Nov 04, 2022 Sustainability Summit

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRAVING THE INCOMING WEATHER THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE TO COME TO OUR EVENT TODAY.

WE'RE SO GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE HERE AND IT'S GOING TO BE JUST AN AMAZING DAY FILLED WITH AMAZING SPEAKERS, PANELISTS.

AND I REALLY HOPE YOU GET SOMETHING FROM THIS.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, SINCE WE'RE RUNNING A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER.

BROOKHAVEN PRESIDENT DR.

LINDA BRADDY HAS A FEW WORDS FOR YOU TODAY.

GOOD MORNING. Y'ALL AWAKE? DID YOU GET COFFEE? WELL, WELCOME TO BROOKHAVEN CAMPUS.

WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO BE HOSTING THE SUSTAINABILITY EVENT THIS YEAR.

THE FIRST YEAR I WAS HERE, IT WAS AT EASTFIELD.

AND SO THESE HAVE BEEN GREAT EVENTS FOR DALLAS COLLEGE EACH YEAR.

AND SO I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE JOINING US ONLINE THAT COULD BE HERE IN PERSON, BUT IT'S GREAT TO SEE PEOPLE IN 3-D.

SO THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE.

SO I DON'T KNOW HOW AWARE YOU ARE OF BROOKHAVEN HISTORY IN SUSTAINABILITY, BUT WHEN WE BECAME A CAMPUS IN OR BECAME A COLLEGE IN 1978, OUR COLORS WERE GREEN TO TO DENOTE SUSTAINABILITY.

AND FARMERS BRANCH, THE CITY WHERE WE'RE LOCATED HAS A SLOGAN CITY IN A PARK, AND THEY'RE VERY SUSTAINABILITY MINDED.

THEY HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE THAT MEETS REGULARLY AND WE HAVE REPRESENTATION ON THAT COMMITTEE.

AND SO IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO WALK AROUND CAMPUS, YOU'LL SEE ALL THE GREAT TREES THAT WE HAVE.

AND OVER ON THE WEST SIDE OF CAMPUS, I WANTED TO INVITE YOU DURING A BREAK TO TAKE A WALK OVER TO THE WINDMILL GARDEN, BUT I THINK BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO DO THAT TODAY. MAYBE YOU CAN COME BACK SOMETIME.

SO WE HAVE A HISTORY ALSO OF WINDMILLS.

SO WHEN THE CAMPUS CAME INTO EXISTENCE OUT HERE WHERE THE FOUNTAIN IS NOW, THERE WAS AN ACTUAL BIG WINDMILL.

IT TURNS OUT IT NEVER ACTUALLY RAN BECAUSE THE MOTOR GOT DAMAGED OR WHATEVER.

BUT THAT WAS SORT OF THE CORE OF OF OUR CAMPUS.

AND SO WE HAVE A WINDMILL GARDEN THAT IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM ABOVE, IT'S SHAPED LIKE THE BLADES OF A WINDMILL.

AND SO WE WORK WITH THE NORTH TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS COME AND WORK IN THE GARDEN SOMETIMES AND WE HAVE STUDENT ART ON DISPLAY OVER THERE, SOME SOME ART EXHIBITS THAT HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE GARDEN.

SO IT'S REALLY NICE PLACE, A LOT OF NATURAL FOLIAGE AND STUFF OVER THERE.

SO IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE SOME DAY WHEN IT'S MAYBE NICER WEATHER, COME BY AND SEE THAT.

SO I ALSO WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE I HAVE A COUPLE OF COLLEAGUES HERE.

SO DR. KAY EGGLESTON, MY COLLEAGUE FROM BACK HERE, SHE'S THE PRESIDENT AT RICHLAND.

AND DR. KENNETH GONZALES DOWN HERE.

HE'S THE PRESIDENT AT MOUNTAIN VIEW.

SO WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL JOINING US, TOO.

SO WELCOME, EVERYBODY, AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AND I HOPE YOU DON'T GET BLOWN AWAY THIS AFTERNOON.

ALL RIGHT. SO NOW IS THE TIME FOR OUR MAIN EVENT, OUR FIRST KEYNOTE SPEAKER OF THE DAY.

AND I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT TO INTRODUCE MYSELF EARLIER.

MY NAME IS FAYE DAVIS, AND I AM THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.

AND I AM GOING TO BE EMCEEING THIS EVENT FOR YOU TODAY.

SO YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF ME.

BUT I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER TODAY.

I KNOW WHEN HE WALKED IN AND I SPOKE WITH HIM ON THE PHONE YESTERDAY, I WAS STARSTRUCK, LIKE HE'S JUST SO CHARISMATIC AND I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOY HIS MESSAGE. SO XIUHTEZCATL MARTINEZ, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST, IS HERE TODAY TO SHARE HIS STORY.

[INAUDIBLE] MEXICO OR MEXICO.

GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.

HOW'S EVERYONE FEELING? SORRY. IT'S OKAY.

SO IT'S MY FIRST TIME BACK IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE, TOO, SO, YOU KNOW.

YEAH, IT'S CRAZY. I USED TO DO THIS STUFF ALL THE TIME BACK BEFORE THE WHOLE PANDEMIC.

I'D DONE PLENTY OF THESE ON ZOOM, BUT IT FEELS GOOD TO BE IN PERSON.

IT'S GOOD TO BE HERE WITH SOME, YOU KNOW, SEE PEOPLE NOT LIKE I HAVE REALLY BAD EYESIGHT AND I'M NOT WEARING MY GLASSES RIGHT NOW, BUT I GET THE VIBES.

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AND THANK YOU TO THE ORGANIZERS, THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE KIND OF OPENED UP THE SPACE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE TO DALLAS COLLEGE TO THE SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT, JUST TAKE A SECOND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES OF THE KICKAPOO PEOPLE AND A HANDFUL OF DIFFERENT TRIBES THAT HAVE HAD KIND OF LONG HISTORIES THAT PREDATE THIS COLLEGE, THAT PREDATE AMERICA AS A CONCEPT ITSELF.

AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GROUND OURSELVES IN AN UNDERSTANDING OF PLACE, OF SPATIALITY, OF OF WHERE IT IS THAT WE ARE, WHOSE LAND WE ARE WE ARE TAKING UP SPACE UPON.

AND I THINK THE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORK THAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER IN THE SPACE OF SUSTAINABILITY, IN THE HOPES TO BUILD A BRIGHTER, MORE JUST AND REGENERATIVE FUTURE BEGINS WITH THAT FOUNDATIONAL RELATIONSHIP TO LAND.

AND I THINK THE CLIMATE CRISIS ITSELF IS AN EXPRESSION AND A RESULT OF A VERY DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP.

WITH THE LAND.

IT'S A CONTINUATION OF THE LAST 500 YEARS OF OF COLONIAL VIOLENCE THAT HAS BEEN PERPETUATED FIRST BY THE GENOCIDE AND REMOVAL OF THE FIRST PEOPLES OF THESE LANDS AND THE ENSLAVEMENT OF OUR AFRICAN RELATIVES THAT WERE BROUGHT OVER HERE CONTINUED WITH THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES THAT, TO THIS DAY PREDOMINANTLY AFFECTS BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES.

EVERY STEP OF THE HARMS THAT ARE CREATED BY THE CLIMATE CRISIS ARE STILL, TO THIS DAY, DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTING OUR PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE SO INTERTWINED, AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT I'M HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL AND I HOPE TO LEAVE YOU WITH, IS THIS UNDERSTANDING THAT ALTHOUGH.

THE STORIES THAT WE HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE CLIMATE AND ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OFTENTIMES FEEL LINEAR OR LIMITED OR IT'S ACTUALLY A LOT MORE CONNECTED THAN WE OFTENTIMES THOUGHT.

SO I'M JUST CUE THE NEXT SLIDE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE.

THANK YOU. WELL, I THINK THE FIRST SLIDE, THIS MIGHT BE AT THE END.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

SO. SO I GUESS MY INTRODUCTION IS IS IN MY LANGUAGE NOW AND MY PEOPLE ARE THE AMILCAR PEOPLE OF COMMUNITY IN MEXICO CALLED SANTA CRUZ.

IT'S A LAND OF MY ANCESTORS, OF MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER, THE MATRIARCH OF OUR FAMILY WHO RECENTLY PASSED US THIS LAST YEAR.

AND EVERYTHING I DO STEMS FROM THAT RELATIONSHIP TO THAT LAND IN MEXICO.

I WAS BORN HERE IN THE STATES.

I WAS BORN IN BOULDER, COLORADO, NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE.

AND FOR ME, ALL OF THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE IN THE LAST MANY YEARS HAS BEEN A RESULT OF A VERY ALTERNATIVE UPBRINGING, I THINK YOU COULD SAY.

AND I OWE A LOT TO MY PARENTS.

I OWE A LOT TO MY FAMILY, I OWE A LOT TO MY COMMUNITY, AND FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.

THIS IS A PHOTO OF MY FATHER, MY GRANDFATHER AND I IN MEXICO AND OUR FAMILY'S HOME THAT WE STILL LIVE IN.

AND MY FAMILY OUT THERE STILL LIVES INTO THIS DAY.

AND EVERY STEP OF, I THINK, MY FORMATION AROUND MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS, MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERSECTIONS OF SOCIAL CLIMATE, JUSTICE, OF INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE REALLY STEMMED FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS I HAD AT THIS WHEN NOT AT THIS AGE, BUT A LITTLE BIT OLDER, RIGHT AS I WAS FORMING MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AROUND ME.

I WAS AS I WAS FORMING AN UNDERSTANDING AND A SENSE OF SELF.

SO MANY OF THE TEACHINGS THAT I WAS BLESSED ENOUGH TO RECEIVE FROM MY FATHER, FROM MY GRANDMOTHER AND MY GRANDFATHER WERE BASED ON THIS DEEP BELIEF IN IN OUR INTERCONNECTEDNESS.

AND MY DAD, HE GREW UP, YOU KNOW, IN A PRETTY KIND OF.

IN POVERTY IN MEXICO, IN A VERY POOR FAMILY, POOR COMMUNITY WITH NOT A LOT OF MATERIAL NEEDS OR ABUNDANCE BEING MET, YOU KNOW, OF NOT A LOT OF THE MATERIAL NEEDS BEING MET TO THIS DAY.

SO WE GET RUNNING WATER DOWN THERE LIKE ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK.

AND WHEN YOU GET THE RUNNING WATER, YOU HAVE TO GO AND FILL UP EVERY THESE HUGE, LIKE BIG BARRELS FULL OF WATER SO THAT YOU CAN USE THAT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO WASH YOUR HAIR, TO WASH YOUR DISHES, TO WASH YOUR CLOTHES, TO FLUSH THE TOILET.

EVERYTHING IS BASED ON THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH WATER THAT WAS VERY SCARCE.

AND I THINK THAT LACK OF HAVING THE MATERIAL ABUNDANCE THAT MANY PEOPLE GROW UP WITH GIVES YOU A REALLY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH REALLY SIMPLE THINGS.

I THINK THAT COMBINED WITH A LOT OF THE INDIGENOUS TEACHINGS THAT WERE PASSED DOWN FROM MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER THAT WERE RESCUED SLOWLY BY THE LAST COUPLE OF GENERATIONS OF MY FAMILY INSTILLED THIS UNDERSTANDING OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS.

AND MY DAD AND I REMEMBER WALKING THROUGH COLORADO, WHERE I GREW UP AND BACK AND FORTH WHEN I WOULD VISIT MEXICO AND GO BACK HOME.

THE SMALLEST THINGS THAT MY DAD WOULD POINT OUT AND BE LIKE THAT IS SACRED ARE WHEN IT RAINED OUTSIDE, WHEN THERE WAS LITTLE ANTS WALKING ALONG THE

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IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT US AS HUMAN BEINGS.

WE ARE DEEPLY INTERCONNECTED WITH EVERYTHING AROUND US.

AND. THAT UNDERSTANDING AND THAT WAY OF LIFE IS SOMETHING THAT I AS I GREW UP AND AS I STARTED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND INTERACT WITH OTHER STUDENTS, OTHER PEOPLE MY AGE, I WAS LIKE, WHOA, NOT EVERYONE THINKS THIS WAY.

NOT EVERYONE IS EDUCATED THIS WAY.

AND I REALIZED HOW MUCH OF A PRIVILEGE IT WAS TO GROW UP WITH PIECES OF MY LANGUAGE, WITH PIECES OF MY CONNECTION TO MY FAMILY CEREMONIES, WITH PIECES OF MY CONNECTION TO MY CULTURE, TO HAVE THE NAME THAT I HAVE.

THAT'S BECAUSE OF GENERATIONS OF RESISTANCE TO THE ERASURE OF OUR PEOPLES TO PASS DOWN THESE SMALL THINGS THAT MAY FEEL TRIVIAL OR MAY FEEL. MINUSCULE IN THE GRAND AND THE GRANDER SCHEME.

RIGHT. BUT THOSE VERY THINGS ARE HAVE SHAPED MY ENTIRE REALITY.

OH, NEXT. AND ON TOP OF THAT, PRE-DATING MY MY EXISTENCE ON THIS PLANET, MY BIRTH BACK IN WAY BACK, ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, IS THIS IS LIKE A LONG, LONG TIME AGO, BACK IN THE YEAR 1992.

I THIS WAY BEFORE I WAS AROUND.

MY MOTHER, WHICH WAS ANOTHER IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION AND GUIDANCE AND WISDOM IN MY LIFE.

SHE LOOKED AROUND AT HER COMMUNITY AND REALIZED THERE'S NOT SPACES THAT ADVOCATE FOR AND EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO USE THEIR VOICE.

I DON'T SEE THAT IN MY COMMUNITY.

SO WHEN MY MOM SAID, LIKE, OKAY, MY MOM ALSO COMES FROM A VERY, VERY COMPLICATED AND CRAZY BACKGROUND AS WELL, AND SHE'S WRITING HER BOOK RIGHT NOW.

SO I'M EXCITED FOR THE WORLD TO GET TO EXPERIENCE SOME OF THAT, THAT WONDER AND THAT MAGIC.

BUT SHE DECIDED TO DO IT.

SHE FOUNDED A HIGH SCHOOL IN MAUI, HAWAII, IN 1992, AND THEY NAMED IT THE EARTH GUARDIAN SCHOOL.

AND THERE WERE 70 STUDENTS AND NINE TEACHERS.

IT WAS A HIGH SCHOOL, AN ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOL.

IT'S VERY SMALL. AND THEY TRAVELED AROUND THE ISLANDS AND EVERYTHING IN THEIR CURRICULUM WAS BASED AROUND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CREATING AN EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM THAT INVESTED IN YOUNG PEOPLE, FINDING AND USING OUR VOICE TO AFFECT CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

AND IT WASN'T JUST ACADEMICALLY FOCUSED AND IT WASN'T JUST FOLLOWING ALONG WITH SOME OF THE MAYBE STEREOTYPES WE HAVE IN OUR MIND OF WHAT ACTIVISM CAN LOOK LIKE OR WHAT STUDENT ACTIVISM CAN LOOK LIKE.

THEY DID WRITE LETTERS TO SENATORS AND THEY DID PLANT, YOU KNOW, 10,000 SANDALWOOD TREES ON THE ISLAND.

THEY DID A LOT OF THAT KIND OF STUFF, BEACH CLEANUPS.

BUT THEY'RE ALSO ALL PERFORMERS.

LIKE ALL OF MY OLDER SIBLINGS AND COUSINS, AUNTIES AND UNCLES WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THIS SCHOOL.

WE WERE REALLY ENCOURAGED TO EXPRESS OURSELVES CREATIVELY, MUSICALLY, AS A WAY TO RESIST AND AS A WAY TO SHARE OUR STORY AND SHARE OUR MESSAGE.

AND I GREW UP.

WATCHING OLD VHS TAPES OF THIS TOUR, OF THIS TOUR THAT THEY DID.

AFTER MY MOM FOUNDED THIS SCHOOL, THEY BROUGHT A HANDFUL OF THE STUDENTS ON THE SCHOOL BUS AND TRAVELED TO DO EVENTS IN 29 STATES ACROSS THE US, FROM CALIFORNIA TO NEW YORK.

AND EVERYWHERE THEY WOULD GO, THEY WOULD GIVE PRESENTATIONS NOT UNLIKE THE ONE I'M GIVING NOW, AND THEY WOULD TEACH AND EDUCATE.

AND THIS IS ALL BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA.

THIS IS ALL BEFORE THE ERA OF DIGITAL ACTIVISM THAT WE EXIST IN TODAY.

AND IT WAS ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY AND THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE BUILT WITH PEOPLE ON THE GROUND AND THE WAY THAT WE COULD DEMONSTRATE THAT THESE STUDENTS, THESE KIDS ARE NOT UNLIKE THE STUDENTS THAT ATTEND THIS COLLEGE OR THE STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THE AUDIENCE.

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON ZOOM? YOU KNOW, THESE ARE LIKE REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS WHO HAVE A DEEP BELIEF THAT THERE IS SOMETHING MORE BEAUTIFUL AND MORE JUST THAN THE WORLD THAT WE SEE AROUND US.

AND WE'RE WE'RE HERE TO PLAY OUR PART, TO BE A PART OF SHAPING THAT.

SO THAT'S LIKE THAT'S THE CONTEXT I WAS RAISED WATCHING THOSE VIDEOS, THOSE OLD VHS TAPES OF THEIR PERFORMANCES AND OF THEIR SPEECHES.

AND IT TAUGHT ME A COUPLE OF THINGS.

RIGHT. FIRST OF ALL. MANY OF US WHEN WE IN THE MIND OF A CHILD, RIGHT WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, FIRST LEARNING ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS, FIRST WATCHING SOME OF THESE DOCUMENTARIES, FIRST HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH MY PARENTS, WITH MY PEERS.

A LOT OF US AS CHILDREN, WE SEE SOMETHING WRONG IN THE WORLD.

WE SEE SOMETHING UNJUST, WE SEE SOMETHING TO THAT WE BELIEVE TO BE UNFAIR OR WRONG.

AND IN THE MIND OF A CHILD, YOU'RE LIKE, WELL, WHY DON'T WE FIX IT? WHY DON'T WE JUST STOP? DESTROYING THE PLANET.

EXPLOITING COMMUNITIES TO EXTRACT FOSSIL FUELS.

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BUT THERE ISN'T ALWAYS THE ENVIRONMENT WITH A PLATFORM, WITH THE SPACES OFFERED TO YOUNG PEOPLE TO TAKE THAT IMAGINATION OF A WORLD THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE AROUND US AND MAKE IT A REALITY.

AND THAT'S, I THINK, THE ONLY REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND A LOT OF OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE IS THAT FROM A VERY EARLY AGE, I HAD THESE ROLE MODELS AND THESE EXAMPLES.

AND WHAT I LEARNED FROM EARTH GUARDIANS FROM THIS SCHOOL THAT MY MOM STARTED, THAT BECAME THIS WORLDWIDE ORGANIZATION WORKING WITH THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE.

I DIDN'T HAVE THAT SAME KIND OF LIMITATION OR THAT BARRIER BETWEEN SEEING SOMETHING AND FEELING EMOTIONALLY ABOUT IT AND SAYING LIKE, I WANT TO DO SOMETHING.

AND WHAT SEEMS TO BE A VERY BIG LEAP FOR MANY PEOPLE AND AND DOING THAT THING OR SPEAKING OUT OR USING YOUR VOICE.

AND THAT'S ALSO ONE OF THE HUGE PRIVILEGES THAT I'VE CARRIED THROUGHOUT MY LIFE, IS HAVING A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY AND SYSTEM AROUND ME AND TO HELP CULTIVATE THIS UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO USE OUR VOICE, WHAT IT MEANS TO LEAD, WHAT IT MEANS TO PLAY A PART IN SHAPING OUR FUTURE.

SO FROM THERE, I DO.

THE NEXT SLIDE. SO MUCH OF KNOW.

HOW I MOVED THROUGH THE WORLD WAS BASED ON THIS THIS BELIEF AND THIS LACK OF LIMITATIONS.

OF UNDERSTANDING THAT MY VOICE HAD.

SOMETHING THAT I HAD, SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO SAY.

AND I WAS VERY, YOU KNOW.

SET ON HELPING BUILD THIS FOR MY GENERATION.

KNOWING THAT THE SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT I RECEIVED GAVE ME THE POWER TO STEP INTO MY LIFE.

REMINDED ME THAT FOR ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DON'T HAVE THOSE THINGS, THAT DON'T HAVE THAT COMMUNITY, THAT DON'T HAVE THAT SUPPORT, THAT DON'T HAVE THOSE RESOURCES, THOSE ROLE MODELS.

I SPENT THE LAST 16 ISH YEARS.

TRYING TO FIX THAT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS EXISTENTIAL CRISIS THAT IS THE CLIMATE CRISIS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND DEVASTATION, THE INTERSECTIONS OF RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH THIS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHES THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE WORLD, IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

WE NEED YOUNG PEOPLE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE CONVERSATIONS, AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE MOVEMENTS AND THAT KIND OF SHAPE THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, THE FOLLOWING DECADE OF MY LIFE WHERE I WAS KIND OF TEN TOES GOING AROUND, GIVING PRESENTATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD, MEETING WITH STUDENTS, MEETING WITH.

YOUTH LEADERS AND COMMUNITIES FROM NEW ZEALAND TO AUSTRALIA TO BRAZIL, LATIN AMERICA AND EUROPE.

NEXT SLIDE. AND ONE THING I ALSO REALIZED VERY EARLY ON IS.

I HAD ALL THESE, LIKE, REALLY POWERFUL TEACHINGS ABOUT THE MOVEMENTS THAT WE WERE A PART OF AND ABOUT OUR POTENTIAL TO WORK WITHIN THEM.

AND I DIDN'T SEE THAT NECESSARILY REFLECTED IN HOW.

THE MEDIA OR HOW OUR CULTURE WAS TALKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, LIKE RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE A YOU KNOW, WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS.

IF YOU IF YOU HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING, RELATIVELY COOL.

GREAT. THAT MAKES SENSE. WE'RE AT A SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCE.

I WOULD HOPE SO, BECAUSE JUST LIKE A DISCLAIMER, I'M NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN CLIMATE CHANGE IN THIS PRESENTATION.

OKAY. NOW, WOULD YOU RAISE YOUR HAND IF.

THE INFORMATION OR THE CONTENT THAT YOU HAVE SEEN AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE HAS FELT COMPELLING, PERSONALLY COMPELLING TO YOU.

ANYBODY. THAT'S IMPRESSIVE.

THAT'S IMPRESSIVE, BECAUSE WHEN I WAS GETTING INTO THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THERE WAS NOT VERY MUCH COMPELLING ABOUT THE WAY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL ARE JUST BEING NICE TO WHATEVER DOCUMENTARIES THAT YOU WATCHED OR NEWS SEGMENTS THAT YOU WERE SEEING, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ALL PRETTY ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT THE REALITY OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS, LIKE WE'RE NOT DOING THAT GREAT AND WE HAVE A VERY LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME TO DRAMATICALLY TRANSITION OUR ENERGY ECONOMY AND KEEP FOSSIL FUELS IN THE GROUND.

SO WHEN I WAS LIKE, COMING UP IN THESE MOVEMENTS.

THE SPACES WERE ALWAYS VERY PREDOMINANTLY OLDER AND WHITE.

AND SO FIRST OF ALL, I JUST OFF RAPE.

I DIDN'T SEE MYSELF IN THESE SPACES.

I WAS ALWAYS THE ANOMALY.

I WAS LIKE, OH, IT'S SO CUTE.

YOU'RE OUT HERE LIKE YOU'RE A LITTLE KID.

AND TO BE FAIR, I WAS REALLY CUTE AND I WAS REALLY LITTLE.

WHEN I WAS STARTED DOING ALL THIS STUFF.

I WAS LIKE SIX YEARS OLD WHEN I GOT ON STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME TO DELIVER MY FIRST LITTLE SPEECH, RIGHT? SO I WAS REALLY YOUNG, BUT IT WAS ALSO LIKE THIS I SEE MY PEERS IN THESE SPACES AND I WAS LIKE, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT.

THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HOW WE'RE TELLING THIS STORY.

THERE'S SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED WITH THE COMMUNICATION AROUND THIS CRISIS WHERE NOT ONLY ARE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS FAILING EVERY SINGLE YEAR TO TAKE ADEQUATE STEPS TOWARDS REMEDIATING WHERE WE AT, BUT THE PUBLIC HAS THIS LIKE SIMULTANEOUSLY

[00:20:05]

AND I WAS LIKE, TO ME IT JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

I WAS LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? LIKE. THEN I REALIZE IT'S BECAUSE THE STORIES THAT WE TELL AROUND THIS HAVE TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY.

IF WE WANT TO ENGAGE.

OUR GENERATION. IF WE WANT TO ENGAGE THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET TO BUILD POPULAR POWER TO DEMAND CHANGE FROM OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS.

BECAUSE AS I WAS LEARNING ABOUT ALL THIS.

I WOULD SEE TIME AND TIME AGAIN ONE OFF ACTIONS, BEAUTIFUL MARCHES.

THIS IS FROM THE PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH BACK IN, I BELIEVE, 2015 2015.

SOME OF YOU ALL WERE THERE. YOU ALL REMEMBER? YEAH. HECK YEAH. AND WE WOULD HAVE THESE, LIKE, POWERFUL MOMENTS WITHIN THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT WHERE EVERYBODY WOULD GET TOGETHER AND THERE WOULD BE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS AND THEN THE MOMENTUM WOULD SEEM TO DISSIPATE AND PEOPLE WILL GO BACK TO THEIR LIVES AND OUR AND LIKE THERE WASN'T THAT SAME KIND OF SUSTAINED REVOLUTIONARY POWER THAT I SAW WHEN I STARTED TO LEARN ABOUT REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY, WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT AND THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY AND THE [INAUDIBLE] ZAPATISTAS IN MEXICO, AND THESE DIFFERENT REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS THAT FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED AND RESHAPED THE CULTURE, NOT ONLY NOT ALWAYS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HAVE IMAGINED, BUT HAVE LAID THE GROUNDWORK AND THE FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE MOVEMENTS THAT EXIST IN THE WORLD TODAY.

RIGHT. AND I THINK A BIG PART OF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF INCENTIVE TO KEEP THINGS GOING AS THERE ARE.

WE'RE ESSENTIALLY HAVE THE EXTINCTION OF OUR SPECIES VERSUS ON ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM VERSUS THE MOST POWERFUL PRIVATE INTERESTS AND CORPORATIONS ON THE PLANET ON THE OTHER SIDE.

AND MONEY IS JUST REALLY, REALLY POWERFUL.

AND SO AS A KID, I WAS ORGANIZING IN MY COMMUNITY, I STARTED TO HEAR THIS RHETORIC AND HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT MONEY AND POLITICS AND HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT FOSSIL FUEL LOBBYISTS.

AND IT ALL FELT VERY KIND OF REMOVED.

AND I WAS LIKE, OH, THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION.

LIKE, IT'S NOT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL PERSONALLY CONNECTED TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

PEOPLE DON'T FEEL LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS INTIMATELY INTERCONNECTED WITH OUR LIVES, WITH OUR REALITY.

AND IT WASN'T UNTIL.

WE STARTED DOING A LOT OF ORGANIZING ON THE GROUNDS IN COLORADO TO RESIST THE EXPANSION OF THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY OF THE FRACKING INDUSTRY ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE.

AND THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FRACKING WELLS THAT WERE THAT WERE GOING UP IN MY COMMUNITY RIGHT IN THE SURROUNDING COLORADO.

AND I WAS LIKE 11, 12, 13 YEARS OLD WHEN I STARTED TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS TO GO AND TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT THE REALITIES OF THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY, THAT IT'S A FALSE SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE, THAT THE METHANE EMITTED FROM THESE NATURAL GAS WELL PADS ARE 70 TO 100 TIMES MORE POTENT OF GREENHOUSE GASES VERSUS CO TWO OVERALL. I WAS LIKE, I HAD THE WHOLE PRESENTATION ON LOCK, LIKE IT WAS THE CRAZY STATS, BUT ALSO ME AND MY BROTHER WOULD PERFORM AS WELL TO TRY TO ENGAGE THE STUDENTS.

AND THE WILDEST THING HAPPENED KIND OF AS A RESULT OF THAT IS ONE OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WE WENT TO SPEAK AT.

WE GAVE YOU THIS PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT FRACKING, TALKING ABOUT THE HEALTH IMPACTS IT WAS HAVING ON THE COMMUNITIES, HOW KIDS WERE GETTING SICK ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE.

AND ONE OF THE PARENTS OF ONE OF THE STUDENTS WORKED IN THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.

AND WE HAD THIS WHOLE DEBACLE THAT KIND OF POPPED UP OUT OF IT, RIGHT, WHERE ALL THESE ARTICLES WERE WRITTEN AND LIKE, OH, THIS PARENTS WERE OUTRAGED THAT WE WERE OUT THERE KIND OF INFORMING AND EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY FOR MORE PERSPECTIVE.

AND I THINK TEACHERS GOT FIRED LIKE IT WAS REALLY SERIOUS.

AND FROM THERE, WE ACTUALLY GOT DEATH THREATS FROM THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.

I WAS 13 AT THE TIME.

MY BROTHER WAS 11.

THIS IS HOW SERIOUSLY THEY'RE PLAYING ANY THREAT.

TO THE POWER AND TO THE ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH AND TO THE CHOKEHOLD THAT THEY HAVE ON OUR ECONOMY AND OUR COMMUNITIES IS MET WITH THIS KIND OF BACKLASH. AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAD YOU KNOW, OBAMA WAS WAS A PRESIDENT BACK WHEN WE WERE KIND OF FIGHTING A LOT OF THIS.

AND WE HAD A DEMOCRAT IN OFFICE THAT WAS THIS WAS CONGRESS.

THERE WAS A GOVERNOR EXCUSE ME, HIS NAME WAS GOVERNOR HICKENLOOPER.

AND. WE SAW THERE WAS BASICALLY NO CHANCE OF GETTING FOSSIL FUEL RESTRICTIONS PLACED AT A STATE LEVEL.

AND SO SIX DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES, SIX DIFFERENT CITIES ACROSS COLORADO, MOBILIZE AND ORGANIZE THEIR COMMUNITIES TO BAN FRACKING, TO OUTRIGHT BAN OR TO CREATE STRONGER RESTRICTIONS, TO KEEP IT AWAY FROM OUR SCHOOLS, AWAY FROM OUR COMMUNITIES, AWAY FROM OUR HOMES.

AND GOVERNOR HICKENLOOPER, WHO WAS SUPPOSEDLY A PROGRESSIVE, GREEN, ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS DEMOCRAT, WENT AND OVERTURNED EVERY SINGLE RULING, AND HE SUED EVERY COMMUNITY THAT FILED THESE MOTIONS TO TO OVERTURN THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY.

[00:25:05]

AND I SAW HOW, REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION, MONEY IN POLITICS IS GOING TO RESULT IN THE CONTINUED DESTRUCTION OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR PLANET.

AND ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL THING THAT I LEARNED FROM THIS MOVEMENT.

AS I SAW, COALITIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ALIKE COMING TOGETHER TO RESIST THE EXPANSION OF FRACKING, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.

BECAUSE WE WOULD GO OUT TO THE SUBURBS TO THESE LIKE PREDOMINANTLY AFFLUENT WHITE COMMUNITIES, AND WE WOULD HAVE PEOPLE STANDING IN SOLIDARITY WITH MANY FOLKS FROM MORE MARGINALIZED BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES WHO WERE BEING IMPACTED AT A SIMILAR RATE BECAUSE WE'RE ALL SHARING THE SAME AIR SHED.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WASN'T SO MUCH ABOUT.

SCIENCE OF WHAT WE BELIEVE.

THERE WASN'T SO MUCH LIKE PETTINESS AROUND THE LOGISTICS OF OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE WERE FIGHTING FOR.

IT WASN'T A SOCIAL CAUSE.

IT WASN'T A.

EVEN A POLITICAL TOPIC AS MUCH AS IT WAS LIKE THIS IS ABOUT THE SURVIVAL OF OUR COMMUNITY, ABOUT THE WELL-BEING OF OUR CHILDREN.

AND I THINK INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE RESISTING THE EXPANSION OF OF OF FOSSIL FUEL EXTRACTION ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

WELL, WE'RE UP WHEN WE FACE THINGS LIKE FRACKING OR LIKE PIPELINES BEING BUILT IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

WE FACE THE VIOLENCE OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES. THERE'S THIS FRAMING IN THIS UNDERSTANDING OF THIS AS A THREAT TO OUR CULTURAL SURVIVAL.

BECAUSE FOR THE LAST 500 YEARS, WE'VE BEEN BATTLING UPHILL.

TO MAINTAIN OUR LANGUAGES, TO MAINTAIN OUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, TO RECLAIM AND RELEARN AND RETEACH.

MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM US OVER THE LAST 500 YEARS OF ERASURE, ASSIMILATION AND GENOCIDE.

AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS FOR A LOT OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND AGAIN, THIS IS ME SPEAKING FROM MY EXPERIENCE, I DON'T SPEAK FOR ANYBODY.

I ONLY SPEAK FOR ALL NATIVE PEOPLES BY ANY MEANS.

BUT FROM WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM OTHER MOVEMENT LEADERS AND ORGANIZERS IS THAT THERE IS THIS SHARED UNDERSTANDING.

BUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS AN EXTENSION.

OF THE COLONIZATION OF THIS CONTINENT.

THAT THESE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES ARE DOING NOTHING BUT CONTINUING TO PERPETUATE THE SAME VIOLENCE THAT HAS BEEN DONE TO OUR PEOPLE FOR THE LAST 500 YEARS.

THIS IS THE NEW FRONT LINE FOR US.

AND FOR A LOT OF NON-NATIVE COMMUNITIES AND NON-NATIVE FOLKS.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS ALSO A THREAT TO OUR CULTURAL SURVIVAL.

IT'S NOT CONTINGENT ON OUR.

WHAT COMMUNITY WE LIVE IN OR OUR OUR SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, LIKE THE CLIMATE CRISIS, FUNDAMENTALLY CHALLENGES EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR POTENTIAL TO CONTINUE TO EXIST ON THE PLANET.

AND SO SUSTAINING.

HUMAN LIFE HAS A LOT MORE TO DO WITH.

THE WAYS IN WHICH THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS NOT JUST AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE.

WE'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF ENGRAVING THIS IDEA THROUGH THE RHETORIC THAT HAS BEEN KIND OF POPULARLY ACCEPTED AROUND THE CLIMATE CRISIS, THAT IT'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, IT'S A PROGRESSIVE ISSUE.

IT'S AN ISSUE THAT THE MOSTLY WHITE PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT OR ACTIVE AROUND.

AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE AS A MOVEMENT.

NOT HAD ENOUGH CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THE CLIMATE TIES INTO EVERY OTHER SOCIAL MOVEMENT AND EVERY OTHER SOCIAL ISSUE.

FROM. REDLINING TO.

VOTER FRAUD AND VOTER DISENFRANCHISEMENT TO WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH.

TO GENDER AND SEXUALITY.

TO RACIAL JUSTICE AND INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY.

LIKE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE.

THESE TOPICS, WHICH ARE BIG AND HEAVY AND COMPLICATED ON THEIR OWN, THEY'RE ALL TOUCHED BY THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

THE CONTINUED DESTABILIZATION OF OUR CLIMATE THREATENS ALL OF OUR ABILITIES TO EXIST, TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITIES BE IN PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE WORLD.

THE NEXT TIME. AND ALL.

AND A LOT OF THIS STARTED TO CLICK FOR ME WHEN I.

BEGAN TO ORGANIZE AND DO MORE WORK WITH DIFFERENT INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENTS, WITH DIFFERENT INDIGENOUS LIBERATION MOVEMENTS, WORKING WITH DIFFERENT NATIVE LED ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE WAS THE FIRST FIGHT THAT I REALLY SAW.

I WAS LIKE. AND MAYBE.

THE ORIGINAL. ACTIONS THAT WERE HAPPENING AROUND KICK.

SO IT WAS PROBABLY 2013.

I WAS 13 YEARS OLD AND I SAW.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, A ROOM FULL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LEADING THESE KIND OF ACTIONS IN A CEREMONY AND PRAYER WITH THEIR SONGS, WITH THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY, FIRST FRONT AND CENTER, WITH HOW THEY WERE RELATING TO AND COMMUNICATING THIS ISSUE.

[00:30:04]

IT WASN'T PEOPLE SIGNING UP FOR AN AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM TO TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.

IT WASN'T KIND OF A DEBATE AROUND, YOU KNOW, TRANSITIONING MY PUTTING SOLAR PANELS ON MY HOUSE AND LIKE TURNING OFF THE WATER WHEN WE WASH OUR HANDS AND BIKING TO SCHOOL.

NOT LIKE FOR. THE WAY THAT YOU SAW INDIGENOUS PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND WITH THESE CONVERSATIONS WAS SO PROFOUNDLY PERSONAL.

AND THE STORIES AND THE WAYS IN WHICH IT WAS TOLD AND COMMUNICATED FOR ME WERE SO INSPIRING AND SO.

KIND OF OFFERED THIS A. RIGHT.

SO ALL THESE DIFFERENT KIND OF PIECES THAT I WAS LEARNING AS I WAS TRAVELING, AS I WAS GOING TO COLLEGES, AS I WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AT THE UNITED NATIONS, I WOULD SEE ALL THESE SMALL PIECES.

AND I THINK THIS THIS VIEWPOINT OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND OF CULTURAL SURVIVAL IS IS PART OF THE COMPASS THAT HAS LEAD TO THE CLASS THAT HAS LED THE LAST MANY YEARS OF OF MY WORK AND OF MY ORGANIZING.

AND I THINK WE.

HAVE REACHED A REALLY INTERESTING POINT.

AND OUR HISTORY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS BETWEEN THE PANDEMIC AND THE MOVEMENT FOR BLACK LIVES AND THE UPRISINGS, THESE KIND OF RACIAL JUSTICE RECKONINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE WE ARE BEING.

FORCED AS A CULTURE, AS A COUNTRY, TO UNDERSTAND HOW INTERCONNECTED THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE, HOW INTERCONNECTED THESE ISSUES ARE, HOW INTERCONNECTED OUR COMMUNITIES ARE.

AND THEY ARE FUNDAMENTALLY.

THIS CONVERSATION AROUND COLONIZATION, AROUND WHITE SUPREMACY AND AROUND THESE DIFFERENT VIOLENT SYSTEMS THAT HAVE ARCHITECTED THE COUNTRY THAT WE LIVE WITHIN HAVE TO BE UNDERSTOOD IN ORDER FOR US TO EFFECTIVELY ORGANIZE, TO BUILD A SAFER, MORE HEALTHIER, JUST FUTURE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK HISTORICALLY, TOO, AT EVERY KIND OF MAJOR CONFLICT THAT IS THAT HAS POPPED UP ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, I THINK FUNDAMENTALLY OUR RELATIONSHIP TO LAND IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IS AT THE ROOT OF A LOT OF THESE THINGS.

AND DURING THE UPRISINGS, I WAS LIVING IN PHILLY AT THE TIME.

AND THERE WAS THIS BEAUTIFUL KIND OF SUMMER OF OF SOLIDARITY, RIGHT WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF PROTEST MOVEMENTS IN THE STREETS CALLING FOR JUSTICE, FOR FOR THE FAMILY OF GEORGE FLOYD AND THE MANY UNARMED BLACK RELATIVES WHOSE LIVES WERE TAKEN AT THE HANDS OF POLICE VIOLENCE, AT THE HANDS OF A SYSTEM THAT OVERPOLICED BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.

AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS WERE NOT ISOLATED TO BEING A BLACK ISSUE.

BUT THE WAYS IN WHICH I WITNESSED INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS ALSO RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO BOTH SHOW UP FOR OUR BLACK RELATIVES IN SOLIDARITY, TO BE THERE TO UNDERSTAND THAT SENSE, THE BEGINNING OF OF THIS OF THIS COUNTRY'S INCEPTION, OUR STRUGGLES HAVE BEEN DEEPLY INTERCONNECTED.

AND SEEING HOW THIS GREATER AWARENESS AROUND RACIAL JUSTICE HAS SERVED ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES TO MAKE ADVANCES INTO THE FUTURE.

AND SEEING HOW INDIGENOUS LIBERATION MOVEMENTS AS WELL HAVE BEEN KIND OF FIGHTING OUR WAY TO GAIN RECOGNITION AND GAIN THIS THIS SONG.

KIND OF PREVALENCE IN POP CULTURE AND IN MAINSTREAM CULTURE FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS AS BEING LIKE DEEPLY INTERCONNECTED WITH EVERY OTHER SOCIAL ISSUE THAT WE TALK ABOUT. AND LIKE THAT SUMMER, YOU COULD SEE JUST THIS SOME KIND OF THIS WAVE.

THIS WAVE OF OF PEOPLE HAVING DEEP CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS AND WITHIN THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT AS WELL, WITHIN A LOT OF THESE WHITE LED NONPROFITS, OFTENTIMES ABOUT SAYING WHEN WE SAY CLIMATE JUSTICE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ADDRESSING THE CLIMATE CRISIS, WE CAN'T JUST TALK ABOUT PIVOTING FROM ONE ENERGY SOURCE TO ANOTHER ENERGY SOURCE.

WITH THE WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE POWER AND THE BENEFITS CONTINUING TO GO TO BIG ENERGY COMPANIES, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT A JUST TRANSITION LOOKS LIKE, WHAT ADDRESS TRANSITION CAN LOOK LIKE.

THE CENTERS FOR ONLINE COMMUNITIES, THE CENTERS, THE BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO THE SIDELINES, PUSHED TO THE MARGINS, WHO HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED AND HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO FROM ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, TO ACCESS TO ENERGY, TO ACCESS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS REALLY IS THIS MASSIVE EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO ALL LIFE ON EARTH.

BUT IT IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY.

IT'S AN INVITATION FOR US AS HUMANITY TO REIMAGINE OUR RELATIONSHIP.

WITH OUR PEOPLE TO REIMAGINE OUR RELATIONSHIP TO WEALTH.

TO REIMAGINE OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE LAND.

AND I THINK THERE IS.

SO MUCH TO BE LEARNED FROM FROM A FRAMEWORK.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE JUSTICE, I THINK THE CENTERING OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, THE CENTERING OF FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES, THE CENTERING OF THE VOICES OF BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLES IS FUNDAMENTAL, REGARDLESS OF WHO WE ARE OR WHAT OUR RACIAL BACKGROUND IS.

[00:35:04]

WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY FIGHTING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IN OUR COMMUNITIES, BEING PUT AS SACRIFICE ZONES FOR EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES, FOR TOXIC INDUSTRIES FOR GENERATIONS.

AND NOW WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE, WHAT CAN WE BUILD FROM HERE? WHERE ARE WE GOING? THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE THE ONES THAT GIVE ME THE MOST HOPE.

GO TO SLIDES FORWARD.

AND I HAVE LIVED A VERY ECLECTIC LIFE, I THINK YOU COULD SAY, AND I'VE BEEN BLESSED WITH A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES.

TO SHARE THESE MESSAGES AND SHARE THESE STORIES.

AND ONE THING THAT HAS BECOME A FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH IN HOW I SEE THE WORLD AND HOW I SEE MYSELF, HOW I SEE MY MY VOICE AND MY RELATIONSHIP TO THESE MOVEMENTS, WHICH HAS CHANGED A LOT. I WAS LIKE SIX YEARS OLD WHEN I STARTED THIS.

I'M 22. I'M A YOUNG ADULT.

AND. OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS OF MY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF THINGS AND I'VE SEEN.

CONSECUTIVELY OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS, OUR POLITICAL LEADERS FAIL AGAIN AND AGAIN.

TO REPRESENT AND ACTUATE THE CHANGE THAT IS SO DEEPLY NEEDED THAT THE SCIENCE SO CLEARLY POINTS TO.

AND AT THE SAME TIME I HAVE SEEN.

A MOMENTUM THAT IS BUILT AND THE POWER THAT WE GENERATE AS COMMUNITIES, WHEN WE MOBILIZE, WHEN WE ORGANIZE TOGETHER, WHEN WE BUILD IN SOLIDARITY WITH ONE ANOTHER.

I THINK THE PANDEMIC EXEMPLIFIED SO MUCH OF THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DYSFUNCTION THAT WE SEE IN OUR SOCIETY, IN OUR WORLD.

I THINK IT WAS VERY, VERY EVIDENT THAT MANY OF THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE PUT INTO PLACE, THEY DON'T PRIORITIZE OR CARE ABOUT OUR LIVES.

THEY DON'T PRIORITIZE OR CARE ABOUT THE WELL-BEING OF OUR COMMUNITIES.

MANY OF THESE INSTITUTIONS FROM.

MEDICAL, TOO. IT'S EDUCATIONAL.

THEIR PRIORITY ISN'T FOR THE WELL-BEING OF ESPECIALLY POOR, BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES.

AND IN THE PANDEMIC, WE DIDN'T SEE GOVERNMENT STEPPING UP TO PROTECT AND PROVIDE AID, TO PROVIDE SUPPORT, PROVIDE RELIEF WHEN PEOPLE COULDN'T PAY THEIR BILLS, WHEN PEOPLE COULDN'T AFFORD THEIR RENT.

THE MOMENTUM AND THE POWER OF THAT MOMENT OF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS BEEN GENERATED FROM PEOPLE ORGANIZING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES, BUILDING NETWORKS OF MUTUAL AID, SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER, ORGANIZING RENT STRIKES, ORGANIZING TO REALIZE THAT THIS THIS COUNTRY, WE LIVE IN THE WEALTHIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

THEY SPEND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON THE MILITARY THAT SPENDS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON INVESTING IN FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES SO THAT THESE CORPORATIONS CAN CONTINUE TO BE PROFITABLE. THEY WILL HAVE LEFT US BEHIND.

BUT WE WON'T LEAVE EACH OTHER BEHIND.

WE REFUSE.

TO LEAVE EACH OTHER BEHIND.

WE REFUSED TO CREATE A FUTURE THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE BRINGING ALL OF US WITH US, ALL OF US TOGETHER INTO THE FUTURE.

AND I DIDN'T LEARN THAT FROM.

THE CLIMATE SCIENTISTS OR REALLY ANYBODY WHO'S TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE.

I LEARNED THAT FROM STUDYING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, OTHER SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SEEING HOW PEOPLE ARE RESPONDING TO THESE INCREDIBLY VOLATILE MOMENTS THAT WE ARE IN. IT'S INCREDIBLY OFTENTIMES DEPRESSING AND DISHEARTENING AND HEAVY MOMENTS.

OVER THE LAST MANY YEARS. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THEM.

WE LOST A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE.

HE LOST A LOT OF AMAZING ORGANIZERS.

WE'VE LOST A LOT OF LEADERS.

AT THE SAME TIME.

SOMEONE LIKE ME BEING ON A STAGE.

IS IT INHERENTLY TRANSFORMATIVE OR IS IT INHERENTLY GOING TO BRING US THE CHANGE THAT WE NEED? BUT IT'S Y'ALL.

IT'S THE STUDENTS. IT'S THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS WHO HAVE JUST AS MUCH OF A STAKE IN WHERE THE WORLD GOES AS I DO.

THEY HAVE JUST AS MUCH POWER TO AFFECT CHANGE BY ORGANIZING OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND THERE'S GREAT LISTS OF THESE THINGS AND THESE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE OUR INDIVIDUAL FOOTPRINT LIGHTER ON THE PLANET.

AND, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY, EARTH GUARDIANS, WE HAD THE LIST OF 50 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO IN YOUR LIVES TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.

AND THAT'S COOL. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT UNDERSTANDING.

I THINK THAT'S THAT'S A THAT'S A FIRST STEP INTO UNDERSTANDING OUR POWER AS INDIVIDUALS.

THAT'S THE VALUE OF THAT.

AND BEYOND THAT. THE WORK BEGINS WITH HOW WE ORGANIZE AND HOW WE MOBILIZE AND BUILD TOGETHER TOWARDS THE WORLD THAT WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE, TOWARDS THE UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS AND THE INTERSECTIONS THAT WE'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WORKING WITHIN, THAT WE HAVE TO DEEPLY COMMIT OURSELVES TO IF WE'RE GOING TO SURVIVE THIS.

I THINK A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH ORGANIZING FROM A PLACE OF DOING WHAT WE LOVE.

FROM UNDERSTANDING THAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS DIFFERENT TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

THE SHARING OUR LIGHT AND BEING A PART OF SHAPING THE FUTURE ISN'T LINEAR.

IT ISN'T UNIFORM.

[00:40:02]

AND. AND LIKE.

LIKE, HONESTLY, NONE OF IT HOLDS ANY WEIGHT NEXT TO YOU, STEPPING INTO YOUR POWER AND DOING WHAT YOU LOVE AND SHARING SHARING YOUR TRUTH FROM A PLACE OF THAT.

THAT'S WHERE WE'RE THE MOST EFFECTIVE.

THAT'S WHERE THE MOST WE'RE THE MOST POWERFUL, WHETHER THAT'S AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER, AN ORGANIZER, A TEACHER, AN ARTIST, A STORYTELLER, JOURNALIST, LIKE WHATEVER INDUSTRY YOUR SPACE LIGHTS YOU UP LIKE, THAT IS YOUR PATHWAY INTO DOING THIS WORK.

THAT CAN BE ONE OF THE MOST, I THINK, POWERFUL WAYS YOU CAN TRANSFORM YOUR WORKPLACES.

YOU CAN TRANSFORM THROUGH THE CONVERSATIONS YOU HAVE WITH YOUR FAMILY.

AND FOR ME, OVER THE LAST MANY YEARS, AS I'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THIS ACTIVISM, I'VE BEEN DEVELOPING AND FINDING AND SHARING MY VOICE AS AN ARTIST AS WELL.

AND I FOUND THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE GIVEN TED TALKS AND I'VE SPOKEN AT THE UN AND I'VE SPOKEN AT.

I HEARD ABOUT HUNDREDS AT THIS POINT, SEVERAL DOZENS OF COLLEGES OVER THE COURSE OF MY SHORT LIFE.

AND NOTHING COMPARES TO THE EXPERIENCE AND THE FEELING THAT I HAVE WHEN I'M ON STAGE PERFORMING, WHEN A LOT OF THESE SAME IDEAS AND SAME MESSAGES AND SAME ENERGY IS BEING DELIVERED FROM A STAGE. BUT WHEN I'M DOING IT THROUGH MY MUSIC AND THROUGH MY ART.

IT, REALLY? I JUST FEEL SO ALIVE DOING THAT.

AND THEN YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW MUSIC IS THIS, THIS CONDUIT AND THIS THIS THIS MESSAGE AND THIS MEDIUM THAT TRANSLATES AND COMMUNICATES TO PEOPLE IN SUCH A DIFFERENT WAY THAN BEING UP ON A STAGE AND IN TALKING OR DELIVERING A KEYNOTE SPEECH.

NOT TO SAY THAT IT'S NOT IMPORTANT.

I'M GRATEFUL THAT I HAVE THIS THIS OUTLET AS WELL.

BUT THE DISCOVERY THAT I'VE MADE AS I'VE TRAVELED THE COMMUNITIES EVERYWHERE, IT'S LIKE YOUNG PEOPLE, THE DOORWAY INTO THIS WORK, THE DOORWAY INTO THESE MOVEMENTS.

DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAPPEN.

IS IT NECESSARILY OPENED UP BY THE SCIENCE AND THE INFORMATION IN A LOT OF THE LIKE TRULY KIND OF DEPRESSING, FEAR BASED STORIES THAT ARE REALLY KIND OF PUSHED ON THROUGH OUR GENERATION.

BUT WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE CAN TELL OUR OWN STORIES, NOT JUST ABOUT THE REALITY OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS OR MAKING A TICKTOCK ABOUT CLIMATE SCIENCE OR WHATEVER, BUT WHEN WE TELL OUR OWN STORIES ABOUT WHAT WE BELIEVE THE FUTURE CAN BE, THAT'S WHEN I'VE SEEN YOUNG PEOPLE LIGHT UP AT THE POSSIBILITY OF WHAT THERE IS.

AND TRUST ME, I THINK ABOUT THIS STUFF ALL THE TIME.

AND THE ONLY WAY I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN A SENSE OF HOPE, A SENSE OF BELIEF IN IN OUR POWER TO OVERCOME IS BECAUSE I GET TO COME TO PLACES LIKE THIS WHERE A LOT OF LIKE MINDED YOUNG PEOPLE GET TOGETHER IN THESE SPACES.

AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I HAVE AFTERWARDS, UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING ABOUT THE WORK THAT IS BEING DONE WITHIN THESE COMMUNITIES OF HOW YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ORGANIZING AND MOBILIZING AND BUILDING SOLIDARITY AND SHOWING UP FOR ONE ANOTHER.

THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE KEPT ME AFLOAT THROUGHOUT THE LAST MANY YEARS OF OF ME DOING THIS WORK.

THE NEXT LINE. ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAS BEEN REALLY INSPIRING FOR ME TO LEAN INTO IS REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT IS IT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RETURN LAND TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GIVE LAND BACK? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE WHAT ARE THE MODELS THAT WE CAN LOOK TO THAT DEMONSTRATE? WHAT IMPACT DOES THAT HAVE ON THE CLIMATE? AND I THINK 2021, 20, 20, 2021.

THE INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK PUT OUT THIS PHENOMENAL STUDY AND IF YOU'RE INTO READING PAPERS AND STUDIES AND MORE ACADEMIC WORKS OF THAT.

SO I REALLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU LOOK INTO THIS, THE INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK, WHICH IS THIS REALLY KIND OF ESTABLISHED, CREDIBLE COALITION OF INDIGENOUS ORGANIZERS AND SCIENTISTS AND STORYTELLERS, THEY PUT TOGETHER THIS STUDY.

TO QUANTIFY HOW MUCH CARBON EMISSIONS.

INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE.

BASICALLY. STOPS FROM BEING EMITTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE.

RIGHT. SO IT LOOKED AT THE LAST DECADE AND LOOKED AT INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS FROM THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE TO THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE AND THE STANDING ROCK MOVEMENT TO BAYOU BRIDGE TO MANY OF THESE MOVEMENTS FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO PROTECT AND TO STOP THE EXPANSION OF FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE, TO PROTECT THEIR LANDS, TO RETURN LANDS INTO THEIR HANDS.

AND INDIGENOUS ORGANIZING OVER THE LAST DECADE HAS EITHER.

DELAYED OR STOPPED A QUARTER OF THE US AND CANADA'S CARBON EMISSIONS OVER THE LAST DECADE.

RIGHT. BECAUSE NOT LIKE SCIENCE WILL TELL US WE LIKE

[00:45:04]

THAT'S LIKE ONE OF THE ONE OF THE TWO OR THREE ABSOLUTE MUSTS THAT ARE ON MOST, I THINK, COMPREHENSIVE LISTS OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO STOP THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAT, AT THE FOREFRONT OF FIGHTING TO KEEP FOSSIL FUELS IN THE GROUND.

IF IT WEREN'T FOR INDIGENOUS ORGANIZERS IN 2012 2013, ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE WOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT, WOULD HAVE CRUDE OIL FLOWING THROUGH. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DETRIMENTAL TO OUR CLIMATE, TO THE CARBON EMISSIONS RISING EVEN FURTHER.

AND WHEN I CAME ACROSS THIS STUDY, IT'S LIKE IN MY HEART, I ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, LIKE I KNOW THAT INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE IS A KEY INGREDIENT OF OF DELIVERING US THE FUTURE THAT WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE. BUT YOU SEE THIS STUDY AND YOU QUANTIFY IT.

YOU SEE THE NUMBERS OF HOW MUCH.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE BEING IN CONTROL AND HAVING AUTONOMY OVER HOW OUR LANDS ARE DEVELOPED, IF THEY ARE DEVELOPED.

THAT IS LIKE ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES TO THE CLIMATE JUSTICE THAT WE WANT TO SEE OVER THE NEXT MANY DECADES.

AND SO THIS CONVERSATION AROUND LAND BACK, I WROTE THIS SONG AND BUILT THIS WHOLE BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN AND BROUGHT TOGETHER A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT, AMAZING INDIGENOUS ARTISTS TO ILLUSTRATE THIS THIS THIS MESSAGE OF TAKE IT ALL BACK.

OF TAKING BACK AND RETURNING LANDS TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

AND WE PUT UP A TWO STORY BILLBOARD IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND, WHICH IS ONE OF THE WHITEST KIND OF URBAN CITIES IN THE COUNTRY TO RECLAIM SPACE AND TO THINK ABOUT ART, RIGHT? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT MUSIC, YOU THINK ABOUT SONGS, YOU THINK ABOUT ART.

HOW DO WE CREATIVELY ENGAGE IN TACTICS? TO CHALLENGE THE IMAGINATION OF REGULAR PEOPLE, OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE.

PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET.

NOTHING IS GOING TO PROGRESS UNLESS WE ARE.

BRAVE ENOUGH TO IMAGINE AN ALTERNATIVE TO WHAT THE WORLD IS.

RIGHT. SO HOW DO WE TELL STORIES? HOW DO WE MAKE COMPELLING ARTWORK THAT INVITE PEOPLE TO BE A PART OF THESE CONVERSATIONS? SO THERE WAS THIS WHOLE BEAUTIFUL ROLLOUT OF THIS CAMPAIGN WHERE WE SHOT THIS AMAZING MUSIC VIDEO.

WE HAD THIS AMAZING NARRATION FROM DIFFERENT LAKOTA ARTISTS.

FOOTAGE OF THIS POWERFUL PROTEST THAT HAPPENED WHEN TRUMP WAS TRYING TO BRING HIS HIS PEOPLE DOWN TO THE SACRED BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA, TO MT. RUSHMORE TO DO LIKE A 4TH OF JULY THING BACK IN 2020, I BELIEVE, AND ALL THESE INDIGENOUS ORGANIZERS THAT RESISTED AND PUT A BLOCKADE UP.

AND BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THEM WERE ARRESTED, MANY OF THEM WERE TAKEN AWAY.

BUT IT WAS THIS POWERFUL DEMONSTRATION OF PROTECTING AND PRESERVING OUR LANDS FROM THIS ALREADY DESECRATION, WHICH IS MT.

RUSHMORE. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THIS THIS THIS PRESIDENT WHOSE RHETORIC AND WHOSE POLICIES HAVE ONLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE CONTINUED ERASURE AND VIOLENCE TOWARDS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES.

SO WE HAD THIS BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN LAID OUT THIS MUSIC VIDEO, THIS SONG.

AND THIS ARTWORK THAT WAS TAKING UP SPACE NOT ONLY IN PORTLAND, BUT WE INVITED PEOPLE ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ART AND WE PASTED IN THEIR CITIES AND WE HAD OVER A DOZEN CITIES ACROSS THE US.

PEOPLE WERE PUTTING THIS ARTWORK UP AND EVERYTHING HAD A LINK AND BASICALLY A CONNECTION AND INTEGRATION BACK INTO PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING AND WHAT THIS LANDMARK MOVEMENT IS AND WHAT THE CONVERSATION TOWARDS LANDMARK IS AND HOW BEING A PART OF THIS RETURN OF LAND TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IS IS PARAMOUNT FOR FOR BUILDING A FUTURE IN A WORLD THAT EXISTS IN BALANCE.

THAT CONTINUES TO.

BRING US CLOSER TO WHAT WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE.

AND SO FOR ME, IT'S LIKE AS AS AN ARTIST AND AS A STORYTELLER AND AS AS A SPOKESPERSON, IT'S LIKE THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BEGIN TO INVEST.

AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE STORYTELLING AROUND THE CRISIS, AROUND THIS CLIMATE CRISIS, IF WE WANT TO PULL OURSELVES OUT OF THE DEPTHS THAT WE ARE IN BECAUSE THE TIME IS REALLY RUNNING OUT. WELL, LAST NIGHT.

AND. I THINK WE.

EFFECTIVELY CREATE CHANGE IN THE WORLD.

WHEN WE ORGANIZE AND WE BUILD AND WE MOVE FROM A PLACE OF LOVE.

WHEN WE UNDERSTAND.

BUT WHAT IS AT STAKE RIGHT NOW IS EVERYTHING THAT WE HOLD DEAR TO US, EVERYTHING THAT WE LOVE.

CULTURE, FOOD OR LANGUAGE, OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR FAMILY, OUR LINEAGE.

ALL THE LIGHT THAT HUMANITY IS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD, ALL THE ART THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO LIFE, THE COMPLEXITY AND THE HONEST, INNOCENT BEAUTY THAT EXISTS AMIDST THE DARKNESS OF HUMANITY.

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR CHILDREN THROUGH OUR GRANDCHILDREN.

SO OUR NIECES AND NEPHEWS TO OUR SIBLINGS, TO OUR RELATIVES.

THAT IS ALL KIND OF WHAT IS AT STAKE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND BUILDING.

THROUGH THAT. FOR ME HAS BEEN JUST CONSTANTLY REMINDING MYSELF THAT THIS WORK.

[00:50:06]

AND FIGHTING FOR WHAT WE LOVE.

AND THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AT THE CLIMATE STRIKE IN NEW YORK IN SEPTEMBER 2019.

AND IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MOMENTS I EVER EXPERIENCED BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF PROTESTS, I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF CLIMATE EVENTS, I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF SYMPOSIUMS AND SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES AND GATHERINGS.

AND THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU STEPPED OUT ONTO THE STREETS OF NEW YORK.

THEY LET OUT. ALL OF NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL WAS LET OUT OF SCHOOL THAT DAY BECAUSE THEY KNEW PEOPLE WERE GOING TO WALK OUT ANYWAYS.

AND SO THAT WAS A COOL THAT WAS A COOL DEMONSTRATION OF SOLIDARITY FROM LIKE THE THE THE SCHOOL STAFF AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EVERYTHING.

AND I'LL LET YOU STEP ON YOU STEP OUT OF THE SUBWAY.

YOU'RE ALREADY LIKE SURROUNDED BY IT, BY A YOUNG PEOPLE.

AND I STEPPED ONTO THE STREETS AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I LOOK AROUND.

I WAS 19 AT THE TIME AND EVERYBODY WAS YOUNGER THAN ME.

AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? LIKE, I'M USUALLY THE YOUNGEST PERSON KIND OF IN THESE SPACES.

THAT FIRST PHOTO THAT I SHOWED OF OF THAT MARCH BACK IN 2015, I WAS DEFINITELY STILL ONE OF THE YOUNGEST PEOPLE.

IT WAS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THEIR LIKE EARLY MID TWENTIES, A LOT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS.

AND I PULLED UP TO THIS THIS WALKOUT AND IT WAS JUST THIS OCEAN OF YOUNG PEOPLE OF LIKE REGULAR KIDS, REGULAR.

I JUST MEAN LIKE EVERY DAY AMERICAN TEENAGERS WHO ARE OUT AND ABOUT WHO WHO LIKE COALESCED.

IT WAS LIKE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS MARCHING THROUGH THE STREETS OF NEW YORK.

AND IT REMINDED ME THAT.

THE POWER THAT WE HAVE DOES NOT LIE IN INDIVIDUAL LEADERS, BECAUSE I THINK AFTER THIS MOMENT WE'VE KIND OF, AS A CLIMATE MOVEMENT, GOT CAUGHT UP WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THIS LIKE CLIMATE CELEBRITY.

AND I'VE BEEN FOR SURE A PART OF THAT THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.

RIGHT. OF. PUTTING A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERS THAT WE LIFT UP AND PROP UP AND.

AND IT'S COOL HAVING LEADERS, HAVING PEOPLE THAT WE LOOK UP TO, HAVING PEOPLE THAT WE THAT WE LEARN FROM, HAVING PEOPLE THAT ARE THAT ARE ROLE MODELS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BUT POWER DOESN'T COME FROM ONE PERSON BEING ON A STAGE.

TALKING TO MANY, THE POWER OF THAT MOMENT WAS THE COLLECTIVE ACTION AND ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY THAT WAS EXPERIENCED IN THOSE STREETS, THIS MASS MOBILIZATION OF YOUTH. AND THE PANDEMIC STIFLED A LOT OF THIS MOMENTUM, THIS ABILITY FOR US TO GATHER IN PERSON, THIS ABILITY TO LOOK EACH OTHER IN THE EYES.

AND HEAR EACH OTHER'S VOICES AND LISTEN TO EACH OTHER'S PERSPECTIVES AND AND ORGANIZE AND GATHER AND CONTINUE TO BUILD MOMENTUM.

BUT I WOULD TELL YOU THAT OUR GENERATION IS A BETTER POSITION THAN ANY GENERATION THAT HAS EVER COME BEFORE US TO LEAD THE WAY.

AND THAT DOES NOT. LET THE ADULTS IN THIS ROOM OFF THE HOOK.

BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING WE'RE FACING, YOU KNOW, HAPPENED GENERATIONS BEFORE WE WERE EVEN ALIVE.

RIGHT. SO AS MUCH AS THE THE THE MOVEMENT MUST BE YOUTH LED ALSO MUST BE INTERGENERATIONAL.

AND EVERYBODY HAS A PART TO PLAY.

AND THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MYSELF AND ANY OTHER STUDENT IN THE WORLD OR A YOUNG PERSON IN THE WORLD IS IS.

I HAD IT. THE SPACE, THE INGREDIENTS, THE THE ROLE MODELS IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT NURTURED ME TO SPEAK MY TRUTH AND TO SHARE MY VOICE.

AND I THINK IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE LOOK ABOUT, LOOK AT, WE THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE BUILD A MORE JUST WORLD, JUST LIKE WE NEED TO CREATE THOSE SPACES FOR OUR YOUTH.

THAT MEANS HAVING SPACES TO TALK ABOUT AND PROCESS.

YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE PLAGUING OUR GENERATION.

THAT MEANS HAVING SAFE AND HEALING SPACES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO PROCESS GENERATIONAL TRAUMA, ESPECIALLY COMING FROM BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES.

THESE THINGS ARE NOT REMOVED FROM US OF BEING LEADERS IN OUR SOCIETY.

BEING LEADERS IN OUR COMMUNITY MEANS HAVING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR ADULTS, WITH OUR ELDERS.

HAVING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

AND SO I THINK FUNDAMENTALLY MY BELIEF IS THAT OUR WAY FORWARD, OUR WAY OUT OF THIS CATASTROPHE.

IT'S THROUGH OUR RELATIONSHIPS, THE DEPTH OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS, NOT JUST THE CRITICAL MASSES AND THE CRITICAL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN GATHER AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE WHEN THE ENERGY IS RIGHT. BUT IT'S LIKE, HOW DEEP DO THESE RELATIONSHIPS GO? BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE DEEP, EVEN IF IT'S LESS PEOPLE.

WE WILL SHOW UP AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL OUR LIBERATION IS WON.

AND WE HAVE A LOT ON OUR SHOULDERS, BUT THERE IS JUST AS MUCH LIGHT.

THEY HOPE THAT I HAVE FOR THE FUTURE AND WE ALL HAVE A PART TO PLAY IN THAT.

AND I'M GRATEFUL TO BE HERE ALIVE AT THIS TIME, AT THIS INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED AND TUMULTUOUS TIME IN OUR HISTORY TO PLAY A SMALL PART, JUST LIKE WE ALL MUST. TO DELIVER A BRIGHTER, MORE JUST HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE, INTER-CONNECTED AND INTERSECTIONAL WORLD FOR THOSE THAT WILL FOLLOW.

AND THE WAVE IS COMING.

AND PART OF THE REASON THAT THERE ARE THIS MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE STREETS IS BECAUSE OUR GENERATION IS CHALLENGING THESE KIND OF TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES AROUND CLIMATE JUSTICE

[00:55:07]

CLIMATE JUSTICE MEANS RACIAL JUSTICE.

CLIMATE JUSTICE MEANS LAND BACK.

CLIMATE JUSTICE MEANS REPARATIONS FOR OUR BLACK RELATIVES.

CLIMATE JUSTICE MEANS BUILDING A WORLD WHERE WE DON'T CONTINUE TO EXPLOIT FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF FEW.

WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO BUILD THE FUTURE WE KNOW IS POSSIBLE.

THANK YOU.

OH, SHOOT. TESS SCOTT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THAT WAS SO POWERFUL.

LET'S GIVE ONE MORE BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR SCOTT.

YEAH. OKAY.

AT THIS TIME, WE'LL MOVE INTO THE Q&A PORTION.

SO PLEASE THINK OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

IF YOU SEE BESIDE ME, JUST PULL OUT YOUR DEVICES AND YOU CAN GO TO SLIDE DOTCOM IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER AND PUT IN THE CODES AND YOU CAN SEND A MESSAGE TO A QUESTION TO ASK.

AND OF COURSE, I'M REALLY PROUD TO SAY RIGHT NOW THAT WE HAVE OVER 550 PEOPLE LIVE STREAMING THIS EVENT RIGHT NOW.

YES. SO.

SO WE WON'T BE ABLE TO GET TO ALL THE QUESTIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE SENDING IN THEIR QUESTIONS AS WELL.

BUT PLEASE SEND THEM IN AND WE WILL GET THEM TO ASK.

AND WE'VE GOT ABOUT 15 MINUTES RIGHT NOW TO ASK THEM AS AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.

SO, YES, WONDERFUL.

WELL, PLEASE.

HERE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A SEAT AND WE'LL GET STARTED.

SO, YEAH, PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SEND IN YOUR QUESTIONS AND WE'LL GET STARTED SOON.

OH, THEY DON'T DO THAT. BUT SOME GUYS, THIS IS MY FIRST LIKE, WHAT'S IT CALLED? LIKE FUSION Q&A? I'M LIKE, GOT THE AUDIENCE HERE IN PERSON, BUT WE'RE ALSO DOING IT ON.

THE APP. IF YOU ALL FIGURE IT OUT.

LIKE, I'M IMPRESSED. LIKE, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF, LIKE, ADULTS AND, YOU KNOW, ELDERS IN THE BUILDING AND A LOT OF AND I MEAN THAT IN THE MOST RESPECTFUL WAY LIKE.

BY NOW.

WE LIKE YOU, RESPECT YOUR ELDERS OR ELSE THAT'S CRUCIAL.

SO ALL TO SAY, LIKE, IF YOU GUYS CAN'T FIGURE OUT, NO WORRIES.

AND I'M IMPRESSED. IF YOU DO, LIKE I KNOW MY MOM WILL BE STRUGGLING.

PROBABLY. RIGHT. ACTUALLY, MY MOM'S GOOD WITH IT.

MY DAD PROBABLY WOULD HAVE A HARDER TIME RIGHT NOW.

TAKE YOUR TIME. OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT.

WE'VE GOT SOME COMING IN ALREADY.

SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

I WANT TO GET TO AS MANY AS WE CAN.

AND I KNOW 15 MINUTES IS GOING TO FLY BY.

SO FIRST QUESTION IS ABOUT YOUR NAME.

CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN? DOES YOUR NAME HAVE MEANING? WHERE DID IT COME FROM? HOW DID YOU GET YOUR NAME? YEAH. NO, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.

MY NAME IS SCOTT DONAHUE, AND I WAS GIVEN THAT NAME.

IN OUR IN OUR CULTURE, WE HAVE BASICALLY A.

OUR PEOPLE ARE ARE VERY SKILLED ASTRONOMERS.

THAT'S LIKE A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE.

AND SO THE NAMES THAT WE GIVE OUR CHILDREN TRADITIONALLY.

IS BY READING THE TALMUD, WHICH IS THIS LIKE CELESTIAL READING OF WHAT THE SKY IS DOING WHEN THE BABY IS BORN.

SO YOU GET THE TIME, THE DAY, EVERYTHING, AND THEN THE ELDERS GO AND KIND OF TAKE THAT INFORMATION.

THEY LOOK AT WHAT THE SKY WAS DOING AND THEN THEY BOIL IT DOWN TO LIKE TWO DIFFERENT NAMES, TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

THAT REFLECTS THE LIFE PATH OF THAT CHILD.

AND SO THAT'S HOW I WAS GIVING MY NAME IN A CEREMONY IN THE BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA, FROM ELDERS, FROM MY COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS IS A CHIEF OF A LOOKING HORSE AND ELDER FROM THE LAKOTA COMMUNITY WHO WERE THERE AS WELL.

AND YEAH, SO THAT'S THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHO I AM AND HOW I MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD.

[01:00:02]

AND MY SECOND NAME, DONATO, IS THE SUN, WHICH IS KIND OF LIKE A REFLECTION OF OF THE SKY ON THE OCEAN.

KIND OF. YEAH.

THANK YOU. WELL, DO YOU MIND IF WE ALL SAY IT WITH YOU? YOUR NAME, PLEASE.

I KNOW IT TOOK ME A FEW WEEKS.

I'VE HAD AN ADVANTAGE OVER EVERYONE ELSE BECAUSE I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO PRACTICE.

YEAH, YEAH, BUT WE ALL GOT IT.

OKAY. IF IT'S HARDER TO SPELL THAN IT IS TO SAY, I WOULD SAY SO.

IT'S PRONOUNCED. SHOOT.

CUT. OKAY, SHOOT, SHOOT.

HAS. LET'S SEE WHAT WAS LIKE THAT? SHOOT. CUT.

BEAUTIFUL. I'M SURE EVERYBODY AT HOME TUNING IN LIVE IS SAYING IT TO THEMSELVES AND THEIR CAT, TOO.

SO THEY SHOULD APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NAME.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

NEXT QUESTION.

YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE THEIR VOICE OR THEIR PART MATTERS IN THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION.

WE HEAR THE SAME THING WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW THEIR HOW THEIR VOICE DOESN'T MATTER WHEN TALKING ABOUT VOTING.

THEIR VOTE DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE MACHINE OR THE MAN IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING.

HOW DO WE CONVERT THIS APATHY INTO ACTION? I DON'T BLAME YOU ALL. LIKE IT'S IT'S REALLY DISHEARTENING.

POLITICS IS REALLY DISHEARTENING.

VOTING IS REALLY DISHEARTENING, EVEN FROM FOR MYSELF.

AND I WAS A I WAS A SURROGATE FOR THE BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN BACK IN 2020.

AND I IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL TO BE A PART OF THIS KIND OF WAVE WITHIN POLITICS THAT I DON'T KNOW.

I WAS I WAS SPEAKING AT COLLEGES ACROSS CALIFORNIA WITH WITH OTHER STUDENTS KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THIS MOVEMENT THAT HE REPRESENTED.

AND I THINK ELECTORAL POLITICS IS IS THE TOXICITY OF IT REALLY COMES FROM, I THINK, A COUPLE OF THINGS, LIKE, ONE, THE MONEY IN POLITICS, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE JUST BOUGHT AND SOLD BASED ON THE HIGHEST BIDDER.

BASED ON. THE MOST CAMPAIGN DONATIONS COMING IN FROM ONE INDUSTRY OR ANOTHER.

AND LIKE THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT, LIKE OUR NONPROFITS CAN'T COMPETE WITH EXXON AND WITH SHELL AND WITH BIG PHARMA AND LIKE WE LIKE, THERE'S JUST NO WAY TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN HAVE A HORSE IN THAT RACE.

AND SO YOU CAN'T REALLY TRUST POLITICIANS TO BE ALTRUISTIC IN A LOT OF WAYS BECAUSE OF HOW THE SYSTEM IS STRUCTURED.

AND SO I PUT SO MUCH EXCITEMENT AND BELIEF THAT THE BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN HAD HAD FORMED NOT ONLY THIS MOMENTUM AROUND A POLITICIAN OR AN INDIVIDUAL ELECTED OFFICIAL, BUT AROUND THIS IDEA AND THIS MOVEMENT TO TO TO MOBILIZE MASSES OF PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT THESE POPULAR ISSUES LIKE THE CLIMATE CRISIS. AND I HAD A LOT OF HOPE AT THE SAME TIME WHEN WHEN OBAMA WAS ELECTED IN 2008 TO THE HIS RHETORIC AROUND ADDRESSING THE CLIMATE CHANGE, THE CLIMATE CRISIS, HE WOULD LIVE UP TO THAT.

AND INSTEAD I SAW HIM FAST TRACK FOSSIL FUEL DEVELOPMENT, OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING.

I SAW HIM OPEN UP PUBLIC LANDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MORE FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT.

I SAW HIM SPEAK ON NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION, WHICH DIRECTLY IMPACTS MY COMMUNITY, SPEAK ON THAT AS IF IT WAS A SOLUTION OR A BRIDGE FUEL THAT STILL PUT PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND MY SIBLINGS, MY FAMILY IN THE SACRIFICE ZONE RATHER THAN BEING ABLE TO PIVOT TO 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY.

AND, YOU KNOW, I TOLD THE STORY EARLIER OF GOVERNOR HICKENLOOPER, TOO.

SO SO JUST JUST TO LIKE TO BE REALLY CANDID WITH Y'ALL, BECAUSE I'M NOT HERE TO, YOU KNOW, PUT UP ANY KIND OF CHARADE, LIKE VERY, VERY REAL AND TRANSPARENT.

IT IS DISHEARTENING AND IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT OUR VOTES CAN MATTER, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, ESPECIALLY WITH THESE DIFFERENT KIND OF BARRIERS TO US EXPERIENCING AN ACTUAL DEMOCRACY.

AND WHAT I WOULD SAY TO TO THAT POINT.

THEY COUNT ON US AND THOSE WHO ARE INVESTED IN THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR PLANET AND OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE VERY INVESTED IN YOUNG PEOPLE NOT BELIEVING IN OUR VOICES, NOT BELIEVING IN OUR VOTES, NOT BELIEVING IN THE POWER THAT WE HAVE.

THEY'RE VERY INVESTED.

I MEAN, THAT'S WHY THERE IS A FULL SCALE ATTACK HAPPENING ON ON ACCESS TO TO VOTING, TO TRUE ACCESS TO VOTING RIGHTS, ESPECIALLY IN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT US TO BE DETERMINING WHERE OUR FUTURE LIES.

AND SO THERE'S THERE'S THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, THE POLITICIANS THAT ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE, MANY OF THEM IN THIS ENDLESS CYCLE OF JUST RAISING MONEY AND TRYING TO GET REELECTED.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS THERE IS SO MUCH POWER THAT OUR GENERATION HAS WHEN WE MOBILIZE.

AND I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF LIKE WE JUST NEED TO RAISE OUR STANDARDS IN A LOT OF WAYS BECAUSE LIKE THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE LIKE THAT THE THAT THE WORLD IS CALLING ON US TO FIGHT FOR, TO GET INTO OFFICE.

THEY'RE NOT DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO TRANSFORM OUR ECONOMY AND OUR COUNTRY AS QUICKLY AS WE NEED TO.

AND SO THINGS ARE REALLY DIRE.

THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT.

I THINK VOTING IS A TOOL.

I THINK JUST JUST THINK IT'S LIKE REALLY JUST THAT SIMPLE.

[01:05:02]

AND LIKE, WE HAVE TO PROVE THOSE THAT ARE INVESTED IN OUR DOWNFALL WRONG BY SHOWING UP, BY SHOWING UP ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES VOTING SIMILAR TO RECYCLING OR LIKE MAKING SMALL CHANGES IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.

LIKE IT'S NOT FOR MANY OF US THAT HAVE ACCESS TO IT LIKE WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE VOTING BECAUSE IT'S FROM A LOT OF US IS NOT THAT HARD, YOU KNOW, AND THEN ADVOCATING FOR THOSE WHO IT IS DIFFICULT FOR AND UNDERSTANDING THIS AS ONE STEP OF MANY TO CREATING.

TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE. VOTING ALONE WON'T NECESSARILY BRING US THE JUSTICE THAT WE NEED, BUT IT IS A PART TO PLAY THAT WE, I THINK, HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAP IN WITH TO A DEGREE. AND THAT'S A LONG ANSWER.

SORRY, I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THAT.

I'M STILL RECOVERING FROM 2020.

AREN'T WE ALL? ARE WE ALL? THANK YOU. ALONG WITH THAT, THERE ARE SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT ARE ASKING IF YOU'RE NOT A VOTING AGE ARE YOUTH, HOW CAN THEY GET INVOLVED? HOW CAN THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? NOW, MOST OF MY CAREER IN THIS LIKE CAREER, MOST OF MY LIFETIME DOING COMMUNITY ORGANIZING HAS BEEN AS A NON CITIZEN.

SO FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I THINK MY MESSAGE TO OTHER STUDENTS, TO OTHER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, LIKE EVERYBODY I WAS TALKING TO, YOU REALLY RELIED ON ON ENGAGING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BUILDING COMMUNITY, BUILDING SOLIDARITY.

I THINK THAT'S THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED FROM THIS, IS THE RELATIONSHIPS OF CULTIVATED ALONG THE WAY, THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE MET, THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE CONNECTED WITH. THIS WORK IS REALLY DEPRESSING IF YOU'RE IN IT ALONE.

AND THAT'S THE THING. LIKE, YOU NEVER HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, LIKE I THINK MANY OF US ARE MORE ISOLATED, WHETHER IT'S LIKE THE COMMUNITY WE'RE IN OR WE'RE OUT HERE IN TEXAS.

SO LIKE, I THINK OFTENTIMES SOME OF THESE IDEAS CAN FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN WE'RE IN A BUBBLE FAR AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN CLIMATE JUSTICE OR BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, PLAY A PART IN SHAPING OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE BETTER OR SUSTAINABILITY OR HOWEVER.

BUT I REALLY THINK THAT THERE'S SO MUCH POWER WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD COMMUNITY THAT STARTS SMALL, RIGHT? THAT STARTS WITH THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE WITH OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WITH OUR PEERS, WITH HOW WE LEVERAGE THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS AT OUR COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES, HOW DO WE PUSH FACULTY? HOW DO WE PUSH THE ENVELOPE A LITTLE BIT BEYOND WHAT IS KIND OF ALREADY TAKING PLACE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES THAT EXISTS TO HAVE OUR VOICES HEARD.

AND AGAIN, LIKE REALLY LIKE I THINK FOR FOR OIL OUT HERE, WE AREN'T VOTING AGE LIKE IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE.

A TRADITIONAL STEREOTYPE OF ACTIVISM THAT DICTATES YOUR ENGAGEMENT IN THESE MOVEMENTS.

LIKE, NO, IT CAN BE. IT CAN BE WHATEVER CALLS YOU TO TAP IN.

THAT'S THAT'S HOW YOUR VOICE WILL BE.

THE MOST IMPACTFUL AND MEANINGFUL IS IF YOU KIND OF ORGANIZE FROM THIS PLACE OF OF DOING WHAT YOU LOVE.

AND, YOU KNOW, FOR A LONG TIME I WORK WITH DIFFERENT NONPROFITS AND DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE SPECIFIC WAYS TO DIRECT PEOPLE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE INTERNET IS IS RIFE WITH OR I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S A WORD IS BOUNTIFUL WITH SO MUCH LIKE INFORMATION AND TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE.

AND SO LIKE TAP IN, ASK QUESTIONS, LEARN AND LIKE ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO, WE CAN WE CAN LEVERAGE TO HELP BUILD POWER.

AND I THINK ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE LESSONS I'VE BEEN LEARNING IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IS LIKE, DON'T STOP LEARNING.

DON'T STOP INFORMING YOURSELF ABOUT THESE ISSUES, LIKE EDUCATION IS SO CRUCIAL AND A LOT OF IT FEELS SO BORING, ESPECIALLY LIKE WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

A LOT OF THE RHETORIC AND THE BOOKS AROUND CLIMATE WERE SO DENSE AND LIKE INACCESSIBLE TO ME.

BUT I THINK THERE'S MORE AND MORE AUTHORS AND STORYTELLERS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES IN WAYS THAT ARE SO.

I DON'T KNOW, LIKE REFRESHING AND I THINK JUST LIKE TO LIKE SHAMELESS PLUG, LIKE I PUBLISHED AND I'M ONLY PLUGGING THIS BECAUSE I GENUINELY THINK IT'S A HELPFUL ENTRY POINT FOR A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO WANT TO GO DEEPER ON SOME OF THESE ISSUES.

IT'S A BOOK THAT'S LIKE 70 PAGES LONG.

IT'S A TINY LITTLE POCKET BOOK.

IT'S CALLED IMAGINARY BORDERS, AND IT'S A BOOK I PUBLISHED IN 2019, AND IT HAS A VERY KIND OF CONCISE AND TRANSPARENT REFLECTION OF OF MY TIME KIND OF ORGANIZING IN SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT I THINK THAT WE ALL ARE EXPERIENCING AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE AND BE A PART OF THESE MOVEMENTS.

REALLY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A 19 YEAR OLD KID.

I WAS LIKE 18, 19 WHEN I WROTE IT.

SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD ENTRY POINT.

FROM THERE, THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF OTHER PLACES YOU CAN GO IN MORE LITERATURE, YOU CAN READ AND MORE YOU CAN STUDY AND LEARN AND DOCUMENTARIES AND PODCASTS LIKE IT GOES REALLY DEEP. SO I THINK FINDING AN ENTRY POINT IN INFORMING YOURSELF AND BUILDING COMMUNITY, THOSE ARE LIKE THE FOUNDATION FOUNDATIONAL STEPS.

AND I THINK IF YOU'RE HERE ALREADY, IF YOU'RE TAPPING THE LIVE STREAM LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT FIRST STEP, YOU KNOW? THANK YOU. AND PLEASE PLUG AWAY.

WHAT'S WHAT'S THE NAME OF YOUR BOOK AGAIN? AND WHERE CAN WE FIND IT? I DON'T. IMAGINARY BORDERS BY TESCO MARTINEZ.

AND YOU CAN. THAT'S ON AMAZON.

I THINK A LOT OF LOCAL BOOKSTORES ALSO HAVE A BARNES NOBLE'S AND THERE'S AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF IT AS WELL, WHICH I NARRATED.

THANKFULLY, THE BOOK I PUBLISHED A LONG TIME AGO, I DIDN'T NARRATE IT AND I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE DUDE AND I WAS LIKE, BRO, ARE YOU SERIOUS? HE WAS JUST MISPRONOUNCING MY OWN NAME AND EVERYTHING, AND I WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S AND IT'S NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MY OWN.

[01:10:04]

SO THIS OTHER ONE IS MY VOICE.

SO REST ASSURED. THANK YOU.

OKAY, LET'S WE'VE GOT OH, GOSH, WE'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE MORE MINUTES.

SO LET'S TRY TO GET TO TWO QUESTIONS.

THEY'RE COMING IN, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE TO GET ALL OF THESE TO YOU.

SO NEXT QUESTION.

SO HOW CAN FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE NOT INDIGENOUS, HOW CAN WE BE A STRONG ALLY FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES? SO THIS IS AN APP THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD DOWNLOAD ON THEIR PHONES CALLED NATIVE LANDS.

AND FEEL FREE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO WORK THE APPS OR IF YOU DON'T, IT'S ALL IT'S ALL GOOD.

YOU CAN HAVE IT. I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU DON'T.

I'M JUST SAYING LIKE THERE'S NO SHAME IN THAT BEING A BARRIER TO YOUR TO YOUR ALLY SHIP.

LIKE, IT'S OKAY. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE.

THAT'S WHY THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING.

BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RIGHT NOW, A GREAT A GREAT APP TO DOWNLOAD IS NATIVE LANDS AND IT SHOULD BE GOOD FOR ANDROID AND IOS, APPLE, WHATEVER, WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY'RE LIKE ON ALL DOWNLOADING PLATFORMS. AND THAT IS, I THINK JUST LIKE FUNDAMENTALLY.

WHERE WE STAND, WHERE WE GO TO SCHOOL, WHERE WE GO TO WORK EVERY DAY, WHERE WE LIVE, WHERE WE GROW UP LIKE THAT IS, I THINK, SUCH AN ENTRY POINT FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW ACTUALLY EVERYDAY WE ARE INTERACTING WITH INDIGENOUS LAND, WITH LAND THAT IS TRADITIONALLY STEWARDED, OWNED, CULTIVATED, THAT HAS A WHOLE SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY IN A IN A POLITICS THAT EXISTED ON THIS LAND LONG BEFORE ANY OF US WERE HERE.

I THINK STARTING WITH WHERE WE STAND, WHERE WE LIVE, WHERE WE ARE, ANYBODY TAPS IN FROM ANYWHERE, LIKE ANYBODY WHO GOES TO SCHOOL OR LIVES FAR AWAY FROM WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO SCHOOL, LIKE DOWNLOAD THIS APP AND YOU CAN TYPE IN ANY CITY IN THE COUNTRY, ANY ANY PLACE WHERE YOU LIVE OR ANY PLACE WHERE YOUR FAMILY'S FROM.

AND IT GIVES YOU KIND OF A BASE LAYER OF INFORMATION AROUND LIKE, WHOSE LAND ARE YOU ON? I THINK THAT'S LIKE THE OPENING CONVERSATION, WHOSE LAND ARE YOU ON? AND FROM THERE, HOW DO YOU ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE FROM THAT PLACE? AND I CONSULT WITH DIFFERENT CORPORATIONS AND DIFFERENT BOARDS AND DIFFERENT STUFF.

AND I'M TELLING PEOPLE THE SAME THING EVERY TIME.

IT'S LIKE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ARE SO CRUCIAL AS A SCHOOL.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP ENSURE THAT INDIGENOUS VOICES ARE INCLUDED IN CONVERSATIONS AROUND SUSTAINABILITY? AND OFTENTIMES IT'S DIFFICULT.

THERE'S NOT ALWAYS LARGE REPRESENTATION OF BODIES OF INDIGENOUS STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS, AND A LOT OF MAJOR CITIES HAVE PUSHED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OUT AND HAVE DISPLACED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES.

AND AT THE SAME TIME, MOST URBAN CITIES ARE ALSO A GATHERING POINT FROM NATIVE FOLKS, FROM MANY DIFFERENT PLACES.

SO WHILE THE FORMATION OF INDIGENEITY MIGHT LOOK VERY DIFFERENT THAN LIKE THERE'S NOT A RESERVATION NEXT TO EVERY CITY OR IN DALLAS, THERE ARE KIND OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND A HEALTHIER, MORE HOLISTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE WHOSE LANDS THAT WE ARE ON.

AND I THINK THAT QUESTION OF WHOSE LAND ARE YOU ON IS AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP TO ANSWER.

AND THEN THINK ABOUT WHAT IS WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FROM THERE TO DEEPEN THAT THAT RELATIONSHIP, THAT THE WORK THAT YOU DO IN YOUR LIVES, THE ORGANIZING THAT YOU DO, HOW DO YOU INCLUDE THEM AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, AS STAKEHOLDERS, AND LEARN LIKE THERE'S SO MANY DOPE, INDIGENOUS CONTENT CREATORS, ARTISTS, STORYTELLERS, ACTIVISTS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOING INCREDIBLE WORK THAT IS LITERALLY LIKE AVERTING AND LENGTHENING THE TIME THAT WE HAVE TO SURVIVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

SO GO ONLINE AND DO YOUR RESEARCH.

I THINK THERE'S JUST LOOK IT UP AND YOU'LL FIND ALL KINDS OF COOL LISTS.

AND NOW MORE PEOPLE IN THE MAINSTREAM ARE WRITING ABOUT IT.

GO WATCH RESERVATION DOGS.

THAT'S A SICK SHOW ON HULU.

LIKE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET, IT'S ABOUT OUR OUR OUR FOLKS OVER IN IN OKLAHOMA, YOU KNOW, OUR CREEK FOLKS OUT THERE.

AND IT'S DOPE. IT'S IT'S A DOPE SHOW, RIGHT? SO THE VISIBILITY AND CHALLENGING THE STEREOTYPES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR MIND ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, LIKE I'M INDIGENOUS, BUT I'M NOT LIKE A NATIVE AMERICAN, LIKE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN, LIKE MY PEOPLE ARE FROM MEXICO.

SO INDIGENEITY IS ACTUALLY MORE COMPLICATED AND EXPANSIVE TOO, THAN JUST LIKE HOLLYWOOD'S PORTRAYAL OF A PLAINS INDIAN THAT IS OFTENTIMES PORTRAYED IN POP CULTURE AND IN MEDIA.

SO ALL THESE THINGS ARE GOOD, GOOD FIRST STEPS.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO I'LL END IT WITH HOW HOW CAN WE FOLLOW YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA? CONTACT YOU IF WE NEED TO.

JUST. YEAH. HOW HOW CAN WE STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING? ABSOLUTELY. NO, I'M VERY EXCITED THIS NEXT YEAR, NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

I HAVE A LOT OF AMAZING PROJECTS THAT I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT BUILDING CURRICULUM AND WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND KIND OF AT THE INTERSECTION OF ART, CULTURE, INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY, CLIMATE JUSTICE, AS WELL AS AS MY ART AND MY MUSIC.

I'M GOING TO BE TOURING AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND PLAYING SHOWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND PUTTING OUT ANOTHER ALBUM.

SO THERE'S A LOT THAT'S A LOT KIND OF COMING UP FOR ME, POTENTIALLY WRITING AND PUBLISHING INTO THE BOOK AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN FIND AT MY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS.

AND IT'S ALL JUST MY NAME, SCOTT, AND IT'S ON THE POSTER OUTSIDE.

THEY'VE GOT A LITTLE YOU'LL FIND ME IF YOU IF YOU LOOK AT THE EVENT INFORMATION.

BUT YEAH, JUST MY FIRST NAME.

[01:15:01]

MY WEBSITE SHOULD REACH OUT.

I'M SPEAKING AT UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AS WELL, DOING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN BETWEEN MY OTHER WORK AS WELL.

SO HONOR TO BE HERE AGAIN.

IT'S LIKE MY FIRST TIME BACK WITH LIKE A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE.

IT'S COOL. IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL.

SO THANK YOU. OKAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO SHE IS GOING TO STEP OUT OF THE PERFORMANCE HALL TO DO SOME INTERVIEWS WITH OUR MEDIA SPONSORS.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO THERE WILL BE A MOMENT IN THE EXHIBIT HALL WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A PHOTO WITH THEM IF YOU LIKE.

SO THE NEXT SESSION STARTS AT 11 A.M..

SO RIGHT AFTER THAT SESSION, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE A PHOTO OF WITH HIM.

SO, YEAH, LET'S LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET YOUR TEST OUT OF HERE.

AND YOU HAVE A YOU HAVE A SHORT BREAK NOW BEFORE THE NEXT SESSION.

SO IF YOU NEED TO GO OUT, USE THE RESTROOM, GET SOME WATER.

YOU CAN DO THAT. JUST BE BACK IN HERE AT 11 A.M.

FOR OUR IN THE COMMUNITY SESSION.

ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON.

NOW, IF EVERYBODY WOULD.

YEAH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO TAKE YOUR SEATS AND WE'LL GET STARTED WITH OUR FIRST BREAKOUT SESSION OF THE DAY IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND WILL, I KNOW THERE'S STILL SOME PEOPLE IN THE EXHIBIT HALL TALKING WITH EXHIBITORS AND WE'LL GET THE WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET THEM IN THERE.

BUT. WELL, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED SO WE DON'T WASTE ANY TIME.

SO THE YOU ARE IN THE IN THE COMMUNITY BREAKOUT SESSION AND THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SESSION.

THE MAJORITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE MAKERS AGREE THAT THE MOST ACCESSIBLE WAY TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT IS TO VOTE FOR POLICY MAKERS WHO CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT.

WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY BY VOTING AND BEING AN ACTIVE, ENGAGED CITIZEN, GETTING INVOLVED IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND DEMOCRACY AT ALL LEVELS.

AND TODAY YOU WILL LEARN HOW YOU CAN USE YOUR VOTE AND YOUR VOICE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I DO WANT TO THANK OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EVENT, AND YOU CAN SEE MOST OF THEM IN THE EXHIBIT HALL, THE CARBON ALMANAC NETWORK ON CORE TRAIN US ECOLOGIC AND WHERE I'M OUT.

TS SO THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS EVENT.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, PLEASE WELCOME OUR PANELISTS FOR TODAY.

RUDY BUSH, EDITOR OF THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS EDITORIAL PAGE PAGE WILL MODERATE THIS SESSION.

WELCOME RUDY BUSH.

WE HAVE HE IS JOINED BY BARBARA LARKIN, VICE PRESIDENT OF VOTER SERVICES, WHO WILL DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES VOTERS FACE IN THE FUTURE.

AND LASTLY, ANAIYA HENDERSON, COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR OF THE CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY, WHO WILL DISCUSS BIPARTISAN CLIMATE LEGISLATION FOR NONPROFITS AND WHO ARE ADVOCATING WITH NATIONAL LEGISLATORS.

OUR PANEL WILL BE TAKING QUESTIONS AFTER THEIR PRESENTATIONS FROM BOTH OUR LIVE AUDIENCE AND OUR VIRTUAL AUDIENCE.

AND PLEASE GO TO SLIDO EXACTLY HOW YOU DID WITH XIUHTEZCATL MARTINEZ PUT IN THE CODE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES AND YOU CAN SEND IN THEIR QUESTIONS DURING THEIR PRESENTATION.

AND I WILL I WILL MODERATE THOSE QUESTIONS TO THEM AT THE END.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, MR. BUSH, PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY.

IT'S IMPORTANT SUMMIT GRATEFUL TO BE WITH THESE TWO ESTEEMED PANELISTS TO TALK ABOUT THESE SORT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE AROUND CLIMATE.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MY NEWSPAPER HAS FOCUSED ON RECENTLY IN A SERIES WE CALL THE AMERICAN MIDDLE, IS LOOKING AT THE WAYS THAT MANY AMERICANS ACTUALLY SEE COMPLEX SOCIAL PROBLEMS, INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE, WITH MUCH MORE NUANCE THAN THE WAY THAT THEY ARE NECESSARILY PRESENTED IN OUR IN OUR POLITICAL LIVES OR THE SORT OF BINARIES THAT WE THAT WE'RE FACED WITH WHEN WE GET TO THE VOTING BOOTH.

IT'S IT'S A REALITY THAT SEVEN OUT OF TEN AMERICANS SAY THAT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME SORT OF EXTREME CLIMATE, SOME SORT OF EXTREME WEATHER WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE PAST YEAR.

EIGHT OUT OF TEN AMERICANS ACCEPT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN THAT IN THOSE EVENTS.

[01:20:09]

IT'S A FACT THAT THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE RELY ON THAT INDUSTRY FOR THEIR LIVELIHOODS.

IT'S A FACT THAT ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM RELY AT SOME LEVEL ON FOSSIL FUELS AS PART OF OUR OUR OUR LIVES. IT'S ALSO A FACT THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER IN THE NATION AND ONE OF THE LARGEST PRODUCERS IN THE WORLD OF RENEWABLE WIND ENERGY.

AND WE RELY AS A STATE ON BOTH OF THOSE INDUSTRIES FOR OUR WAY OF LIFE.

SO I THINK WHEN WE START TO THINK ABOUT THE NATURE OF THESE.

UP. PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE OR OR THE OR OR THE WAY THAT WE HAVE STRUCTURED OUR SOCIETY, IT BECOMES CLEAR WHY IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO GET TOWARDS SOLUTIONS.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO US AS AS A NEWSPAPER TO TRY TO FIND PLACES OF COMMON GROUND, TO TRY TO FIND PLACES OF SOLUTION.

AND I KNOW THAT'S WHAT THIS SUMMIT IS ABOUT TODAY.

AND I KNOW THAT'S WHAT THE TWO PEOPLE TO MY RIGHT WORK REALLY HARD ON TRYING TO TO BRING US TOWARDS BOTH FROM THE POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE AND FROM THE AND FROM THE POLICY PERSPECTIVE. SO I WONDER, BARBARA, IF YOU COULD JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK AND THEN ANNI, MAYBE YOU COULD TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK AND THEN WE CAN HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU BOTH.

SURE. I'M BARBARA LARKIN WITH THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF DALLAS.

WE ARE A NONPROFIT WHOSE MISSION IS TO EMPOWER VOTERS AND DEFEND DEMOCRACY.

WHAT WE DO BEEN DOING, WE DO A LOT OF THINGS, BUT WHAT MY MAIN MISSION IS TO EDUCATE AND REGISTER VOTERS AND TO INFORM VOTERS AND MAKE THEM CONFIDENT. SO WE HAVE A WHOLE TEAM.

WE HAVE ABOUT 300 VOLUNTEERS AND WE HAVE ABOUT 30 TO 50 THAT ARE EXTREMELY ACTIVE ON ALL THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

AND SO WE HAVE SPENT HUNDREDS OF HOURS OUT AT DALLAS COLLEGE CAMPUSES IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS.

WE DO IT. WE ALWAYS KIND OF TWO MONTHS BEFORE ELECTIONS.

WE'RE ALSO OUT THERE ON VARIOUS TIMES TALKING TO STUDENTS, TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS, HOW TO NAVIGATE THE PROCESS, HOW TO THINK ABOUT THE PROCESS.

BECAUSE WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT IN TALKING TO STUDENTS, SO MANY OF THEM LACK CONFIDENCE IN THE PROCESS.

AND TEXAS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST PLACES TO VOTE IN THE COUNTRY.

WE GET WE GET VOTED IN THE BOTTOM FIVE PRETTY MUCH BY EVERY THINK TANK IN AMERICA EVERY YEAR.

AND SO WHEN PEOPLE SAY, OH, IT'S SO SIMPLE, IT'S SO SIMPLE.

WELL, NOT REALLY. IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE FOR WHOLE SWATHS OF PEOPLE.

AND SO WHAT WE DO IS GO AND ACTUALLY TALK ONE BY ONE TO PEOPLE.

I MEAN, I SIT VERY INTIMIDATINGLY IN A VOTE SHIRT WITH A BIG BOWL OF KIT KATS AND SNICKERS.

AND SO MOST OF MY UNIVERSE OF PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO LIKE CHOCOLATE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET PEOPLE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE TO TALK TO YOU, BECAUSE VOTING, IT TURNS OUT, IS VERY PERSONAL.

IT'S SORT OF A PERSONAL THING.

THERE'S A LOT OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

THERE'S A LOT OF TIMES YOU HAVE FAMILY THINGS GOING ON IN VOTING.

AND SO PEOPLE COME TO US AND SAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

AND WE LITERALLY JUST TALK THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS AND GIVE THEM CONFIDENCE THAT THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS.

HELLO, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS JANAYA HENDERSON.

I'M A NATIVE TEXAN.

I GREW UP ALWAYS KNOWING HOW IMPORTANT AND HOW ENJOYABLE NATURE IS AND SHOULD BE.

I GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA WITH A BIOLOGY DEGREE AND I STARTED TEACHING JUST LAST SCHOOL YEAR.

AND LAST YEAR I TAUGHT AQUATIC SCIENCE.

AND WHEN I WAS DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH TO PREPARE FOR MY PRESENTATIONS FOR MY STUDENTS, WE GOT TO TALK ABOUT POLLUTION AND WE GOT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND TO BE ABLE TO DIVE DEEP INTO THOSE TOPICS.

I WAS HORRIFIED WITH, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT WE HUMANS DO AND HOW WE TREAT OUR OCEANS AND HOW WE TREAT OUR ENVIRONMENTS AND NOT JUST DUMPING OIL OR TOXINS INTO THE OCEAN, BUT ALSO THE WAYS IN WHICH WAYS THAT WE SOURCE OUR NATURAL ENERGY CAN BE VERY HARMFUL FOR OUR AQUATIC ANIMALS.

AND SO I REALIZED THAT I DIDN'T ONLY WANT TO EDUCATE ON THESE TOPICS, I WANTED TO GET INVOLVED IN A REAL WAY THAT I KNEW WOULD MAKE AN IMPACT.

AND SO THE WORK THAT I DO WITH CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY, I'M A COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR, AND WHAT WE DO IS WE GIVE THE RESOURCES AND TOOLS TO EVERYDAY PEOPLE TO

[01:25:08]

BUT IF YOU DON'T TAKE THAT POWER AND YOU DON'T GO OUT AND VOTE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD, THEN IT'S REALLY HARD TO EXPECT FOR THOSE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO GET DONE.

SO AS CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY, WE ARE A NONPARTISAN, GRASSROOTS CLIMATE ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION, AND WE ARE ALL ABOUT GIVING THAT POWER TO EVERYDAY PEOPLE TO MAKE CHANGE AND GIVE THEM THAT CONFIDENCE TO GO OUT AND SPEAK TO THEIR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND GET THINGS DONE.

THAT'S AWESOME. THANK YOU, BARBARA.

YOU'VE BEEN IN THIS SPACE FOR SOME TIME OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO VOTE.

MR. MARTINEZ WAS TALKING ABOUT, I THINK, SOME OF THE FRUSTRATIONS PEOPLE HAVE WITH THE POLITICAL PROCESSES, OUR SYSTEMS. WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU TALK TO EVERYDAY PEOPLE ABOUT WHY THEY'RE NOT VOTING? WHY, WHY, WHY THEY'RE MAKING THE DECISION NOT TO GO TO THE BOOTH, NOT TO GET REGISTERED, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE RIGHT NOW.

SO IT'S IT'S A MIX OF I'LL SAY THAT IT'S DIFFERENT BY AGE IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT VOTING.

OUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE RIGHT NOW IS THEY VERY MUCH WANT TO VOTE, WHICH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE GROUP IN THE 25 TO 35 YEAR OLD, THAT GROUP IS A LITTLE MORE IN THE G VOTING DOESN'T MATTER QUADRANT AND SO THAT FOR US THAT'S A LONGER CONVERSATION.

I'M ALWAYS LIKE, GIVE ME 15 MINUTES WITH THAT PERSON AND I CAN CONVINCE THEM THE YOUNGER PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT TO VOTE.

THEY ARE RUNNING INTO ALL KINDS OF OBSTACLES.

AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN IF YOU CAN HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF VOTING, OF NAVIGATING THE PROCESS AND IT'S IT'S NOT IT'S FAIRLY UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THAT THIS YOUNGER GENERATION FEELS LIKE THEY CAN'T TRUST ANY INFORMATION.

THEY FEEL LIKE THEY CAN'T THEY'RE THEY FEEL LIKE THERE'S NO PLACE THEY CAN GO TO TO EVEN BEGIN THE PROCESS BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN TOLD, YOU KNOW, WATCH OUT.

THERE'S SO MUCH MISINFORMATION AND EVERYTHING.

EVERYBODY'S LYING TO YOU.

SO THEY'RE SORT OF AFRAID TO GET STARTED.

AND SO IT'S INTERESTING WHEN WE GO OUT AND TALK TO PEOPLE, WE ALWAYS JUST SO EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WHO'S, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SAY, START WITH YOUR COUNTY ELECTIONS WEBSITE, THAT'S LIKE SEEMS LIKE THE MOST BORING ADVICE YOU WOULD EVER GIVE SOMEONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD.

BUT I'LL JUST TELL YOU, IT IS ALWAYS A REPUTABLE PLACE TO START.

AND SOME OF THE COUNTY WEBSITES, IN FACT, ALL OF THE NORTH TEXAS WEBSITES ARE ACTUALLY QUITE EXCELLENT IN TERMS OF GIVING YOU THE INFORMATION TO GET YOU STARTED.

SO IF YOU ACTUALLY GO TO YOUR ACCOUNT ELECTIONS WEBSITE, YOU CAN FIND OUT IF YOU'RE VOTED THERE REGISTERED TO VOTE.

I MEAN, SO MANY PEOPLE DON'T VOTE BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY'RE NOT REGISTERED.

I WAS OUT AT NORTH LAKE ON WEDNESDAY.

I'M SITTING THERE WITH MY BOWL OF KIT KATS AND SNICKERS.

A GUY COMES UP AND SAYS, YOU KNOW, HE'S VERY SHEEPISH.

HE'S HE FEELS HORRIBLE.

HE DIDN'T GET IT DONE. HE DIDN'T GET REGISTERED.

OH, HE'S JUST MAD AT HIMSELF.

AND SO I'M TALKING TO HIM A LITTLE BIT AND I'M LIKE, ALL OF A SUDDEN HE SAID SOMETHING AND I SAID, IS THERE ANY CHANCE YOU ARE REGISTERED? LET'S LOOK YOU UP. SO WE LOOK THEM UP.

WE COULDN'T FIND HIM AT FIRST IN THE DALLAS COUNTY WEBSITE.

WE TRY AGAIN IN THE STATE WEBSITE.

HE'S HE'S BEEN REGISTERED FOR TWO YEARS IN DENTON COUNTY.

HE DIDN'T KNOW IT. HE WAS SO HAPPY.

IT WAS LIFE CHANGING FOR HIM TO FIND OUT THAT HE WAS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN DENTON COUNTY.

HE CAME BACK BY OUR TABLE THREE MORE TIMES IN THE HOUR AND WAVED AT US JUST LIKE HE WAS LIKE WE MADE THAT PERSON'S.

A LIFE HE WAS GOING TO GO TO, THEN HE WAS GOING TO VOTE.

HE HAD HE HAD WAS POSITIVE HE WASN'T REGISTERED TO VOTE.

WELL, HE WAS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ARE GETTING REGISTERED THROUGH THE DPS, WHICH IS INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T USE TO, BUT THEY ARE NOW.

SO THERE'S A WHOLE SWATHS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE THAT DON'T KNOW IT.

AND SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND YOU ARE REGISTERED IF YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE, AND THEN HERE'S HOW YOU GO FIND OUT WHO IS ON YOUR BALLOT.

HERE IS HOW YOU DO RESEARCH ON THAT.

AND THEN SO WE CAN WALK THEM THROUGH THE VARIOUS STEPS OF THE PROCESS.

AND WE FEEL LIKE IF YOU CAN GET SOMEONE TO VOTE ONCE OR TWICE, YOU PRETTY MUCH GOT THEM.

YOU PRETTY MUCH THEY GO, OCH, I'M A VOTER.

THEY THEY CHANGE HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES.

THEY LITERALLY THINK OF THEMSELVES AS SOMEONE AS THAT IS ONE THING IN THEIR TOOLBOX.

I KNOW THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER WAYS TO MAKE COMMUNITY CHANGE, PROTESTING AND BOYCOTTING, AND THERE'S A MILLION WAYS.

BUT VOTING IS ONE AND THERE'S NO REASON TO GIVE IT UP.

YOU MIGHT AS WELL GIVE IT A SHOT, RIGHT? SO WE ALWAYS TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THAT.

YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT AS WELL TRY TO VOTE, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT'S NOT GOING TO HURT YOU.

SO ANYWAYS, THERE'S A LOT OF A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE TALK TO PEOPLE.

I CAN TALK MORE LATER ABOUT THE GROUP THAT BELIEVES THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY A BROADER THAT'S A WHOLE THAT'S A BROADER ISSUE.

[01:30:07]

AND SO WE TALK TO THEM AND SAY, OKAY, WE GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BECAUSE THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.

A LITTLE IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.

SO, YEAH, I WANT TO GET INTO THAT.

I WANT TO ASK YOU IN A MINUTE ABOUT THIS MISTRUST QUESTION, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT ONE.

BUT LET ME ASK YOU THIS.

I THINK CLIMATE IS A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION.

WHEN WE STUDY IT POLITICALLY AND WHEN, YOU KNOW, AT MY NEWSPAPER, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN POLITICS COME THROUGH AND TALK TO US.

AND WHAT I SEE IS THAT CLIMATE IS ACTUALLY AN ISSUE THAT IS NOT THAT EASILY DIVIDED ON LEFT AND RIGHT AS MAYBE WE THINK IT IS.

THERE ARE LARGE GROUPS OF SORT OF CONSERVATIVES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEN THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE ON THE LEFT WHO TAKE A LOT OF MONEY FROM INDUSTRIES THAT WE SEE AS POLLUTING INDUSTRIES.

I'M WONDERING WHEN YOU GO AND TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, ABOUT IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF SORT OF OUR HUMAN SOCIETY, WHAT WHAT YOU DO TO REACH THEM IF THEY SEEM TO BE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF REACH, WHAT YOU SAY? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.

OH, HELLO.

YEAH, I THINK YOU'RE OKAY.

SO I JOINED CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY IN MARCH, AND SINCE THEN I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING ABLE TO SPEAK AT DIFFERENT EVENTS, EDUCATE PEOPLE AT SCHOOLS, AND REALLY JUST GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT HOW THEY CAN TAKE THE POWER IN THEIR OWN HANDS AND SPEAK TO OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND ADVOCATE FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS, ROBUST CLIMATE SOLUTIONS THAT ARE REALLY GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND GET US TO OUR GOALS THAT WE NEED TO GET TO.

IPCC SAYS WE NEED TO LOWER GLOBAL EMISSIONS BY 50% IN THE NEXT NEXT EIGHT YEARS.

AND SO HOW DO WE DO OUR PART AS A CITIZEN AND MAKE SURE WE'RE HOLDING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE TO DO THAT? SO WHAT WE WHAT ONE OF OUR BIGGEST VALUES IS AT CCL IS TO BE AN OPTIMIST, WHICH CAN BE VERY HARD WHEN YOU'RE DOING THIS TYPE OF WORK AND YOU'RE ADVOCATING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT.

BUT WE LIKE TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT WE ARE NOT TRYING TO CONVINCE EVERYONE THAT IT'S HAPPENING SO MUCH SCIENCE AND SO MUCH RESEARCH.

WE KNOW THAT IT'S HAPPENING.

AND SO THE PEOPLE WHO DO CARE AND THE PEOPLE WHO DO WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT, WE LIKE TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BE A PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN AND HELP THEM ADVOCATE FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS.

SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS WE HAVE A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT RESOURCES ON THE CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY WEBSITE WHERE IF YOU ARE BRAND NEW TO THIS AND YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT MUCH, WE HELP EDUCATE YOU ON THE BASIC SCIENCE.

WE HAVE CLIMATE SCIENTISTS THAT GIVE WONDERFUL TRAININGS.

WE ALSO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON HOW TO LOBBY AND LOBBYING TO SOMEONE THAT'S MORE ON THE LEFT IS EXTREMELY DIFFERENT THAN HOW YOU LOBBY TO SOMEONE ON THE RIGHT.

SO IT'S HOW DO WE GO IN AND BE EFFECTIVE KNOWING OUR AUDIENCE AND TRYING TO FIND COMMON GROUND SINCE WE ARE NONPARTIZAN, WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT IT TAKES EVERYONE IN ORDER TO FIX THIS PROBLEM.

THIS ISN'T A PARTIZAN ISSUE, IT'S A HUMAN ISSUE.

AND SO HOW DO WE GET DOWN TO THAT ROOT AND FIND THAT COMMONALITY? AND WE WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE HOPE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF DOOM AND GLOOM, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING OPTIMISTS AND WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING THAT CONFIDENCE TO PEOPLE AND LETTING THEM KNOW THAT YOUR VOICE DOES MATTER.

THIS IS HOW YOU CAN USE YOUR POWER AND THIS IS HOW WE CAN INFLUENCE OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO IMPLEMENT ROBUST CLIMATE POLICY.

WE HAD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN UTAH, AND THEY HELPED PASS CLIMATE SOLUTIONS BY LOBBYING TO THEIR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

SO WE WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL THIS CONFIDENCE THAT THEY CAN MAKE A CHANGE.

AND WE TRY TO HELP THEM.

WE MEET THEM WHEREVER THEY ARE AND HELP GUIDE THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND HELPING BUILD THEM AS ACTIVISTS, ACTIVIST AND AS AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.

YEAH, THAT'S A THAT'S GREAT.

THAT SENSE OF OPTIMISM IS IT'S HARD TO HOLD ON TO, BUT IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU WALK UP TO A SKEPTIC, I THINK.

BUT I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT, BARBARA, ABOUT THIS AREA YOU OPENED UP, WHICH I JUST SEE SO, SO OFTEN NOW.

I WAS AFRAID THAT WAS MY ALARM.

THAT WENT FAST. BUT I WANT TO I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS SENSE OF MISTRUST, ESPECIALLY IN IN INSTITUTIONS.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THAT REALLY CONCERNS ME AS A JOURNALIST IS I'M VERY OFTEN APPROACHED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MOST HAREBRAINED IDEAS, TOTALLY FALSE INFORMATION THAT THEY'VE GATHERED FROM SOMEPLACE ON THEIR TELEPHONE AND AND AND THEY'VE ALSO COME TO DISTRUST THINGS LIKE THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS THAT HAVE GENERATIONS REALLY, OF OF WORK

[01:35:03]

WHO REFUSE TO INTERACT EITHER WITH OUR NEWSPAPER OR WITH INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE LEAGUE.

AND I JUST WONDER WHAT IF YOU CAN JUST BUILD ON THAT SENSE OF WHERE YOU'RE SEEING THIS MISTRUST COME FROM, THIS RELIANCE ON DISINFORMATION AND HOW YOU TRY TO ADDRESS THAT AS AN ORGANIZATION.

OKAY. YEAH, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON THERE.

THE ON THE FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE WIN VOTERS PRINTED VOTER GUIDE THAT THE VOTER GUIDE.

IT'S ALSO A DIGITAL VOTER GUIDE TO VOTE FOR 11.

ORG FOR ANYONE THAT HASN'T VOTED HERE.

YEAH IT'S A GUIDE THAT WE ASK CANDIDATES QUESTIONS AND WE MOSTLY AN EMAIL AND BROAD QUESTIONS AND WE WRITE THEM BASED ON WHAT'S RELEVANT RIGHT NOW.

AND THEN THEY ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND WE WE DON'T EDIT IT.

IF THEY SPELL DEMOCRACY WRONG, WE PUT IT IN THERE EXACTLY LIKE THAT.

IT'S COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN SOME OF THE OTHER GUIDES OUT THERE.

AND WE UNDERSTAND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW THIS CYCLE WAS THAT CERTAIN A LOT OF REPUBLICAN, BUT ALSO FOLKS IN GERRYMANDERED DISTRICTS DIDN'T NECESSARILY RESPOND.

AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT SAD FOR US BECAUSE THAT IS DEFINITELY SORT OF GERRYMANDERING IS DEFINITELY CAUSING DEMOCRACY TO BE LESS RESPONSIVE TO THE CONSTITUENTS.

I MEAN, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS.

SO WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE, BOTH VOTERS AND CANDIDATES, THAT PART OF THEIR ROLE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IS COMMUNICATING TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT ISSUES.

SO WE'RE GOING TO I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GOING TO KEEP AT THAT THAT THAT CONCEPT OF TRYING TO GET PEOPLE BECAUSE WE WANT DEMOCRACY TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE.

AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE SOME OF THE SOMETIMES THE MEDIA HAS YOU KNOW, IT HAS THIS SORT OF FIXATION WITH THE RACE AND THE KIND OF ALWAYS IMPLYING THAT EVERY SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE AND POLITICIAN IS ALL ABOUT EITHER MONEY OR POWER.

BUT IF YOU ACTUALLY GO MEET MANY OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, I THINK YOU WILL FIND THAT MANY OF THEM ACTUALLY ARE TRYING TO DO THINGS FOR THEIR CONSTITUENTS.

MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY.

MANY OF THEM ARE REALLY WORKING TOWARD THAT GOAL.

AND SO WE'RE WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THAT NOT ALL NOT EVERYBODY IS SORT OF A POWER HUNGRY POLITICIAN.

A LOT OF THEM ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND TRYING TO MOVE THEIR SOCIETY FORWARD IN THEIR COMMUNITY FORWARD.

SO, YOU KNOW, AND AS OUR ROLE AS KIND OF DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS IS TO CONNECT THE VOTERS TO THESE PEOPLE AS MUCH AS WE CAN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE ONES THAT CARE ABOUT FURTHERING SOCIETY IN WHATEVER WAY THAT IS THAT THEY VIEW IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS. SO WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO MOVE THAT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.

IT'S NOT EASY RIGHT NOW.

NOT EASY. IT'S NOT EASY, RIGHT? I FEEL FOR YOU, ALL OF US THAT ARE TRYING TO GET INFORMATION OUT OR HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. SO I'LL I'LL STOP.

NO, I LOVE THAT PHRASE. DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST.

I THINK THAT'S. THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

I'M GOING TO MAKE A SHIRT FOR MYSELF.

I'M A DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST.

WE HAVE MEN IN THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS.

SO YOU COULD ALWAYS SAY, WELL, PART OF BEING A DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST IS MAKING SPACE FOR PEOPLE WHO WHO DISAGREE TO FIND FIND COMMON GROUND.

AND I KNOW AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS WORK A LOT ON AND YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ABOUT THAT.

BUT PLAINLY, WE'RE IN A WE'RE IN A TIME WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE VERY HIGH.

RIGHT. AND PEOPLE JUST DON'T THEY SEEM TO COME READY TO FOR BATTLE, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE ALL GOT OUR ARMOR UP.

BUT HOW DO YOU BREAK THROUGH THAT AND SAY, HEY, LET'S HAVE LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION WHERE WE CAN FIND PLACES WHERE WE CAN MAKE SOME PROGRESS? I LOVE THAT QUESTION.

CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY IS VERY SERIOUS ABOUT OUR VALUES.

AND SO LIKE I SAID EARLIER, ONE OF IT IS BEING NONPARTISAN.

AND SO THAT GIVES US A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE WE'RE WANTING VOLUNTEERS FROM EVERY SINGLE POLITICAL AFFILIATION.

WE'RE ALSO APPROACHING EVERY SINGLE POLITICIAN.

AND SO A BIG PART OF CCL AS WE GO LOBBY.

SO THIS YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR WE BROUGHT BACK OUR CONFERENCE THAT WE HAVE IN JUNE.

[01:40:03]

AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO LISTEN TO A LOT OF SPEAKERS.

WE LISTENED TO SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, WE LISTENED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PAVING THE WAY AND CLEAN ENERGY.

AND AT THE END THE LAST DAY, MOST PEOPLE STICK AROUND AND THAT'S LIKE OUR LOBBY DAY.

AND SO WE GO AND WE TALK TO OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

AND WHAT WAS SO EYE OPENING FOR ME, MY FIRST TIME EVER LOBBYING AND IT WAS IN DC WAS BEFORE WE DID THAT MEETING.

WE DID SOME RESEARCH, OBVIOUSLY ON OUR ON OUR REPRESENTATIVE AND MINE IN PARTICULAR.

HE'S. CONSERVATIVE.

BUT WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT HE'S A PART OF THE CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE CAUCUS.

AND IT'S LIKE A LOT OF A LOT OF TIMES WE FIND OURSELVES IN THESE ECHO CHAMBERS WHERE PEOPLE BELIEVE THE SAME THINGS WE BELIEVE.

THEY TALK ABOUT THE SAME THINGS WE TALK ABOUT, AND WE DON'T GET THAT OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE.

SO OUR WALL IS UP.

AND SO WE THINK THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS THE ENEMY, RIGHT? BUT THAT SITUATION REALLY OPENED MY MIND UP THAT WE TRULY DO HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY IN THIS TIME TO STOP BEING SO POLARIZED AND STOP BEING SO AGAINST EACH OTHER AND REALIZE WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE IN COMMON THAN WE REALIZE.

AND SO THAT'S A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.

WE'RE NONPARTISAN.

WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONNECT WITH OUR COMMUNITIES AND SOME WORK THAT WE DO IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WE PARTNER WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL VOTER PROJECT.

AND THEY ARE A SMALL GROUP OF DATA SCIENTISTS WHO IDENTIFIED ENVIRONMENTALISTS ACROSS THE NATION, AND THEY IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTALISTS WHO DON'T VOTE.

AND THEY NOT ONLY HELP THESE PEOPLE TURN OUT AND GO TO AN ELECTION AND VOTE, BUT THEY CONSISTENTLY HELP THESE PEOPLE SHOW OUT EVERY SINGLE ELECTION BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS THAT DON'T VOTE.

AND A 2020 ELECTION, WE SAW THAT THERE ARE OVER A MILLION ENVIRONMENTALISTS WHO JUST DIDN'T VOTE, AND THAT COULD HAVE HAD A REALLY BIG IMPACT IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT ELECTIONS.

SO WE REALLY TRY TO, I THINK, THE WAY IN WHICH WE OPERATE AND OUR VALUES OPENS THE DOOR UP TO A LOT MORE DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS THAN YOU MAY GET AND MAYBE OTHER PLACES WHERE EVERYONE THINKS THE SAME THINGS.

YEAH, THAT'S INCREDIBLY HARD WORK.

IT SOUNDS EASY WHEN YOU SAY IT, BUT IT'S INCREDIBLY HARD.

YEAH, AND IT IS NOT THAT EASY.

THERE ARE DEFINITELY POLITICIANS WHO WHERE THEY ARE VERY CLOSE MINDED.

BUT YOU MEET THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT.

THEY'RE MY REPRESENTATIVE.

SO I WANT TO CREATE THAT CONNECTION WITH THEM AND SEE HOW WE CAN PROGRESS AND CREATE SOME TYPE OF CLIMATE SOLUTION.

AND WE'VE ALSO SLIGHTLY BROADEN THE THINGS THAT WE SUPPORT.

HISTORICALLY, IT WAS THE CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND ACTS, WHICH WE STILL SUPPORT, BUT WE'RE ALSO MOVING INTO FORESTRY.

AND A BIG REPUBLICAN THING THAT WAS MOVED ACROSS WAS A TRILLION TREES ACT.

AND SO IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU DIVE DEEP INTO IT, PEOPLE ARE TRYING ARE OUR REPRESENTATIVES, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, A LOT OF THEM ARE TRYING TO MAKE AN EFFORT.

AND SO HOW DO WE MEET THEM THERE, HELP THEM GET MORE EDUCATED ON WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW DO WE MOVE THIS FORWARD? THAT'S AWESOME. WELL, I COULD ASK YOU GUYS QUESTIONS ALL DAY BECAUSE I LOVE ASKING QUESTIONS TO SMART PEOPLE.

I'M LUCKY ENOUGH THAT THAT'S MY JOB.

BUT I BET THERE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS ONLINE AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE TIME FOR THAT OR IN THE AUDIENCE.

YES, WE CERTAINLY DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HEARD EARLIER, BUT WE HAVE OVER 600 PEOPLE ONLINE WATCHING RIGHT NOW.

WE WON'T GET TO YES, WE WON'T GET TO EVERY QUESTION.

BUT BUT WE'VE GOT WE'VE GOT ABOUT TEN MORE 10 TO 15 MORE MINUTES WHERE WE CAN TAKE A FEW.

SO I'VE PULLED THE THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS FROM THE THREAD.

SO. LET'S SEE.

ALL RIGHT. THE FIRST QUESTION IS, WHY IS THE VOTING PROCESS SO ARCHAIC? WHEN WILL VOTING BECOME DIGITAL AND MAYBE POSSIBLY VOTE FROM OUR HOMES, FROM OUR MOBILE DEVICES? SO. PLAYING WITH VOTERS HAS BEEN.

THE TEXAS VOTERS HAS WORKED HARD ON THIS, THESE ISSUES.

THEY'RE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION, SAME DAY, VOTER REGISTRATION INVOLVING THE VOTING SYSTEMS. I CAN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHEN THAT WILL HAPPEN.

I DO FEEL LIKE WE'RE MAKING SOME HEADWAY ON THE ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION PART OF THE PROCESS AND THAT AS WE MAKE HEADWAY AND THAT THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE HAS BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, THAT MAYBE THEN WE CAN KEEP GOING IN THE NEXT STEP AND HAVE FULL ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION.

[01:45:07]

COULD THEY AT LEAST MAKE CHANGE OF ADDRESS ONLINE? AND SO THEY DID.

BUT SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TRY HARDER TO MAKE THE ALL THE VOTING MORE DIGITAL.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK BACK TO THE WHY VOTING MATTERS QUESTION.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE OFTEN TALK TO YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT JUST THEM VOTING THE THE VARIOUS REPRESENTATIVES THAT ARE IN OFFICE ACTUALLY KNOW WHO VOTES.

THEY KNOW THAT ELDERLY FOLKS VOTE IN 85% AND YOUNG FOLKS VOTED 30, 25, 30%.

AND IF THAT SWITCHES, WE THINK THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL BECOME MORE RECEPTIVE TO THESE KINDS OF THINGS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE WANT.

SO SOMETIMES WE SAY YOU MAY VOTE FOR SOMEONE AND NOT GET 100% THE OUTCOME.

YOUR PERSON MAY NOT WIN, BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE ACTUALLY THE WORLD KNOWS YOU VOTED AND THEY KNOW THAT YOU'RE 20 YEARS OLD AND THAT MATTERS, THAT YOU VOTE AS A 20 YEAR OLD BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN OFFICE NOW KNOW WHO THE 20 YEAR OLDS ARE VOTING.

SO MY THOUGHT IS THAT THE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE VOTING, THE MORE LIKELY WE ARE TO GET SOME OF THESE POLICIES TO BRING US A LITTLE MORE.

TEXAS IS QUITE BEHIND, BY THE WAY, IN TERMS OF THIS PAPER REGISTRATION AND PAPER, THIS AND THAT AND A LOT OF OBSTACLES.

I COULD TALK FOR DAYS ABOUT OBSTACLES, BUT THERE ARE WAYS TO SORT OF TRYING TO WHITTLE AWAY AT THEM.

AND IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD VOTE LIKE THE WAY YOU DO THIS APP ON YOUR PHONE, RIGHT? THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I DON'T THINK WE'RE QUITE THERE.

THANK YOU, BARBARA.

THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR ANAYA.

WHAT STEPS DO YOU THINK WE COULD TAKE TO CREATE AN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT ENGAGES AND EMPOWERS STUDENTS TO ACT? THAT IS A WONDERFUL QUESTION.

WE ACTUALLY WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEY'RE THEY'RE INCREDIBLY BRIGHT AND THEY'RE GIVING ME A LOT OF HOPE THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO BE VERY GREAT.

BUT WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS WHAT WE'VE TRIED ACTUALLY AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN DALLAS IS WE'VE CREATED THESE EVENTS WHERE IT'S LIKE A SEMINAR AND IT'S THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE VERSUS AN EDUCATIONAL PIECE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND THEN WE HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THOSE STUDENTS AND WE ASK THEM, WHAT'S THEIR OPINIONS ON THIS? WHAT DO YOU SEE THE CHALLENGES BEING? AND WE WANT THEM TO REALLY THINK BIG AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW WE CAN APPROACH THE SITUATION.

BUT I THINK IT STARTS WITH CREATING ORGANIZATIONS AND CREATING GROUPS IN YOUR OWN COMMUNITIES AND YOUR OWN SCHOOLS.

HOW DO WE MAKE THIS A BETTER TOPIC? HOW DO WE SHOW UP? AND YOU CAN GO LOBBY AS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, WE HAVE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT GO AND LOBBY TO THEIR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OFTEN.

AND SO IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN, ANYONE CAN, AND GIVING THEM THE PROPER RESOURCES AND TOOLS THAT WE CAN TO HELP GUIDE THEM IN THAT WAY.

AND IN CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY, WE HAVE WE HAVE A CRAZY AMOUNT OF MENTORSHIP.

I FEEL LIKE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOU DON'T HAVE A CLEAR GOAL, IT'S VERY EASY FOR YOU TO STEP BACK AND NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING OR VOLUNTEER.

SO WE DO A VERY GOOD JOB AT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE FEELS SUPPORTED IN THEIR JOURNEY.

AND I THINK BEING ABLE TO MOBILIZE GROUPS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LOCALLY IS THE PLACE TO START AND GETTING THAT CONVERSATION GOING SO THEY'RE MORE MOTIVATED WHEN THEY CAN VOTE, OH, I'M DEFINITELY SHOWING UP.

LIKE I KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO HEAR MY VOICE AND THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT I AM A GROUP THEY NEED TO CATER TO.

AND SO, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND.

THANK YOU.

THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR RUDY.

WE'VE GOT AN AUDIENCE MEMBER THAT'S SAYING IT'S FRUSTRATING WHEN I TRY TO RESEARCH CANDIDATES ON SITES LIKE VOTER 411 AND OFTEN THERE'S NOT A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM THE CANDIDATES ON THERE.

SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? HOW CAN HOW CAN OUR AUDIENCE MEMBERS RESEARCH CANDIDATES AND KNOW THAT THE INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE GETTING IS ACCURATE? WELL, I THINK BARBARA MENTIONED A TERRIFIC RESOURCE.

THE LEAGUE HAS A GREAT VOTER GUIDE.

THAT IS I THINK AND BARBARA CAN CORRECT ME ON THIS IF THE QUESTIONS ARE BY OFFICE.

RIGHT. SO EVERYBODY HAS TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS.

MY NEWSPAPER, DALLAS NEWS.COM, ALSO HAS A SIMILAR VOTER GUIDE.

WE ASK SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.

OUR OURS IS SUBSCRIBER BASED.

[01:50:02]

THAT'S PRETTY, PRETTY IMPORTANT THAT THEY BE ABLE TO PAY THEIR RENT.

BUT LOOK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FOR FOR EVERYONE, BUT THAT I REALLY HOPE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL REENGAGE IS THERE THERE ARE INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE HAD A LONG HISTORY OF GOOD SERVICE.

YOU MAY SOMETIMES DISAGREE WITH THEM.

I CERTAINLY PEOPLE DISAGREE WITH MY NEWSPAPER AND OUR EDITORIAL BOARD SOMETIMES.

THAT'S GREAT. PEOPLE SHOULD DISAGREE.

WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY.

THE LEAGUE IS A TERRIFIC SOCIAL ORGANIZATION THAT HAS JUST DONE.

DEMOCRACY ACTIVISM FOR A LONG, LONG, LONG TIME.

AND THEY DO IT REALLY WELL.

SO FIND THOSE PLACES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF, I THINK, ALGORITHMICALLY DETERMINED INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, AND OFTENTIMES THOSE ARE THOSE ARE BETTER SOURCES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR THE GROUP.

SO DO YOU FEEL COVID, THE PANDEMIC HAD AN EFFECT ON VOTER TURNOUT? EARLY VOTING IS SUPPOSEDLY DOWN IN TEXAS RIGHT NOW.

WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT IS? IS IT BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC? I'VE STUDIED VOTER TURNOUT OVER IN OUR NORTH TEXAS COUNTIES AND IN THE STATE AT LARGE.

AND CERTAINLY THE PANDEMIC HAS AN IMPACT.

BUT I WILL I WILL TELL YOU THAT VOTER TURNOUT IS PRIMARILY AFFECTED BY PEOPLE'S EXCITEMENT ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK HISTORICALLY AT THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY, TURNOUT WAS VERY MUCH ELEVATED.

THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TURNOUT WAS VERY MUCH ELEVATED AND PEOPLE HAD OBVIOUSLY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THAT.

AND THEN THE 2018 MIDTERM ELECTION, WHEN BETO O'ROURKE FIRST RAN FOR SENATE, THAT WAS ENERGIZING TO VOTERS. I THINK THAT THIS YEAR'S.

DEPRESSED. TURNOUT IS PROBABLY LESS LIKELY A PANDEMIC IMPACT THAN IT IS A SORT OF GENERAL.

LACK OF ENTHUSIASM.

THANK YOU. AT DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, BARBARA, SOME THINGS, SOME OTHER THOUGHTS ON THAT, BECAUSE WE'RE FINDING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ACTUALLY ARE QUITE ENTHUSIASTIC.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO ARE THE VOTING OBSTACLES THAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT.

AND THEY'RE REALLY QUITE YOU KNOW, THEY'VE SINCE THE LAST ELECTION WE HAD SP ONE AND THERE ARE A WHOLE NEW LAYER OF OBSTACLES.

IT'S HARDER TO ASSIST ELDERLY VOTERS.

I HAVE FRIENDS THAT HAVE HAD TO DO THIS AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT.

IT'S MUCH HARDER TO VOTE BY MAIL.

IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE APPLICATION TO VOTE BY MAIL.

I ANSWERED THE PHONE CALLS ALL THE TIME.

PEOPLE CALL IN AND THERE'S TEAMS OF US THAT CALL PEOPLE BACK WITH ANSWERS.

AND I TALKED TO PEOPLE ON THE PHONE AND PEOPLE SAY, I'M 85 AND I CANNOT READ THIS VOTE BY MAIL APPLICATION.

AND I SAY I'M 60 AND I CAN'T READ THE VOTE BY MAIL APPLICATION.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE RIGHT NOW WE ARE STARTING A LITTLE DATABASE OF OUT OF STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND WHETHER THEY HAVE MANAGED TO VOTE BY MAIL.

AND SO FAR, I HAVE TEN PEOPLE IN MY LITTLE SPREADSHEET AND I'VE GOT NINE THAT CAN'T GET IT DONE.

I THINK WE'LL FIND OUT AND ONE THAT COULD.

SO THERE ARE 85% OF THE PEOPLE IN COLORADO HAVE VOTED IN THE LAST IN THE 2020 ELECTION.

AND IN OUR BEST CASE EVER, WHERE EVERYBODY WAS ENERGIZED IN TEXAS, WE HAD IT GOT TO ABOUT 66%.

SO THAT'S 3 MILLION PEOPLE IN TEXAS.

AND I DEFINITELY REJECT THE CONCEPT THAT PEOPLE ARE LAZY.

I DON'T THINK TEXANS ARE LAZIER THAN COLORADANS.

I THINK THAT WE HAVE OBSTACLES THAT THEY DON'T HAVE AND IT'S REAL.

SO RIGHT NOW I THINK WE HAVE A MIX OF ENERGY GOING ON AND I THINK WE HAVE MORE OBSTACLES THAN WE HAD BEFORE.

SO I THINK WE HAVE WE HAVE COMPETING THINGS GOING ON IN TERMS OF TURNOUT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

AND SO WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE QUESTION.

AND I THINK I THINK THIS IS ONE THAT ALL OF YOU CAN ANSWER.

TALKING ABOUT POLITICS IS NOT FOR THE WEEK.

SO BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU GUYS, FOR EVEN FOR EVEN BEING FOR EVEN BEING HERE AND YOUR CAREERS

[01:55:09]

HOW DO YOU HAVE THESE CONTROVERSIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH VOTERS AS NONPARTISAN WITHOUT IT GETTING TO A HEATED PLACE? OR DOES IT GET TO A HEATED PLACE? YEAH. I CAN SPEAK FOR OUR CITIZENS TRYING TO LOBBY.

WE WE TRY OUR BEST.

LIKE I SAID, WE TRY TO FIND THAT MIDDLE GROUND.

AND LIKE HISTORICALLY, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE SUPPORTED THE CARBON FEE AND DIVIDEND AND WE STILL VERY MUCH SUPPORT THAT.

AND WE FEEL LIKE PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE ON THE LEFT TYPICALLY SUPPORT IT.

PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT MAKE BEER THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS IN THEIR HANDS.

BUT IT'S IT'S NOT THAT THEY HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DO WHAT THEY WANT.

IT'S JUST IF YOU'RE POLLUTING MORE THAN THIS, THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.

YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO START PAYING FOR IT.

AND SO WE TRY TO SUPPORT AND CREATE GOOD DIALOG FOR HOW WE CAN FIND SOLUTIONS THAT ARE GOOD FOR BOTH SIDES.

AND HOW CAN WE START THAT CONVERSATION AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING RESPECTFUL.

WE ARE BEING EMPATHETIC BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS AS EDUCATED ON THESE TOPICS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE REALLY TRY TO PUT ACTION BEHIND WHAT WE DO AND JUST CREATE THAT SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO BE CURIOUS AND FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE THAT ACTION IN THEIR OWN HANDS TO SUPPORT CLIMATE POLICY. WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO EMPOWER PEOPLE TO USE THEIR VOICE IN THE PROCESS SO WE DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME. WE DON'T SPEND ANY TIME REALLY TALKING ABOUT POLITICS PER SE.

WE ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE PROCESS AND THE CONFIDENCE AND GETTING PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY CAN FEEL LIKE THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN DEMOCRACY.

SO FROM OUR STANDPOINT, WE DON'T WE DON'T GET INTO THAT.

WE ALWAYS WE'LL HELP EVERYONE.

WE WANT EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE.

WE THINK THAT'S HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK.

I ENVY YOU BECAUSE WE DO WE DO TAKE WE DO AT THE END OF THE DAY, A PIC.

AND THIS YEAR OUR EDITORIAL BOARD RECOMMENDED 22 DEMOCRATS AND WE RECOMMENDED 19 REPUBLICANS.

WE TRIED TO SIT DOWN WITH EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE WHERE WE WHERE WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION.

WE DON'T WE DON'T SEE THE WORLD AS OR ISSUES MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARGUE OVER, A SIMPLE MANY PEOPLE AND I RESPECT THEIR POINTS OF VIEW, BUT THEY HAVE VERY CLEARLY DEFINED PERSPECTIVES ON ON ISSUES.

WE LIVE IN A POLITICAL BINARY.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR THIS PERSON OR THAT PERSON.

VERY OFTEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND THAT IS OUR HOW OUR DEMOCRACY WORKS.

I THINK THE. THE SPACE.

OUTSIDE OF THAT BINARY IS THE IMPORTANT PLACE THAT WE REALLY SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME WRITING AND THINKING.

OUR POLITICS DOESN'T REPRESENT THE COMPLEXITY OF OUR DEMOCRACY.

AND I THINK THAT IF PEOPLE WOULD REFLECT ON THAT MORE OFTEN, THEY WOULD STEP OUT OF THE POLITICAL BINARY INTO WHICH WE'RE FORCED AND HAVE A MUCH BETTER TIME MAKING CONNECTION SORT OF OUTSIDE OF THE ECHO CHAMBERS THAT ANITA MENTIONED.

IT'S DIFFICULT.

WE WE LIVE IN A IN A WORLD THAT PROMOTES THE KIND OF THE DIFFERENCES OVER THE COMMONALITIES.

IT'S CHALLENGING TO OVERCOME THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CITIZENS TO DO SO.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WELL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO END IT HERE.

I WISH WE COULD KEEP GOING.

BUT JUST BEFORE BEFORE WE BREAK, WOULD YOU GUYS LIKE TO JUST TAKE THIS TIME TO PROMOTE YOUR ORGANIZATIONS AND YOUR PUBLICATION? JUST SO HOW CAN PEOPLE KEEP UP WITH WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING? OH, ABSOLUTELY. YES.

YEAH. IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SAYING YOUR NAME AGAIN IN YOUR ORGANIZATION AS WELL.

YEAH. SO AGAIN, MY NAME IS ANITA HENDERSON.

THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.

I TEACH AT MELITA HIGH SCHOOL, AND SOME OF MY STUDENTS ACTUALLY DO CLASSES AT DALLAS COLLEGE, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE.

SO MY NAME IS KNIGHT HENDERSON.

I VOLUNTEER WITH CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED.

I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU JUST GO TO THE CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY WEBSITE AND SIGN UP THROUGH THERE.

THERE WILL BE A WELCOME VOLUNTEER IF YOU'RE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, AND WE CAN GET YOU STARTED BECAUSE WE WANT ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO'S MOTIVATED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT CLIMATE.

[02:00:03]

THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ALSO HAS A LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF TEXAS AND THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS US.

SO WE HAVE ACTUALLY AND WE HAVE THE VOTE 41.

ORG, WHICH IS OUR VOTERS GUIDE.

SO WE HAVE FOUR WEBSITES.

SO THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF DALLAS WEBSITE IS L DALLAS DAWG.

WE WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE THAT HAS ANY VOTING QUESTIONS OR WANTS TO VOLUNTEER WITH US OR SIGN UP.

WE'RE ALMOST ALL VOLUNTEERS AND WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND CLICK ON PARTICIPATE AND VOLUNTEER.

WE ALWAYS HAVE SHIFTS AND PLACES.

WE'RE GOING TO REGISTER VOTERS AND EDUCATE VOTERS AND WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WORK AT THE COLLEGES.

SO WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME JOIN US IN THAT EFFORT.

MY NAME IS RUDY BUSH. I'M EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR FOR THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, WHICH HAS THE LARGEST NEWSROOM OF ANY NEWS ORGANIZATION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND I'M HERE BECAUSE OUR EDITORIAL BOARD IS A 100% SUPPORTER OF DALLAS COLLEGE AND ITS MISSION.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU TO OUR PANELISTS.

THANK YOU.

IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU WOULD JUST STAY SEATED.

WE'LL GET OUR PANELISTS OFF THE STAGE AND WE'LL GET YOU TO THE THE GYM FOR LUNCH AS SOON AS THEY LEAVE.

THEN WE INVITE EVERYONE TO GET A LUNCH FROM THE GYM.

IT IS CATERED BY MENDOCINO FARMS. AND PLEASE MAKE I THINK YOU GOT TICKETS AT CHECK IN.

PLEASE HAVE YOUR TICKETS READY AND YOU CAN EAT LUNCH.

THERE IS NO FOOD ALLOWED IN HERE IN THE PERFORMANCE HALL, BUT IN THE GYM THERE IS SEATING.

YOU CAN ALSO EAT OUTSIDE IF YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH.

I DON'T THINK IT'S RAINING YET, BUT IT MIGHT IN A MINUTE.

OR YOU CAN HEAD TO YOUR NEXT BREAKOUT SESSION.

PLEASE GO AHEAD.

AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT ON YOUR PHONE, THERE ARE THE AGENDAS ARE OUTSIDE AND THERE'S QR CODES AS WELL.

ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU'LL SEE THE AGENDA AND THE ROOM NUMBERS FOR THE NEXT TWO BREAKOUT SESSIONS.

AND OF COURSE, IF YOU'RE HAVING ANY TROUBLE, PLEASE PULL ME OR ANY OTHER VOLUNTEER TO THE SITE AND WE'LL GET YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.

BUT NEXT IN THE SCHEDULE IS LUNCH.

SO ONCE OUR PANELISTS LEAVE THE STAGE, YOU CAN HEAD TO THE GYM FOR LUNCH.

THANK YOU.

GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND WELCOME TO THE IN THE HOME BREAKOUT SESSION.

SO IN THIS SESSION YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO MAKE CHANGES IN THE HOME THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

AT THE END OF THE SESSION, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS TO OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS AND TAKE AWAY TANGIBLE METHODS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR HOME OR YOUR BUSINESS ENERGY CONSCIOUS. BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSORS FOR THE EVENT.

THE CARBON ALMANAC ON CORE TRAIN US ECOLOGIC AND WHERE I'M OUT.

TS SO I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOUR PANELISTS FOR TODAY.

WE HAVE RANDY BOIES.

THANK YOU, ONCOR ELECTRIC.

AND HE IS THE TECHNOLOGY MANAGER WHO'S ALSO GOING TO SERVE AS YOUR MODERATOR.

TODAY. WE HAVE LISA ROARK.

SHE IS THE PROGRAM MANAGER OF TURN COMPOST.

WE HAVE SUSAN ALVAREZ AND SHE IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF DALLAS OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.

AND WE ALSO HAVE MARK WITT, CHAIR OF NORTH TEXAS RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

SO OUR PANEL WILL TAKE QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE AT THE END OF THEIR PRESENTATIONS AND YOU WILL SEE THE SAME SLIDE, A SCREEN POP UP ON, POP UP BEHIND THEM. GO AHEAD AND JOIN SLIDO AGAIN AND SEND THEM YOUR QUESTIONS.

AND I'LL MODERATE THOSE TO THEM AT THE END AND WE'LL TRY TO GET TO EVERYONE.

WE STILL DO HAVE A LOT OF A LOT OF PEOPLE LISTENING IN VIRTUALLY.

SO WE'LL TRY TO GET TO AS MANY AS WE CAN.

WHILE I WON'T TAKE UP ANY MORE OF YOUR TIME, RANDY, PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY.

YOUR FIRST JOB IS IF I'M STILL TALKING IN 3 MINUTES.

KICK ME THE IN THE IN THE HOME PANEL.

YOU WILL SEE MANY OF THE EXHIBITORS.

THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE HERE PHYSICALLY AT LEAST, CAN SEE MANY OF THE EXHIBITORS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT WILL TELL YOU ANY END OF GREAT WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE, ETC., BY MODIFICATIONS, MANY OF THEM VERY EASY TO MAKE, MODIFICATIONS THAT YOU CAN DO AT YOUR HOME. AND WE WILL HEAR SOME MORE ABOUT THAT WHEN WE WE HEAR FROM THE VARIOUS PANELISTS.

[02:05:04]

I DON'T KNOW IF HE RESPONDS TO THAT NAME, BUT I CAN'T PRONOUNCE HIS FIRST NAME.

THE KEYNOTE THAT OPENED THIS MORNING TALKED ABOUT FROM AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE WHY THEY HAVE THIS TIE TO THE LAND AND WHY IT WAS CLEAR TO THEM THE TYPES OF IMPACTS THAT THEIR CHOICES, THEIR LIFESTYLE MAKE ON THE LAND.

WELL, ALL OF US AT HOME HAVE AT LEAST THAT ONE LITTLE PIECE OF LAND.

NOT NECESSARILY ALL OF US IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE AS MUCH LAND OR AS PRETTY A LAND OR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE RENTING, MAYBE NOT MUCH LAND, YOU'VE STILL GOT YOUR HOME AND THINGS YOU CAN DO THERE AND YOU'VE GOT A DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER THAT ENVIRONMENT.

WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE PANEL IN GENERAL AT THE END, AFTER EACH PERSON TALKS, IS HOW THAT SAME CONNECTEDNESS TO YOUR PROPERTY, TO THE THINGS THAT YOU DO HAVE CONTROL OVER, COULD BE CONNECTED TO LARGER CHANGES.

WE HAVE GIVEN UP TO THE CORPORATIONS, OUR GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE OF OUR OUR EXCHANGE OF SOME AMOUNT OF WEALTH THAT I CAN LIVE IN THIS CITY. I CAN STILL DO THESE THINGS.

I GET ALL THESE OTHER BENEFITS.

AND YET WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SO MANY WRONG DECISIONS THAT HAVE IMPACTED THE COLLECTIVE LAND, NOT JUST MY HOUSE AND WHAT I DO AT MY HOME, BUT IN COLLECTIVE.

SO I'M HOPING THAT WE WILL GET TO THINK ABOUT HOW THAT SAME PASSION THAT WE MIGHT EITHER HAVE OR NURTURE AT OUR HOMES CAN BECOME A VOICE FOR LARGER CHANGE AS WELL.

AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO LET LISA TALK TO US ABOUT TURN COMPOST WORKS ON BOTH A RESIDENTIAL AND A COMMERCIAL LEVEL FOR SOME VERY EASY PRACTICAL AND.

BOTH ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CHANGING SYSTEMS. BUT THAT'S ALL YOUR STUFF. I'LL LET YOU SAY THAT.

OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU.

MY NAME IS LISA FALK, LIKE YOU SAID.

I AM THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR TERN COMPOST, AND I AM A PLANT BASED CHEF AND A HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST AS WELL, AND WITH A DEGREE IN PERMACULTURE.

SO I SPENT ABOUT 20 YEARS IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY AND BECAME VERY FASCINATED WITH THE INGREDIENTS IN THE PRODUCTS, MORE ABOUT HOW THEY WERE SOURCED AND ALSO WHY THEY WORKED IN KEEPING US PRETTY.

SO I THOUGHT, WELL, I CAN START GROWING SOME OF THAT AT HOME.

AND I DID, AND I FAILED MISERABLY.

LIKE ALL NEW GARDENERS DO.

IT WAS GREAT. I HAD MY FIRST ROUND OF CATERPILLARS THAT I THOUGHT WERE FANTASTIC BECAUSE THEY PRODUCE BUTTERFLIES, BUT THEY ALSO PRODUCE DEAD PLANTS THAT I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH. SO ENTER COMPOSTING.

AND THAT'S WHY I'M SO PROUD TO WORK FOR TURN COMPOST NOW.

BUT AFTER A WHILE I DECIDED I KNEW ENOUGH ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS.

I KNEW HOW TO GROW THEM.

I NOW NEED TO KNOW THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF THEM.

SO I WENT, JUST GO FOR THAT.

AND THEN I THOUGHT, OH, I SHOULD LEARN HOW TO COOK TOO.

SO MY 40 YEAR OLD SELF CAME TO DALLAS COLLEGE AND WENT TO THE DOWNTOWN LOCATION AND GOT A CULINARY DEGREE SO I COULD LEARN HOW TO COOK.

AND I PRODUCED THE FIRST VEGAN MEAL DURING THE INTERNATIONAL CUISINE WEEK THAT I HAD TO SNEAK IN BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST ONE, AND THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT IT WAS VEGAN BUT GOT TO HAVE A PIONEER SOMEWHERE, RIGHT? SO THE HANDOUT THAT YOU GOT TALKS ABOUT, THE TOP 15 SOLUTIONS THAT YOU CAN DO, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYONE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THIS.

WE HAVE THEM IN PRINT AT THE THE FRONT DESK, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THEM ONLINE FOR YOU, TOO.

AND I CAN TELL YOU A FEW THINGS THAT A PLANT RICH DIET DOES NOT ONLY REDUCES CARBON EMISSIONS FROM THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY, THE FARMING INDUSTRY, BUT IT ALSO IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT FOR THE SOIL.

AND THAT'S WHERE COMPOST REALLY COMES IN.

IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO COMPOST AT HOME, YOU'RE VERY LUCKY.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY BECAUSE THEY EITHER HAVE NEIGHBORS WHO ARE LIKE, THAT'S GOING TO SMELL.

I DON'T WANT THAT HOE OR THEY HAVE TOO SMALL AREA.

AND THAT'S WHERE OUR COMPANY COMES IN, WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE YOUR FOOD SCRAPS TO OUR SITE IN GARLAND, MIX IT WITH SOME CARBON AND CREATE THE COMPOST THAT WE GIVE BACK TO YOU.

WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO COMPOST AT HOME, YOU'RE DOING A COUPLE OF THINGS.

YOU'RE REDUCING YOUR FOOD WASTE, HOPEFULLY BECAUSE YOU'RE REALIZING THAT YOU'RE SEEING HOW MUCH WHEN YOU'RE DOING KIND OF A TRASH AUDIT, HOW MANY THINGS AM I ACTUALLY THROWING OUT? WELL, DID I ACTUALLY NEED TO PEEL THAT CARROT OR CAN I JUST EAT THE WHOLE THING? WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE GREENS OF THE CARROT? YOU START TO KIND OF REALLY TAKE PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY OF HOW MUCH OF THE INGREDIENT THAT YOU ARE.

THAT YOU'RE TOSSING AWAY, HOPEFULLY INTO THE COMPOST, BUT YOU'RE ALSO CREATING A VERY, VERY HEALTHY GARDEN FOR YOURSELF.

[02:10:03]

BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THERE'S PLANTS GROWING, THEY ABSORB THE CARBON FROM THE AIR AND TURN THAT BACK INTO OXYGEN, WHICH HELPS US TO BREATHE. SO IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN GROW.

AND EVEN IF IT'S A CONTAINER ON YOUR BALCONY BOX AND PLUS PLANTS JUST MAKE YOU HAPPY.

THEY REDUCE DEPRESSION.

THEY KIND OF CHANGE THE VIBE OF YOUR WHOLE SPACE.

SO I'M ALL ABOUT THE PLANTS AND.

GARDENING AND ESPECIALLY WITH COMPOSTING.

SO ABOUT IT WAS AUGUST 2015.

I WAS STILL WORKING IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY AND NOTICING HOW MANY THINGS WE WERE THROWING AWAY.

IF YOU NOTICE IN A LOT OF PRODUCTS YOU GET THIS REALLY PRETTY PACKAGING THAT ISN'T RECYCLABLE BECAUSE TO MAKE IT KIND OF BOUGIE, THEY WANT IT TO BE NICE AND, YOU KNOW, SLICK PACKAGING WITH LOTS OF COLORS THAT ENDS UP IN THE TRASH.

BUT YOU PAID MORE FOR IT, SO.

BUT. I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF, WHAT CAN I DO TO POSITIVELY IMPACT AN OFFSET? WHAT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IN THIS INDUSTRY.

AND PART OF THAT WENT TO GOING TO WORK FOR GREENER COMPANIES.

BUT I FOUND THIS BOOK CALLED THE ZERO WASTE HOME BY BAYER JOHNSON, AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE.

IT REALLY SHOWED ME HOW LITTLE I COULD USE THAT I HAD MORE THAN I NEEDED, THAT I WAS ABLE TO MAKE MY OWN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS TO CLEAN WITH, WHICH WAS JUST BASICALLY BAKING SODA, VINEGAR AND SOME WATER AND CASTILE SOAP.

I DIDN'T NEED TO HAVE ALL OF THOSE CHEMICALS ON MY FLOOR, BUT I ALSO DIDN'T NEED TO BE PUTTING THEM ON MY FACE AND BODY EITHER.

SO WHEN YOU ARE HAVING THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME, YOU CAN ALSO BE THINKING ABOUT JUST FROM A PERSONAL LEVEL.

ARE THE ARE THE COMPANIES THAT I'M SUPPORTING WITH MY PURCHASES, ARE THEY CRUELTY FREE? ARE THEY BEING TESTED ON ANIMALS? IS THIS AN AEROSOL CAN THAT'S GOING TO MESS UP THE ENVIRONMENT? BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OZONE LAYER SINCE THE EIGHTIES.

WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS.

YOU CAN START WITH THOSE KIND OF CONSUMER CHOICES AND THEN DRINK THE KOOL-AID LIKE I DID AND BECOME COMPLETELY ZERO WASTE AND BRAG ABOUT ONLY THROWING AWAY ONE BAG OF TRASH EVERY QUARTER.

SO. SUCCESS.

RECYCLING. WELL, ONE THING THAT YOU WANT TO DO AT HOME TOO, IS KNOW WHICH WHAT IS RECYCLED IN YOUR CITY.

AND I KNOW SUE IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT PROBABLY WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS, BECAUSE IT DOES CHANGE.

I LIVE IN GARLAND AND WE USED TO BE ABLE TO RECYCLE PLASTICS ONE THROUGH FIVE AND SEVEN, AND THEN THAT CHANGED TO ONE, FIVE AND SEVEN.

SO YOU KIND OF HAVE TO STAY ON TOP OF THAT AND KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT THROWING CONTAMINANTS AWAY.

AND ONE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHEN YOU'RE COMPOSTING AT HOME IS IF YOU'RE VEGAN, YOU'RE A-OK.

IF YOU ARE A MEAT EATER, YOU MIGHT GET YOURSELF SOME RATS.

SO I RECOMMEND NOT COMPOSTING YOUR MEAT OR YOUR DAIRY BECAUSE YOUR NEIGHBORS WILL FOR SURE COMPLAIN ABOUT THEIR NEW VISITORS.

AND IF YOU HAVE A GARDEN THAT'LL REALLY BE MORE OF A TEST KITCHEN FOR ALL THE CONTAMINANTS THAT YOU BRING IN THERE, ALL THE RATS AND THE RODENTS.

SO. AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M A BIG ECO NERD IS ACTUALLY WHAT I CALL MYSELF, SO I CAN WAX ON FOREVER, BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE IT BACK TO RANDY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND AGAIN, THE CHOICES THAT YOU CAN MAKE AT YOUR HOUSE THAT HAVE AN IMPACT NOT ONLY ON YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE, BUT AS LISA EXPLAINED REALLY ON THE THE INDUSTRIES THAT WE ALL JUST WOULD OTHERWISE TAKE FOR GRANTED.

AND IT MAY SEEM LIKE THE COST IS THE SAME, OR MAYBE YOU EVEN HAVE TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TO DO SOMETHING BY YOUR CHOICE.

WE REALLY WANT TO HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE THINKING COLLECTIVELY ABOUT MAKING THOSE RIGHT DECISIONS.

WATCHING THE INDUSTRIES CHANGE, WATCHING THE GOVERNMENT REGULATION CHANGE AND RESPECT.

WE JUST ALL HAVE TO HAVE HER PASSION.

NEXT, SUSAN FROM THE CITY OF DALLAS.

SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHERE TO START, EXCEPT THAT MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.

BUT THE CITY DOES HAVE A CLIMATE PLAN.

I WAS TAKEN BY MR. MARTINEZ'S TALK THIS MORNING ABOUT THE POWER OF YOUR VOICE AND HOW CRITICAL IT IS THAT YOU USE IT.

THE CITY OF DALLAS WOULD NOT HAVE A CLIMATE PLAN IF OUR RESIDENTS HADN'T SHOWN UP AT THE BUDGET TOWN HALLS, WHICH ARE NORMALLY ABOUT MORE POLICE AND CODE OFFICERS AND MAYBE MORE HOURS AT THE LIBRARY.

BUT THEY SHOWED UP AND SAID, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING ABOUT CLIMATE?

[02:15:01]

AND THIS WAS FOLLOWING A PERIOD WHEN WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT, FOLLOWED BY GETTING THE YEAR'S RAINFALL THE FOLLOWING MONTH AND ABOUT SIX MONTHS OF FLOODING AFTER THAT.

SO. YOU MAY THINK THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER, BUT YOUR PUBLIC BODIES REALLY DO LISTEN AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO STAY WITH IT.

AND SO I WILL I WILL START THERE.

I AM A DRAINAGE PERSON.

I'M A DRAINAGE NERD.

AND WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN WERE DOING A CLIMATE PLAN.

THEY MOVED ME FROM THE DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT OVER INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENT BECAUSE OUR BIGGEST RISK IS FROM CRAZY STORMS LIKE WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AFTERNOON AND FLOODING LIKE WE'RE LOOKING AT PROBABLY THIS AFTERNOON.

AND SO WE STARTED RESEARCHING WHAT OTHER CITIES WERE DOING.

WE STARTED REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND WE LEARNED VERY QUICKLY IT'S NOT JUST BUILDINGS AND ENERGY, IT IS FOOD ACCESS, IT IS DRAINAGE, IT'S HAVING CLEAN WATER.

WE ENDED UP WITH EIGHT DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, INCLUDING WASTE MANAGEMENT, ZERO WASTE.

I SAY EVERYTHING FROM A TO Z, AIR QUALITY TO ZERO WASTE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.

WELL, I'M A DRAINAGE PERSON.

I DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT BUILDINGS AND ENERGY BECAUSE TYPICALLY AS A TRAINED CIVIL ENGINEER, I STAY WELL OUTSIDE THAT BUILDING LINE.

AND SO I STARTED ATTENDING MEETINGS OF THE NORTH TEXAS RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS ALL THIS ENERGY STUFF AND HOW DOES ONE PUT SOLAR ON A HOME? AND IS IT HARD, IS IT EXPENSIVE? IS IT SOMETHING ANYONE CAN DO? AND THEN IT'S ONE OF THOSE ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER, BECAUSE AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CLIMATE PLAN, IT'S LIKE, WELL, GOSH, IF I'M TALKING OTHER PEOPLE INTO DOING THIS, I PROBABLY NEED TO WALK THE TALK.

AND SO I PUT SOLAR ON MY HOME.

I TOOK A LOAN OUT OF MY RETIREMENT TO DO SO, BUT IT'S PAID OFF AND IT'S PAID OFF IN THE LAST LESS THAN FIVE YEARS, MY TAX REBATE THAT I GOT FROM THAT I USED TOWARDS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, MY TAX REBATE THAT I GOT FROM THAT I USE TOWARDS I'M ACTUALLY PROBABLY TWO DAYS AWAY FROM HAVING A BATTERY INSTALLED BECAUSE LESSON LEARNED DURING THE WINTER STORM IS JUST HAVING SOLAR.

WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT, YOU STILL LOSE YOUR POWER.

AND EVEN THOUGH MY HOME IS, I THOUGHT, FAIRLY WELL INSULATED, I STILL HAD ICE IN MY SINK AND I STILL HAD BROKEN PIPES UNDER MY HOUSE.

AND SO IT THE CLIMATE THING HITS YOU AT HOME WHETHER YOU WANT IT TO OR NOT.

AND SO I'VE WORKED SINCE ON FURTHER INSULATING MY HOME, I TOOK SOME OF MY SAVINGS AND TOOK MY GAS STOVE TOP OUT AND REPLACED IT WITH AN INDUCTIVE STOVETOP, ALL ELECTRIC.

AND SO TO ME, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I'M DOING.

IN MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE IS OOZING OVER INTO MY PERSONAL LIFE BECAUSE I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT I NEED TO BE WALKING THE TALK.

I DO HAVE A HYDROPONIC UNIT IN MY DINING ROOM.

I TRIED COMPOSTING AND EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T PUT MEAT IN IT, I LIVE IN AN OLDER PART OF DALLAS AND I DID HAVE SOME LITTLE FOUR LEGGED LONG TAILED FRIENDS THAT DECIDED TO MAKE MY HOME THEIR HOME.

AND SO I NOW HAVE A SMALL KITCHEN TOP COMPOSTER THAT I USE IN LIEU OF MY COMPOST PILE IN MY BACKYARD.

SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT ANYONE CAN DO WITH SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT IS COMING OUT OUT OF THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.

THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE THAT SWITCH.

THE OTHER THING THAT I KNOW NOW IS THAT NOT EVERYBODY'S GOT MONEY SITTING AROUND WHERE THEY CAN ACCESS IT TO PUT SOLAR ON THEIR HOME.

AND SO AS A CITY, WE'RE LOOKING AT, WELL, HOW DO WE HELP PEOPLE GET MORE COST EFFECTIVE ACCESS? AND IT'S ACCESS TO CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY.

AND HOW CAN WE EXPAND IMPLEMENTATION OF MORE SOLAR IN IN NORTH TEXAS SO THAT WE'RE NOT HELD UP BY WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE GRID?

[02:20:01]

IT REDUCES OUR VULNERABILITY AS A COMMUNITY.

THE OTHER THING IS, IS IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BIG AND FANCY, LIKE DRIVING THE EV OR OR PUTTING SOLAR ON YOUR HOME.

THERE ARE POWER AGREEMENTS WHERE YOU CAN BUY THE CREDITS THROUGH YOUR NORMAL POWER COMPANY AND GET CLEAN ENERGY THAT WAY.

YOU CAN CHECK AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE GOT ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHT BULBS.

IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH POWER YOU CAN SAVE JUST BY DOING THAT.

THE OTHER THING IS LOOK AT WHAT THEY CALL, I THINK, VAMPIRE POWER.

IF YOU'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, MY MOM USED TO YELL AT ME IF I WASN'T IN THE ROOM TO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS.

WELL, IT'S IT'S NOT ONLY THAT, BUT UNPLUG STUFF THAT YOU'RE NOT USING SO THAT THE SYSTEM IN YOUR HOUSE ISN'T GOING TO LOOK TO SEE IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING PLUGGED IN OR NOT.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO LIKE THAT CAULKING AROUND YOUR WINDOWS, JUST ENSURING LIKE WITH WHAT'S INSULATING MATERIAL, EVEN IF IT'S NOT YOUR HOME, YOU CAN PUT THAT AROUND YOUR WINDOWS.

IF YOU HAVE THE AVAILABLE FUNDING TO DO IT, YOU CAN LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WINDOWS ARE AT LEAST DOUBLE PAINT, IF NOT TRIPLE PAINT.

I'M IN A LOVELY STONE AUSTIN CHALK HOME BUILT IN 1945.

IT'S FABULOUS, EXCEPT THAT MY HOME WAS BUILT FOR CROSS VENTILATION, WHICH MEANS I'VE GOT 10 BILLION WINDOWS.

UPDATING MY WINDOWS ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT I'VE GOT THERMAL CURTAINS ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM SO THAT WHEN IT'S REALLY HOT OR IT'S REALLY COLD, I CAN CLOSE THEM AND KEEP SOME OF THAT EXTRA COLD FROM COMING IN OR EXTRA HEAT FROM COMING IN.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO IN YOUR OWN HOME, IN YOUR OWN LIFE THAT CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE COMFORTABLE AND CAN HELP THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL SHUT UP AND LET MARK TALK.

THANK YOU, SUSAN. I FIRST WANT TO THANK GEORGEANN MOSS AND HER TEAM AND ENTIRE THE ENTIRE DALLAS COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION FOR HOSTING THIS EVENT. I THINK THIS IS A MARVELOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE TO GET TOGETHER AND EXCHANGE IDEAS AND GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND TRY AND PUSH THIS WHOLE CONCEPT FORWARD.

AS THEY MENTIONED, I'M CURRENTLY BOARD CHAIR OF NORTH TEXAS RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP, THE NON EPONYMOUSLY NAMED SUBCHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY.

SO OBVIOUSLY WE'RE VERY BIG ADVOCATES OF SOLAR ENERGY FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING SOLAR ENERGY ON YOUR HOME.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'LL BE THE FIRST ONES TO TELL YOU BEFORE YOU PUT SOLAR ON YOUR HOME, REDUCE YOUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE BECAUSE FOR A COUPLE OF HUNDRED DOLLARS, $300 TO SAY, WELL, SUSAN OR SUSAN WAS SAYING YOU CAN SWITCH OUT ALL YOUR LIGHT BULBS TO LED LIGHT BULBS, YOU CAN TALK AROUND YOUR DOORS, YOUR WINDOWS, ALL THE OPENINGS IN YOUR HOUSE.

YOU CAN GET INSULATION AND INSULATE AROUND DOORS AND PLACES WHERE THERE'S CRACKS.

ALL THAT REDUCES YOUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

AND NOT ONLY THAT, YOUR HOME WILL BE MORE COMFORTABLE, TOO, BECAUSE YOU WON'T HAVE DRAFTS COMING IN AND COLD OR HOT AIR AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR.

BUT IF YOU DO ALL THAT, THEN THAT REDUCES THE SIZE OF SYSTEM YOU WOULD ULTIMATELY NEED TO BUY TO PUT ON YOUR ROOF.

AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE, OBVIOUSLY, THAT OWN THEIR OWN HOMES.

IF YOU'RE RENTING A HOUSE OR YOU'RE RENTING APARTMENT, YOU DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY OR THE POSSIBILITY OF PUTTING SOLAR ON YOUR ROOF, BUT YOU CAN STILL DO THE OTHER THINGS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TO REDUCE YOUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

AND THOSE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS.

AND TO SUSAN'S POINT, WE DID ACTUALLY SWITCH OUT THE WINDOWS IN OUR HOUSE A FEW YEARS BACK, AND WE PUT IN DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS WITH GAS IN BETWEEN. AND IT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED THE THE COMFORT OF THE HOUSE, THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION WENT DOWN.

AND THE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO MAKE MENTION ABOUT IS IT MADE THE HOME QUIETER BECAUSE THOSE WINDOWS ARE SO WELL INSULATED THAT BLOCKS THE SOUND AND YOU CAN LITERALLY STAND NEXT TO THOSE WINDOWS IN THE AFTERNOON WITH THE SUN OUT AND THE SUN IS BEATING ON THE WINDOWS AND YOU DON'T FEEL THE SUN COMING THROUGH THOSE WINDOWS LIKE YOU MIGHT IN THOSE OLD TYPE OF WINDOWS THAT ARE SINGLE PANE.

SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO.

YOU CAN START SMALL, JUST SWITCH OUT YOUR LED.

I MEAN, YOUR OLD INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS FOR LED BULBS.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS ON THIS LIST.

[02:25:02]

OBVIOUSLY, THIS LIST OF 15 THINGS THAT ALL OF US CAN DO IS MUCH MORE EXPANSIVE THAN WE TYPICALLY THINK ABOUT AT 90 REC.

BUT THINGS LIKE SWITCHING OUT LED LIGHT BULBS.

YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I DID THAT PROBABLY, I DON'T KNOW, 15 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY FIRST CAME OUT, I KNEW AT THAT POINT I WAS OVERPAYING FOR THE LIGHT BULBS.

BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE AS MORE OF US BUY THOSE LIGHT BULBS BY THE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE OF RIGHTS LAW.

THE MANUFACTURING, THE LIGHT BULBS GETS MORE SPREAD OUT AND THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE KICK IN.

AND I THINK WHEN I FIRST STARTED OUT, I WAS BUYING LED BULBS FOR 20, $25 EACH.

NOW THEY'RE DOWN TO TWO OR $3.

YOU CAN GET A PACK OF THEM.

AND I THINK THE PRICE PER PACK IS LIKE A DOLLAR A BULB IF YOU DO IT OUTRIGHT.

SO THEY'RE VERY CHEAP NOW.

AND I WANT TO MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE COLLECTIVELY, BECAUSE IF YOU GO BACK 15 YEARS, THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HOME USE 17 TO 8, 17 OR 18% OF THE TOTAL ENERGY USAGE WAS FOR LIGHTING.

NOW IT'S BETWEEN TEN AND 11%.

AND THAT DIFFERENCE IS PEOPLE ARE PUTTING LED LIGHT BULBS IN.

THAT'S REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION ON A MACRO OR SOCIETAL LEVEL.

SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING FOR ALL OF US TO KEEP IN MIND.

THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT AS WE EACH INDIVIDUALLY DO THESE THINGS, IT COLLECTIVELY MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.

AND SO THIS LIST, AGAIN, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE WHAT I CALL ONE OFF DEALS.

SWITCHING UP YOUR LIGHT BULBS FOR LED LIGHTING, IF YOU GO TO ROOFTOP SOLAR, THAT'S A ONE OFF THING.

OTHERS IN HERE LIKE USING A PLANT RICH DIET.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S A CONTINUAL THING.

SO AGAIN, THIS LIST IS MUCH MORE EXPANSIVE THAN WE NORMALLY LOOK AT AT AUNTIE REC, BUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE THE SAME THINGS WE TALK ABOUT.

AND WATER SAVING IS ANOTHER ONE THAT ACTUALLY SAVES A LOT OF ENERGY.

AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WASHING YOUR CLOTHES IN COLD WATER BECAUSE THE MODERN DETERGENTS WORK JUST AS WELL IN COLD WATER AS THEY DO IN HOT WATER.

AND I KNOW THAT BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER USED TO WORK FOR PROCTER AND GAMBLE AS AN ENGINEER AND MOST OF THE WATER USED MOST OF THE ENERGY USED FOR CLOTHES.

WASHING IS JUST USE TO HEAT THE WATER.

SO ELIMINATE THAT.

THAT'S ANOTHER EASY THING TO DO.

BUT ALL THESE THINGS, AGAIN, IF YOU DO THEM INDIVIDUALLY.

OVER TIME, THEY WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF MONEY.

IT SAVES A LOT OF ENERGY.

AND FROM A SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE, IT HELPS US ALL OUT.

IF I CAN GO OFF SCRIPT FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS, THERE'S ONE THING THAT I WANT ALL OF YOU ALL TO DO, AND IT MAKES A VERY IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE, AND THAT IS GET OUT AND VOTE ON TUESDAY.

AND IF YOU ALL DO THAT AND GET YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THAT, THEN THAT WILL HELP OUT AS WELL.

THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY VOTED.

IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY VOTED.

I'VE ALREADY VOTED, BUT NOT ONCE.

VOTE. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

THE I KEEP THINKING IT'S THE ONLY TOOL YOU'VE GOT IS A HAMMER.

EVERY PROBLEM LOOKS LIKE A NAIL.

AND I KEEP HEARING ENERGY, ENERGY, ENERGY.

AND ALMOST ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE SAID.

I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT SO MANY COMMUNITIES DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE SAID.

THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE ARE NOT OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THEM.

SOME OF THE THINGS ON THIS LIST ARE YOU GO HOME AND JUST DECIDE TO DO IT AND IT WILL STILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

A LOT OF WHAT'S COME OUT IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, THE CLIMATE ACT AND DISGUISE IS THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF FUNDS THAT WILL BE WORKING THEIR WAY INTO THOSE PREVIOUSLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.

YOU KNOW, THE POOREST PEOPLE SPEND THE MOST PERCENTAGE OF THEIR INCOME ON ENERGY, JUST KEEPING THE HOUSE WARM, GET WATER IN THE HOUSE, AND, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION, 40% OF THEIR INCOME IS GONE AND YOU ADD RENT TO IT AND IT'S LIKE WHAT'S LEFT? THERE ARE PROGRAMS. ONCOR RUNS AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.

IF ANYBODY HAS PUT SOLAR ON THEIR HOME AND NOT TALK TO ONCOR OR THEIR DEVELOPER ABOUT TAKING SOME OF THAT INCENTIVE MONEY, THEN THEY WERE JUST SILLY.

[02:30:08]

IT WAS ACTUALLY THE PRIOR THE BILL, THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW NOW HAS A MAP YOU CAN LOOK AT IN THE UNITED STATES THAT SHOWS THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ENERGY OR ENVIRONMENTAL OR INCOME, ETC., DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

AND THOSE ARE GOING TO BE THE FIRST ONES THAT GET TO DRINK FROM THAT TROUGH WHEN SOME OF THESE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS GO ON.

SO THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SEGUE TO JUST THE QUESTION OF.

ARE THE BIGGEST BARRIERS THAT YOU THINK FOR THE PREVIOUSLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES FOR TAKING ACTION IN REGARDS TO LACK OF FUNDS? THAT'S THE FUN. YEAH. AND LACK OF ACCESS.

THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OUR COUNCIL GAVE US.

THE WINTER STORM WAS AWFUL, BUT IN A LOT OF WAYS IT WAS A GIFT BECAUSE IT ILLUMINATED SOME PLACES WE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO DO BETTER.

AND WE KNOW THAT WE LOST RESIDENTS.

PEOPLE FROZE TO DEATH.

PEOPLE WERE NOT ABLE TO RUN THEIR VENTILATORS, THE OTHER MEDICAL DEVICES THEY NEEDED TO LIVE.

AND SO WE STARTED LOOKING INTO WEATHERIZATION.

THE COUNCIL DID GREAT BY GIVING US SOME FUNDING FOR WEATHERIZATION.

THEY GAVE US, I THINK, $200,000, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY.

BUT IN THE GREAT WORLD OF WEATHERIZATION, WE REACHED OUT TO THE COUNTY, TO ONCOR, TO SOME OF THE OTHER NONPROFITS, AND THEY ALL KIND OF SHRUGGED AT US BECAUSE THEY SAID IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND THEY REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH OUR FUNDING.

SO WE STARTED POKING AROUND.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE FEDERAL FORM FOR APPLYING FOR WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE WAS LIKE 30 PAGES LONG IN VERY, VERY SMALL PRINT IN ENGLISH.

DALLAS IS A MAJORITY MINORITY COMMUNITY.

A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T HAVE ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.

A LOT OF FOLKS I THINK ONE OF THE SPEAKERS THIS MORNING SAID SOMETHING ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO READ THE FORMS BECAUSE IT WAS IN SUCH FINE PRINT.

WELL, THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH WEATHERIZATION.

SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE'RE TACKLING IS THAT ACCESS THING.

HOW CAN WE MAKE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT, MAKE IT UNDERSTANDABLE, BECAUSE A LOT OF IT ALSO IS IN GOVERNMENT LANGUAGE, WHICH I'LL SAY NORMAL PEOPLE.

THERE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT, BUT MOST NORMAL PEOPLE DON'T SPEAK GOVERNMENT AND A BUNCH OF ACRONYMS. AND SO SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON IS HOW DO WE MAKE THIS INFORMATION A AVAILABLE TO THE TO OUR COMMUNITIES THAT COULD USE IT AND BE UNDERSTANDABLE SO THAT THEY KNOW WHAT CHOICES THEY HAVE AND SO THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO SOME OF THE EXISTING AND ALREADY FABULOUS PROGRAMS WE'VE GOT IN DALLAS. AND I WOULD HAVE TO SAY TO ACCESS EVEN FROM A JUST IN YOUR OWN HOUSE PERSPECTIVE, PROCESSED FOOD IS CHEAPER TO PRODUCE AND IT'S WASTEFUL.

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO BE THROWING AWAY PLASTIC AND EVERYTHING AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ARTIFICIAL COLORS AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM WAS NEVER INTENDED TO PROCESS.

YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE CHEAPER CHEMICALS TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE WITH.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK, WELL, YOU KNOW, LIKE LIKE I SAID EARLIER, I USED BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR, BUT I KNOW THE RATIO OF BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR AND I TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE IT. SOME PEOPLE DON'T CARE OR THEY DON'T THEY REALLY, TRULY DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO SIT THERE AND MAKE THEIR OWN HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS IN BOTTLES AND THEN GO AROUND AND SPRAY LIKE I DO BECAUSE I'M JUST A WEIRDO ABOUT IT.

SO BUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE THERE WAS AN ARTICLE THAT CAME OUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO FROM CIVIL EATS, AND IT WAS ABOUT HOW THE DOLLAR STORES KEEP POPPING UP IN FOOD DESERTS AS SOLUTIONS TO TO THE FOOD DESERT ITSELF.

AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE IT'S JUST PROCESSED FOOD AND CHEMICALS THAT ARE WORSE THAN THE BRAND NAME CHEMICALS THAT YOU SEE AT THE GROCERY STORES THAT WERE SAYING, OH, HERE YOU GO, HERE'S ACCESS TO IT. AND IT'S TRULY NOT ONLY A LACK OF ACCESS, BUT A FALSE ACCESS.

[02:35:03]

I SEE. WE'RE GOING TO START LOOKING AT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS COMING IN FROM FOLKS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I COULD LISTEN TO YOU GUYS TALK ALL DAY.

BUT YES, WE'VE GOT WE'VE GOT ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO GET SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE.

AND SO, YEAH, LET'S JUST LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

SO FIRST QUESTION IS FOR LISA.

WE GOT A TON OF QUESTIONS COMING IN ABOUT COMPOSTING, BUT I, I TOOK I KIND OF TOOK THE MOST COMMON ONE.

SO COMPOST BOUGHT IN A STORE, PRESUMABLY PRESUMABLY HAS TOXICS IN THE MIX.

IS THAT A MYTH? OUR FOOD WASTE IS GENERATED AT HOME AS ROBUST AS COMPOST MATERIALS.

THAT'S A REALLY COOL QUESTION BECAUSE IT VARIES ACTUALLY.

OUR COMPOST THAT WE HAVE BEEN DIGGING IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AT OUR SITE VARIES FROM THE COMPOST THAT WE DUG UP SIX MONTHS AGO.

AND IT'S BECAUSE OVER THE SUMMER WE GOT WATERMELONS AND WE GOT CITRUS.

AND IN THE SPRING WHEN WE START DIGGING, WE HAVE MORE FALL SQUASHES AND VEGETABLES.

SO IT DOES DEPEND ON WHAT YOUR DIET CONSISTS OF YOU.

YOU'RE RIGHT TO ASSUME THAT ANYTHING AT THE STORE THAT IS LABELED COMPOST WITH A CERTAIN BRAND NAME ON THERE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT MIGHT HAVE CHEMICALS IN IT.

SO IF YOU'RE WANTING TO BUY COMPOST FROM THE STORE, YOU CAN JUST READ AND SEE WHAT IT IS.

NOW, WITH COMPOSTING, I WILL SAY A LOT OF THE COMPOST THAT YOU GET IS MANURE, WHICH IS JUST FINE.

THERE'S A REASON THAT YOU CAN'T COMPOST YOUR PET'S MANURE, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OUR PETS ARE CARNIVORES.

AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, COWS AND HORSES ARE ALL HERBIVORES.

AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE THEIR COMPOST AND PLANTED, BUT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO USE OUR PETS AND PLANT AND PRODUCE ANYTHING EDIBLE.

SO, YEAH, IT DEPENDS ON ON YOUR DIET AND IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE BRAND NAME THAT YOU GO WITH THE STORE.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT QUESTION.

AND THIS ONE COULD BE FOR ANYBODY, BUT SO MUCH OF THE SUSTAINABLE HOME MODIFICATIONS ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE TO MIDDLE OR LOW INCOME PEOPLE.

CAN YOU LIST SOME LOW OR NO COST WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE HOME? DAMIEN SO ONE OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES WE'RE WORKING ON THIS YEAR IS TWOFOLD.

ONE IS A PROGRAM OF COMMUNITY SOLAR WHERE WE GET DEVELOPMENT SCALE SOLAR WITH A PORTION SET ASIDE FOR OUR LOWER INCOME HOMES THAT MAYBE THEIR HOME STOCK OR THEIR THEY'RE LIVING IN MULTIFAMILY WHERE THEY CAN'T PUT SOLAR ON THEIR OWN HOME, IT WOULD STILL GIVE ACCESS TO CHEAPER, CLEANER POWER.

SO THAT IS ONE THING WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET THE PROPOSALS IN TODAY.

I GUESS THEY'RE EXTENDING IT A WEEK.

SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

THERE ARE ALSO PROGRAMS FOR BUNDLING SOLAR FOR LOWER AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SO THAT YOU GET A CHEAPER PER KILOWATT PRICE AND YOU GET TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF VOLUME DISCOUNTS.

AND SO THOSE ARE SOME PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW TO TRY TO OFFER AGAIN SO THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS, WHETHER THEY'RE IN THEIR OWN HOME, THEY'RE IN A MULTIFAMILY FACILITY.

IF THEY'RE RENTAL.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE I THINK IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 58% OF OUR RESIDENTS IN DALLAS ARE RENTING PROPERTY.

AND SO UNLESS YOU HAVE A VERY PROGRESSIVE LANDLORD, YOU'RE NOT PUTTING SOLAR ON THAT ROOF.

AND SO HOW ARE OTHER WAYS? AND WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER WAYS OF OF MAKING CLEAN, CHEAP, RENEWABLE POWER AVAILABLE TO OUR RESIDENTS.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN OUR CLIMATE PLAN THAT I THINK IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT WE RECOGNIZE AND I THINK RANDY SAID THIS INITIALLY, CLIMATE IMPACTS DON'T IMPACT EVERYONE EQUALLY.

OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, ELDERS AND CHILDREN.

THOSE PEOPLE THAT QUITE FRANKLY, DON'T HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS WEIRD WEATHER THAT'S HAPPENING ON A MORE FREQUENT BASIS.

ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTED MORE SO THAN OTHER PEOPLE.

AND SO ONE OF THE JOBS THAT WE HAVE AS A CITY IS TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT DISPARITY SO THAT WHEN NOT IF, BUT WHEN WE GET WEIRD WEATHER ON AN INCREASINGLY FREQUENT OCCURRENCE, THAT EVERYONE IS

[02:40:05]

PLEASE GO AHEAD. SO LET ME SEGUE WAY OFF THAT FOR JUST A MOMENT.

I THINK WE ALL NEED TO UNDERSTAND HERE IS THAT AS WE REDUCE OUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION, WE MAKE THE GRID MORE RESILIENT AND THAT HELPS ALL OF US.

SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT INTERREG IS INITIATIVE WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO GET DONATED LED BULBS FROM LARGE BIG BOX RETAILERS AND OR DONATIONS FROM WEALTHY CORPORATIONS OR INDIVIDUALS THAT WE CAN USE TO BULK BUY LED LIGHT BULBS FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION IN LOW INCOME PARTS OF TOWN.

AND THAT, WE KNOW WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND THAT HELPS ALL OF US.

THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY, IF I HAVE ABOUT 20 SECONDS.

THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS MORE WIND ENERGY GENERATED THAN ANY OTHER STATE BY FAR.

IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE.

WE'RE SECOND IN THE AMOUNT OF SOLAR ENERGY THAT'S GENERATED IN THE STATE BEHIND CALIFORNIA.

AND AT THE GROWTH RATE WE'RE GOING AT.

WE'RE GOING TO PASS CALIFORNIA IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.

NOTWITHSTANDING THAT, TEXAS USES MORE NATURAL GAS TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY AND MORE COAL TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY THAN ANY OTHER STATE.

IF TEXAS WAS AS ENERGY EFFICIENT AS NEW YORK OR MASSACHUSETTS, YOU COULD IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN EVERY COAL PLANT IN THE STATE.

BUT WE WON'T DO THAT.

WE CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE OF ISSUES WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

AND ACTUALLY, THANK YOU, MARK.

THAT WAS THE NEXT QUESTION.

IT WAS FOR YOU ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY IN TEXAS.

AND FEEL FREE TO EXPAND IF YOU WANT TO.

BUT THE QUESTION WAS, IS IT IS IT REALLY A VIABLE OPTION HERE IN TEXAS? ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY.

THAT'S THE SHORT ANSWER.

OKAY. YES.

YES. THANK YOU.

THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD WILL EXPLAIN IS THERE'S A MYTH THAT YOU CAN'T USE SOLAR BECAUSE THE SUN GOES DOWN.

THE ONE THING THAT KIND OF REALLY WORKS IN OUR FAVOR AND I'VE SEEN SEVERAL STUDIES BY RICE UNIVERSITY AND OTHERS THAT THE WIND RAMPS UP ABOUT THE TIME THE SUN'S GOING DOWN.

AND SO IF WE AND WE ARE BLESSED WITH CONSTANT WIND AND GOOD SOLAR.

SO CONCEIVABLY WE COULD GO COMPLETELY RENEWABLE AND LIVE OUR BEST LIFE STILL.

THE ADDITION OF BATTERIES HELPS BUFFER THE GRID SYSTEM SO THAT WHEN THOSE SYSTEMS KICK ON AND OFF, IT KEEPS THE HARMONICS GOOD.

BUT REALISTICALLY, IT IS VERY VIABLE.

IT'S MUCH CLEANER THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.

AND IT'S IT'S ACTUALLY MORE COST EFFECTIVE THAN EITHER THE COAL OR THE GAS PLANTS THAT WE HAVE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.

SO, YES, THE SUN GOES DOWN.

MAYBE WE LOOK AT STORAGE, MAYBE WE LOOK AT THE BLESSINGS OF WIND.

I WILL ALSO REITERATE THAT BOTH WIND AND SOLAR EXCEEDED THEIR MODELED DEMAND DURING THE WINTER STORM. SO THEY DID JUST FINE.

IT WAS THE THERMAL UNITS THAT HAD SOME PROBLEMS. I'M GONNA NEED TO BE CAREFUL HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS PARTIALLY ENCORE AND THIS IS PARTIALLY RANDI TALKING.

WE'RE ALSO BLESSED, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE NOT ONLY THE OFFSETS BETWEEN SOLAR AND WIND THAT THAT HAVE A MORE CONTINUOUS WHEN YOU ADD THE TWO TOGETHER.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE BENEFITS OF ALL OF OUR LOAD CENTERS BEING ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE STATE.

AND IF WE WERE NOT JUST ONE STATE, WE'D ACTUALLY POSSIBLY SPREAD A COUPLE OF TIME ZONES TO WHERE AN AWFUL LOT OF THE SOLAR GETS TO GO IN ON THE THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE. AND SO AS LONG AS THE TRANSMISSION CAN ALL MOVE THAT AROUND THE PEAKS THAT CAUSE US TO HAVE THE HIGHEST DEMAND FOR ENERGY AND THE LARGEST STRAIN ON THE SYSTEM ARE USUALLY THEY'RE RIGHT AT THE END OF THE DAY, 630, 730 AND AT 730, RARELY THEN, BUT EVERYBODY'S COMING HOME FROM WORK.

THAT MAY TURN SOME THINGS ON.

AIR CONDITIONING, SET A PEAK.

IT'S MIDDLE OF AUGUST, ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT THAT THAT MODEL IS ALSO CHANGING BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN GENERAL.

WE ARE SEEING WINTER PEAKS.

WE ARE SEEING LARGER ODDBALL TIMES THE DAY FOR SUMMER AS WELL.

BUT THE THE THING I WAS GOING TO MENTION WASN'T JUST TO ADD THAT, OH, BY THE WAY, WE ALSO HAVE THE WIDTH OF THE STATE THAT BENEFITS THE SOLAR.

IT'S THE FLIP SIDE.

AND THE PROBLEM PART OF THAT SOLUTION IS THE THINGS THAT THAT THAT SUE MENTIONS ARE SYSTEMS LEVEL SOLUTIONS.

THE WIND GUYS ARE ONE BUSINESS, THE OIL GUYS ARE ANOTHER BUSINESS, THE TRANSMISSION GUYS ARE ANOTHER BUSINESS.

[02:45:06]

AND SO IT'S JUST IT'S TOUGH TO PUT EVERYBODY AT THE SAME TABLE, IF I WILL.

I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO TO MR. MARTINEZ'S TALK AGAIN THIS MORNING AND THESE THESE PASSIONS THAT WE CAN FEEL AT OUR INDIVIDUAL PLANT, THAT THING THAT WE CALL HOME THAT WE TAKE PLEASURE FROM AT THE END OF THE DAY AND ON WEEKENDS, ETC., WE HAVE TO MAKE THAT VOICE KNOWN THAT IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GIVE BY PROXY THE CORPORATIONS AND THE GOVERNMENT THE RIGHT TO JUST REGULATE EARTH ENDING DISASTERS IN OUR BEHALF.

OH, AS LONG AS WE GOT ENOUGH MONEY AND WE FEEL WEALTHY ENOUGH AND WE GOT TO DO ALL THESE THINGS, WE SHOULD FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT.

IT'S LIKE, NO, NOBODY SHOULD FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.

WOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH, RANDY.

I THINK THAT'S A GOOD PLACE TO END IT RIGHT THERE.

WELL, WE'LL LEAVE THE AUDIENCE WITH YOUR WORDS.

WELL, BEFORE BEFORE WE DO BREAK, THOUGH, WOULD YOU PLEASE GO THROUGH AGAIN WITH YOUR WITH YOUR NAME AND ORGANIZATION AND HOW WE CAN HOW CAN WE STAY UP TO DATE ON THE RESOURCES THAT YOU GUYS PROVIDE? RANDY BOYS, ONCOR ELECTRIC AND JUST RANDY BOYS ON TWITTER.COM.

YOU CAN GET TO ME AND.

PROBABLY FIND ME OUT ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL.

LISA RORKE LISA AT TURN COMPOST AND I'M WITH TURN COMPOST.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND US ON INSTAGRAM AT TERN COMPOST AS WELL.

SUSAN ALVAREZ IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.

IT'S SUSAN ALVAREZ AT DALLAS DOT GOV.

ALL OF THE STUFF ON OUR CLIMATE PLAN IS ON DALLAS CLIMATE ACTION DOT COM AND WE HAVE SIMILAR SOCIAL MEDIA TAGS.

AND I'M MORE EQUITY WITH NORTH TEXAS RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP.

YOU CAN JUST GO TO OUR WEBSITE IN T R E G DOT ORG OR A NONPROFIT.

AND I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ONE LAST PLUG HERE.

I DON'T WANT ALL OF US TO LOSE TRACK OR LOSE SIGHT OF THE DIFFERENCE THAT TECHNOLOGY WILL MAKE.

NOW, IT'S NOT. IF IT'S WIN, IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND AS WE CONVERT TO EVS ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WE HAVE THOSE IN OUR GARAGES.

WE'LL HAVE BIDIRECTIONAL CHARGING, WHICH MEANS YOU WILL HAVE BATTERY BACKUP SITTING IN YOUR GARAGE.

AND THAT CAN BE FOR ALL OF US.

SO THAT WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON THE NIGHTTIME DEMAND AND IN SMOOTHING OUT THE PEAKS IN THE GRID, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

WE GIVE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR PANEL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO SO YOUR PANEL IS REPEATED.

SO ANYONE THAT WANTS TO HEAR THEM TALK EVEN MORE, PLEASE FOLLOW THEM TO THEIR NEXT ROOM IF YOU.

IT IS TIME FOR THE NEXT BREAKOUT SESSION.

IF YOU STAY HERE IN THE PERFORMANCE HALL, YOU WILL HEAR FROM OUR IN THE ENVIRONMENT PANEL.

BUT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LOOK AT YOUR SCHEDULE AND GO TO ANY OF THE OTHERS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[02:50:48]

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE HAVE SOME PHENOMENAL PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR FOR SOME TIME, AND I'LL JUST KIND OF CALL THOSE OUT.

SO WE HAVE JUST HERE ON THE BROOKHAVEN CAMPUS, THERE'S THE WINDMILL GARDEN, WHICH IS ON THE WEST SIDE OF CAMPUS.

I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO VISITED.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BIODIVERSE LITTLE POCKETS THAT YOU'LL SEE IN, I DON'T KNOW, TEN SQUARE MILES OR SO.

I MEAN, IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE THE WORK THAT THE NORTH TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS HAVE DONE TO REALLY FOSTER THIS THIS LAND THAT IS THIS LITTLE TINY LITTLE POCKET OF LAND THAT IS JUST INCREDIBLE. SO BE SURE TO CHECK THAT OUT WHEN THE WEATHER IS DECENT THERE.

BY THE WAY, EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNINGS FROM FROM THAT 9 TO 10 OR 11 A.M.

DOING SOME WORK. SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO JUST GET OUT AND DO SOMETHING AND LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE INSECTS AND THE BIRDS THAT YOU MIGHT SEE AROUND, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT SPOT TO DO THAT. WE ALSO HAVE SOME GARDENS, A FOOD GARDEN AT NORTH LAKE CAMPUS AND A LEARNING AND TEACHING GARDEN AT THE CEDAR VALLEY CAMPUS.

SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING CURRENTLY.

SO ANYWAY, THAT'S THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AT DALLAS COLLEGE.

I REALLY THIS IS KIND OF A SHOW ABOUT WHAT MY FRIENDS HERE ARE DOING AND HOW THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AT THEIR FORMS OF AGRICULTURE, SUSTAINABLE URBAN AG SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE THEM AND LET THEM KIND OF DO THE REALLY THE REST OF THE TALKING.

SO FIRST WE HAVE MYCHAL BELL.

MYCHAL BELL OWNS DALLAS HALFACRE FARM, WHICH WAS CREATED TO PRODUCE THE HIGHEST QUALITY VEGETABLES POSSIBLE USING ORGANIC METHODS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON REGENERATIVE NO SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.

AND AS IT EVOLVES, IT IS BECOMING AN ONSITE LEARNING FARM IN HOPES OF NOT ONLY PRODUCING GREAT TASTING VEGETABLES, BUT ALSO THE NEXT GENERATION OF SMALL SCALE FARMERS THROUGH INTERNSHIPS. SO I'LL HAND IT OVER TO MICHAEL.

THANK YOU, NEAL. CAN I START NOW? SO I'M A TEACHER.

OKAY, LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN.

THANK YOU, NEAL. SO I'M AN ELEMENTARY TEACHER FULL TIME, BUT ALSO FARM.

SO I WOULD FARM FULL TIME, BUT I'M TOO CLOSE TO RETIREMENT TO GIVE THAT UP.

SO I DO IT PART TIME AND FALLING IN LOVE WITH IT.

IT'S LITERALLY THE BEST THING IN MY LIFE THAT I DO ENJOY IT MORE THAN ANYTHING, AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.

SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A QUICK RUNDOWN OF WHAT I WHAT I DO IS SMALL SCALE REGENERATIVE URBAN FARMING IMPORTANT.

IT'S SMALL SCALE, NOT FARM IS LESS THAN A HALF ACRE.

SO MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE YOU CAN GROW A LOT OF FOOD ON A HALF ACRE.

BUT THROUGH MY PRACTICES THAT I'VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT DO THIS, I'VE LEARNED HOW TO DO IT AND PRODUCE A TON, LITERALLY TONS OF FOOD EVERY YEAR OFF OF A LESS THAN A HALF ACRE.

IT'S A VERY LOW STARTUP COST.

SO OTHER THAN HAVING TO HAVE THE LAND, IF YOU CAN FIND LAND TO USE YOUR BACKYARD FRIENDS VACANT LOTS, THEY DON'T DEMO IT.

WHATEVER YOU CAN FIND OTHER THAN THE LAND.

SMALL SCALE URBAN FARMING IS EXTREMELY CHEAP TO GET STARTED.

UM. NEXT THING.

YOU CAN SCALE IT UP OR YOU CAN SCALE IT DOWN AS QUICKLY AS AS YOU WANT.

YOU CAN START WITH 150 FOOT BED.

IF IT WORKS AND YOU LIKE IT, THEN YOU CAN GO TO TWO, YOU CAN GO TO THREE, YOU CAN GO TO FOUR.

OH FOUR IS TOO MANY.

I CAN'T CONTROL THAT MANY.

I CAN'T, I CAN'T DO. THAT'S TOO MUCH WORK.

YOU JUST DROP IT BACK DOWN AND YOU DO THREE BEDS.

AND THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN ABOUT BEDS, I DON'T GROW IN ROWS.

SO WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF FARMS, THEY THINK OF A ROW OF TOMATOES, AND THEN YOU SKIP TWO FEET OR THREE FEET AND YOU HAVE ANOTHER ROW OR YOU HAVE LETTUCE IN ROWS.

I GROW FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE IN 28 INCHES, RIGHT? SO MY BEDS ARE 30 INCHES WIDE AND I HAVE FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE.

SO IT'S A VERY COMPACT SYSTEM AND THAT'S WHY IT ALLOWS ME TO GROW SO MUCH PRODUCE ON SUCH A SMALL SCALE.

SO IN A 50 FOOT BED, LIKE I SAID, I GREW FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE.

SO IF I'M DOING REALLY WELL AND I WANT TO SCALE UP, I JUST MAKE ANOTHER 50 FOOT BED.

[02:55:03]

MORE SEED A LITTLE BIT OF COMPOST AND GET THE.

I'D LIKE THAT. LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN GO UP TO THREE.

STAFF WERE UNDER A TORNADO WARNING.

WE NEED TO BE. ALL RIGHT.

DON'T WORRY, MA'AM. I'LL BE OKAY.

WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF THE CAN MARKETING SAVE THE PLANET PODCAST.

AND TODAY GEMMA AND I ARE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED.

BOTH. WELCOME TO THE PODCAST.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

DOING THIS DAY AFTER DAY WEEKEND MATTERS.

THANK YOU. IT DOES MATTER.

AND AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY.

THE FACT THAT. IT'S HAPPENING AND IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE BECAUSE WE WANT TO KEEP THESE CONVERSATIONS GOING.

SO WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT.

WHICH WANTED US TO HAVE THE MUCH NEEDED ASSURANCE THAT SHARING SO.

I'D SAY MOST MARKETERS ARE MOST DEFINITELY GOING TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

MY BOOKSHELVES ARE TOTALLY PEPPERED WITH MANY OF YOUR BOOKS, SO LET'S.

STRAIGHT IN TO WHY YOU'RE HERE ON OUR PODCAST AROUND CAMERA TO SAVE THE PLANET.

SO IT'S ABOUT MARKETING, BUT.

DURING THE SUMMER. IT'S SALAD MIX.

ZUCCHINI, TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, WHATEVER YOU GROW IN THE SEASON IS WHAT I GROW AND WHAT I SELL DURING THE WINTER.

IT'S CARROTS, SPINACH, SALAD MIX AND SO FORTH.

SO THAT JUST GIVES YOU A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE WAY THE FARM WORKS AS FAR AS WHAT I SELL.

AND THEN ONE LAST THING.

THE MAP. I HAVE A MAP.

THIS IS MY DREAM.

MY DREAM ISN'T TO MAKE A MILK.

I MEAN, I'D LOVE TO MAKE $1,000,000, BUT I KNOW THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ON A LITTLE HALF ACRE.

BUT THIS IS MY VISION OF DALLAS IN 20 YEARS.

THE LITTLE I'M SORRY, THE BIG RED DOT.

I'M AN EGOMANIAC.

THAT'S MY FARM. SO MY CIRCLE HAD TO BE BIGGER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE'S.

BUT ALL THE OTHER LITTLE BITTY RED DOTS OR OTHER FARMS THAT I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE START.

NOW IN THE TOP THIS CORNER OVER HERE.

THIS IS ONLY 50 DOTS BECAUSE I GOT TIRED OF PUTTING RED DOTS ON A MAP, SO I ONLY PUT 50.

BUT IF I HAVE 100 FARMS IN DALLAS.

THAT FEED 100 FAMILIES, WHICH IS VERY DOABLE A WEEK.

THAT'S ONLY 10,000 FAMILIES.

THERE'S 50.

I'M SORRY, 564,000 FAMILIES.

NOT PEOPLE. FAMILIES IN DALLAS THAT WE COULD SELL TO.

SO THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND, THERE'S NO NO WORRY ABOUT TRYING TO SELL YOUR STUFF.

[03:00:05]

SELL EVERYTHING FOR $20 A BASKET.

SO 100 FAMILIES A WEEK.

52 WEEKS IS 5200 BASKETS TIMES $20 A BASKET.

THAT'S $104,000 A YEAR.

NOW, THEN I'M GOING TO TAKE A SHOT IN THE DARK AND SAY THERE'S NO IRS AGENTS IN HERE.

SO IF YOU GET THEM TO PUT A $20 BILL UNDERNEATH THE FLOOR MAT WHEN YOU DROP IT OFF.

YOU MAKE $104,000 A YEAR.

OR. BUT YOU GET WHAT I'M SAYING.

IT'S VERY, VERY LUCRATIVE.

AND I'LL FIGURE IT OUT OVER THE COUPLE OF YEARS OF DOING THIS.

IF YOU TALK MONEY TO PEOPLE, THEY LISTEN.

SO IF YOU LOVE GROWING STUFF AND YOU LOVE MAKING MONEY, THESE ARE THE TWO PERFECT THINGS TO GO HAND IN HAND.

AND I WILL HELP YOU ON THE WAY OUT IF YOU WANT TO GRAB ONE.

I'VE GOT SOME PAPER OVER THERE ON THAT TABLE.

IT'S GOT A QR CODE.

THERE'S SEVEN VIDEOS THAT YOU WILL GO TO WITH THAT QR CODE AND IT WILL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED.

THEY'RE NOT MY VIDEOS BECAUSE I'M NOT GETTING IN FRONT OF A CAMERA, BUT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE'S VIDEOS THAT I'VE PUT TOGETHER ON A LIST THAT WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT QR CODE IS MY PHONE NUMBER, MY EMAIL ADDRESS, AND MY INSTAGRAM NAME.

CALL ME. TEXT ME. EMAIL ME.

INSTAGRAM ME. ANY QUESTIONS IF I CAN HELP YOU.

I WANT TO HELP YOU.

THAT'S MY GOAL. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE MY MY, MY MARKET SHARE.

I JUST WANT TO SEE MORE PEOPLE FARM BECAUSE IT'S LITERALLY THE GREATEST LIVING IN THE WORLD, IN MY OPINION.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MICHAEL.

SO NEXT, WE'LL INTRODUCE DREW.

SO DREW IS THE DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE FOR THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS.

HE'S THE HEAD OF THE BIG TEX URBAN FARMS PROJECT CENTERED AROUND FAIR PARK.

THEY GROW PRODUCE IN A GREENHOUSE AND A SHIPPING CONTAINER FARM USING HYDROPONICS, AND THEY DONATE ALL OF THE PRODUCE TO VARIOUS NONPROFIT GROUPS IN SOUTHERN DALLAS.

BIG TEX URBAN FARMS ALSO SERVES AS A TRAINING FACILITY FOR FUTURE FARMERS AND A DESTINATION SITE FOR MANY GROUPS.

SO I HANDED OVER TO DREW.

THANK YOU, NEAL. I APPRECIATE THE INTRO.

YEAH, I'M DREW DEMLER.

I'M THE HEAD OF THE BIG TEX URBAN FARMS PROGRAM AT FAIR PARK.

AND YES, WE GROW USING WHAT'S CALLED HYDROPONIC TECHNIQUES, WHICH IS WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY.

I'VE GOT SOME SLIDES THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT HERE.

I KNOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DO THIS SUPER FAST.

ANYWAY, HYDROPONICS IS BASICALLY USING WATER AND NUTRIENTS TO GROW PLANTS INSTEAD OF USING SOIL.

ONE THING THAT MAKES HYDROPONICS VERY NICE IS THAT WE ARE VERY, VERY RESOURCE EFFICIENT, VERY WATER EFFICIENT.

OUR SYSTEMS TYPICALLY TAKE ABOUT 90% LESS WATER THAN OUTDOOR GROWING.

SO IT'S A VERY IT CAN BE A VERY EFFICIENT WAY TO GROW.

IF YOU DON'T MIND ADVANCING THE SLIDE.

OCH YEAH. THAT'S A LIST OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS THAT WE USE.

WE EMPLOY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES AT THE BIG TEX URBAN FARMS. WE'VE GOT DEEP WATER, WE'VE GOT NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE, DUTCH BUCKETS, SOME VERTICAL RACKING SYSTEMS AND TOWER GARDENS AMONG OTHERS.

AND YES, WE DO HAVE A VERY FANCY STATE OF THE ART GREENHOUSE, BUT THESE ARE TECHNIQUES THAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME.

MANY OF THE SYSTEMS ARE VERY APPLICABLE AND EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN OUR BUILDING CAN BE SCALED UP OR DOWN.

SO EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE DOING CAN BE DONE AT HOME.

VANCE, PLEASE. KEEP GOING.

ALL RIGHT. THAT'S THE ROCKWALL THAT'S THE THE GROW MEDIUM WHERE WE USE TO START ALL OF OUR PLANTS IN.

IT'S ACTUALLY MADE OUT OF A LAVA ROCK.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE ON THE RIGHT, YOU GET A GOOD LOOK AT HOW IT COMES.

IT'S A IT COMES IN A SOLID TRAY.

YOU PLANT THE SEEDS IN THE HOLES.

IT'S VERY SIMPLE TO USE.

WE EMPLOY BOTTOM WATERING.

WHEN YOUR SEEDS STARTING AT HOME, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT NEED TO GET GROW LIGHTING DEPENDING ON IF YOU HAVE A SUNNY WINDOW OR NOT YOUR EXACT LOCATION.

ANYWAY, YOU SEE IN THE SLIDE ON THE LEFT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WHEN YOU'RE TRANSPLANTING THEM, THEY'RE PERFORATED SO THEY SEPARATE OUT VERY EASY FROM THE TRAY.

AND WE'RE ACTUALLY PLANNING INTO A TOWER GARDEN IN THAT SLIDE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE BETTER HOMEOWNER SYSTEMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. DEEP OK.

THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE TYPE SYSTEMS. THAT'S A REALLY BIG POND THAT WE HAVE.

IT WAS ACTUALLY THE SECOND ONE THAT WE HAVE AT OUR FACILITY, AND THAT WAS BUILT IN 2018.

YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WANT TO START WITH A SYSTEM THAT BIG AT HOME, THAT THAT SYSTEM PRODUCES ABOUT 396 HEADS OF PRODUCE EVERY WEEK.

SO A LITTLE BIT MUCH UNLESS YOU ARE LOOKING TO GO INTO IT COMMERCIALLY.

AND THEN IT'S A GREAT WAY TO GO.

BUT I'VE SEEN PEOPLE DO THIS AT HOME, DEEP WATER SYSTEMS USING A SNAP LID CONTAINER WHERE YOU DRILL THE HOLES IN THE TOP AND THROW A COUPLE OF AIR STONES IN IT, GET THESE LITTLE

[03:05:03]

NEXT SLIDE. THAT'S A VENTURI VALVE.

THAT'S HOW WE OXYGENATE THE BIG PONDS.

NOT ANYTHING WE NEED TO FOCUS TOO MUCH ON FOR THIS PRESENTATION.

KEEP GOING. SKIP ALL THAT.

KEEP GOING. ONE MORE TIME.

ALL RIGHT. YEAH. THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BRIEFLY.

THIS IS NFT NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE.

IT'S ONE OF THE SYSTEMS THAT IS BEST TO UTILIZE AT HOME.

ACTUALLY GO AHEAD AND ADVANCE THE SLIDE.

YEAH. I WANTED YOU TO SEE IT.

SO WE GROW IN THESE CUSTOM MADE CHANNELS THAT ARE MADE, THAT ARE MADE.

THEY HAVE THE HOLES DRILLED IN IT ALREADY.

YOU COULD BUILD THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE VERY EASILY ALL OUT OF PVC PIPE.

YOU HAVE A RESERVOIR THAT SITS SEPARATE FROM THE GROW SYSTEM IN A SMALL FOUNTAIN PUMP THAT'S GOING TO PUMP THE IRRIGATION WATER TO EACH OF THE CHANNELS.

YOU FLOOD EACH OF THE CHANNELS WITH A VERY LOW FLOW OF WATER IT'S CALLED.

THAT'S WHY THAT'S WHERE THE NAME COMES FROM.

IT'S BASICALLY A FILM OF THE NUTRIENT WATER THAT THE PLANT ROOTS ARE ABLE TO UPTAKE.

AND LIKE I SAY, IT'S VERY SIMPLE.

THIS IS ONE YOU COULD ACTUALLY DO OUTSIDE.

I HELPED ONE OF MY NEIGHBORS IN MY OLD NEIGHBORHOOD BUILD ONE OF THESE SYSTEMS, AND HE WAS ACTUALLY GROWING ZUCCHINI AND TOMATOES AND SO FORTH AND NEFT OUTDOORS.

IT STILL OFFERS A LOT OF ADVANTAGES.

IT'S VERY RESOURCE EFFICIENT BECAUSE IT'S A CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, SO YOU'RE NOT WASTING ANY WATER.

NEXT SLIDE. IT'S A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

THAT'S COLLARD GREENS GROWING.

KEEP GOING. ALL RIGHT, DUTCH BUCKETS, ADVANCE SLIDE ONE MORE TIME.

ALL RIGHT. THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT SYSTEM THAT COULD BE REPLICATED AT HOME.

THOSE ARE TOMATOES GROWING.

WE BOUGHT THAT SYSTEM ACTUALLY PREMADE AND YOU CAN, TOO.

THEY'RE ALL VERY EASILY AVAILABLE.

WE GOT OURS FROM A COMPANY CALLED FARM TECH.

IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO HOW NFT WORKS.

THERE'S A SEPARATE RESERVOIR OF WATER IN A SMALL FOUNTAIN PUMP THAT PUMPS THE THE WATER AND YOU DRIP IRRIGATE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BUCKETS AND THE EXCESS WATER FLOWS THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE BUCKET ONTO WHAT'S CALLED THE COLLECTION LINE.

AND THE COLLECTION LINE GATHERS THE EXTRA WATER AND IT TAKES IT RIGHT BACK TO YOUR RESERVOIR.

SO AGAIN, THERE'S NO WATER WASTE.

WE USE IT FOR VINES.

WE'VE DONE TOMATOES, WE'VE DONE CUCUMBERS, WE'VE GOT BELL PEPPERS AND EGGPLANTS GROWING RIGHT NOW.

BUT WE'VE ALSO DONE THINGS LIKE BRUSSEL SPROUTS AND WE'VE DONE HERBS AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS.

SO THE DUTCH BUCKETS WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD SYSTEM TO GET INTO AT HOME.

AND AGAIN, IT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO OUTDOORS.

YOU CAN BUY A SYSTEM LIKE OURS READYMADE, OR YOU CAN DIY IT AND MAKE THE WHOLE THINGS OUT OF HOME DEPOT PAINT BUCKETS.

SO. IF YOU DON'T MIND ADVANCING TO THE VERY LAST SLIDE.

IT'S GOT ALL OF MY CONTACT.

UNFORTUNATELY, I KNOW WE'RE PRETTY PRESSED FOR TIME.

THERE'S A LOT MORE INFO THERE AND FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME DIRECTLY.

YOU CAN FIND ME ON SOCIAL.

IT'S JUST MY NAME ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK.

IT'S JUST IT'S DREW SIMILAR DRAW EARLIER.

OR YOU CAN GO TO BIG TEX AND WE'VE GOT AN INFORMATION EMAIL ADDRESS AND JUST SPECIFY THAT YOU WANT TO GET IN CONTACT WITH ME AND THEY'LL YOU CAN FIND ME.

THANKS, DREW. I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE.

BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, I DID WANT TO ASK YOU ALL A QUESTION.

I'M CURIOUS, HOW HAS THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE SINCE YOU STARTED THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING, WHETHER IT'S IN GROUND URBAN FARMING OR HYDROPONIC FARMING, HOW HAS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THAT YOU SHOP, WHETHER IT'S FOR PRODUCE OR EVEN NOT PRODUCE, OR JUST THE FACT THAT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO SHOP FOR PRODUCE NECESSARILY. SO HOW HAS THAT CHANGED YOUR WAY OF CONSUMING GOODS SUSTAINABLY? WELL, THE FIRST THING IS IT MAKES ME APPRECIATE GOOD HOMEGROWN FOOD A LOT MORE.

YOU DON'T REALIZE HOW GOOD HOME GROWN FOOD IS UNTIL YOU EAT IT AND THEN GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND BUY THE SAME THING.

ALSO, HOW LONG STUFF STAYS FRESH.

I CAN PICK STUFF ON SUNDAY AND A WEEK LATER IT'S SO FRESH.

YOU BUY SOMETHING AT THE GROCERY STORE ON SUNDAY AND IT'S GONE AND ROTTING BY WEDNESDAY, WHICH IS WHAT MOST OF MY CUSTOMERS TELL ME IS YOUR STUFF STAYS FRESH FOR SO MUCH LONGER. AND I ALWAYS TELL THEM, WELL, IT THEN GETS PUT IN A WAREHOUSE FOR TWO DAYS WHERE I GOT PACKAGED AND SAT ON A TRUCK FOR THREE DAYS AND THEN GET PUT IN THE BACK OF A WALMART FOR THREE DAYS AND THEN PUT ON SHELF FOR A DAY.

I LITERALLY PICKED IT LAST NIGHT AND GAVE IT TO YOU 12 HOURS LATER, SO IT MAKES ME APPRECIATE IT AND THE STUFF THAT I REALLY DO LIKE, I JUST GROW MORE OF LIKE I'M NOT. IT'S JUST FUNNY.

I'M NOT A HUGE VEGETABLE EATER, BUT THE STUFF THAT I DO EAT, I GROW A LOT OF BECAUSE I WANT IT.

[03:10:05]

WHAT YOU MUST BE EATING SOMETHING THAT GETS IT'S A LOT OF MEAT.

I'M A MEAT EATER, BUT I EAT PLENTY OF VEGETABLES.

I JUST DON'T LIKE A WIDE VARIETY OF THEM, SURPRISINGLY.

YEAH, SAME THING. I'VE GOT A BIG GARDEN AT HOME.

I'VE GOT A SMALL YARD, BUT IT'S SUNNY.

SO I GROW A LOT OF DIFFERENT PRODUCE AND I GROW MICROGREENS, WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE DOING.

IT'S SO EASY TO DO AT HOME.

SO YEAH, NO, I GO THROUGH LONG STRETCHES WHERE I DON'T REALLY HAVE TO BUY A LOT OF PRODUCE, BUT WHEN I DO, I TRY TO BE A LOT MORE CONSCIENTIOUS.

I TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE FARMERS MARKETS, WHICH IS KIND OF TOUGH BECAUSE I WORK A LOT ON THE WEEKENDS, WHICH IS WHEN THEY TEND TO HAPPEN.

BUT BUT YEAH, I'M DEFINITELY A LOT MORE CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT WHERE THINGS COME FROM AND TRY TO BE AS DILIGENT AS I CAN ABOUT TRYING TO LOCALLY SOURCE THE FEW THINGS THAT I DO NEED TO BUY WHEN I NEED TO.

EXCELLENT. AND IF DO YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS CUED UP FOR US? I DO, YES.

THANK YOU.

AND WE'LL JUST GO INTO IT SO WE CAN ANSWER AS MANY AS WE CAN.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MINUTES TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS.

SO FIRST, THE FIRST QUESTION IS FOR MICHAEL.

WHAT PRODUCT DO YOU GROW THAT GENERATES THE MOST REVENUE? SALAD MIX AND ONIONS BY FAR.

SALAD MIX. THE REASON WHY SALAD MIX IS SUCH A GREAT SELLER IS EVERYBODY EATS IT.

SO TO SOME CUSTOMERS, THEY EAT IT EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK FOR LUNCH BECAUSE I'M A TEACHER.

SO A LOT OF TEACHERS BUY IT, BUT THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT SALAD EVERY DAY.

SO ONE DAY THEY MAY HAVE EGG WHITES ON IT, NEXT DAY, CHICKEN BREAST, NEXT DAYS ON AND ON AND ON.

SO IT'S A VARIETY.

THE PROFIT MARGIN ON IT IS REALLY GOOD AND IT GROWS QUICK.

SO THE MAIN THING TO THE TOP PERFORMING THAT I DO IS QUICK.

YOU WANT FAST GROWING CROPS IF YOU CAN SELL AT A PREMIUM.

SO JUST THE OPPOSITE WOULD BE A WATERMELON.

IT TAKES 90 DAYS AND YOU GET SEVEN BUCKS FOR IT AND YOU DON'T GET THAT MANY OF THEM.

SO YOU HAVE TO SHIFT THE WAY YOU THINK WHEN YOU WANT TO DO IT.

YOU WANT THE MOST THE THE BIGGEST PROFIT MARGIN.

SO SALAD MIX AND ONIONS ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT I SELL THE MOST FOR BIGGEST PROFIT.

AND IF I COULD GET DREW TO EXPLAIN ABOUT YOUR MICROGREENS AND THE KIND OF THE PROFIT MARGIN YOU GET OFF OF MAGAZINES, YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF A SCALE CHANGER. IN FACT, THE MICROGREENS, THEY'RE WE THE VARIETIES THAT WE GROW, THEY GO FROM SEED TO HARVEST IN ABOUT SEVEN DAYS.

THERE ARE SOME THAT TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.

BUT AGAIN, SPEAKING OF WHAT MICHAEL WAS TALKING ABOUT, ADJUSTING YOUR THINKING, THEY'RE SO EASILY SCALABLE AND THEY DON'T REQUIRE A LOT OF LIGHT SO YOU CAN GROW THEM ON SHELVING UNITS.

IT TAKES UP VERY, VERY LITTLE SPACE.

AND AGAIN, IT'S ANOTHER KIND OF UNTAPPED MARKET HERE IN DALLAS.

SO BECAUSE OF THE THE THE WAY HOW QUICKLY THEY'RE ABLE TO TURN IN SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT OF SPACE, I MEAN, THEY'RE AN IDEAL WAY TO WAIT A START UP. I MEAN, YOU COULD DO IT IN YOUR HOUSE VERY EASILY.

START A SMALL SCALE MICROGREENS BUSINESS AND JUST SLOWLY BUT SURELY DEVELOP IT.

THAT'S BEEN DONE MANY TIMES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

BY THE WAY, I DON'T KNOW ANYONE WHO'S DOING HOME DELIVERY MICROS IN DALLAS AT ALL.

AND HOW MUCH WOULD ONE OF THOSE TEN BY 20 INCH TRAYS SELL FOR? TYPICALLY, YOU CAN GET BETWEEN 20 AND $25 PER TRAY ON A ON A TEN INCH BY 20 INCH TRAY AND PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY PROBLEMS GETTING THAT SOLD. SO JUST TO KIND OF LIKE PUT A PUNCTUATION MARK ON ALL THIS, THIS IS THE RIGHT ALL THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR THE PLANET AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

RIGHT. BUT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF MONEY IN THIS.

THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY.

AND BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH DEMAND IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, LOCAL PRODUCE.

AND SO THERE'S THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WE HOPE WITH IN DALLAS COLLEGE, OF COURSE, BUT BUT HOPE JUST THE CITY OF DALLAS AND EVERYBODY ELSE HOPING TO BUILD THIS THE SUPPLY SIDE SO THAT WE CAN MEET THE DEMAND SIDE.

THANK YOU.

NEXT QUESTION.

AND I THINK THIS IS FOR THE GROUP.

DO YOU SEE A GROWTH IN PEOPLE THAT ARE WANTING FRESH, NATURALLY GROWN PRODUCE? I TAKE THAT? YES.

IT'S RIDICULOUS.

IT'S ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.

I MEAN, LITERALLY, I SAID I SHOWED YOU THE FACEBOOK POST EARLIER.

I NEVER DREAMED I WOULD GET THAT MANY PEOPLE.

AND WHAT'S GREAT IS THEY LIKE TO TELL OTHER PEOPLE, OH, MY GOD, I HAD THE BEST TOMATOES FROM THIS GUY.

THIS GUY GROWS ON THIS LITTLE BITTY LOT.

YOU SHOULD TRY THEM. AND THEN I'LL GET THREE OR FOUR NEW PEOPLE FROM THAT ONE PERSON.

AND IF I EVER NEED NEW CUSTOMERS, ALL I GOT TO DO IS SEND OUT A TEXT TO TEN CUSTOMERS.

HEY, I NEED A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE.

DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY? AND WITHIN 30 MINUTES, I'VE GOT FIVE PEOPLE ASKING FOR IT.

PEOPLE NOW UNDERSTAND WHAT? THE CONVENTIONAL FARMING IS DOING TO OUR FOOD THAT IS DOING TO OUR BODIES.

[03:15:02]

YEAH. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD THAT'S PERFECTLY ANSWERED.

YEAH. AND, AND SO SOME OF OUR FRIENDS THAT WERE SORT OF PHARMS, ANOTHER WONDERFUL NONPROFIT THAT DOES A LOT OF WORK AROUND TRAINING FARMERS AND ALL THAT, THEY KIND OF LOOKED AT A STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN, I THINK IT WAS AT NASHVILLE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, SOMEWHERE UP THERE.

AND AND THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT A $400 MILLION DEFICIT BETWEEN THE DEMAND OF LOCAL SUSTAINABLE GROWN PRODUCE AND THE SUPPLY.

AND SO IF WE SCALE THAT TO A DALLAS, THAT'S SOMETHING LIKE $1,000,000,000 DEFICIT BETWEEN THE DEMAND AND THE SUPPLY BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE WANT IN LOCAL, SUSTAINABLY GROWING FOOD. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. NEXT IS AND I THINK THIS ONE'S FOR THE GROUP AS WELL BUT HOW HAS CLIMATE HOW HAVE EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGES IMPACTED TRADITIONAL FARMING METHODS THAT YOU PRACTICE? ARE WE CLOSE TO HAVING TO DEPEND ON OUR HOME GARDENS? SO I SAID EARLIER, LOOK AT CALIFORNIA PEOPLE.

MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH OF OUR FOOD COMES FROM CALIFORNIA, LIKE 90% OF THE UNITED STATES.

LETTUCE SALAD MIX COMES FROM CALIFORNIA.

AND UNLESS IT RAINED A WHOLE LOT YESTERDAY, THAT THING, THAT PLACE IS A DUST BOWL.

LIKE LITERALLY THERE'S NO LAKES LEFT.

THEY'RE CUTTING THEIR WATER TO CITIZENS.

THEY CAN'T THEY ONLY GET SO MANY GALLONS OF WATER TO WASH THEIR HAIR AND DRINK A DAY.

IT'S RIDICULOUS.

SO I THINK IT'S MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT EVERY DAY THAT EITHER PEOPLE GROW IT THEMSELVES OR THEY GET TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH THE FARMER.

LIKE, YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD'S COMING FROM BECAUSE IF YOU RELY ON IT TO COME FROM THE GROCERY STORE, YOU'RE GOING TO WAKE UP ONE DAY AND IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE.

YEAH. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE HOW CLOSE TO A DISASTER, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR NATION'S FOOD SOVEREIGNTY REALLY IS.

LIKE MICHAEL SAID, WE WERE SO DEPENDENT ON ONE AREA, GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN PARTICULAR FOR A LOT OF THE PRODUCE THAT WE GROW.

AND I MEAN, ONE LITTLE THING HAPPENS WRONG AND WE'RE IN REAL TROUBLE.

SO, YEAH, AND THAT'S WHERE THINGS LIKE HYDROPONIC GROWING TECHNIQUES MADE, LIKE YOU SAY, THEY MAY BECOME NECESSARY.

RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE GREAT AND VERY EFFECTIVE AND.

I'M KIND OF A NOVELTY, BUT IN TIME, IN SHORT ORDER, THAT MAY BECOME A NECESSITY.

WE'RE ABLE TO ELIMINATE A LOT OF FOOD WASTE DOING WHAT WE DO AND ALSO MILEAGE FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION AND MILEAGE.

BECAUSE YOU DON'T YOU CAN SET THESE THINGS UP NEAR URBAN AREAS OR IN URBAN AREAS WHERE THERE MAY NOT BE ARABLE FARMLAND AND GET THE FOOD TO THE CONSUMER, PRONTO.

SO ALL OF THAT PLAYS IN BIG TIME.

AND YOU MENTIONED HOME GARDENS.

YES. EVERYONE SHOULD BE DOING THAT AT HOME.

I MEAN, MY YARD IS TINY, LIKE I SAY, AND I WORK ALL THE TIME, BUT I STILL PRODUCE A LOT OF THE PRODUCE THAT I GROW.

AND EVERYONE COULD COULD DO MORE OF THAT FOR SURE.

I HAVE A BACKYARD GARDEN AND I OWN A FARM.

I MEAN, THAT JUST MAKES NO SENSE, RIGHT? THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR NEIL.

SO HOW ARE YOU EDUCATING DALLAS COLLEGE STUDENTS TO EMPOWER THEMSELVES TO START GROWING THEIR OWN FOOD? YEAH, SO THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.

SO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT DOING THIS NEXT YEAR IS HAVING A LOT MORE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, SIGNAGE.

SO A LOT OF IT'S GOING TO BE PASSIVE EDUCATION, A LOT OF IT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF IMMERSIVE EDUCATION.

SO SO THAT THE FACILITIES THAT THEY'LL BE IN.

RIGHT. SO THE LANDSCAPING AROUND HERE WILL JUST INHERENTLY BE MORE SUSTAINABLE THROUGH BETTER PLANTINGS.

SO AT OUR MOUNTAIN VIEW CAMPUS, WE'RE DEVELOPING A GREENHOUSE THERE SO THAT IT'LL WE CAN GROW A LOT OF THESE THESE PLANTS THAT GIVE THEM TO FACILITIES AND SAY, HEY, YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT'S NOT GOING TO COST YOU ANY MONEY.

HERE YOU GO. HERE'S THE PLANT, SOME SWISS CHARD AND SOME KALE AND SOME SOME SOME EDIBLES.

AND THEN THAT'LL BE PART OF THE LANDSCAPING COMPANY THAT WITH SOME SIGNAGE.

SO THAT'LL BE KIND OF AN IMMERSIVE EDUCATIONAL THING THAT WILL ACCOMPANY THEIR IN CLASS EDUCATION AS WELL.

SO SO THAT'S PROBABLY THE THING TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE MOST THIS NEXT YEAR.

AND THEN OF COURSE, WORKSHOPS WILL BE DOING AND IN ALL KINDS OF WORKING WITH PROFESSORS, WORKING WITH CLASSES.

THANK YOU.

SO WE'LL WE'LL END IT ON ONE MORE QUESTION.

I WISH WE CAN KEEP GOING, BUT ANYBODY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN.

BUT WHAT WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE IN POOR COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO FRESH FOOD AND ARE CURRENTLY IN A FOOD DESERT? ARE THERE ANY RESOURCES THAT YOU CAN RECOMMEND FOR THEM TO ACCESS?

[03:20:02]

YES, THERE ARE.

THERE'S THERE'S FOOD BANKS AND FOOD PANTRIES, ESPECIALLY HERE IN DALLAS.

THAT'S WHAT OUR PROGRAM IS REALLY ALL ABOUT.

AND. WE ARE.

THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS THAT I HAVE THROUGH OUR INITIATIVE.

THE BIG TEX URBAN FARMS INITIATIVE IS TO GET MORE PROGRAMS LIKE MINE OR OURS INTO CITIES EVERYWHERE.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE SPONSORED BY A BIG EVENT, THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS, BUT THERE'S BIG EVENTS THAT GO ON ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

AND I MEAN, YOU EVEN LOOK AT SOMETHING LIKE THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW, YOU KNOW, AND THE MONEY THAT THEY GENERATE, SOME OF THESE OTHER COMPANIES, HOSPITALS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THERE'S OTHER PROGRAMS THAT THAT COULD BE GROWING RIGHT ALONG WITH US IN DEVELOPING MORE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT.

SO I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S A BIG GOAL OF MINE TO HELP CREATE MORE RESOURCES FOR.

PEOPLE IN FOOD DESERTS AND IN IN FOOD INSECURE AREAS.

BUT YES, THERE ARE THERE'S THERE ARE PANTRIES.

THERE'S A NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK.

THEY EVEN HAVE SOME GARDEN GARDEN SPONSORSHIP TYPE PROGRAMS AND THINGS.

SO THERE ARE SOME EXISTING RESOURCES, BUT WE DEFINITELY NEED TO CREATE MORE OF THEM AND YOU CAN GROW IT ON YOUR OWN AND YOU CAN JUST JUST YOUTUBE'S A GREAT THING.

GROW A LOT OF FOOD AND A LITTLE BITTY SPACE IF YOU JUST PUT FORTH A LITTLE BIT OF THE EFFORT.

YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND ISN'T YOUTUBE A GREAT RESOURCE? YES. WELL, THANK YOU TO OUR PANEL, I THINK.

THANK YOU TO OUR AUDIENCE FOR LISTENING IN.

OUR FINAL PANEL OF THE DAY.

YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING.

LET'S GIVE ONE LAST ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THEM.

YEAH. RIGHT.

AND BEFORE WE DISMISS YOU, COULD YOU GO THROUGH ON HOW WE CAN CONTACT YOU OR YOUR INSTAGRAM, YOUR FACEBOOK? HOW CAN WE CONNECT? I SAID EARLIER, THERE WAS A PIECE OF PAPER BACK THERE ON THAT TABLE.

IT'S GOT A QR CODE TO A LIST OF VIDEOS AND BELOW THAT IS MY EMAIL, MY INSTAGRAM AND MY PHONE NUMBER.

I DON'T CARE IF I CAN'T ANSWER THE PHONE, I WON'T ANSWER THE PHONE.

BUT IF YOU'RE AT ALL INTERESTED IN FARMING, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP YOU FOR FREE.

AND WHEN YOU MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, YOU CAN GIVE ME A BONUS OR SOMETHING, BUT PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GROWING AT ALL.

I WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU. YEAH, I'M AVAILABLE IN SOCIAL ALSO.

IT'S JUST MY NAME DREW, DAIMLER, DREW WDM AND I'M ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND SOME STUFF ABOUT OUR FARMING PROJECT AT BIG TEXT.

THERE IS AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THE COMPANY.

YOU CAN REACH OUT AND ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR FARM AND THEY'LL SIPHON YOU OVER TO ME.

AND WE ALSO HAVE THERE IS A PAGE OFF OF OUR HOME SITE SPECIFIC FOR THE FARM OR I'VE GOT A BLOGSPOT, SO I'VE GOT VIDEOS AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF THERE.

SO THAT'S THE BEST PLACE TO FIND ME ON SOCIAL OR AT BIG TEXT.

AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR ME YOU CAN WELCOME TO EMAIL ME AT AND COFFMAN AT D TRIPLE DALLAS COLLEGE THE EDU OR ALSO SUSTAINABILITY AT DALLAS COLLEGE THAT YOU USE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR PANEL.

AND NOW WE ARE GOING TO MOVE INTO THE FINAL PART OF OUR PROGRAM WITH OUR FINAL KEYNOTE, SETH GODIN.

WE WILL BEGIN HIS PRESENTATION IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES AND THEN WE WILL DO A QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH HIM.

SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOUR SLIDO UP.

THANK YOU.

TUNE IT INTO ANY LEGITIMATE NEWS OUTLET NOWADAYS, AND YOU WILL SEE MULTIPLE STORIES ABOUT THE CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

SADLY, THAT'S BECAUSE THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ARE NOW FRIGHTENINGLY OBVIOUS AND BILLION DOLLAR CLIMATE DISASTERS ARE HAPPENING MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY. IN THE UNITED STATES, 72% OF THE POPULATION SAYS GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING.

AND HERE IN DALLAS COUNTY, 77% OF THE POPULATION SAYS GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING.

FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES QUESTION THE REALITY OF GLOBAL WARMING AND ITS VARIED, WIDESPREAD EFFECTS ON OUR PEOPLE, OUR PLANET AND OUR PROSPERITY. SOME REPORTERS ARE STILL ADVOCATING THAT IF WE ALL MAKE SMALL CHANGES IN OUR OWN LIVES, THE CRISIS WILL BE SOLVED.

[03:25:08]

OUR INTUITION TELLS US THAT TURNING OUT OUR LIGHTS AND TURNING OFF THE WATER WHILE WE BRUSH OUR TEETH ARE NOT ENOUGH TO STOP AND REVERSE THE EMISSIONS WE CONTINUE TO SPEW INTO OUR ATMOSPHERE OR CONSERVE THE AMOUNT OF WATER NEEDED TO SUPPLY THE EVER GROWING NUMBER OF HUMAN BEINGS ON THIS BEAUTIFUL PLANET.

BUT DOES THAT MEAN WE SHOULD GIVE UP ON INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS? NO. DOES THAT MEAN WE SHOULDN'T MAKE SMALL CHANGES IN OUR LIVES AS INDIVIDUALS? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

WE MAKE THESE SMALL CHANGES BECAUSE IT EMPOWERS US AND MAKES US FEEL CONFIDENT IN OUR RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE ON A LARGER SCALE.

WE CAN'T EXPECT BUSINESSES OR THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE LARGE SCALE CHANGES UNLESS WE ARE WILLING TO TAKE ACTION OURSELVES.

WE CAN'T EXPECT OUR LEGISLATORS TO KNOW WHAT WE EXPECT OF THEM UNLESS WE TELL THEM WE CAN'T INFLUENCE OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS EXCEPT BY WALKING THE TALK AND BEING A ROLE MODEL.

THERE'S A FAMOUS QUOTE ABOUT CHILDREN.

IT SAYS, KIDS DON'T DO WHAT YOU SAY.

THEY DO WHAT THEY SEE, HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE IS THEIR EXAMPLE.

WE BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE FOR ADULTS.

ALSO, THE BEST WAY TO INFLUENCE THOSE AROUND YOU IS TO LET YOUR ACTIONS SPEAK FOR YOU.

DALLAS COLLEGE TEACHES ITS STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE ALL THE SOLUTIONS WE NEED RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

AND IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO WHAT WE CAN IN OUR OWN CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND IS THAT THE MORE YOU DO AS AN INDIVIDUAL, THE MORE YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE WILL EXPAND AND YOU WILL BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE. OUR FINAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER OF THE DAY WAS THE ORGANIZER, INSTIGATOR AND COORDINATOR OF THE CARBON ALMANAC.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE.

THE BOOK THAT EACH OF YOU RECEIVED TWO COPIES OF TODAY.

ONE IS FROM DALLAS COLLEGE TO KEEP AND ONE IS FROM THE CARBON ALMANAC NETWORK TO GIVE AWAY.

SETH GODIN IS AN ENTREPRENEUR, BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND SPEAKER.

IN ADDITION TO LAUNCHING ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BLOGS IN THE WORLD.

HE HAS WRITTEN 20 BEST SELLING BOOKS, INCLUDING THE DIP LINCHPIN, PURPLE COW TRIBES AND WHAT TO DO WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN AND IT'S ALWAYS YOUR TURN.

HIS BOOK, THIS IS MARKETING, WAS AN INSTANT BEST SELLER AROUND THE WORLD.

THE LATEST BOOK IS THE PRACTICE, AND CREATIVES EVERYWHERE HAVE MADE IT A BESTSELLER.

SETH REALIZES THAT THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND SUSTAINABILITY HAVE A MARKETING PROBLEM.

WITH THE HELP OF HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEER COLLABORATORS, THEY CREATED THE BOOK THE CARBON ALMANAC.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO ADDRESS THAT CHALLENGE BY FOCUSING ON EVERYTHING FROM EFFECTIVE MARKETING AND LEADERSHIP TO THE SPREAD OF IDEAS AND CHANGING EVERYTHING. SETH HAS BEEN ABLE TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE COUNTLESS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.

SO PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER, SETH GODIN.

HI, MY NAME IS SETH GODIN.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME. I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE AMAZING TEAM AT DALLAS COLLEGE FOR HAVING ME FOR THE WORK THEY DO, FOR THE LEADERSHIP THAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE.

I'M LUCKY ENOUGH THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED OVER THE LAST YEAR AS A VOLUNTEER, AS THE ORGANIZER, INSTIGATOR AND COORDINATOR OF A NEW BOOK CALLED THE CARBON ALMANAC.

I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, WHERE WE'RE GOING AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

I'M HERE TO HELP YOU SEE THAT THERE IS A WAY TOWARD BETTER THAT IF YOU OPEN ANY NEWSPAPER, IF YOU VISIT ANY WEBSITE, TALK TO ANYBODY, CHECK OUT TICK TOCK.

WE'RE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER, WHO ARE PANICKING, WHO ARE TRYING TO PUSH US AWAY.

AND IT'S EASY, PARTICULARLY AS A YOUNG PERSON, TO LOSE HOPE.

IT'S EASY TO IMAGINE THAT THINGS CAN'T POSSIBLY GET BETTER.

[03:30:04]

IT'S NOT TOO LATE.

AND WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT A GENERATION MINE, THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, HAS BUILT A WORLD AROUND US BASED ON SOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS, SOME SELFISH, SHORT TERM THINKING.

AND NOW WE'RE IN A JAM.

BUT IT'S NOT TOO LATE.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE.

BECAUSE IF WE UNDERSTAND.

BECAUSE IF WE TAKE ACTION.

BECAUSE IF WE TALK ABOUT IT.

BECAUSE IF WE CHANGE THE SYSTEMS, WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER.

SO WHERE TO BEGIN? WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING BECAUSE THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING AND PEOPLE WHO ARE WELL INTENTIONED AND ARE AWARE UNDERSTAND THAT THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING.

CLIMATE IS NOT WEATHER.

THE WEATHER IS WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT YOUR WINDOW RIGHT NOW.

THE WEATHER IS WHAT MIGHT BE AROUND TOMORROW.

CLIMATE IS DIFFERENT.

CLIMATE IS WHAT HAPPENS OVER THE COURSE OF MONTHS OR YEARS.

CLIMATE IS COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE.

CLIMATE IS EVERYTHING THAT IS AROUND US AND IT IS CHANGING BY EVERY MEASURE THAT WE CAN USE.

WHAT WE SEE IS THAT THE EARTH IS GETTING WARMER AND THERE IS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON US.

PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT SAVING THE EARTH, GUESS WHAT? THE EARTH IS GOING TO BE FINE.

THE EARTH WILL DO FINE WITHOUT US.

THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW WILL WE AS HUMANS, HUMANS WHO ARE JUST GETTING STARTED IN THE WORLD, HUMANS WHO ARE OLD LIKE ME, HUMANS IN BETWEEN.

HOW WILL WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO NOT ONLY DO OUR DUTY THE BEST WE CAN FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND US, BUT TO THRIVE IN A WORLD THAT'S CHANGING? SOME PEOPLE CALL THAT SUSTAINABILITY.

SOME PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT RESILIENCE.

BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND.

SO LET ME START BY EXPLAINING SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND.

WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE, WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT GREENHOUSE GASES, WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT CARBON, IT'S EASY TO MISUNDERSTAND BECAUSE WE CAN LOOK TO THE AIR ON ALMOST ANY DAY AND WE CAN SEE IT'S NOT LIKE WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLD FILLED WITH BLACK SMOKE.

SO HERE ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF ME, YOU'LL HAVE TO LOOK REALLY CAREFUL.

ARE 10,000 DOTS.

THOSE GREEN DOTS, 100 BY 100, 100 TIMES 100 IS 10,000.

THERE ARE 10,000 GREEN DOTS ON THAT SCREEN IN FRONT OF ME.

NOW, IF YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH, YOU WILL BE SUCKING IN A LOT OF AIR.

YOU WILL BE SUCKING IN FOR THE SAKE OF THIS CONVERSATION, 10,000 BITS OF AIR AND FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, FOR TENS AND TENS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS, OF THOSE 10,000 DOTS, THREE OF THEM WERE CARBON, THREE OUT OF 10,000.

THAT'S LIKE LESS THAN AN INCH ON A FOOTBALL FIELD OF 100 YARDS.

THREE OUT OF 10,000.

AND RIGHT NOW, TAKE ANOTHER BREATH.

THERE'S FOUR.

THE AIR AROUND US HAS FOUR OUT OF 10,000 DOTS OF CARBON.

AND WHEN IT GETS TO FIVE, THE EARTH AS WE KNOW IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WHEN IT GETS TO FIVE.

SEA LEVELS WILL HAVE RISEN SO MUCH THAT NEW ORLEANS, MIAMI AND NEW YORK CITY WILL BE COMPLETELY UNDERWATER WHEN IT GETS TO FIVE.

THERE WILL BE ENTIRE PARTS OF THE PLANET WHERE HUMANS CANNOT LIVE OUTDOORS FOR MORE THAN 30 MINUTES AT A TIME, NO MATTER WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.

WE'RE AT FOUR.

WE USED TO BE AT THREE.

THIS CHART SUPER SIMPLE.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE GRAPHS.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE MATH.

THIS CHART SUPER SIMPLE, SHOWS US WHAT THE GLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE CHANGE WAS FOR THE LAST 2000 YEARS.

AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE YOU WERE BORN.

NOW, IF THIS WAS YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, YOU WOULD CERTAINLY NOTICE IT.

IF THIS WAS THE TEMPERATURE WHEN YOU TOOK YOUR TEMPERATURE, WHEN YOU DIDN'T FEEL WELL AND USED A THERMOMETER, YOU WOULD NOTICE IT.

IF THIS WAS THE NUMBER OF FRIENDS YOU HAD, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD NOTICE AND THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR CLIMATE.

HERE'S ANOTHER ONE EVEN MORE VIVID.

THIS IS HISTORICAL.

TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES IN AUSTRALIA MEAN MORE OR LESS THAN PEOPLE EXPECTED, MORE OR LESS THAN THE AVERAGE.

AND THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1900S, IF SOMETHING WEIRD WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, IT WAS GOING TO GET COLDER THAN EXPECTED.

YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING.

IT IS REALLY CLEAR.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO BE ABLE TO GO OUTSIDE AND SAY THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING.

[03:35:08]

AT SOME LEVEL, IT'S SIMPLE.

IT'S SIMPLE BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF CARBON DOTS HAS GONE UP.

IT'S SIMPLE BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE CLIMATE.

BUT IT'S ALSO COMPLICATED.

IT'S COMPLICATED BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT FOR OVER 120 YEARS HAS HAD A BONANZA DUE TO CHEAP ENERGY.

CHEAP ENERGY.

AND TEXAS IS ONE OF THE CENTERS OF CHEAP ENERGY MADE US ALL RICH.

CHEAP ENERGY ENABLED THE WORLD AROUND US.

NOT JUST CARS, NOT JUST AIR TRAVEL, BUT FOOD AND BEEF AND BUILDINGS AND MILK FROM A FRIDGE THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS THAT ARE IN SEVERE POVERTY HAS GONE DOWN DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE OF CHEAP ENERGY.

AND CHEAP ENERGY CREATES SYSTEMIC CHANGES.

SO WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE IS WHAT I MEAN BY SYSTEMIC CHANGES.

TO DO THAT, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH CLIMATE.

BUT IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE ONCE WE UNDERSTAND SYSTEMS, THEN WE CAN START TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HALLOWEEN.

HALLOWEEN? YEAH, HALLOWEEN.

HALLOWEEN IS A SYSTEM AND IT IS A SYSTEM IN WHICH LOTS OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATE, NOT JUST THE KIDS WHO TRICK OR TREAT AND GO DOOR TO DOOR, NOT JUST THE PARENTS WHO HAVE TO GO AND BUY LOTS OF CHEAP CHOCOLATE BARS, BUT THE COMPANIES THAT SELL THE CHEAP CHOCOLATE BARS, THE COMPANIES THAT SELL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY THAT'S BUILT AROUND A SIMPLE IDEA.

IT TURNS OUT THAT SOME OF THE POOREST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO HAVE A JOB ARE COCOA FARMERS.

COCOA FARMERS ARE MEN, FAMILIES WHO GO INTO THE FIELDS AND PICK THE COW.

IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

IT'S NOT A BEAN.

THEY'RE CALLED COCOA BEANS, BUT THEY'RE NOT BEANS.

IT'S A FRUIT. THIS THING GROWS ON A TREE, AND THIS IS A DRIED ONE.

AND WHEN IT'S FRESH, WHAT THE FARMERS WILL DO IS TAKE IT OFF THE TREE, CUT IT OPEN, LEAVE IT IN THE SUN, LET IT FERMENT, THEN LET IT DRY, THEN ROAST IT, AND THEN THE CHOCOLATE MAKERS WILL TAKE THE NIBS OUT OF THE LITTLE SHELLS AND TURN THOSE INTO CHOCOLATE.

THE THING IS, IF YOU ARE NESTLE'S OR YOU ARE MARS AND HALLOWEEN IS A BIG DEAL FOR YOU, IF YOU MAKE MOST OF YOUR MONEY SELLING $2 HERSHEY BARS, WHAT YOU WANT IS CHEAP CHOCOLATE.

CHEAP CHOCOLATE IS A KEY PART OF THE SYSTEM OF HALLOWEEN.

WELL, THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF CACAO TREES, SANITARIO CRIOLLO FOR STARA, BUT FOR US THERE ARE BEANS ARE THE EASIEST TO GROW.

THEY'RE THE HARDIEST TREES.

YOU CAN GET THE CHOCOLATE CHEAPER.

IT DOESN'T TASTE AS GOOD, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPENSIVE FOR THE FARMERS TO GO TO THE TROUBLE OF RAISING BECAUSE IT DOESN'T LIVE AS EASILY IN THE ECOSYSTEM AS OTHER FORMS OF CACAO, BUT BECAUSE IT'S ALL THE SAME BECAUSE THE CHOCOLATE COMPANIES DON'T CARE WHERE IT CAME FROM.

MADAGASCAR, THE IVORY COAST, NICARAGUA, YOU GET THE IDEA.

IT'S AN AUCTION FOR THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE CHOCOLATE.

AND BECAUSE THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE CHOCOLATE IS PART OF THE SYSTEM, CHOCOLATE FARMERS END UP MAKING THREE OR FOUR OR $5 A DAY FOR THEIR HARD WORK. SO IF WE THOUGHT THAT THE WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WAS TO SAY TO PEOPLE, PLEASE DON'T BUY CHEAP CHOCOLATE, NOT A LOT GET BETTER BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BUY CHEAP CHOCOLATE.

NO, THE WAY TO MAKE THINGS BETTER IS TO DO WHAT MY FRIEND SEAN ASKED KNOWS HE DID.

SEAN ESPINOSA IS ONE OF THE FIRST DEAN TO BAR CHOCOLATE MAKERS.

HE GOT ON A PLANE AND FLEW TO THE PHILIPPINES.

HE GOT ON A PLANE AND FLEW TO TANZANIA AND HE MET WITH THE FARMERS.

HE TAUGHT THEM HOW WE MAKE CHOCOLATE.

HE HAD THEM TASTE CHOCOLATE, SOME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

HE PAYS THEM FIVE TIMES MORE THAN THE OTHER COMPANIES DO.

HE PUTS THEIR KIDS THROUGH PRIVATE SCHOOL.

THIS IS HIS TEAM IN MISSOURI.

THEY USE OPEN BOOK MANAGEMENT.

WHAT SEAN DID WAS HE CREATED AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WAY FOR PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH CHOCOLATE.

SO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ENERGY AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ENERGY, NOTHING TO DO WITH SUSTAINABILITY AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

[03:40:04]

I WANT TO CHANGE A SYSTEM.

AND BECAUSE HE SUCCEEDED, OTHER COMPANIES COPIED HIM.

AND NOW THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES WHO ARE GOING BEYOND FAIR TRADE, HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES THAT ARE MAKING CHOCOLATE THAT IS MORE DELICIOUS, HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES THAT ARE WORKING HARD TO CHANGE A SYSTEM.

AND HERE YOU ARE, THE FUTURE.

I'M NOT THE FUTURE. I'M THE PAST.

YOU'RE THE FUTURE. AND THE FUTURE NEEDS SOMEBODY WHO CAN SEE THE SYSTEMS, WHO CAN SEE THE SYSTEMS AND WORK TO CHANGE THEM.

SO WE NEED TO TAKE A MINUTE TO LOOK AT THIS CHART.

THIS CHART IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

IT'S FROM A GUY NAMED ROGERS.

HE CALLED IT THE PRODUCT ADOPTION LIFECYCLE.

AND WHAT THIS SHOWS US IS THAT IN ANY POPULATION, TWO AND ONE HALF PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE ARE INNOVATORS.

THEY LIKE TO DO THINGS FIRST.

THEY LIKE TO GO FIRST.

13 AND A HALF PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE ARE EARLY ADOPTERS.

THEY'RE THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THE PEOPLE WHO GO FIRST, BUT THEY DO IT BECAUSE IT WORKS.

THE NEXT 68% OF THE PEOPLE ARE THE MASSES AND THE LAST 15% ARE CALLED LAGGARDS.

THEY STILL HAVE A 12 FLASHING ON THEIR VCR.

SO IF WE THINK ABOUT ANY POPULATION, YOU MIGHT BE AN INNOVATOR WHEN IT COMES TO, SAY, SHOES, WHEN IT COMES TO HOT SAUCES, WHEN IT COMES TO SOMETHING YOU CARE ABOUT IN THE TECHNOLOGY WORLD. MAYBE YOU BOUGHT AN IPHONE THE FIRST DAY THE NEW UNIT WAS ON SALE.

THE NEW VERSION, BUT PROBABLY NOT.

PROBABLY YOU WAITED A MONTH OR TWO UNTIL YOUR FRIENDS HAD ONE AND THEY TOLD YOU HOW MUCH BETTER IT WAS.

AND THEN YOU GOT ONE.

MAYBE YOU HAVE AN ANDROID PHONE.

MOST PEOPLE DO. YOU'RE IN THE MASSES.

MAYBE YOU HAVE A BLACKBERRY, YOU'RE A LAGGARD.

YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO CHANGE.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT CLIMATE, WHAT WE SEE IS THAT WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT SYSTEMS PROBLEM AND THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE IN THE MIDDLE AND ARE LAGGARDS BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS ARE.

MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT THE WORLD TO CHANGE.

MOST ARGUMENTS ABOUT CLIMATE AND SYSTEMS CHANGE ARE NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT SCIENCE.

THEY'RE NOT FROM PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE, FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE SAYING AS CLEARLY AS THEY CAN, PLEASE DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING.

SO IT TOOK ME 15 MINUTES TO WARM UP TO THE SIMPLE QUESTION IN FRONT OF US, MORE OR LESS, BECAUSE THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT FOR A LONG TIME HAS BEEN ABOUT LESS, EAT LESS, DO LESS, DRIVE LESS, FLY LESS, HAVE FEWER KIDS, LESS HUMAN BEINGS ARE A PROBLEM.

WE NEED LESS.

BUT IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO THINK ABOUT OUR FUTURE IN TERMS OF MORE THAT WE CAN CHANGE SYSTEMS SYSTEMS THAT HAVE GOTTEN US STUCK.

AND IF WE CHANGE THOSE SYSTEMS, WE CAN HAVE MORE EQUITY AND MORE FAIRNESS AND MORE FREE ENERGY AND MORE CLEAN AIR.

AND UNDERSTANDING THIS, HAVING THE CONVERSATION, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS FOR.

THERE IS PLENTY OF INFORMATION IN THE WORLD THAT YOU CAN LOOK UP IF YOU WANT TO.

THERE'S A GREAT BOOK THAT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CALLED THE WIZARD AND THE PROPHET.

AND THE THESIS OF THE BOOK IS THAT THE ORIGINS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT AND THE MOVEMENT TO FEED THE POOR GO BACK ALMOST 100 YEARS TO MAN ONE CALLED THE WIZARD AND ONE CALLED THE PROPHET.

THE WIZARD SAID, TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US.

WE NEED MORE FERTILIZER, WE NEED HYBRIDIZED GRAINS, WE CAN FEED MORE PEOPLE.

HE WON A NOBEL PRIZE FOR IT.

THE PROPHET, ON THE OTHER HAND, SAID HUMAN BEINGS ARE A PROBLEM.

WE NEED LESS OF EVERYTHING.

AND YOU CAN BE A WIZARD AND YOU CAN BE A PROPHET.

EITHER ONE IS OKAY WITH ME, BUT DON'T BE AN OSTRICH BEING AN OSTRICH STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND AND SAYING, WELL, I RECYCLE.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM IS THE PROBLEM.

AND I'M HERE NOT TO TELL YOU THAT IT IS A BAD IDEA FOR YOU TO MAKE A SMALLER FOOTPRINT ON THE EARTH.

IT IS NOT A BAD IDEA FOR YOU TO BACK OFF AIR CONDITIONING AND COAL AND CONCRETE AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO AS HUMANS. BUT IT IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.

IT IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH FOR US TO BE SEDUCED BY WHAT WE HAVE BEEN INDOCTRINATED IN, SEDUCED BY BELIEVING THAT IF WE JUST DID A LITTLE BIT LESS, EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE.

EVERYTHING IS NOT GOING TO BE FINE IF WE DON'T CHANGE THE SYSTEM.

SO LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I MEAN BY THAT.

I AM TALKING TO YOU TODAY FROM WHERE I LIVE, 13 MILES NORTH OF NEW YORK CITY, ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES OF THE WORLD.

100 YEARS AGO, NEW YORK CITY, 140 YEARS AGO, NEW YORK CITY ALMOST SHUT DOWN FOREVER.

NEW YORK CITY WASN'T GOING TO WORK.

AND THE REASON IS SIMPLE, BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE PEEING IN THE HUDSON RIVER.

PEOPLE WERE DUMPING THEIR SEWAGE IN THE RIVER THAT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE MY DOOR.

[03:45:01]

AND PEOPLE WERE GETTING SICK.

IT TURNED OUT THAT SAYING TO PEOPLE, PLEASE DON'T PEE IN THE RIVER WAS INSUFFICIENT.

THAT IS NOT HELPFUL.

IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.

WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO WAS TWO THINGS.

ONE, BUILD THE SEWER SYSTEM AND TO MAKE IT AGAINST THE LAW TO PEE IN THE RIVER.

THEY MADE SYSTEMS CHANGE.

THEY DIDN'T JUST GO TO PEOPLE AND SAY, PLEASE DO A LITTLE BIT LESS.

RIGHT NEAR WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, I'M GUESSING IS A SCHOOL ZONE.

SCHOOL ZONE IS A PLACE WHERE THERE'S A SPECIAL SPEED LIMIT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

THE THING IS, WHEN CARS WERE FIRST INVENTED, THERE WERE NO SPEED LIMITS WHEN CARS WERE FIRST INVENTED.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEDESTRIANS WERE KILLED UNTIL THEY FIGURED OUT THINGS LIKE CROSSWALKS AND SCHOOL ZONES AND SPEED LIMITS.

AND PEOPLE ACCEPTED THAT BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO RUN A KID OVER IN FRONT OF A SCHOOL.

WE DON'T PUT UP A BIG SIGN IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL THAT SAID, PLEASE, IF YOU CAN DRIVE A LITTLE BIT SLOWER, THAT ONE PERSON DRIVING A LITTLE BIT SLOWER ISN'T GOING TO HELP THE KIDS, THAT WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO WAS CHANGE THE SYSTEM AND MAKE A RULE. AND WE SAID THIS IS A SCHOOL ZONE AND WE DON'T SPEED AROUND HERE.

AND EVERYONE HAS ACCEPTED THAT.

NO ONE IS THAT IT IS MATTER OF MY PERSONAL FREEDOM TO DRIVE AS FAST AS I WANT IN FRONT OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BECAUSE IT'S NOT.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE SYSTEMS EXIST TO HELP US.

SO THE SYSTEM I CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY STARTED RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW IN 1900, IN 1900.

THEY WERE DIGGING FOR OIL IN TEXAS AND THEY HIT SPINDLE TOP.

AND FOR NINE DAYS, SPINDLE TOP WAS A GUSHER FOR NINE DAYS.

IT PUMPED MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL ONTO THE GROUND.

AND THAT WAS THE BIRTH OF TEXACO.

AND THAT WAS THE BIRTH OF TEXACO OF TEXAS AS A WORLD POWER.

AND EVER SINCE THEN, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS EMBRACED THE STUFF THAT COMES OUT OF THE GROUND, CHEAP ENERGY AS A FUEL FOR THE LIFE WE LIVE.

AND IF WE DON'T CHANGE THAT SYSTEM TOGETHER, IT DOESN'T MATTER ONE BIT.

IF YOU CUT BACK, IT WILL NOT MATTER ONE BIT.

IF YOU TRY A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE, JUST LIKE IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT MUCH IF YOU DRIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE SLOWLY IN A SCHOOL ZONE OR IF YOU RESIST THE URGE TO PEE IN THE HUDSON RIVER.

SO LET'S THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SYSTEMS. LET'S SAY I'M AN EVIL JAMES BOND GENIUS AND I DON'T KNOW, IT'S 1650 AND MY GOAL IS TO KILL ALL THE WHALES IN THE WORLD.

WELL, ONE THING I COULD TRY TO DO IS GET A WHOLE BUNCH OF HARPOONS AND GO CHASE AS MANY WHALES AS I CAN.

THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.

BUT SOMETHING ELSE DID WORK.

WHAT WORKED IS THAT SOMEONE FIGURED OUT THAT WHALE OIL, WHICH YOU CAN ONLY GET BY KILLING A WHALE, IS A REALLY GOOD WAY TO LIGHT YOUR HOUSE AT NIGHT.

AND ONCE THAT HAPPENED, AN INDUSTRY WAS CREATED ABOUT WHALE OIL, NOT JUST WHALE HUNTING, BUT REFINING WHALE OIL, SELLING WHALE OIL, SELLING THE LANTERNS THAT WORK WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE MADE MONEY KILLING THE WHALES.

THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SYSTEM FALLS INTO PLACE AND WE NOW HAVE A SYSTEM ALL AROUND US.

TIM WU CALLS IT THE TYRANNY OF CONVENIENCE.

AND IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE.

HUMAN BEINGS, PARTICULARLY IN THIS COUNTRY, WILL GIVE UP ALMOST ANYTHING FOR CONVENIENCE.

WE WILL GIVE UP OUR PRIVACY.

WE WILL GIVE UP OUR MONEY.

WE WILL GIVE UP OUR FREEDOM.

IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING A LITTLE FASTER AND A LITTLE CHEAPER.

AND SO WE ARE STUCK ON OUR PHONES BECAUSE THEY DELIVER SOMETHING A LITTLE FASTER AND A LITTLE CHEAPER.

WE ARE SURROUNDED BY A SYSTEM BASED ON CONVENIENCE, AND WHEN SOMETHING SHOWS UP THAT DEMANDS WE DO SOMETHING INCONVENIENT, WE ARE LIKELY TO RESIST IT.

AND GUESS WHAT? CARBON IS DEMANDING THAT.

HERE'S AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE FOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE ARE FACING COAL, CONCRETE, COMBUSTION AND COWS.

COAL. BECAUSE WHEN WE BURN COAL, IT'S LIKE THE CRACK COCAINE OF CARBON.

WHEN WE BURN COAL, WE ARE TAKING SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN IN THE GROUND FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME THAT IS PURE CARBON AND WE ARE BURNING IT TO MAKE POWER AND THAT IS CONTRIBUTING A HUGE AMOUNT OF THOSE FOUR DOTS THAT WE ARE LIVING WITH RIGHT NOW.

NUMBER TWO IS CONCRETE, WHICH SURPRISES A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IT TURNS OUT BUILDING MATERIALS, ESPECIALLY CONCRETE.

[03:50:06]

LARGELY BECAUSE WHEN WE MAKE CONCRETE, WE USE COAL TO BUILD A FURNACE THAT POWERS IT TO OVER 2000 DEGREES JUST TO MAKE THE STUFF THAT'S IN CONCRETE.

THE THIRD ONE IS COMBUSTION, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS REDUNDANT TO COAL, BUT COMBUSTION IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR AND TURN ON THE ENGINE.

COMBUSTION IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE GAS OR OTHER THINGS THAT YOU CAN BURN FOR HOT WATER OR OTHER THINGS IN YOUR LIFE.

AND THE FOURTH ONE IS COWS.

YES, COWS.

AND THE REASON FOR COWS IS COWS PURPLE.

AND WHEN A COW BURPS, IT RELEASES METHANE.

METHANE IS A GAS LIKE CARBON DIOXIDE.

HOWEVER, IN THE FIRST 15 OR 20 YEARS THAT METHANE IS IN THE AIR, IT IS 80 TIMES MORE POWERFUL ON OUR CLIMATE THAN CARBON DIOXIDE IS 80 TIMES.

IF I OFFERED YOU $100 OR $8,000, YOU WOULD KNOW THE DIFFERENCE OF 80 TIMES AS MUCH.

COWS ARE A PROBLEM THAT I'M GOING TO GET INTO IN A MINUTE, BUT THEY ARE ONE OF THE BIG FOUR AND THEY'RE THE ONE THAT WE CAN DO THE MOST SYSTEMS CHANGE WITH IN THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT SYSTEMS CHANGE.

LET'S TALK ABOUT LEAF BLOWERS NOW.

IF WE SAY TO PEOPLE, PLEASE DON'T USE A LEAF BLOWER, THEY WILL KEEP USING A LEAF BLOWER.

WHY? BECAUSE THERE IS A SYSTEM IN PLACE.

AND THE SYSTEM IS IF I'M A LANDSCAPER, I AM PAID TO LANDSCAPE THIS PERSON'S YARD.

THEY DON'T CARE HOW I DO IT.

IF I CAN DO IT FASTER AND CHEAPER, I GET TO KEEP THE MONEY.

SO WHEN YOU SAY TO A LANDSCAPER, PLEASE DON'T USE A LEAF BLOWER, PLEASE.

THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU BECAUSE THE SYSTEM THAT'S IN PLACE DOESN'T REWARD THEM FOR CHANGING.

AND IF I TELL YOU AND YOU CAN LOOK IT UP, THAT A LEAF BLOWER IN ONE HOUR EMITS AS MUCH CARBON AS DRIVING THIS CAR FROM LOS ANGELES TO NEW YORK OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEK, YOU START TO UNDERSTAND THAT LEAF BLOWERS MIGHT BE A PROBLEM, BUT THE ANSWER ISN'T PLEASE DON'T USE A LEAF BLOWER.

THE ANSWER IS TO MAKE LEAF BLOWERS AGAINST THE LAW, BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT ELECTRIC LEAF BLOWERS WORK JUST AS WELL AS GAS POWERED ONES.

THEY ARE ULTIMATELY CHEAPER, QUIETER, EASIER TO USE AND BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE USING THEM.

BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SWITCH BECAUSE WE WANT TO.

WE'RE GOING TO SWITCH BECAUSE WE HAVE TO.

MY TOWN LEAF BLOWERS ARE AGAINST THE LAW.

WHAT ABOUT YOURS? HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING TO THIS WOULD NEED TO ORGANIZE TO GET TOGETHER TO HAVE A CONVERSATION TO MAKE LEAF BLOWERS AGAINST THE LAW IN YOUR TOWN? THE ANSWER IS A VERY SMALL NUMBER THAT THE WAY WE LIVE IN COMMUNITY CULTURE ISN'T BASED ON JUST HOW A HUMAN BEING ACTS WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING.

IT IS BASED LARGELY ON HOW WE AS A COMMUNITY DO THINGS AROUND HERE.

PEOPLE LIKE US DO THINGS LIKE THIS.

YOUR REAL JOB IS NOT TO CHANGE YOUR PERSONAL BEHAVIOR.

YOUR REAL JOB IS TO SIGN UP OTHER PEOPLE TO ORGANIZE SYSTEMIC CHANGE THAT WE SENT YOU TO SCHOOL FOR MORE THAN 12 YEARS, SCHOOL THAT WAS ORGANIZED BY BIG CORPORATIONS SO THAT YOU WOULD BE AN OBEDIENT COG IN THE SYSTEM THEY NEEDED WHEN THEY HIRED YOU SO THAT YOU WOULD TAKE GOOD NOTES, GET AN A ON THE TEST, ASK WILL THIS BE ON THE TEST, DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD.

WE DIDN'T OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE YEARS THAT YOU WERE IN SCHOOL, ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE AN ORGANIZER, TO SPEAK UP, TO ASK ABOUT THE SYSTEMS, TO LOOK WITH A VERY THOUGHTFUL EYE ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE BEING TOLD, THE LIES THAT YOU WERE HEARING, WHETHER THEY WERE LIES OR NOT.

WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEMS BECAUSE THE SYSTEMS HAVE INDOCTRINATED US INTO THINKING THAT THEY ARE NORMAL.

THEY ARE NOT NORMAL.

SO I WANT TO GO THROUGH FOUR OF THE PIECES OF INDOCTRINATION.

I'M GOING TO CALL THEM LIES, BECAUSE THEY WERE INTENTIONALLY LIES THAT YOU MIGHT STILL BELIEVE.

THE FIRST ONE IS THIS BRITISH PETROLEUM, ONE OF THE FIVE BIGGEST OIL COMPANIES IN THE WORLD IN THE 1980S, 40 YEARS AGO, HIRED ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS AD AGENCIES IN THE WORLD, OGILVY AND MATHER.

AND THEY SAID, WE NEED YOU TO INVENT SOMETHING.

AND THEY INVENTED THE CARBON FOOTPRINT.

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT WAS INVENTED BY AN OIL COMPANY.

WHY? WHY WOULD AN OIL COMPANY SAY TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU, PLEASE DRIVE A LITTLE BIT LESS? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO FEEL ASHAMED.

THEY WANT YOU TO FEEL LIKE A HYPOCRITE BECAUSE WE ARE ALL HYPOCRITES.

AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE A HYPOCRITE, YOU MIGHT NOT SPEAK UP.

[03:55:02]

SPEAK UP AND TRY TO MAKE SYSTEMS CHANGE.

AND IT WORKED.

IT WORKED BETTER THAN ALMOST ANY MARKETING CAMPAIGN IN HISTORY.

IT TOOK THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO TAKE ACTION, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

AND IT SILENCED THEM.

IT PUSHED THEM TO SAY, UH OH, I GOT AN AIRPLANE LAST YEAR.

I BETTER NOT PUSH FOR AIRPLANE REGULATION.

BUT WE ARE ALL HYPOCRITES.

YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT MATTERS A LITTLE BIT FOR SURE, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO.

THAT'S NOT WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO.

WE NEED YOU TO SEE BEYOND EACH INDIVIDUAL'S ACTIVITY AND UNDERSTAND THE TYRANNY OF CONVENIENCE.

UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEMS AND WHY THE SYSTEMS ARE THERE.

THAT WHEN WE SELL FUEL FOR A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS ALL OF US, THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BUILT AROUND IT.

THE SECOND ONE IS THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE, QUOTE, CLIMATE DENIALISTS, WHICH IS CRAZY.

THERE ARE NO GRAVITY DENIALISTS.

GRAVITY IS REAL. WE CAN'T EXPLAIN GRAVITY.

WE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND GRAVITY, BUT GRAVITY IS REAL.

IN THE ALMANAC IS A MEMO THAT A CHIEF ENGINEER AT EXXON WROTE 40 YEARS AGO THAT DESCRIBES SENTENCE BY SENTENCE EXACTLY WHAT THE WORLD WOULD BE LIKE IN 2020. AND HE WAS RIGHT TO A 10TH OF A DEGREE.

HE DESCRIBED EXACTLY HOW THE CLIMATE WOULD CHANGE DUE TO CARBON.

THERE IS NO PRODUCTIVE DEBATE ABOUT THE HUMAN IMPACT ON THE CLIMATE, BUT BEYOND THAT, WASTING OUR TIME ARGUING WITH PEOPLE WHO WANT THE WORLD TO STAY THE SAME WHEN THE WORLD ISN'T STAYING THE SAME IS A WASTE OF TIME.

WHAT WE CAN DO INSTEAD, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO HAVE A DEBATE WITH PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN A DEBATE, IS WE CAN ORGANIZE THE PEOPLE WHO DO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING.

WE CAN ORGANIZE THE PEOPLE WHO DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BUILD A WORLD WITH CLEAN POWER, WITH MORE EQUITY, WITH MORE OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE THE CHANGE IS HERE AND WE CAN WIN.

WE CAN COME OUT AHEAD BECAUSE WE EMBRACE THE CHANGE AND WE DON'T NEED EVERYBODY TO GO ALONG.

WE SIMPLY NEED TO ORGANIZE THE PEOPLE WHO CARE.

THE THIRD ONE, WHICH I PROMISED YOU I WOULD TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE, IS THAT THE MYTH OF YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH PROTEIN? WELL, PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES EAT MORE PROTEIN THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

THE AVERAGE PERSON ON THIS PLANET NEEDS TO EAT APPROXIMATELY ONE PLAYING CARD IN SIZE WORTH OF PROTEIN A DAY.

IN THE UNITED STATES, WE SPEND ABOUT HALF OF ALL OF OUR LAND, HALF OF ALL OF THE LAND ON CATTLE IN THE UNITED STATES.

LAST YEAR, WE DEVOTED MORE THAN 50 BILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS SUBSIDIZING THE CATTLE INDUSTRY.

IF EVERYONE IN THE WORLD EAT MEAT AND MILK THE WAY WE DO HERE, WE WOULD NEED A WHOLE OTHER PLANET JUST TO HOLD THE COWS.

THE THING IS, ONE GLASS OF MILK IS NOT GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BUT IF WE CREATE SYSTEMS SO THAT SCHOOLS SERVE OAT MILK INSTEAD OF MILK FROM COWS, IF WE CREATE SYSTEMS WHERE THE PRICE OF BEEF ACCURATELY REFLECTS HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO MAKE, IF WE CREATE SYSTEMS WHERE THEY'VE GOT MEATLESS MONDAY IN YOUR SCHOOL'S CAFETERIA.

THOSE SYSTEMS MOVE US FORWARD.

BUT IF WE'RE JUST LIKE, PLEASE EAT A LITTLE BIT LESS, IT'S NOT GOING TO ADD UP TO ENOUGH AROUND THE WORLD AS PEOPLE GET WEALTHIER.

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY DO IS START EATING MEAT, AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE IT'S CONVENIENT, BECAUSE IT COMES WITH STATUS, BECAUSE WE HAVE A SYSTEM ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO DO THAT.

AND THE FOURTH ONE IS PLASTICS RECYCLING, INVENTED BY THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY.

AGAIN, IN THE 1980S.

PLASTICS RECYCLING DOESN'T WORK.

MAYBE SOMETIMES IT DOES.

6 TO 9% OF ALL THE PLASTIC IS RECYCLED, BUT THE REST OF IT INCINERATED.

YOU PUT THAT PLASTIC BOTTLE IN THE BLUE BIN JUST SO THAT THEY CAN BURN IT.

IT'S NOT THE ANSWER.

IT'S NOT EVEN THE QUESTION.

AND SO EVERY TIME YOU BUY SOMETHING IN PLASTIC AND FEEL BETTER BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO RECYCLE IT, PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU GOT TRICKED AND THAT WHAT WE NEED INSTEAD ARE SYSTEMS CHANGES.

PUT THE SAME ENERGY THAT YOU WOULD BE SPENDING ON YOUR PERSONAL FOOTPRINT INTO SOCIETAL CHANGE.

SPEAK UP, ORGANIZE, START A BOOK GROUP, FIGURE OUT WHERE THE LEVERAGE POINTS ARE.

BECAUSE HERE'S THE THING ABOUT THE WHALES.

[04:00:01]

IT WAS KEROSENE WHEN KEROSENE CAME ALONG.

SUDDENLY THERE WAS A BETTER, MORE CONVENIENT ALTERNATIVE TO WHALE OIL.

AND IT WAS ALMOST TOO LATE FOR THE WHALES.

BUT THEY'RE STILL AROUND BECAUSE WE SWITCHED.

GUESS WHAT? SOLAR AND WIND IN MOST PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE NOW CHEAPER THAN OIL.

GUESS WHAT? OVER THE LAST YEAR IN CHINA, THEY HAVE BUILT MORE THAN 50 COAL.

MORE THAN 50 SOLAR AND WIND PLANTS.

ENOUGH TO REPLACE THE SIMILAR NUMBER OF COAL PLANTS.

THEY HAVEN'T DONE IT THE REPLACEMENT YET, BUT THEY ARE BUILDING NEW SYSTEMS. WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO IS TO GET SMART ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING.

I THINK ABOUT PRIVATE JETS.

THERE WAS A STORY IN THE NEW YORK TIMES THE OTHER DAY ABOUT FRANCE CONSIDERING BANNING PRIVATE JETS.

HERE'S THE CAPTION IN THE TIMES STORY.

A PRIVATE JET IN NICE FROM FRANCE.

SUCH PLANES ARE SAID TO CAUSE MORE POLLUTION PER PASSENGER THAN COMMERCIAL PLANES.

SAID TO 10 TO 30 TIMES MORE.

BUT THE CONSERVATIVE VOICES THAT WANT THE SYSTEMS TO SAY TO STAY THE SAME PUT IN WORDS LIKE ARE SAID TO CAUSE.

NO, IT'S NOT SAID TO CAUSE THEY DO THAT.

IT TURNS OUT THAT PRIVATE JET TRAVEL IN FRANCE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 15% OF ALL THE EMISSIONS FROM ALL AIR TRAVEL IN FRANCE. YOU NEED TO BE SMARTER ABOUT THIS.

YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHEN YOU'RE READING SOMETHING THAT ISN'T REALLY TRUE.

SO HERE WE ARE AT THIS CROSSROADS IN THIS MOMENT OF MORE VERSUS LESS, IN THIS CROSSROADS MOMENT OF WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? WHAT THE OIL COMPANIES AND THE PLASTICS COMPANIES WANT YOU TO DO IS DRIVE A LITTLE BIT LESS, RECYCLE SOME PLASTIC, A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO A BIN, MAYBE PUT UP A POSTER HERE OR THERE, BECAUSE THEY'RE INTENT ON DIGGING OUT OF THE GROUND, THE LAST ASSET THAT THEY CAN GET.

THEY'RE JUST IN IT TO GET TO WHERE THEY CAN RETIRE.

BUT YOU'RE GOING TO BE AROUND MUCH LONGER THAN THAT.

TOWARD MORE TOWARD MORE OPPORTUNITY, TOWARD MORE JUSTICE, TOWARD MORE EFFICIENCY, TOWARD CLEANER AIR, TOWARD THINGS THAT ARE QUIETER, TOWARD MORE HEALTH.

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE NOW KNOW ENOUGH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

WE NOW HAVE THE TOOLS IN PLACE TO MAKE NOT JUST BETTER CHOICES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT BETTER CHOICES FOR OUR FAMILY, BETTER CHOICES IN A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING.

SO, YES, ALL AROUND US THERE'S SOMETHING JUST SITTING THERE WAITING TO BE BURNED, JUST SITTING THERE, WAITING TO BE TURNED INTO POWER.

IT'S CONVENIENT, IT'S EASY.

IT'S THE STATUS QUO.

BUT YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP HERE BECAUSE THAT'S YOUR GOAL.

YOUR GOAL IS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

YOUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

SO BACK TO THIS IDEA OF THE ALMANAC.

NOW, I NEED TO BE CLEAR.

MUCH OF WHAT I JUST SAID IS MY OPINION.

THE FACTS ARE IN HERE AND THE FACTS THAT ARE IN HERE.

YOU CAN LOOK THEM ALL UP.

I DON'T MAKE A PENNY WHEN SOMEONE BUYS A COPY OF THIS BOOK.

NONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS INVOLVED DO.

BUT WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THIS IS THAT TAKING ACTION IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL LESS DEPRESSED.

TAKING ACTION KNOWING THAT YOU ARE SHOWING UP ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU, ORGANIZING OTHER PEOPLE, SPEAKING UP WITH CONFIDENCE, EVEN THOUGH EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY IS A HYPOCRITE, SHOWING UP WITH CONFIDENCE TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OH, YOU'RE DOING DIRECT AIR CAPTURE, DID YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S A FAKE AND IT CAN'T POSSIBLY WORK AT SCALE, NOT YET.

SHOWING UP TO BE ABLE TO ORGANIZE OTHER PEOPLE, TO SPEAK UP, TO START SMALL BITS OF SYSTEMIC CHANGE.

I GOT THE IDEA TO PUT THIS ALMANAC TOGETHER WHEN I READ A BOOK CALLED THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE.

IT'S HEARTBREAKING AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND ULTIMATELY INSPIRING.

IT'S A SCIENCE FICTION BOOK IN THE NEAR FUTURE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO ON EARTH WHEN THINGS GET REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, THE SAME WAY WHEN SOMEONE GETS SKIN CANCER, IS THE SOONER YOU ACT, THE EASIER IT IS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. IF WE WAIT UNTIL IT GETS EVEN WORSE THAN IT IS NOW, WHEN IT'S HOT, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO RUN THEIR AC EVEN MORE WHEN THEY RUN THEIR AC EVEN MORE.

THERE'S GOING TO BE YET ANOTHER BROWNOUT AND YET ANOTHER BLACKOUT.

AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ARGUE FOR MORE COAL PLANTS AND ON AND ON AND ON.

[04:05:04]

WE HAVE JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO SEE THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE AROUND US, THAT WE ARE IN THIS SPOT WHERE WE NO LONGER HAVE TO FEEL JUST DESPAIR.

THEN WHAT WE CAN DO IS FOCUS ON THE TACTICS.

WHAT WE CAN DO IS FOCUS ON HOW ORDINARY PEOPLE, PEOPLE LIKE YOU, PEOPLE LIKE ME, PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO AUTHORITY ARE GOING TO SHOW UP AND SAY, I SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING.

I SEE THAT THERE IS A PATH FORWARD.

IT IS NOT ABOUT SHAMING OTHER PEOPLE.

IT IS NOT ABOUT SIMPLY DOING LESS.

DOING LESS CAN HURT.

IT IS ABOUT CHANGING OUR SYSTEMS, NAMING THE SYSTEMS, SEEING THE SYSTEMS, AND THEN ORGANIZING OTHER PEOPLE TO SHOW UP AND TO SAY, RIGHT HERE IN THIS INSTITUTION, IN THIS SCHOOL, IN THIS VILLAGE, IN THIS TOWN, IN THIS STATE, WE'RE GOING TO SPEAK UP AND SPEAK UP AND SPEAK UP UNTIL PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, UNTIL THEY SEE WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING AROUND US, BECAUSE IT IS NOT TOO LATE.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

AND THE WAY WE WILL DO THAT IS BY MAKING BETTER THINGS, BY SEEING OTHER PEOPLE, BY CHANGING THE SYSTEMS, BY CARING ENOUGH TO HONOR WHAT CAME BEFORE AND TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING WITH YOU.

AND MORE THAN THAT, SEEING THE RUCKUS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE THE LAST YEAR.

I'M GOING TO TELL YOU BEFORE I GO, BECAUSE IT'S SO EASY TO FEEL LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO PULL IT OFF.

ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO, I GOT INVITED TO A REALLY COOL CONFERENCE IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.

THERE WERE AUTHORS AND PLAYWRIGHTS AND BUSINESS PEOPLE THERE, BUT THE REASON I WENT IS BECAUSE NEIL ARMSTRONG IS GOING TO BE THERE.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, YOU MAY KNOW, WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO STEP ON THE MOON.

NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS PART OF THE APOLLO 11 MISSION THAT NASA LAUNCHED.

WELL, IT WAS THE LAST NIGHT.

IT WAS REALLY COLD OUT LIKE FOUR DEGREES CELSIUS, 40 DEGREES.

THEY GIVE US ALL BLANKETS AND WE GO OUT INTO THIS MESA.

THE STARS ARE ALL OUT PITCH BLACK.

THEY BUILT A BIG CAMPFIRE AND WE'RE SITTING THERE HUDDLED BY THE FIRE.

AND NEIL ARMSTRONG COMES OUT TO TELL US ABOUT HIS MISSION.

I THINK IT WAS HIS LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE.

AND AS HE BEGINS TO TALK, THE BIGGEST FULL MOON I'VE EVER SEEN STARTS TO RISE OVER HIS SHOULDER.

I THINK THERE WAS SOME PLANNING INVOLVED.

AND HE STOPS IN TURN AND HE SAYS, I'VE BEEN THERE.

AND HERE'S THE THING, FOLKS.

THERE ARE FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON.

AND NASA DID THAT.

NASA SENT PEOPLE INTO SPACE AND BROUGHT THEM BACK SAFELY WHEN THE SOME COMPUTING POWER OF THE WHOLE INSTITUTION WAS LESS THAN THE PHONE IN YOUR POCKET. SO WHEN YOU FEEL DESPAIR ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZING OR ABOUT OUR FUTURE, JUST GO OUTSIDE AND LOOK UP IN THE SKY AND REALIZE THAT MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO, HE SAID, PEOPLE IN THIS SPACE AND WE BROUGHT THEM BACK SAFELY.

WE CAN DO THIS IF WE ORGANIZE, IF WE UNDERSTAND AND IF WE TAKE ACTION.

THANKS FOR LISTENING. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, SETH.

THAT WAS WONDERFUL AND ENTERTAINING AND A LITTLE BIT TERRIFYING.

I WANT TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SUBMIT THEIR QUESTIONS ON SLIDO AND AND SO WE'VE ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE THAT WERE SENT IN WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING. PEOPLE WERE REALLY FIRED UP.

SO IN REFERENCE TO ONE OF YOUR EARLIER PUBLICATIONS, SOMEBODY WANTS TO KNOW WHAT LOOK THINK IT'S ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AND ALL THE PROJECTS THAT YOU PROBABLY SEE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PURPLE COW OF SUSTAINABILITY? WELL, FIRST, THANKS EVERYONE FOR TUNING IN AND STICKING AROUND FOR THE Q&A.

MY FAVORITE PART, THE BOOK PURPLE COW, CAME IN A MILK CARTON WHEN I FIRST SELF PUBLISHED IT, AND IT'S A VERY SIMPLE IDEA.

IDEAS THAT SPREAD WIN AND WHAT MAKES SOMETHING A PURPLE COW IS YOU TALK ABOUT IT, YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE WANT YOU TO TALK ABOUT IT.

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.

SO A VIDEO GOES VIRAL BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE SHARE IT, BECAUSE IT'S GOOD FOR THEM.

IT HELPS THEIR ESTEEM OR WHATEVER IT IS.

SO THE CHALLENGE WE HAVE WITH SUSTAINABILITY IS A LOT OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT AREN'T REALLY GOING TO MAKE MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE AT ALL.

[04:10:10]

WHAT MATTERS IS BUILDING SOMETHING THAT CAN PERSIST BECAUSE ALL OF THE CULTURAL CHANGES OF OUR LIFETIME DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD A VIRAL MOMENT THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE SOMEONE PERSISTED CONSISTENTLY BUILDING COMMUNITY AND MOVING FORWARD.

AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE SEEING HAPPENING.

WE'RE SEEING HAPPENING IN LOTS OF PLACES.

THIS IS NOT A FAD.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS IN A FEW YEARS.

THE WAY WE STOP TALKING ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, EBOLA.

IT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO STICK AROUND BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO AFFECT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE EVERY SINGLE DAY.

AND YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

SO HERE'S SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER.

TAPPER SO YOU MENTIONED THE FACT THAT BUSINESSES AND SUCH HAVE CONVINCED US THAT ALL THESE PROBLEMS ARE OUR FAULT.

AND SO HOW DO WE UN BRAINWASH THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WHO BELIEVE THAT RECYCLING IS FAILING BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT OR THERE'S SO MUCH AIR POLLUTION BECAUSE WE'VE DONE SOMETHING WRONG, BUT WE'RE NOT THE PROBLEM.

HOW DO WE BRAINWASH OUR COMMUNITIES? THESE ARE REALLY PROFOUND.

SO IT IS ALL OUR FAULT AND IT'S OUR GRANDPARENTS FAULT.

AND THE FAULTS OF ALL THE PEOPLE WE'VE INVESTED IN, IN THE STOCK MARKET AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

I AM NOT IMPLYING IT'S NOT OUR FAULT.

WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT.

ONCE YOU HEAR THAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVE DONE THIS, YOU CAN EITHER SAY, WELL, I AM A PARTICULARLY BAD HYPOCRITE BECAUSE I LIVE IN NORTH AMERICA. I'M NOT LIVING SOMEPLACE WHERE I USE 1/10 OR 100TH THE AMOUNT OF CARBON THAT NORTH AMERICANS DO.

THEREFORE, I BETTER JUST SHUT UP BECAUSE I FEEL TERRIBLE.

OR YOU CAN SAY, OH BOY, I'M EVEN MORE ON THE HOOK TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO ABOUT IT IS NOT LOWER OUR PERSONAL FOOTPRINT BECAUSE WE CANNOT SHRINK OUR WAY OUT OF THIS PROBLEM.

WE JUST CAN'T.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS CREATE SYSTEMIC CHANGE TO FIX A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM.

AND IF YOU'RE TAKING THE TIME TO BE PART OF THIS CALL, IF YOU'RE TAKING THE TIME TO BE PART OF A CONFERENCE LIKE THIS, YOU'VE ALREADY PUT IN THE ENERGY.

SO INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR BACKYARD, WORRY ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON ON YOUR BLOCK OR YOUR VILLAGE OR YOUR TOWN OR YOUR COMPANY.

BECAUSE JUST TO PICK A SIMPLE EXAMPLE, WHEN A BIG COMPANY STARTS SHIPPING THINGS IN ONE KIND OF BOX VERSUS ANOTHER KIND OF BOX, AND YOU MULTIPLY THAT, IT STARTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THAT WHEN PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE AUDIO BOOK BUSINESS CAME OUT WITH DISPOSABLE AUDIO BOOKS WHERE YOU WOULD BUY ONE BOOK WITH A CHIP, AND WHEN YOU WERE DONE LISTENING TO THE BOOK, YOU THOUGHT OUT, WELL, WE NEEDED A DOZEN AUTHORS TO STAND UP AND SAY, NO, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN WITH MY NAME ON IT, BECAUSE THE SYSTEMIC IMPACT OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS GETTING THROWN INTO THE OCEAN TOO MUCH.

WE NEED SYSTEMIC CHANGES.

THAT MEANS YOU'VE GOT TO SPEAK UP.

YOU'VE GOT TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS AND YOU CAN'T STOP.

THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

SO I HAVE ANOTHER DEEP QUESTION FOR YOU, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING.

WHAT WE'RE GETTING. WHAT IS ONE VALUE OR ETHICS TOPIC THAT YOU THINK ORGANIZATIONS CAN FOCUS ON TO LEAD CHANGE, CHANGE? AN ETHICS TOPIC.

SO. THE INDOCTRINATION RUNS REALLY DEEP.

WE GOT TAUGHT FROM A YOUNG AGE THAT I'M JUST DOING MY JOB AS AN OKAY THING TO SAY, TO ASK, WILL THIS BE ON THE TEST IS AN APPROPRIATE QUESTION TO SHOW UP AND DO WHAT WE'RE TOLD BECAUSE THE SYSTEM REQUIRES IT.

THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE.

SORT OF. SEDUCED INTO BELIEVING.

THE GREAT ETHICIST PETER SINGER ASKS THE FOLLOWING QUESTION.

IF YOU ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND YOU ARE WEARING BRAND NEW BALLY LOAFERS, 400 BUCKS, AND IT HAD RAINED THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THERE'S A BIG PUDDLE LYING FACE DOWN IN THE PUDDLE.

THERE'S A FOUR YEAR OLD GIRL, AN ADORABLE LOCAL FOUR YEAR OLD GIRL, AND SHE'S DROWNING.

FACE DOWN IN THREE INCHES OF WATER.

THE QUESTION PETER ASKS IS, WOULD YOU RUN INTO THAT PUDDLE TO SAVE THAT GIRL'S LIFE EVEN THOUGH YOU KNEW YOU'D WRECK A $400 PAIR OF SHOES? EVERYBODY SAYS, SURE, OF COURSE I WOULD DO THAT.

AND THEN HE SAYS, WELL, FOR HALF THAT MUCH MONEY, I CAN TAKE $200 AND SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMEBODY WHO'S 2000 MILES FROM HERE.

[04:15:06]

WHERE IS YOUR $400 NOW? BECAUSE THERE SHOULDN'T BE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEBODY WHO'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF US FACE DOWN AND SOMEBODY WHO'S AN OCEAN AWAY.

A LIFE IS A LIFE.

AND SO WHEN WE GO TO WORK AND WE SAY, WELL, IT'S INCONVENIENT FOR US TO CHANGE THIS SYSTEM, IT'S TOO HARD FOR US TO SAY IN OUR CAFETERIA, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MEATLESS MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS BECAUSE SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS WILL GET MAD AT US.

WELL, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS SAYING, WELL, I CAN'T SEE THAT GIRL FACE DOWN, SO I'M NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT IT.

BUT THE THING IS, THERE'S GOING TO BE 10 MILLION CLIMATE REFUGEES IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND 100 MILLION IN THE THREE YEARS AFTER THAT.

PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THE SEA LEVEL, SEA LEVEL RISE AND TYPHOONS AND STORMS. SO, YES, YOUR SYSTEMS CHANGE MATTERS IF YOU CAN DO IT AT SCALE.

AND WE NEED TO HAVE THE ETHICAL CONVERSATION OF WHAT IF IT WAS RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US AND WHAT IF IT WAS RIGHT NOW, NOT OVER THERE AND IN FOUR YEARS, BUT RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE THAT IS A GOOD WAY FOR HUMANS TO TAKE ACTION.

EXCELLENT. I HOPE. I HOPE THAT BRENDAN APPRECIATED APPRECIATED THAT SO.

I'VE HEARD, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO.

DENIERS OR PEOPLE WHO KIND OF TURN THE WHOLE.

TOO MUCH CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE ON ITS HEAD AND SAY, OH, WELL, IT'S GOING TO GET WARMER IN ALASKA AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE WINERIES THERE.

AND I LIKE WINE.

SO THIS IS FABULOUS.

THIS IS AN AMAZING THING.

WHAT DO YOU WHAT DO YOU RESPOND HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT KIND OF THINKING? HERE'S THE HARD PART.

EVERYBODY IS RIGHT ALL THE TIME.

EVERYONE HAS A NOISE IN THEIR HEAD.

AND BASED ON WHAT THEY KNOW AND WHAT THEY WANT AND WHAT THEY SEE AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE.

THEY ARE MAKING THE CORRECT CHOICE BASED ON THE INPUTS THAT THEY ARE PRESENTED WITH, BASED ON THE COMMUNITY THEY ARE IN AND THE PEOPLE THEY WANT TO HANG OUT WITH AND THE STATUS THAT THEY SEEK, THEY ARE RIGHT.

EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN FEELINGS IN THEIR OWN OPINION, BUT PEOPLE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN PHYSICS.

AND IF YOU ARE ENCOUNTERING SOMEONE WHO SIMPLY WANTS TO HAVE AN ARGUMENT AND I CALL THESE PEOPLE TROLLS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE THEM AN ARGUMENT.

YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SAY, I DON'T NEED A UNANIMOUS VOTE HERE.

LET ME TALK TO SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO LEARN SOMETHING.

BUT IF SOMEONE HAS AN OPEN MIND AND YOU CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BASED ON WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY SEE AND WHAT THEY WANT, THEY ARE RIGHT.

YOU CAN SAY, CAN I ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN PANAMA? OR CAN I ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN LOUISIANA? AND LET'S SEE IF WE CAN COMPARE THAT TO A WINERY IN ALASKA, BECAUSE THERE'S SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE.

IT'S AMAZING TO ME HOW LITTLE THE SMART PEOPLE I KNOW KNOW ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON, ABOUT THE METHANE THAT'S IN THE PERMAFROST IN ALASKA, BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT THAT ONCE THE GLACIER MELTS, IT DOESN'T COME BACK.

AND ONCE IT MELTS, THE STUFF THAT'S UNDER IT THAT'S BEEN LOCKED UNDER THE ICE FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OR MILLIONS OF YEARS THAWS OUT.

AND A LOT OF THAT IS METHANE.

AND SO, YEAH, WE'LL HAVE WINERIES FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DESSERT AND WE HAVE TO DECIDE IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANT AND IF WE WANT TO BE AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER OR A GUILTY BYSTANDER, OR IF WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT SO WE CAN LOOK OUR KIDS IN THE EYE AND SAY WE TRIED.

AND AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY SO, SO IMPORTANT.

AND THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT AS EDUCATORS HERE AT DALLAS COLLEGE WERE HAVING WITH OUR STUDENTS.

AND AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE.

WE SAY WE'VE GOT UNTIL 2030.

SO COME ON, GUYS, LET'S DO THIS.

AND THE LOOK OF ABSOLUTE SHEER PANIC ON THEIR FACES.

BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE THE PROBLEM THAT PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME JUST WRAPPING THEIR HEAD AROUND WHAT YOU WERE JUST SAYING? YOU KNOW, WHEN THE PERMAFROST MELTS, THE METHANE IS GOING TO GO INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AND IT'S 80 TIMES MORE INTENSE THAN CO TWO.

IS THAT PART OF THE PROBLEM THAT PEOPLE JUST ARE INCAPABLE OF, OF JUST WRAPPING THEIR HEAD AROUND THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM? SO. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED FROM EMPHYSEMA.

AND ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THEM SMOKED UNTIL THE LAST DAY.

THEY WEREN'T STUPID.

THEY WERE MAKING DIFFERENT DECISIONS BASED ON DIFFERENT INFORMATION, BASED ON WHAT THEY WANTED.

[04:20:03]

BUT THEN I WOULD SAY THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME, BECAUSE THE WAY A GENERATION THRIVES IS BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHANGES IN THE WORLD THAT IN THE SIXTIES TRANSISTOR RADIOS OPENED THE DOOR FOR ROCK AND ROLL.

AND THE REASON WE HAD SO MUCH ROCK AND ROLL FROM 1966 TO 1975 IS BECAUSE THE WORLD SHIFTED AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF 18 YEAR OLDS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT. WELL, THE WORLD IS SHIFTING RIGHT NOW, AND IF YOU ARE AT DALLAS, IF YOU ARE 20 YEARS OLD, IF YOU ARE SOMEBODY WHO IS LOOKING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE, THIS IS THE PROBLEM FOR YOU TO WORK ON.

AND YOU CAN CURSE THE DARKNESS OR YOU CAN LIGHT A CANDLE, HOPEFULLY NOT A CANDLE.

YOU CAN TURN ON AN ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB LED AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND SO, YEAH, WE GOT REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD NEWS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE FUSION RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.

WE ALSO HAVE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD PUTTING IN BORDER BORDER TAXES AND CARBON PRICING ADJUSTMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO TURN THE RATCHET OF THE MARKETPLACE IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING HUGE BREAKTHROUGHS, FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE BRICKS OUT OF LEFTOVER PLASTIC.

ALL OF THESE NEW INDUSTRIES BEING BUILT, WE ARE INCHES AWAY FROM HAVING UNLIMITED FREE ELECTRICITY.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT? WORK ON THAT. WORK ON THAT.

WE DON'T NEED TO PERSUADE SOME ONLINE TROLL THAT THEY'RE WRONG AND WE'RE RIGHT.

WE NEED TO GET TO WORK.

ABSOLUTELY. I SAID I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YOU.

READY? SO WHEN YOU ARE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ESG OR ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL GOVERNANCE, MORE AND MORE BUSINESSES ARE DOING.

DO YOU THINK THAT THAT THIS COULD AFFECT SOME OF THE SYSTEMIC CHANGE THAT'S NEEDED? DON'T TELL ANYBODY, BUT IT'S A REALLY, REALLY COOL TRAP BECAUSE IN THE SHORT RUN, COMPANIES LOOK LIKE THEY GET STATUS AND POINTS BY PUTTING ESG GOALS INTO THEIR OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, INTO THEIR BOARD MINUTES, INTO THEIR PROMISES TO SHAREHOLDERS, BECAUSE IN THE NEXT YEAR IT'S SO EASY TO DO.

BUT NOW THEY'RE ON THE HOOK.

AND ONCE THEY'RE ON THE HOOK, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO START DOING INCONVENIENT THINGS AND DIFFICULT THINGS YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR.

EITHER YOU'RE IN OR YOU'RE OUT.

AND IF YOU'RE IN, THE RATCHETS GOING TO KEEP TURNING.

AND IT MEANS THAT NO AMERICAN AIRLINES CANNOT BUY SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT JETS THAT THEY PROMISE WILL RUN ON SUSTAINABLE JET FUEL, EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THAT SUSTAINABLE JET FUEL CANNOT BE CREATED, THEY'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO NOT DO IT.

AND THAT'S WHAT'S STARTING TO HAPPEN.

WHAT'S STARTING TO HAPPEN IS COMPANIES LIKE EXXON ARE LOOKING AROUND AND SAYING, WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO US TO BE RICH IF THERE IS NO PLANET? AND THEY'RE STARTING TO MAKE HARD CHOICES THAT EVENTUALLY WILL MAKE THEM A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IN THE SHORT RUN ARE REALLY INCONVENIENT.

SO YEAH, LOBBY FOR ESG, NOT BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO WORK THIS YEAR BECAUSE IT'S NOT, BUT BECAUSE IT ESTABLISHES A FRAMEWORK FOR WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO REALLY SOON. AND THAT WORKED OUT REALLY WELL AS THE WRAP UP FOR THIS ENTIRE DISCUSSION.

AND SETH, WE ARE JUST SO, SO GLAD YOU COULD JOIN US TODAY.

YOUR MESSAGE IS POWERFUL AND IT IS HOPEFUL AND I HOPE THAT EVERYONE ENJOYS THEIR COPIES OF THE CARBON ALMANAC THAT THEY RECEIVED WHEN THEY ARE ATTENDED IN PERSON HERE IN FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS.

SO AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH, SETH, AND WE HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

AND EVERYONE, THIS IS THE END OF OUR PROGRAM.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE TODAY AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'VE ENJOYED THE 12TH ANNUAL DALLAS COLLEGE SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT. EVERYONE STAY SAFE.

BYE BYE. OMEGA ROCKET.

AT EASTFIELD COLLEGE.

IT WAS VERY, VERY SMALL.

WE PUT IT TOGETHER IN LIKE LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AND IT WAS PHENOMENAL.

AND WE WERE SO ENERGIZED BY IT THAT WE'RE CONTINUING IT 12 YEARS LATER.

AND SO THAT IS SUSTAINABILITY.

AND I ALSO WANT TO ADD MY THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL STAFF WHO PUT THIS TOGETHER AND ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED US.

WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THEM.

AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THIS IS MY LAST SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT AS AN EMPLOYEE OF DALLAS COLLEGE.

I AM RETIRING IN JANUARY, BUT I'M GOING TO BE BACK AS A VOLUNTEER AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS NEXT YEAR.

[04:25:01]