A Great Warming Conversation
Hey buddy, how was your weekend?
This past weekend? Great! I hiked the Shores of Lake Michigan. High atop a sand dune, I came across a sign telling me that the spot where I was standing was under ice 20,000 years ago. The same ice covered much of the northern quarter of the globe for thousands of years. It carved and filled the Great Lakes as it receded about 10,000 years ago! Cool, huh?
Amazing stuff! But 20,000 years?! Are you a geologist? An archaeologist? A historian? That's an eternity. I'm glad to hear your weekend was fun, but what are you talking about?
Well, when I got back to Ann Arbor, I did some research on Wikipedia. Did you know that about 400 years ago a Little Ice Age chilled much of the globe and stayed for centuries? In the winter of 1780 people walked from Manhattan to Staten Island across the frozen New York Harbor! Cool, huh?
Pretty neat. Temperature can change and Wikipedia is great. But I know you. This is sounding environmental. What are you talking about?
Global Warming.
Damn it! I knew it! I know - I'm killing the planet. I have to ride a bicycle, turn off the heat, computer, and tv, and take shallow breaths or the apocalypse hits on the day my child's child is born. I've heard it. I've also heard this chicken-little story before and have heard that there is still uncertainty as to global warming causes, consequences, and solutions. It's Friday, I am getting ready for a Michigan - Iowa game this weekend and a Tigers World Series. No time for another sermon. Thank you but no thank you. Goodbye.
Wait! I agree. You're right. The truth is that the best brains on the planet are still trying to figure out the causes, consequences, and solutions surrounding climate change. Their predictions vary from temperature increases of a few degrees to double digits, sea level rise from centimeters to several meters. And you're right, it's extremely hard to predict something so far in advance! The weather folks can't predict next weekend accurately let alone 2100. I get your point.
Yeah, and 2100 doesn't seem real. I will be 126 - probably not so coherent. My kids will be 90. My grandkids will be 60. My great-grandkids will be my age. This is really hard to visualize.
True. That is why I'm taking you back in history. For a moment, think of this issue as much broader than you and your children. What if the globe has, in fact, entered a historically relevant Great Warming?
Forget about 100 years, try 250. What will people see when they look back on us in 2250, much as we look back on the New Yorkers who skated across the Hudson ?
What about 2006 years from now, in 4012, when generations as far distant from us as the Romans read about how the great empire and democratic experiment of the United States reacted to the Great Warming?
This is bigger than us. This will change human and global history. Nations will rise and fall! Industries will thrive and perish! This is huge! Anyway, there's a new film out called The Great Warming. You've got to see it!
Maybe. Who made the film?
The Producer: Show Me The Money
When I ask the Producer of the film, The Great Warming, Karen Coshof, to tell me a funny story for this blog, she hesitates, then comes up with her favorite work related joke.
Q: What is the definition of a producer?
A: A producer is someone who, when thrown out the front door, comes in the window.
Over the past several years, through relentless hard work and perseverance in a very competitive industry, Karen has gone through her share of windows. And she has managed to raise the money to make and screen a truly great and historic film, that tries to both contextualize and provide hopeful solutions to the Great Warming discussed above.
The film is impressive for many other reasons. In addition to the famous narrators, brilliant minds interviewed, beautiful images, and global scope, this film teaches more than it preaches. It provides a solution for each problem it brings up. It stays bipartisan. And it may just be even-handed, fact-based, and thought-provoking enough to bring together a diverse group of folks - Americans - to solve the Great Warming.
Recognizing the power of her work to be "more than a film", Karen has also become an organizer - pulling together a coalition of diverse folks for a Great Warming Call to Action. So far, Karen's has recruited 39 coalition partners, with a heavy focus on communities of faith, all working to stop the Great Warming. Apparently this is the age of the inspirational, female producer/organizer.
$250: The Inventive Incentive: Closing the Deal
Sounds interesting, but I'm busy. Go see a movie in two weeks? Maybe. But I have DVR, HBO, and the NBA and NHL packages. You're talking about a cold, Friday night in November! Plus, I have to vote later that week. How much civic duty can I really take!? Send me an e-mail and I'll think about it.
Alright, this is important enough that we will sweeten the deal. How about $250!?
Huh?
That's right. In the model of walking the talk, e veryone who sees the film and saves their ticket stub gets a free Home Energy Assessment, valued at $250, from Krystal Planet, a Great Warming sponsor. The assessment can likely help you dramatically cut your energy bill and turn that $250 of free service into $1000s in savings. And you'll be helping to stop the Great Warming.
$1000's? Come on.
It's true. This past weekend in northern Michigan temperatures dropped to below freezing, 20-50 mile per hour winds blew non-stop, rain poured down, and snow accumulated. Across the state, families put an extra blanket on the bed and turned up the heat. And f or the next 6+ months, we will all pay more than we need to to stay warm. Last year, my monthly energy bill was over $100 per month. I'll bet I could cut that in half with better insulation and thermostat management in both the summer and winter. At $50 a month, that's close to $500 a year. After 4 years, I'm up $2000!
Interesting.
It's Pie and It's Free
About 10,000 years ago the last millenniums-long ice-age ended uncovering the beautiful northern half of this country. About 250 years ago the centuries-long Little Ice Age ended and the Hudson bay melted. Now we may be in the midst of the Great Warming. This is serious.
So find yourself two global warming skeptics, treat yourself to The Great Warming on Friday, November 3 at one of 34 locations in 23 states, and spend a night with friends from your house of religion, school, family, or neighborhood. Then get your $250 consultation, update your house, and watch the savings pile up. If you feel inspired, work with one of the coalition partners to do more.
Like the Gecko says: It's pie. And it's free. I'll see you at the opening!
Advertisement