Russ Vernon-Jones

love, justice, and climate change … I know you can make a difference.

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A Battle for Your Mind

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I used to think that if people of good will had more information about climate change, they would all be moved to take action to stop the climate crisis. I don’t think that any more. Why are some people moved to take action as they learn about climate change and some are not? One key variable is what perspective you hold about whether you believe you can make a difference, and whether or not you see yourself as significant, or potentially significant. If you believe you can make some difference you are much more likely to take action.

Don’t we all have this problem, to some extent? Don’t we all have days when we feel engaged, connected to others, and glad to be part of the action; and other days when it seems like nothing we do matters and the problems are all too big for us?

Do you have a choice?

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How to Talk with People about Climate Change and Why It Matters – Approach #1

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When I was a boy I lived in my grandparents house with my mother and brother. My grandfather was not very involved in my upbringing, but he did want things to go his way. If he told you something and you seemed not to understand or not to agree, his response was to say the same thing to you again, in an angry yell. While I often complied rather than get in more trouble, I have to say that his loudness and wrath never made me more open-minded to his point of view.

How do we change people’s minds or get them more engaged? How do we get the public as a whole, or the government, to take more action on climate change? How do we turn things around in the midst of this climate crisis?

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What’s Race Got to Do with It?

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The economic system that prevails in the United States and globally has caused, and continues to cause, the climate crisis. That system depends on racism for its very existence. Therefore we must address racism if we want to stop climate change.

How does racism keep the current inequitable system in place?

Five ways that racism maintains the system and works against our efforts to stop climate change:

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What are we trying for? System change?

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What do we want? What should the climate movement be trying to accomplish?

How we see the current situation affects what we are trying for. It affects what we think are the most important things to do and how we go about getting them done.

We may see our current situation like this: vast use of fossil fuels has caused such high emissions of greenhouse gases that the climate is changing in ways that are disastrous for humans and other species. The best solutions are to dramatically increase the use of solar and wind power and to adopt some better practices with regard to food, farming and forests.

This description and its implied solutions are certainly accurate. All of the above is true. However, ….

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“Eco-Anxiety” and Acting Locally

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I learned this week that “eco-anxiety” is the new term for many people’s reactions to the climate crisis. Experts are saying this is not an illness or disorder, but rather a normal, healthy response to the news that we have less than 11 years to make big changes worldwide, if we are to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Healthy or not, what do we do about the “eco-anxiety” — the fear, hopelessness, dread, and despair — we feel?

There are two key constructive remedies…

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Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

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In the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, a young girl sets off to take some food to her sickly grandmother. She meets a wolf …. When Little Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother’s house, she thinks her “grandmother” looks strange, but the wolf lures her close with his disguise and lies, and then eats her in one gulp.

Who’s in disguise and lying now? The big oil companies have been lying to the American public for decades.

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Talking and Listening Are Key Climate Action Strategies: 4 Ways to Start

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I sometimes find myself wondering if anything I do to try to help stop climate change makes a difference. So it got my attention when the Yale Program on Climate Communications reported recently that having more frequent conversations with friends, neighbors, and relatives about climate change really does make a difference. These conversations shift people’s perceptions to greater …

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Eating As If Climate Change Is Real

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Years ago when I was teaching first and second grade, we had a charming little book in our classroom library that featured photographs of families from different cultures around the world, eating their traditional foods. I loved this book because it showed cultural differences appreciatively, while highlighting a key commonality of people around the world – we all need and eat food.

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