This Saturday event, held outside for safety at the McHenry Library on the UCSC campus, featured speakers Gary Patton, special UCSC students, my former student Derede Arthur (UCSC Sociology professor), and - myself talking of opportunities at Cabrillo College, at the new Earth Futures Institute at UCSC, and a concise summary of my ideas on climate activism on the larger scale. Derede was the overall organizer, and a spirited and motivating force! I will be speaking longer to this group, on the latest in climate science and what our future and limitations look like.
I took the opportunity to energize by running from home, downtown Santa Cruz, up through the Pogonip to McHenry Library, and then back down, after we were done.
The nice thing about this run, is you don't have to bring any water. There's this stream perfectly placed below Spring Box, to refresh. |
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The climate resolutions statement put together by these students. |
The Co-Gen energy for UCSC comes from fracked Nat Gas from the central valley, causing in creased asthma rates there. Speakers talked of where the leverage points might be for reaching action from the university. Chancellor's office? |
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Derede talked of action that could result in changes, locally, and tried to warn against the temptation to enjoy making signs among like-minded fellowship as the rewards here. |
We had break-out sessions where students brainstormed. I joined the faculty break-out, where I talked to Gary Patton and others of my chief leverage point idea - Occupy DC for Climate |
Derede was lavish in her praise for my Astro 7 "Planetary Climate" course as where she learned all she could ever hope to know about climate, and here I'm sharing the how and logic of why, my short-list of actions could actually work. At least, more successfully than pulling aside individual legislators and pleading with them, as has been the usual strategy. |
How would it work? We'd end-around the strategy of the DC power brokers to simply cut off supply lines to our Occupy DC for Climate group, by instead having our 1/2 million strong force be a rotating force, with backpacks and a "tour of duty" of perhaps a few days, after which they'd be replaced by fresh troops in a continually evolving way. Senators won't respond to individual pleading and poke their heads above the fox hole. But if ALL congresspeople were confronted in this way, and they'd ALL have to give in to have the Occupy forces leave, they might just agree it's wiser than standing against history. My message: DON'T count on their morality, count on their pragmatic short-term survival. |
Brain-storming points, put to pen on poster boards... for all the break-out groups |
On the way back down through the Pogonip, I found this cluster of delectable Chanterelles. |
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And a sober moment at the Evergreen Cemetary, where the Civil War era local soldiers were buried. |
