with the unmistakable clarity of a shared mission.
The second day focused on presentation skills, including practice of the material, and information about the community forums available for us to collaborate and share information, track progress, get support. The sharing and collaboration was in full swing from the get-go so the community is off the ground with terrific momentum. This is all quite remarkable considering the concept for the trainings was conceived just in May of this year; the concept for the movie was just spring of last year. The urgency with which this team is moving is extraordinary. Everyone understands what is at stake and moving with great focus.
We were 200 trainees and in taking this training each trainer commits to giving the presentation 10 times in the next 12 months. If each trainer reaches 50 people per session, the project will reach 500,000 people next year. Some trainers from the November training have already done 10 or more!
The movement is catalyzing.
PS: and we got treated to terrific Nashville music to boot!
Updated: Thanks for all the feedback folks. One additional nugget: I happen to have a leadership role in a large environmental organization. There's been much discussion there about how we should be talking about global warming and the sense is largely that we need to focus on the solutions (in keeping with AudreyShulman's recent diary). Of course, AIT is mostly a description of the problem so I asked Mr. Gore about this and he noted that what is politically feasible is still short of what is necessary, noting that things like carbon taxes may be necessary. I take his comments to be true independent of having W in the White House. So, yes we need to talk about solutions to avoid dispair but we still need to reach to the non-believers - confused by ExxonMobil - and show them the urgency. The presentation is carefully crafted to sustain a balance of humor and hope with all the bad news. And The Climate Project is about reaching those beyond the choir - our biggest need.
BTW, can someone tell me if dKos has anonymous email? I'd love to hear from folks but I'd like not to publicize my personal email.
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