Being the Change -- Free screening and discussion

Date: 
9 Oct 2018 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Annette Public Library, 145 Annette St.

Being the Change -  Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution
A New Kind of Climate Documentary, by Mary Grandelis and Dave Davis

Complementing the book Being the Change, this feature documentary film delves into the life of Caltech / Jet Propulsion Laboratory atmospheric scientist Peter Kalmus, showing how a change in life philosophy and mind frame enabled Kalmus to cut his fossil fuel use to 1/10 th of the average American. All while boosting his happiness and raising a family in a typical California suburb.

At work he studies the physics of clouds in a changing climate, and at home he explores how we can address climate change while living happier, more connected lives. He lives in Altadena, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, with his wife and two children on 1/10th the fossil fuels of the American average. He enjoys orcharding, beekeeping, and backpacking. Peter speaks purely on his behalf, not on behalf of NASA orJet Propulsion Laboratory, or the California Institute of Technology.
      
We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens.
Alarmed by drastic changes in the Earth’s climate systems, the author, a climate scientist and suburban father of two, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world. He began by bicycling, growing food, meditating, and making other simple, fulfilling changes. Ultimately, he slashed his climate impact to under a tenth of the US average and became happier in the process.
Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. It merges science, spirituality, and practical action to develop a satisfying and appropriate response to global warming.
The core message is deeply optimistic: a world without fossil fuels is not only possible - it will be better.

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The author is donating his profits to groups with potential to connect individual agency to collective climate action, such as Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
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"A powerful reminder that it is possible - and joyful - to move away from fossil fuels, even in a society still in the throes of addiction.”
  Bill McKibben, author, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

“A vital message about how we can indeed be the change we need to see in the world if we are to avert a climate catastrophe.”
  Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, co-author, The Madhouse Effect

“What anyone can do to reduce climate impact - and live a better life in the process/“
  Richard Heinberg

“A plethora of insights about nature and ourselves, revealed by on man’s journey as he comes to terms with human exploitation of our planet”
  Dr. James Hansen, climate scientist, former director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies