Climate Reality Project & Our Choice: environmental issues online, in video and now apps

According to the vast majority of scientists who study environmental, meteorological, and ecological sciences, climate change is very real. And mankind is playing more than a causal hand in its proliferation. We hear about it a lot but, particularly during the U.S. presidential political cycle, we also hear that it's either a fabrication, a conspiracy, or at the very least, that the science is not there and the jury is out.

Nonsense.

The Climate Reality Project is an organization devoted to disseminating the facts about climate change and our role in its existence to anyone who will listen. In mid-September, the group held a "24 Hours of Reality" where validated information was presented on the subject in the form of an online/video presentation that ran every hour for 24 hours in 13 languages around the world. Unfortunately, it did not get much media coverage but you can still see and hear the presentation yourself at the group's website.

"Climate change is not your fault for the car you drive, the lights you turn on, or the food you eat. The climate crisis is our problem. Real solutions, systemic solutions, innovative solutions, can only come when we address it together. That’s what The Climate Reality Project will do. Without doubt. Without delay. And with your help.

The Climate Reality Project is bringing the facts about the climate crisis into the mainstream and engaging the public in conversation about how to solve it. We help citizens around the world discover the truth and take meaningful steps to bring about change.

Founded and chaired by Al Gore, Nobel Laureate and former Vice President of the United States, The Climate Reality Project has more than 5 million members and supporters worldwide. It is guided by one simple truth: The climate crisis is real and we know how to solve it." - Climate Reality Project website

The Climate Reality Project can arrange to have a trained Climate Presenter speak to your school, church, or community organization and lay out the facts about climate change and what we can do about it. While founder and former Vice President Al Gore, being a politician, has been a lightning rod at times for opposing camps, his efforts to make climate change a global issue - before it becomes an unstoppable global crisis - have fueled progress in many ways. The Climate Reality Project is one; the recent app/online book, Our Choice, available from Apple's iTunes for iPad and iPhone is another.

Our Choice is a fine example of the potential for apps to provide a wide range of information. Using all manner of interactive media - video, infographics, text, and online links, it covers the current state of climate change, A to Z, and reviews the many solutions and alternatives that are at hand. Think of it as An Inconvenient Truth for a new decade. As an iPhone app, it's handy; as an iPad app, it benefits from the larger screen format (I prefer the iPad version). It is also available in a hardcover print edition.

Take a look at the Climate Reality Project or download Our Choice. The information is there. The rationale can be made for why we must act. Minds can be changed. A planet is a terrible thing to waste.

Visit the Climate Reality Project website.
Learn more about the Our Choice book/app.

BLUE On Tour: a multi-media roadshow for ocean conservation

Proverb: "To know and not to do is not know."

Activists know this adage well. Ignorance may be bliss but, once you have the facts, you have the responsibility to not sit on your hands and do nothing. Ocean conservationists know this as well and strive not only to enlighten the decision makers and the general public as to the challenges threatening the seas but to express what needs to be done about it.

The BLUE Ocean Film Festival, based in Monterey, California, has in only two short years become a well-recognized and respected event that brings together wildlife filmmakers, ocean conservation leaders, and the general public in a multi-day event of moving imagery, insightful discussions, and the knowledge that says "you now know, so go and make a difference."

As valuable as this now bi-annual event is, Debbie and Charles Kinder, the festival's executive organizers, knew that something needed to be done in the interim, something proactive. BLUE On Tour was the result: a multi-media, educational traveling roadshow that takes the soul of the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and makes it available worldwide.

"BLUE On Tour is a traveling film festival and conservation event, making the world's greatest collection of ocean films available to communities and audiences around the world.

BLUE On Tour's goal is to use the power of film to INFORM millions of people around the globe about the importance of the ocean and INSPIRE action that leads a lasting commitment to ocean stewardship.

Empowerment, education and inspiration are the driving philosophy of the BLUE On Tour outreach initiative. We are excited to be able to provide the opportunity for each host to present their own tailored film festival event featuring customized selections from our extensive film catalog.

BLUE On Tour also provides access to the filmmakers, explorers and marine science experts who created these amazing films, which give us an awe-inspiring and informative window into the underwater world." - From the BLUE On Tour website.

BLUE On Tour can be hosted by a variety of organizations: schools and universities, museums, libraries, community organizations, government agencies, non-profits and even retailers or other for-profit businesses - essentially anyone who wishes to educate and motivate others on marine environmental issues. There is a basic package which can be modified to meet the needs of an organization or event. As an example, Auburn University staged a three-day event in March that combined BLUE On Tour with master classes and panel discussions on ocean issues and a day set aside for just kids.

BLUE On Tour currently has a 2011-2012 schedule that includes Mexico, Washington D.C., New York City, Hawaii, El Salvador, Australia, and more. If you have an organization, small or large, that is interested in staging an ocean conservation event, I would strongly suggest you contact BLUE On Tour. They can help you in developing a successful celebration of the oceans that would enhance your organization, illuminate the minds of your community and, of course, benefit the oceans as well.

To learn more about BLUE On Tour, click here.
To learn more about the BLUE Ocean Film Festival, click here.

BLUE on Tour: an ocean conservation film festival takes to the road to enlighten

The BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit, which took place last month in Monterey, California, was a resounding success. It brought together aquatic film industry types, respected ocean conservationists, and a fascinating and diverse slate of films about the ocean and many of the issues that threaten its survival. I was fortunate to attend and honored to have been asked to participate in it.

But it's not an event that pats itself on the back, rolls up the welcome mat, and looks forward to next year. When the dust has settled and all the attendees have gone home, the festival takes to the road with BLUE on Tour. Over a dozen venues on three continents, from academic institutions to public viewing facilities, have voiced their interest and are ready to present the traveling mini-festival. This form of educational outreach has always been a part of the non-profit BLUE Ocean Film Festival's mission and the festival's founders, Debbie and Charles Kinder, are dedicated to its realization. But it costs money and they have determined that it will take $20,000 to launch the BLUE on Tour for 2010.

To move things forward towards that goal, one of the festival sponsors, beBLUU filtered water bottles, has promised to donate three dollars of each sale to the festival through November 30th. But support from the public will also be needed if the festival is to reach its financial goal.

beBLUU has an interesting product - the next generation in portable water bottles. The beBLUU bottle is constructed of 100% recyclable, FDA-approved food and medical grade resin which contains none of the harmful chemicals that have been found in many of our plastic products. No BPA, DEHA, or DEHP. And the bottle includes a replaceable filter that cleans and purifies the water. So no matter the tap from whence it came, your water will be filtered clean, just like the pricey name brands we buy. And that can eliminate the single-use of thousands of plastic bottles - a major source of plastic pollution, right up there in importance with disposable plastic bags.

BLUE on Tour is a great way for people across the globe to see some of the very best in ocean wildlife and ocean conservation films. It can motivate people of all ages by using the power of the visual image to educate and enlighten. Let's hope the festival can reach the financial goals that will guarantee the start of the BLUE on Tour journey. beBLUU is lending a hand; you can too.

For information on the BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit, visit its website or contact Ashley Huffman at ashley@enviro-rel.com. And to learn more about beBLUU filtered water bottles, click here.

Read the beBLUU press release about their commitment to the BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit.