Pop quiz! A friend of yours has just had an unfortunate chainsaw accident and cut a femoral artery: do you (a) make a tourniquet with your t-shirt, or (b) stick a Band-Aid on the wound? If you picked (b), congratulations! You’ve followed the instruction manual for humanity’s pathetic response to climate change. In this final episode of season 1, Asher, Rob, and Jason consider the psychology behind both inaction and effective action in these times of crisis. And for the very practical-minded, they also cover when to prescribe tobacco poultices and whiskey shots — good fun for the whole family.
Milton Friedman’s quote from the preface to his book, Capitalism and Freedom (1962): “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable.”
Asher became the Executive Director of Post Carbon Institute in October 2008, after having served as the manager of our former Relocalization Network program. He’s worked in the nonprofit sector since 1996 in various capacities. Prior to joining Post Carbon Institute, Asher founded Climate Changers, an organization that inspires people to reduce their impact on the climate by focusing on simple and achievable actions anyone can take.
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An encounter with a singing cardinal in a quiet spring woodland prompts a reflection on what birdsong can teach us about listening and the overlooked connections that bind human life to the wider living world.
Many participants framed the first international Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Colombia as a historic turning point. But with no binding pledges and reliance on voluntary coalitions, its impact now hinges on whether governments turn rhetoric into enforceable policies.
You, me, and everyone we know were born on the Titanic. Some are shouting about icebergs. Some are shoveling coal into the furnaces. Some are jamming out while the band plays louder than ever. In this special episode Alex reviews the odyssey thus far.
