Are you changing the world? According to Al Gore you are.

I had the opportunity to hear Al Gore speak over the weekend, and I left feeling like all the small lifestyle changes I've been making to try to live a more eco-conscious life are really making a difference. (Actually I left wanting to ditch my car and to move to the country, but that's another post.) They are making a difference because when my contributions are added to the contributions everyone else (you?) have already been making we are, as Gore says, creating a "psychological shift" in the way we live our lives. And it's this shift—this "green revolution"—that will tackle the environmental crisis head on.

If you are interested in hearing more of my thoughts about Al Gore, click here to read my Normal Green column on the Tonic News Network, but I'll share an excerpt with you:

Seventeen years ago, when I graduated from college, I was a young, idealistic Green Party member intent on changing the world. I got involved in city government, I volunteered on behalf on political candidates I supported, and I vowed to make a difference. At that time, however, I didn’t really know what I wanted to change about the world, I just knew I had to do something. Fast forward to now. Since then, I’ve made two major career shifts, had two children, am now a progressive Democrat, and in the last eight years—the years my children know as the first years of their lives—I’ve watched in horror as our country faced one moral, ecological, and economic disaster after another. I feel the fierce urgency of now, and so do lots of other people. So how do we work together to change the world? Gore points out that we’re undergoing a powerful psychological shift, and when I think about it, that is what the “Normal Green” movement is all about.

We know we can never go back to how it was "before" when we didn't recycle or didn't try to plant gardens (even surprisingly productive patio ones) or didn't try to bike more.  We can never go back to not thinking about how our purchases from food to clothes will impact the earth. Together, because we are using our "moral imaginations" (another Gore-ism), we are seeing the future we want to create.

So keep doing what you are doing, and I'll keep doing what I'm doing, and together we're going change the world.

Comments

[Asianmommy]

It's true--all the little changes we make do make a difference.

[Julie Roads]

Hi Stefania! I tried to write you once before, but goodnes only knows where that went. I'm an old friend of Banker's and have recently fallen head over heals for the awesome Celine! Was bummed we had to miss the wedding (flying 2 two-year olds from Martha's Vineyard to Hawaii did not sound like fun!) Anyway, would love to chat - love all that you do - Momocrats rocks...been doing lots of political blogging myself...hope to get in touch...Julie

[Briana]

You rock, Stefania! (and so does Al Gore). Those of us who are really trying to make a difference by making small changes in our lives need to be reminded that we are collectively having an impact! thanks.

[Cat Lincoln]

According to Vanity Fair, Al Gore has surpassed Bill Clinton in terms of influence.

Big Green Al is dreamy!