Cool Drinks, Jon Cooksey: Saving Civilization with Comedy - A talk by the man behind the movie “How To Boil A Frog”
Date:
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location:
FORMAT:
6:30 Mingling and appetizers
7:00 presentation & Dialogue
8:50 Socializing and connecting
To register, please invite a friend and send names and emails to: registration@coolnorthshore.ca
Please bring $5 to cover admission and appetizers.
Cool Drinks is a monthly social and learning gathering to connect and inspire individuals interested in climate change in our community. On the third Thursday of each month, we invite a ‘provocateur’ to share knowledge and perspective on a climate change-related topic. Supported small group dialogue and informal networking allow participants to push the ideas further, and get the information and support they need to act.
MORE DETAILS:
BC - Award-winning writer and producer Jon Cooksey will speak about the impact that humans are having on the planet – including global warming, energy issues, and other light topics.
Cooksey is currently at work on a feature-length eco-comedy called How to Boil a Frog (HTBAF), which chronicles his personal, four-year adventure as a filmmaker, activist and, above all, a father driven, as he puts it, “to make sure my daughter’s going to have a future beyond living on a raft with the last polar bear.”
HTBAF mixes humor, credit crisis metaphors and hard-hitting facts to show how climate change is just one symptom of an even messier problem: overshoot. “Overshoot means too many people using up too little planet,” says Cooksey, “so in the end, we either need fewer people, more planets, or we’re going to have use less stuff. Or all three. I dib Mars.”
HTBAF seeks to paint a better future than the one we have now, and as Cooksey puts it, “a lot better than the one we’re going to have if we keep doing what we’re doing.” But he doesn’t feel more facts will do the job. “Antoine de Saint Exupery said, if you want to get people to build a boat, make them yearn for the sea. There’s a fantastic ocean out there, full of friends and fun and meaning and great music. I’d rather be sailing on it than drown in it. How about you?”
Some of Jon's videos...
See the How to Boil a Frog trailer
Jon Cooksey shared with an
By cnsJon Cooksey shared with an energetic group of 50 North Shore residents some annectodes about the making of his eco-comedy-documentary: "How to Boil a Frog", and his view of our current ecological and economic crises. He brought forward a simple message: our civilisation will not survive if we stay on the current trajectory. Jon shared his personal journey; how he came to that realization, how it scared the shit out of him, and how, finally, becoming active in solving the problem allowed him to shift from a state of depression and fear, to one of community and hope.
After this personal story, he moved on to explain in laymen's terms the root cause of the problem: overshoot, or how our growth brings human civilization to exceed the carrying capacity of the Earth. He outlined five symptoms of this overshoot (peak oil, climate change, wealth inequality,overpopulation, and environmental degradation), and 5 solutions (see the movie for details!). He also challenged us to explore the story we tell ourselves, why we can't act, can't change, and can't see what is at stake. He stressed the importance of going beyond individual action to create systemic change. One immediate way in which we can do that, is to support politicians that are trying to implement bold climate action plans and change the system. He invited DNV Mayor Richard Walton and councilor Alan Nixon to speak about the March 25 OCP workshop on Climate Change, and urge all concerned citizens to attend!
Jon closed by asking participants to write down some of the "stories" they tell themselves, and how they could contribute to systemic change. Here are a few of the responses that were given:
"How I'm going to change my story":
"Systemic change I'm going to make":
Thanks everyone for coming!