Tag / climate change

by Nathan Coumbe

If you don’t know, it helps to ask

I was roasting alive at a book festival last week. 100º temps, no cloud cover, no breeze. 

I needed to know why! WHY, when Mississippi has such mild autumns and winters, did the organizers insist on hosting the festival in the hottest part of the year? Every year for 9 summers.

In sheer agony and frustration, I said aloud, “Why do they do this?”

And I got an answer from someone much more knowledgeable and pain-tolerant than me:

This is the only time when the Mississippi Congress is on vacation during the year. The State Capitol is empty and available for use.

I asked and got a reasonable answer. Of course there was a good reason for the decision they made.

Most things aren’t done as mindlessly as we might assume. When you feel that way, it helps to ask some questions.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

But do people care?

One of the keys to successful businesses and fulfilling careers is solving interesting problems.

Solving problems creates value, and value creates wealth.

But there’s a catch: other people have to care about the problem you solve. And they have to care enough about it to pay for it.

One of the first problems I solved for people was based in the music world. 

I knew people wanted to learn the drums. The problem was there wasn’t an easy-to-find drum teacher in the area. 

There were scores of drummers who taught, and I was nowhere near the best one. But… no one knew how to find them. 

So my solution was simple: I made business cards and left them on the counter at my local music store. And it worked: I got a lot of inquiries and a number of students. 

Another problem I wanted to solve (which I, at least, thought was interesting), was the massive littering issue at the park near my home. 

I had the idea to buy lots of cheap garbage cans and place them all over the park. In doing so, I thought I’d make “the garbage can is too far away” excuse moot. 

But I soon realized the idea wouldn’t work for one simple reason: no one else at the park cared about littering. It was the furthest thing from their minds.

Sure, I might have been able to persuade a few people through extensive marketing efforts (maybe), but it would truly have been a lost cause.

Finding a problem to solve is the first step. Next you have to figure out if other people care about it.

by Nathan Coumbe

We aren’t trying to save the planet…

There are those of us working hard to stop and (hopefully) reverse climate change.

You know—that exponential increase in carbon in the air? You might prefer to call it atmosphere cancer instead (h/t Seth Godin). 

Well, here’s the thing:

We aren’t trying to save the planet. 

Planet Earth doesn’t need our help. It can take care of itself.

Mother Nature is a powerful force. The Earth (and life itself) was here long before we were… And it will be here long after we’re gone.

We aren’t working to save the planet.

We’re trying to save humanity. 

The next generation, all future generations of the human species, are in danger from the changes coming from atmospheric carbon build-up. 

  • Famine
  • Flooding
  • Droughts
  • Extreme weather
  • Massive population displacement.

Those are the dangers we’re facing and fighting.

So maybe the problem is one of semantics (the meaning of our words). 

Maybe we need to stop talking about “saving the planet.” Because nobody really seems to care.

But people do care about themselves and their own survival. It’s human nature. And the words we use matter, especially when we’re trying to change minds (or the world). 

So, just remember, when someone talks about saving the environment, what they really mean is this:

“I’m trying to save the human race.”

Make sure to check out all the awesome work the volunteers are doing over at The Carbon Almanac to keep the world habitable for future generations.

Subscribe below for new posts:

by Nathan Coumbe

A Carbon Almanac for kids

We launched our eBook for children!

All the generous volunteers over at The Carbon Almanac have been working extremely hard to put together an easy-to-read and beautiful almanac for children.

It’s meant to help spread the facts about climate change and give them an opportunity to contribute to the work of making things better.

Also, we’re planting TEN TREES for every one that’s cut down to print our books and we want YOUR kids to name them for us. 

Get your free eBook and check out all the details here.

by Nathan Coumbe

The Carbon Almanac (your chance to make a difference)

I’ve been volunteering for a fantastic project: The Carbon Almanac.

We’re on a mission to spread the SCIENCE behind what’s happening to our planet—without bias, without news media spins, without politicians arguing over what’s true or what needs to be done.

This is real, it’s serious, and it’s happening now. And all the proof you need (as well as the difference you can make) is in this book.

Buy a copy (or 10). Give it to people you care about. Send copies to your elected officials. Hand them out at work.

Help us make a difference so that we all have a safe, healthy place to live in the next century.

Learn more here.