Princeton Creative

So far, Climate Week has been a completely engaging and fascinating experience. Panels, speakers, videos, webinars, vegan lunch, cocktails, meetings and interactions with so many wonderful people have all been enriching and informative. Some have been inspiring. Some have been maddening. But I think my favorite moment was being 10 feet away from Dr. Jane Goodall in conversation with Catrin Einhorn at the New York Times Climate Forward event. There are few people on this planet like this astounding 90-year-old woman, still traveling 300 days a year to speak on behalf of our planet and all its life and beauty.

Who's going to Climate Week in NYC next week? I'll be there for at least 3 days. I'd love to meet you there! Just send me a message and we'll set something up.

Telling the right story about the climate crisis is difficult to say the least. Everyone has a point of view, and reaching the general public with resonant messaging is not something that can be done by climate scientists, nonprofits and government agencies alone.

I just recently finished Thich Nhat Hahn’s book, The Art of Communicating, and have been ruminating on his very Buddhist (of course!) point of view. He repeatedly reminds us that to really reach people, we must have compassion and realize that all people either have, are, or will at some point, experience suffering.

What does that have to do with climate communications, you may ask?

Realizing this helps us understand that people fear making behavioral changes that may at first appear to require them to give up something. Gloom and doom numbers and statistics create fear (suffering) to the point of paralysis. We can’t wag our fingers and tell people to give up hamburgers and SUV’s, even though that certainly would help.

Those of us advocating for climate change solutions are motivated not only by compassion for our planet, but by our pressing need to survive and thrive, so we have to get this right.

Let’s workshop our messaging as we go along, and before we put something out there, stop, breath and be certain we have an awareness that people are instinctively wary of anything involving change, suffering or loss.

No sooner did I post some hopeful news from last weeks visit with Coral Restoration Foundation™ and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, two Florida Keys based organizations leading the coral restoration effort, than I get amply reminded of just how dire the situation is.

The short story is plain and simple: we have to reduce our fossil fuel consumption. That means use less energy, eat less meat, lower our AC and our heat, drive less, buy less, have less kids, smaller houses, scrap bitcoin, reuse and recycle, skip that new iPhone this year...I think we're all familiar with the list.

Just because I post this I do not claim to innocent of behaviors with negative impacts on our climate. I'm doing what I can but realize I have to do more.

Read the excellent and unvarnished truth right here: https://bit.ly/3X8oTfD

They're Desperately Trying To Save This Animal — And It Isn’t Working Rebuilding degraded coral reefs started as a noble endeavor, but now some coral scientists are confronting a dark reality.

This Thursday, July 11th, I'll be attending The Heat is On: Strategies & Solutions for Helping Achieve Climate Justice. Two of my colleagues from Solar One will be speaking on the panel, along with experts from WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Sponsored by Domini Impact Investments LLC. This is important stuff, so I hope to see you there! Click on the link below for more info and free registration.



https://bit.ly/3W3DNmW

I'm attending 2024 NYC Solar + Storage Summit, tomorrow, June 27 in NYC. Let me know if you will be there. I'd love to meet and chat for a bit.

2024 NYC Solar+Storage Summit Join Sustainable CUNY, New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA), and hundreds of clean energy professionals from the public and private sectors for a full day conference focusing on the policies, programs and solutions needed for NYC’s rapid and equitable decarbonization.

Supercommunicators is a very insightful book by Charles Duhigg. Just bought it and I'm about halfway through.

Duhigg uses the quite appropriate device of storytelling to reveal hidden layers of communication and he zeroes in on the importance of connection. (Yes, I know, I never stop talking about that!) He has a helpful framework for understanding communication, positing that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three possible conversations: the practical, the emotional, or the social. To truly connect with our audience, we must understand which conversation we are having.

Good stuff and highly recommended.

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy your family, the great outdoors, barbecues and beers, but please take a moment to remember what it's all about. May we one day enjoy planet wide peace.

Memorial Day 2024: Facts, Meaning & Traditions | HISTORY Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day started in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971 to honor those who served and died in wars.

I'm with ya GBS! Just because we have spoken, designed, presented, emailed, texted, etc. does not mean we have connected, which is kind of a prerequisite for communications.

Way to tell it like it is Waldo! Always loved this guy.

In other words (in case you need them), in the realm of authentic communication, what you do speaks louder than what you say.

Brevity is the soul of wit. And that's all I've got to say. Damn. Now I've gone and said too much.

In order to have a meaningful connection with others, we have to have trust. It's a prerequisite for creating postive change.