How I came to be a Climate Change Warrior
At the ripe old age of 54, I have decided that, rather than simply complain about the lack of action on Climate Change, I will actively work to help create the world in which my two gorgeous kids can live a safe, low-carbon lifestyle & my family and others will be secure from the worst effects of Climate Change.
Starting in July 2010, I am taking six months leave of the Alternative Technology Association (and my family) to go on an odyssey around Australia by bicycle, providing talks on energy efficiency and what each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint. I want to empower people as I believe that most of us want to contribute to help create a safe climate but just don’t know where to begin.
In order to maximise the impact and persuasiveness of my presentations, I have decided to gain skills in platform speaking. This whole undertaking is costing my family dearly – not just in the cost of the training and missing income but also in an absent father – but, if the result is as I hope, the cost will be worth it.
Background
Starting life as an Electronics Design Draftsman (before becoming a draftsperson!), I worked for what became Telstra – when it was known as the PMG’s Department and then Telecom Australia – and at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory designing printed circuit boards (PCBs). As a Research Assistant at the Royal Guide Dogs Association, I worked on Electronic Mobility Aids with a wonderful mentor in Dr Tony Heyes.
I then took a couple of years off to build an extension on our home (with most of the work done by myself). Even then, I must have been interested in minimising our energy footprint as insulation and double-glazing, not to mention eaves (where have eaves gone?), played an important part in the design.
I then worked for 10 years as a Systems Administrator before going back to school in 2008 to study Renewable Energy at NMIT, for which I received an award for “Excellence in Studies”. (Mature-age students tend to be over-achievers!)
I now work for the Alternative Technology Association (ATA – a not-for-profit member organisation that has been walking the talk in sustainability for the past 30 years) as their webshop manager – a part-time role and one which I enjoy greatly, as the interaction with people (aiding them with their problems, advising on appropriate technology or recommending actions they can take to make their lives more sustainable) is very satisfying.
I have also presented a number of talks to councils on behalf of the ATA on energy efficiency.
My Vision
With regards to the fight against Climate Change, I want all of us to not just talk the talk, I want us to walk the talk and this was the genesis of my vision: