Sequel to an inconvenient truth11/13/2022 ![]() “If people don’t see other people around them taking action, and they don’t feel like they’re a part of a community that’s taking action, they’re less likely to act themselves,” Portlock said. The most recent installment in a long-running survey by Yale and George Mason University concluded that 67 percent of Americans rarely or never talk to friends and family about global warming. Take the time to tell others that awareness and action are important. But we realize that we’re not going to depress people into action.” Instead, Portlock hopes to inspire in people a vision of climate change as a chance to create a better, more sustainable future. “It’s clearly a very heavy topic and the consequences of what we are doing to our environment are dire. “Climate change is not a lighthearted topic,” Portlock said. Through a web video series called “Don't Just Sit There - Do Something!,” her organization is trying to talk about climate change in a way that’s accessible, engaging, and even funny. ![]() She acknowledges that people often feel isolated and feel climate change is too big an issue to be changed by the actions of individuals. “That was way back when curbside recycling, and you had to save up the stuff and convince your parents to take it to the igloo.” “I got my family recycling when I was in middle school,” Portlock said. Portlock says her “feeling of responsibility” for the environment is rooted in her childhood when her father, a science teacher, would take her out in the yard and put worms in her hand to teach her about the earth. It identifies, researches and advocates for individual, community, and federal solutions to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and improve community resilience. Based in Pittsburgh, Portlock is currently president of Communitopia, an organization committed to using new media and project-based campaigns to slow climate change and create healthier communities. Like Myers, Joylette Portlock has brought her passion for communication to the climate fight. “ millennials, who are saying, ‘Don’t just get me upset about an issue. “It’s really resonating with our users,” said Myers. This ability to take immediate and positive action has drawn wide interest, but seems particularly appealing to a new generation of activists. ![]() Thanks to Countable, more concerned Americans’ voices are being heard and Myers says the app just crossed the threshold of sending 10 million messages to Congress. “Over the last few years, as legislation has come up-there have been a lot of energy-related bills, like those related to solar power- this is an area where there’s a rallying cry, and anytime there’s legislation, a news story, or a calamitous event happening, they will jump on it.” The issue of climate change has been an important one for the Countable community, and users have been empowered to reach out to their representatives and advocate for progress. It gives you a bridge between that news story…and an opportunity to now do something about it.” “The reason Countable exists in the first place is because you’d read a news story, and it would get your blood boiling, but there was nothing to do, there’s no button to press, no place to go,” Myers said. Myers is committed to uniting the Countable community around their shared climate concerns. His work is again the focus of the upcoming follow-up, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” but an important shift has taken place in the movement.īart Myers is the founder and chief executive officer of Countable and Countable Campaigns, a San Francisco-area based startup that helps individual citizens follow current legislation and connect with policymakers. In 2006, former Vice President Al Gore’s fight against climate change was the focus of the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” Audiences were inspired by one of the nation’s most respected leaders working relentlessly on an issue that meant so much to so many. But you are nonetheless aware that climate change is an altogether present and imminent threat, and concerned with preserving a planet that’s beautiful, clean and, most importantly, livable for future generations. Perhaps you’ve never suffered from air-based allergies or asthma, conditions expected to affect even more people as climate change depletes the ozone, leading to exposure shown by research to reduce lung function. Maybe you don’t live in a state like Arizona or Oklahoma, where temperatures may reach 100 degrees more than 120 days every year from now on, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. ![]() Perhaps you’re not experiencing the downstream effects of climate change firsthand. ![]()
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