The Human Face of
Climate Change
o you ever wonder what it would be
like to live inside an oven? Welcome
to Phoenix, Arizona in summertime.
Yes, it's summer here now in my
mind, as we roll into our first full
week of triple digit temperatures. There are two
seasons here that I refer to as "Perfect Season"
and "I'm In a Giant Frickin' Oven Season."
But while I can escape to the comfortable
confines of my balmy 79 to 80 degree house,
my air-conditioned car and my air-conditioned
stores, many people can't.
And heat kills.
Last July, I organized an Act on Climate event.
Because the majority of the media here doesn't
do such a great job at covering environmental
issues, I've learned to use big, visual props to
make it hard for them to ignore. Even better if
these props have a function.
I ordered 150 red umbrellas and had #ActOn-
Climate printed on them. 150 people holding
these umbrellas served as the backdrop for our
press conference. I included people to speak
on behalf of small business, faith-based groups,
the poor and working class, science and the
homeless population. I also included several
elected officials and our state climatologist. We
also held a water drive for Lodestar Day
Resource Center.
Though the event was well-attended and peo-
ple stopped whining about being hot once they
were gently reminded why they were there, I
was forever changed by what happened after
the event.
As the amazing Paolo Soleri so eloquently
said in 2010, just a few years before his death:
"The umbrella and parasol are self-generating
comfort zones; light, moveable, energy inde-
pendent, technologically optimal, inexpensive,
a great service to the poor and to the very poor.
They constitute mini-housing for tens of mil-
lions, for pharaohs and kings alike."
D
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