Inspiring action in pursuit of a livable future: Anna McDevitt at TEDxGustavusAdolphusCollege
## Speaker Context - Speaker role: Advocate/Activist, addressing an audience concerning climate change action. - Audience: Students and professionals (implied, as the speaker addresses both student roles and "grown-ups in the real world with jobs"). - Setting/Occasion: An event where the speaker is advocating for climate action. - Framing: The speaker frames the situation as a choice between a "better future" or continuing current unsustainable practices, emphasizing that every person has the choice to make a better future possible. ## People - Parker Palmer: Quoted source regarding democracy. - Laura: A little girl (11 years old) who testified at a public utilities commission hearing. - Judge: Presiding official at the public utilities commission hearing. ## Organizations - UN (United Nations): Estimates that new fossil fuel infrastructure must stop by 2017. - Public Utilities Commission: Body where the speaker and a little girl testified. - Keystone XL Pipeline: Pipeline mentioned as a source of protest (carrying tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico). ## Places - India: Location where the speaker studied abroad for a program on social justice, peace, and development. - Kopal, Karnataka: Village in India where the speaker witnessed poverty due to crop failure. - Norfolk, Virginia: Location where the speaker grew up; predicted to be underwater by 2100. - U.S. coasts: Region where sea level rise is predicted to be 23 feet by 2100. - Appalachian mountains: Region in West Virginia experiencing mountaintop coal removal. - Rock Creek, West Virginia: Community in the Appalachian mountains experiencing mountaintop coal removal. - Saint Paul: Location of a tar sands rally. - Washington DC: Location where students participated in a protest for the Keystone XL pipeline. ## Tools, Tech & Products - Coal, oil, and natural gas: Sources of fossil fuels used, primarily contributing to climate change. - Wind turbine technology: Technology that can now detect birds when coming to stop, allowing for offshore deployment. - Solar panels: Technology doing "great things" in the fight against climate change. - Bicycles/Bike: Used by the speaker to travel and during protest activities. - Forest/River/Ducks: Elements affected by oil spills, as demonstrated by the little girl. ## Concepts & Definitions - Climate change: Defined as a major threat causing human suffering due to rising global average temperatures. - Carbon emissions: Gases rising since the industrial revolution, causing climate change. - Mountaintop coal removal: Process where explosives are used to blow the top of mountains to get coal, filling the resulting void/valley. - Divestment from fossil fuels: Campaign asking a college to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. ## Numbers & Data - Two degrees: The maximum rise in global average temperatures that must be avoided to have a "liberal future." - 10-15 years: Approximate time frame in India where local farmers have been unable to grow crops due to rising temperatures. - 11 by 15: Approximate size of the speaker's dorm room (used for comparison to the hut size in India). - 2100: Year by which sea level rise on U.S. coasts is predicted to rise by 23 feet. - 23 feet: Predicted sea level rise by 2100 on U.S. coasts. - 830 thousand gallons: Amount of tar sands oil the Keystone XL pipeline would carry per day. - 25 students: Number of students who participated in the protest in Washington D.C. - 1000 students: Total number of students who joined the protest in Washington D.C. - 400 people: Number of people arrested at the Keystone XL protest. - 54 people: Number who fasted for climate action with little outreach last fall. - 1300 miles: Distance the speaker biked through Vermont and New Hampshire. - 11: The age of the little girl, Laura. ## Claims & Theses - A better future is possible for every person. - Climate change is the biggest threat to a better future. - Carbon emissions have been rising at unprecedented rates since the industrial revolution. - Climate change is human-induced, mainly from the use of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. - Climate change is causing and will continue to cause human suffering. - Sea level rise on U.S. coasts is predicted to rise by 23 feet by 2100. - The U.S.'s largest naval base will be underwater by 2100 due to sea level rise. - The burning of fossil fuels itself causes problems beyond just climate change (e.g., pollution). - The UN estimates that all new fossil fuel infrastructure must stop by 2017. - Actions taken for education and jobs might actually be making the future less livable. - Roles as students, athletes, parents, businessmen, and professors are important, but participation in democracy and stewardship of the future are two forgotten roles. - Democracy is something that must be done, not something we have. - The "better future" is not going to happen out of nowhere; it has to be made happen by people working together. ## Mechanisms & Processes - Climate change mechanism: Rising carbon emissions (from fossil fuels) cause global temperature increases, leading to phenomena like rising sea levels, crop failure, and pollution. - Mountaintop coal removal mechanism: Using explosives to remove the top of mountains to access coal, and then filling the resulting void/valley. - Demonstrating oil effect: Using a feather and oil to physically show how oil affects a duck's feather. ## Timeline & Events - Industrial Revolution: Period marked by unprecedented rising carbon emissions. - Last year (Speaker's Junior Year of College): Time when the speaker studied abroad in India and observed farmer difficulties. - Last spring: Time when the speaker went to Rock Creek, West Virginia, to see mountaintop coal removal. - Last fall: Time when the speaker fasted for climate action. - Last month: Time when 25 students joined a protest in Washington D.C. - Last week: Time when the speaker attended a tar sands rally in Saint Paul and testified before the public utilities commission. ## Examples & Cases - Farmers in India (Kopal, Karnataka): Unable to grow crops and have lower yields of millet due to rising temperatures over the last 10-15 years, leading to increased insects and inability to make ends meet. - Couple in Kopal: Had to ask students for help because they couldn't grow enough millet to send their kids to near the speaker's school. - Speaker's home in Norfolk, Virginia: Predicted to be underwater by 2100. - World's largest naval base: Predicted to be underwater by 2100. - Family whose digestion was screwed up: Due to drinking well water contaminated by a nearby coal processing plant. - Families who watched machinery bulldoze ancestors graves: Witnessed damage from coal company activities. - Neighborhood that was a cancer cluster: Recently had six people die from the same kind of brain tumor due to pollution. - Protest against Keystone XL pipeline (Washington DC): Students marched and protested against a pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. - Divestment Campaign (Minnesota): Effort to get the college to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. - Fasting for climate action: Involving a period of fasting in support of climate action. - Biking through Vermont and New Hampshire: Activity to build resistance to a tar sands pipeline and engage in conversations. - Little girl, Laura's testimony: Stating she doesn't want the pipeline because she wants to save the ducks, demonstrating oil's effect on a duck feather. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - Option 1: Business as usual (continuing current path). - Option 2: Take meaningful action towards a better future. - Education/Job Security vs. Climate Action: The perceived need to obtain education/jobs versus the immediate need to address climate change. - Relying only on science/technology vs. Democracy: Recognizing that science/technology solutions cannot be implemented without democratic decision-making regarding fossil fuel subsidies. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - Caveat on arrest: Not stating that every person should go out and get arrested. - Caveat on action: Acknowledging that people may think the answer to "what do I do" is complex, stating the answer is "anything... just do it." - Acknowledging imperfection: Stating that the speaker has "no idea what we are doing like at all" in the movement, and that not knowing if actions will work is part of the process. ## Methodology - Observation/Learning: Gained knowledge through studying abroad in India and taking a course on environment and ecology. - Direct Witnessing: Observed the impact of coal mining and pollution in West Virginia. - Advocacy/Protest: Participating in protests (e.g., Washington D.C.) and organizing campaigns (e.g., divestment). - Testimony: Participating in a public hearing to testify. ## References Cited - Parker Palmer: Source of the quote: "democracy is not something that we have it's something that we must do." - UN: Source of the estimate regarding stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure by 2017. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Take meaningful action towards a better future, as opposed to business as usual. - Participation in democracy is crucial for shaping the better future. - Every person has a place and a reason to care, urging people to "find your ducks." ## Implications & Consequences - If the status quo continues: Catastrophic climate change, human suffering, the loss of coastal property (e.g., Norfolk, Virginia), and national security issues. - If the required actions are not taken: The "better future" will not happen. ## Open Questions - How to integrate urgent climate action into the existing structures of students' education and career preparation. ## Verbatim Moments - "every single person here today can make the choice to have a better future and it's possible" - "if we are to have a liberal future if we are going to avoid this snowball effect of catastrophic climate change" - "The last thing that we know is that climate change is causing human suffering and it's going to continue causing human suffering" - "I feel really guilty... my fossil fuel consumption to have that energy is causing this family that was right in front of me suffering they weren't able to make ends meet because of my lifestyle and the lifestyle of people like me" - "we've got to do something" - "democracy is not something that we have it's something that we must do" - "if we knew it was going to work we would have done it already by now right we would have already solved this climate crisis we would already have a secure future and we would know that the future was going to be okay" - "the answer is anything something it just do it just do anything" - "you have a place in this movement every single one of you and so does everyone else" - "continue business as usual or b take meaningful action towards a better future"