You know those aha moments - the moments that your life changes course. Sometimes they're triggered by a child's naive words, emerge from the space between being sleep and awake, or slap us in the face like a cold bucket of water. Whatever the case, I believe that inviting and honoring those moments is why we're here.
Mine came in early 2007. I'd put my toddlers to bed, and sat down to watch An Inconvenient Truth on DVD. As the movie concluded, I remember panic creeping up the back of my neck as I realized that graphs the corresponding climate data (not to mention the former Vice President) couldn't be lying. I considered drowning myself in Chunky Monkey ice cream, but held fast to Gore's statement that has since become my mantra, "Before you jump from denial to dispair, stop in the middle and do something."
So, I read through blogging tutorials and at 2 am, launched the first version of CT GreenScene.
Since then, I have been blessed to work with some of the most inspiring, leading edge, powerful change makers...the folks who for decades have been living on the leading (and often the bleeding) edge of bringing this movement where it is today. You can download more about that work here.
Enter Eileen Weber
I've been been writing and editing for CT GreenScene since 2008. While I was originally drawn to write for a dedicated audience, I soon realized that doing so provided an opportunity to truly see the big picture. It's one thing to read about environmental issues - it's quite another to interview and get to know the people who are in the trenches. Whether it's fighting for legislation, expressing frustration around injustice, or just trying to make a living while creating positive change -- when you allow yourself to be exposed to the issues and the people working to improve them on behalf of all of us -- that's when you realize that leaving the planet better than you found it is undeniably one of the most important things you can do as a human being.
When I'm not writing, I spend much of my time attempting to manage what most would consider utter chaos - juggling two jobs, three kids, t wo dogs and a husband who travels more than friequently. There are, however, occasional bouts of clarity and inner peace -- for which I am grateful.
About Our Intern, Stephani Spindel
As a part of one of my courses for Spring Semester 2013, I had to watch a series of documentaries all in one sitting: these included Tapped, Plastic Planet, An Inconvenient Truth, King Corn, Harvard Goes Green clips, Food Inc, and even Wall-e-the cartoon about the robot that helps to clean up the planet after our trash overwhelms it. These films were pretty shocking to say the least, and full of information that I just did not know about the real facts of how we, as humans, truly interact (and impact) our environment. Obviously, at twenty years old, I grew up in a world where “green” thinking seemed to be everywhere from Disney channel promos to Wal Mart shelves to political debates to classrooms. But it was hard to know what was real, or why, especially because politicians and environmentalists in the public eye spoke of global warming in tones that dripped ominously with impending doom. When I saw these films however, I discovered people who are more like me: passionate, driven, compassionate, and, most of all, genuinely faithful. I became excited about all the opportunities that are at our fingertips: all the places where people can vote with their dollars to create a revolution similar to the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, but this time with more ambition as to the layers of success. I finally see that there is a real place for me and my skills in marketing and English in helping to create an economy that can sustain itself financially, socially, and sustainably….and that is thrilling
