I just read this amazing piece over on Brittany's blog. You should check it out, it's long but worth it. I've included only a snippet here, a passage that spoke to me loudly. I love this idea of the DOT, "do one thing" and hope you do too.
You Were Born to Save the Planet
Adam Werbach
Teens Turning Green
Keynote Presentation
National Summit
San Rafael, CA
5 Feb 2010
"Any movement starts with yourself. I ask you to pick a DOT -- DOT stands for Do One Thing. One thing that's good for you, good for the planet, that you do regularly. Maybe it's yoga or riding your bike or saving energy. But it's one thing you do to put your body where your mouth is. We need a billion DOTs. One billion people all making their own commitments. Take a moment now and choose your own DOT. Share it with a friend. Keep it going. Pick another. And it all adds up. If every high schooler turned the thermostat in their house down by one degree celsius, it would be like reducing 100,000 tanker trucks of gasoline, or taking over a million cars off the road. We need you to recruit students at your school and get them them to pick their own DOTs. Raise your hand if you can get me 3 DOTs? 10 DOTs? 100 DOTs.
This movement won't be led by one great man or woman, it will be built on our individual actions that ladder up to legislative, corporate and cultural changes. What's your DOT?"
4 comments:
I loved this part, too. Especially considering that he's talking to children. Once you choose and conquer one DOT, choosing and committing to others gets easier and before you know it, you're doing better than you ever thought!
Thanks for the link, Lisa :)
Thank you for posting this. I've linked to a copy of it (and your post and Brittany's post) on my livejournal. I'm going to have my oldest son read this (he's only seven) and then squirrel it away to have him read again when he's older.
That speech gives me hope.
One of my dots is that I decided to leave behind silversmithing and fine arts materials that leave a heavy footprint. I want to show that jewelry can be beautiful without leaving a harsh trail of environmental and individual harm behind it. I continue to learn how to be more gentle in my approach and technique.
whats your dot Lisa?
You're most welcome, Britt.
eidolons - this speech gives me hope too and I'm delighted to hear you say the same.
Marchi - I love your choice, and clearly it suits you well.
I try to incorporate DOTs into my whole life, so I'll tell you about the DOT that I'm working at....remembering to bring my own bags to the grocery store. If I forget, but remember before I get in the store, I grab plastic bags from the recycle bin. Sometimes I end up at the register with all of my stuff before doing the headslap, realizing I've forgotten them. Because I only go to town twice a month, my shopping trips are pretty big so it isn't feasible for me to buy the store's bags and I end up using plastic. I do recycle it, but I still feel awful. It churns my stomach to see plastic bags washed up on the beach, hanging from tree branches, running across the road like manmade tumbleweeds... once you start noticing them, you see them everywhere.
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