May 9, 2008 -- Bill McKibben green chat
MM__Guest_: Bill, Fellow Lexingtonian here. What would you recommend for someone who is interested in working in the green industry...specifically solar? I am in business development (sales and marketing) and alt energy is a passion. WHat type of certification carries the most weight for entering the field? I am interested in residential sales to start,k but see colleges and universities as a prime market. I am ready, willing, able to dive in, but I HAVE No EXPERIENCE. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Bill_McKibben: Anything green is marketable for employment right now, and solar is taking off fast, on every front--we need everything for minstallers to marketers. I don't know exactly what certifications are necessary--it's still a nascent industry--but check with the booming suppliers--grosolar, for instance, which is spreading across New England.
Mike_Yedinak__Guest_: Hi Bill! Entering a little late here, so I apologize if you've already answered this. Can you tell me how 350.org differs from other nonprofits geared to address carbon issues?
Bill_McKibben: Our big goal is to take this number--350--and make it the msot well-known number on earth. 350 is the number that the scientitst tell us know is the safe upper bound for carbon in the atmosphere--measured in ppm. We're already past it, unfortunately--we're like the guy whose doctr tells him his cholesterol is too high. In the 18 months before the final intl. negotiations in Copenhagen in Dec. 2009 we've got to spread that message Paul Revere style, so that the climate of public opinion nudges those talks towards reality
Elysa__Guest_: Hi Bill. I read about 350.org. Do you anticipate engaging as many people in 350 as in Step it Up? Are the goals the same? How does this work with / overlap with Focus the Nation?
Bill_McKibben: Well, StepItUp, which we organized last year, was a wild success--2000 demonstrations in all 50 states, and it worked to get our demand--80% cuts by 2050--into obama and clinton's platforms and deep into the public consciousness
Bill_McKibben: Now Focus the Nation, 1sky.org, and Al Gores We campaign are working to really bring home a great climate bill in this country in the next Congress. So our small crew has started thinking about part 2 of this dilemma--how to get a great international agreement. We're trying to take the same grassroots organizing skills to 350.org--though the task is much larger. (for one thing, people insist on speaking different languages--which is why we've got translations into 12 languages on the website)
christopher__Guest_: If the ideal amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million... what's the amount today? Is it too wild of an idea to think about getting it down to 350? Is it impossible?
Bill_McKibben: It's tough as hell. Basically, Jim Hansen at NASa says it means leaving msot of the carbon currently in the ground in the ground--phasing out coal fast, and not going to exotic oil sources like tar sands and oil shale. That would require a huge political and economic commitment, if we're going to do it in the time we have. I think 350.org is a bit of a Hail Mary pass, but they get caught sometimes, and what choice do we have. We're excited about how well it's working so far--people all over the country and all over the world are clamoring ot get involved
rich__Guest_: Interested in your 350 movement...Are there any rallies or nationwide events planned?
Bill_McKibben: For the moment, we're having rolling actions all around the world. Organize one in your town and we will spread it far and wide--we had 35o0 bicyclists in Salt Lake City, and surfers in Maui; we've already had demosntrations as far afield as Congo and Rwanda. Think of something clever--one group in Kentucky is at work on a 350-square quilt. Anything to get that number out there
rich__Guest_: Do you think Massachusetts can become a center for clean tech and green companies, or do you think Washington has been so wishy-washy on credits and subsidies that many companies will relocate to Germany or elsewhere, where there seems to be more serious and coordinated government efforts to radically change consumption patterns?
Bill_McKibben: right now Europe is eating our lunch. But Massachusetts, along with California, is leading the charge to capture some of that business. Clearly it's the next great economic play--I mean, we're talking about the second-most-important commodity on earth, after food
microplasma__Guest_: i teach middle schoolers...can you recommend book or website for kids?
Bill_McKibben: Andy Revkin has a good recent book on change in the Arctic. But have them check out 350.org--with kids, the real problem is they become scared because they feel there's nothing they can do. Our goal is to make them--and everyone else--politically powerful
john__Guest_: How can we get companies to embrace telecommuting here in New England--i spent an hour and a half on the expressway at 6:30am
Bill_McKibben: You would think that $4 gas would speed some of these changes--and indeed, there's pretty storng evidence of big increases in mass transit and so forth. But telecommuting is a great idea--it would be nice to have some real govt. incentives for it, since obviously it saves us all money if you don't go use the road
microplasma__Guest_: bill, i studied your books @ suffolk U...the age of missing information was so relevant
Bill_McKibben: That's very kind. for the rest of you, it was a book about television and nature--and for me the best result was that i got rid of the tv forever. do miss the red sox, but have become a big joe castiglione fan on the radio