Why volunteer with The Climate Project?

I volunteer with The Climate Project, presenting the slideshow from Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth.

I went to Melbourne in September 2007 to train with Al Gore, along with one other Kiwi and approximately 100 Aussies. Since then, I have presented over 25 times, to a huge range of people. I have presented to elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, farmers groups, business leaders, women business leaders, recreational groups and youth leadership organizations. I even got to emcee Earth Hour in Christchurch, NZ last year!

I studied a bit about climate change in the late 1980s at university in New Jersey. We learnt that the way things were trending, we could expect major global changes within the next few decades. We learnt that species loss might accelerate in that time and sea levels might rise. The climate in my native New Zealand was expected to become warmer (and to a beach girl, it sounded vaguely like a good idea). I was in my 20s, and my 50s seemed an outrageously long way off -- my parents were only just in theirs).

I am nearing 45, and everything I thought was vaguely interesting then is now urgent.

I got just how urgent in early 2007.

I was in Hawaii for my brother’s wedding. He studied coral (and Fine Arts) at University, and loves to snorkel and swim in Hawaii’s gorgeous water. My daughter Grace was 6. She had never been snorkeling (the water around NZ is pretty chilly!), so Ted and I took her to a little bay and put the mask and snorkel on her.

At first it was miserable -- water up the nose etc. -- but soon I became entranced. Suddenly, I became aware of a little warm body snuggled up to mine. Face down. Delighted. Mesmerized. In awe of all that she could see. An entire universe had opened up to her just two yards from the beach. Her grin was priceless.

A few days later we were having our final swim at another beach before we flew out home to NZ. Right there, on a public beach off a main road, three turtles were hanging out. Grace and I grabbed our snorkels and tagged along a couple of yards behind them until she got tired some 30 minutes later.

I got out and surveyed the beach, feeling satisfied with life -- until I was struck by a terrible thought: one day, I might have to tell Grace's children that there used to be turtles.

Tears came to my eyes, and I realized I couldn’t wait another 20 years to do something. For the sake of those turtles, my daughter, and my as-yet-decades-off grandchildren, I had to take action now.

I volunteer because activism gives me hope. It also inspires my children, friends and family. I want children to know we are sorting it, and won’t leave it for them to deal with.

To book a presentation in your area go to www.theclimateproject.org, or in Australia/NZ go to www.acfonline.org and follow the Climate Change links.

What small step will you take today?

minimonos, and my hopes for our children

Hi. I'm Melissa Clark-Reynolds, and I'm the founder of minimonos.

I started this company because, like parents everywhere, I want a better life for my children and grandchildren (not that I'm ready for grandkids!). I want a world where they are free to enjoy childhood without the pressure of worrying whether previous generations have messed it up or not. 

I wonder about the pressures that our kids must feel now with the current economic crisis, coupled with the impending environmental crisis. I want kids to have a safe place to play, hang out and BE themselves, without the pressure to buy stuff. 

You may not realize this, but most virtual worlds exist to solve a problem for advertisers. The advertisers' question is, “How do I sell more stuff to kids?”  Why else did Disney buy Club Penguin? Why do Buildabear and Webkinz and Barbie and every other major toy manufacturer have virtual worlds? It's because the worlds give them a way of merchandising. They aren't really thinking about the kids.

I've got a different question: How can we build a virtual world where the real customers are the parent and the kid? How would it differ from the others out there?

With the right question, some of the answers become obvious. First of all, it's got NO advertising. Did you know the average life of a toy in a US home is 60 days? 60 DAYS????  My house is full of stuff I've bought my kids….  and stuff they got for their birthdays, and Christmas, and because my husband and I travel for work a lot….  and because we love them, and because Nana and Grandmom want to be the special ones….  and….

What if we showed them we loved them without buying stuff?

What if we created them a place to play which was about the experience, and not the stuff?

What if they could actively participate in creating and nurturing a world of their own?

What if that world could teach them something about how to BE in this real world?

What if the lessons were about sustainability and generosity and the joy to be had in nature? 

What if “delight” for the child (rather than for the toy company) was core to the experience?

It is for these reasons I started this company, but I know it has to be bigger than me to make an impact. So I'm inviting you in. Please help make it something relevant to all our children, for all our sakes.

What do you want for your children?  Grandchildren?

How would you like them to “BE” in the world?