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Bootcamp brings muscle to climate change
Whistler’s Needham spends day with Al Gore and returns with a message
by Clare OgilviePage 2 of 2
Participants are given access to Gore’s own formidable slide collection as well as new information from climate scientists.
There is an active push to make sure that the presentations are not just a re-hash of Gore’s movie.
“I felt after spending Saturday with Al Gore — it felt like I had gone through two university courses, it was just so much information and it was amazing,” said Needham.
“I am going to come back and speak to as many people as I can and I would like to cover the whole Sea to Sky area and I would like to talk with First Nations and school groups.
“I am even more convinced after this weekend that it is crucial to get this information out there.”
But it’s not enough anymore for individuals to carpool and recycle. All levels of government need to get the message loud and clear that policy must change.
“In order to get policy changed everyone really does need to put pressure on politicians at all levels to really cause a shift in everything we do, from more efficient products, appliances, cars, to the policies that governments have around how we use and create energy and so on.”
A recent poll sponsored by Public Relations firm James Hoggan
and Associates, the president of which is a board member of the The Climate
Project Canada, found that
the environment has
displaced both the economy and health care as the public's number one concern.
In the poll, 89 per cent of respondents said they believed Canada faces serious
consequences if we don't act promptly and decisively to address global warming.
However, while 79 per cent said
they understand climate change "fairly well" or "very
well," when pressed for an explanation, only 38 per cent were able to
identify greenhouse gases as the cause of global warming.
During this global-warming boot camp, Gore stands in front of his cavalry for about 12 hours and explains the slide show presentation he gives in the movie. The volunteers are not required to follow a set script, but Gore offers specific advice on how to engage the audience and use metaphors to explain complex scientific information. A scientist on Gore's staff is present during the training to answer any technical questions posed by the volunteers, and a professional speech trainer offers public speaking advice.
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