Climate
Change Despair & Empowerment Roadshow
Enviro Cinema 1-2.30 pm, Presented by Kelly
Tudhope
In response to growing public
concern about climate change, the Rainforest Information Centre
has taken to the road to address the psychological and emotional
issues surrounding global warming.
The ‘Climate Change Despair and
Empowerment’ roadshow aims to motivate people to take action
against climate change in the wake of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient
Truth.
The
multi-media presentation includes video footage of Al Gore speaking
about the huge impact Australia could make in the U.S., if Australia
were to take bold action on climate change to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
Rainforest Information Centre presenter
Kelly Tudhope will launch the evening with a discussion on the role
public and personal denial, helplessness and despair play in the
fight against climate change.
“The roadshow will address Gore's
insight that many people move straight from denial to hopeless
despair about this issue without leaving any space in between for
effective action,” Kelly Tudhope said.
“We often feel paralysed, hopeless,
that it’s too late and so on. We’ll discuss how these feelings
can be transformed into the fuel for inspiration and positive
change.”
The 90 minute
Roadshow also aims to unveil the false and "business as usual"
solutions suggested by business leaders and political parties.
“Clean coal is
an unproven technology and wishful thinking,” Tudhope said.
“It doesn’t
matter how many windmills and solar arrays we build unless these are
accompanied by reducing the more than 70 million tonnes of CO2 we
pump into the atmosphere worldwide each day.”
“In the midst
of rising alarm, we must not fall prey to political and business
leaders eager for “business as usual”, who want us to believe
that we will be able to pay the environmental costs of a new coal
mine by screwing in energy efficient light bulbs or planting a few
trees.”
The presentations offer an opportunity
for participants to become involved in local climate study/action
groups.
“Underlying the solutions to global
warming is the need for social and political reorganisation. Local
community groups can begin to understand this and then lay the
foundation from which good strong solutions can be sown,” Ms
Tudhope said.
"Australia's
interest in the issue was clear when the roadshow opened in Coffs
Harbour on January 26 in an event sponsored by Coffs Harbour City
Council. All 270 seats in the Jetty Theatre were occupied and many
people were turned away.”
The roadshow will be touring Northern
Queensland July 30 after travelling to other regions including Coffs
Harbour, Port Macquarie, Bellingen, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney,
Northern NSW, Brisbane and the east coast of the USA. Ms Tudhope is
offering over 30 presentations in California, Oregon and Vancouver
and Hawaii in August- September. Northern Queenslands events are
sponsored by MacKay City Council and the Whitsundays Catchment Group.
For further information, see
http://www.climate.net.au.
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