Episode 142

Scaling Climate Education to 1,000 Italian Schools with Barbara Orsi

Episode Summary: Join hosts Jenn, Kristina, and Leekei as they talk with Barbara Orsi about her work on the Carbon Almanac for Kids and the launch of a climate education initiative aiming to reach 1,000 primary schools in Italy. 

Topics explored in this episode:

  • Barbara's collaboration with her 9-year-old daughter, Matilde, on both the kids' book and the broader Carbon Almanac project
  • How Barbara began educating Matilde's classmates about climate change
  • The significance of involving children in climate change conversations and strategies to engage them
  • The impact that learning about climate change has had on Matilde
  • Barbara's motivation for launching the Italian spin-off of the Carbon Almanac 
  • The role of strategic partnerships in gaining the support of Italian ministries and expanding her initiatives to reach 25,000 families in Italy
  • A generation of climate change natives
  • Overcoming imposter syndrome
  • The importance of continually discussing and promoting the work done by the Carbon Almanac Network

To download a free copy of Generation Carbon go here (available 22 languages and dyslexic fonts)

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For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac (one of Amazon best-selling books of the year!), visit thecarbonalmanac.org

Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Leekei Tang, Jenn Swanson and Kristina Horning.

Based in Milan, Italy, Barbara is a mom and marketing executive who has been actively involved in building a better and brighter future for our planet since November 2021. She has contributed to the Carbon Almanac and serves as the Italian coordinator for the Carbon Almanac Network. Recently, she co-founded Generation Carbon, the Italian spin-off of the Carbon Almanac Network

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert and podcaster from Paris, France. 

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.  

Kristina has a background in architecture and engineering. Currently in Prague (that it is where she is originally from) and her base is US

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

Transcript
Speaker:

Hi, I'm Christina.

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I'm from Prague.

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Hi, I'm Jen, and I'm from Canada.

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Hi, I'm Oladunji, and I'm from Nigeria.

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Hello, I'm Liki, and I live in Paris.

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Hi, I'm Brian, and I'm from New York.

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Welcome to Carbon Sessions, a podcast with

carbon conversations for every day, with

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everyone, from everywhere in the world.

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In our conversations, we share ideas,

perspectives, questions, and things we

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can actually do to make a difference.

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So don't be shy and join our Carbon

Sessions, because it's not too late.

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Hi, I'm Jen.

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Hi, I'm Christina.

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Hi, I'm Barbara.

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And hi, I'm Rikki.

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And today, as you have noticed,

we have someone new, , for our

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discussion, which is Barbara, who's

actually part of the Carbon Almanac.

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And so we're very happy to have her

today with us because she's been a very

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active member of the Carbon Almanac.

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She worked on several projects, but

she has been very much involved in

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the making of the, the kids book.

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I don't know if we already mentioned that

we have a book, uh, for kids that, um,

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She helped build and, um, and her daughter

also is been, has been part of the, of

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this book and she also helped it, right?

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And Barbara has also helped

translate the book in Italian and,

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yeah, and she also , made it, um,

available for purchase on Amazon.

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the, the, the hard copy, And, um,

actually I would, I would need to

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have a chat with her someday because

I would like to do it for the French

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version of the Kidsbook as well.

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So welcome, Barbara.

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Hi, happy to be here with you.

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I mentioned that Mathilde has been

part of the Carbon Almanac project

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and she's very much involved

because she's been, uh, helping.

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write the book and she also has been

recording the audio version of the book.

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Can you tell us how she got

involved in the project?

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Well, the fact is that she noticed that

I was so busy for, uh, a certain amount

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of time of working on carbon monoxide.

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And she asked me some one

day, what are you doing?

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Oh, I'm working on a project that

has to do with our beloved health.

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And I tried to explain

her what I was doing.

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And she said, and then I showed her also

that we were working on a kid's version.

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And I said, Oh, wow, beautiful.

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How can I help you?

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And so, uh, I asked her for some advice,

uh, um, related to the design, of course,

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because she can't read English, but,

um, she was so, uh, so nice to help me.

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I think that in the very beginning, it

was just because, uh , it was a chance

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for her to, , do something with me.

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And actually, in the end, it was a

chance to me to do something with her.

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And, and it was beautiful

because, , that brought me to.

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Involve her also in, uh,

asking, , some questions for, uh,

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the cardboard generation podcast.

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And, uh, also insert the

quote in the kid's guide.

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And finally, uh, reading some pages

of the kid's guide for the audio book.

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What is incredible is that, uh, she

was just, , beginning, um, learning

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English so she can speak just few

words, but she tried anyway , and she

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was such a, a great example of, uh,

uh, passion and enthusiasm and you.

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I was really, really,

really amazed by her.

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So Barbara, we, we mentioned this

before we started recording, but

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Matilda, Matilda is your daughter.

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We didn't say that.

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And how old is she?

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Uh, at that time she was

just eight years old.

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Now she turned nine.

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And so she was very, very, very young.

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Yeah.

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And I find out that, that what impressed

me most was that, uh, Uh, she was

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so involved that she, of course,

talked about the project at school

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and, uh, we also involved a friend

of her in order to show her the kids,

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uh, guide, uh, when we were at the

very, uh, you know, before launching

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in order to see if the colors were

right, the images were fine and so on.

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Um, and now, , I'm noticing

that when she speaks while some.

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Some, you know, topics, plastic, for

example, she has a different perspective.

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Can you tell us the age range for

the project for the, the kids book?

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Well, when we work on the kids

guide, we thought of, uh, youth

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and especially, , kids, uh, aged

seven till 13, 14 years old.

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And it was not that easy, actually.

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As either writing something for the kids,

and this is the reason why we involved

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kids, because it was so much important to

have the right tone of voice and language.

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And so did I, when I translated the

Italian guide, the guide in Italian,

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because, I involved my daughter,

of course, and I said, okay, when

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I was struggling in finding the

right sentence that was not so, too

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much complicated or not too much.

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Easy for them.

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I asked her for advice and

I said, okay, is it okay?

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Can you properly understand

or can I make it better?

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And how?

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And so it was, it was fun.

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Yeah.

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Barbara, you mentioned that she, now she

talks about plastic in a different way.

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Can you give us some example?

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Like, you know, what was her perspective

before and now what's her new perspective?

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And also, you know, the

perspective of her friends.

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Yeah.

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Uh, for example, at Christmas, when we

received several gifts, she noticed the,

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the plastic bags or the packaging that

was so much plastic and she asked why.

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This is just, just to mention an example.

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And of course, , now we, uh, we

stopped using plastic bottles at home

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and we refill uh, uh, glass bottles.

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And, uh, and she's the first one

that, it's, it's, it's a joke, but

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she loves Rochelle and the bottle.

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You know, it's just sort of, it's a habit,

but it, it matters , the fact that, uh,

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, I loved so much the guide that, uh, , , I,

, worked with, uh, Felice on the paperback

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version and I made it available on Amazon.

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Um, and as we did, in the USA,

uh, All the royalties are, uh,

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for, , projects related to kids.

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So unfortunately I haven't received

so many royalties, , but , we

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were, we are just at the beginning.

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The, the paper was version is so

beautiful that, um, I couldn't, but,

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uh, given for, um, giving a, a copy to

other kids of, Matilda's, , classes for

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Christmas, and this is was the first step.

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I gave it as a Christmas kid and I talked

with her, um, biology and science teacher

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asking her for advices how to use it, and,

and I, I told her that I was available to,

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, make, uh, a pilot project at her school.

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Um I was also lucky because it

was a year about scientist and so,

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uh, climatology or chemistry or

biology or whatever it was nice.

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And so, , they, the teacher

gave me the chance to, , give

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a lecture, one afternoon.

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And so I prefer a, a pilot and keeping

in mind that they are, of course,

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kids, so, I tried to involve them

with, uh, with a game and it was so

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massive, impressive because, you know,

Matilda's classes is a little bit, you

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know, , very, very far from being quiet.

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And, but that afternoon they follow

me, they pay so much attention

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or what I was saying to them

because I tried to involve them.

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And the first question was,

what has changed for you?

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Um, It was so beautiful to receive

a different kind of answer.

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So I, tried to, you know,

sort up a little bit the kids.

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And finally, I proposed them, uh, some

contents of the kids guide related

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to what is uh, why our Earth is, uh,

You know, getting hotter and hotter.

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And then I involved them in a game

where they had to decide what was

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better between, um, a couple of

choice, for example, a plane or train.

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Bottle plastic or

reusable, , bottle and so on.

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And it was massive.

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And then they also had the chance to,

for every question they answer right.

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They had also the chance to, , create a

sort of forest because I was so prepared

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for them, different kinds of trees.

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, , so for every, uh, answer, uh, right,

uh, they, uh, they could choose one tree

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and put it in, , a big, big, big, flyer.

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And now this kind of, uh, uh,

billboard, big billboard is hanging on

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their class wall and it's beautiful.

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So we have their, their forest.

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And the teacher was also very, very happy.

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And, , at the end of the, the

lesson, , some kids, uh, um, thanked

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me and one kid gave me a, uh,

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she was drawing and they gave me this, um, uh, this beautiful cartoon she

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did asking me to help her save our

health and resolve climate change.

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And it was, you know.

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, last weekend I was with

my niece and my nephew.

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They're, my niece is eight, so more

or less the same age as, uh, Mathilde.

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And in Paris, there was this, um.

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Um, festival of gardening.

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There are a lot of events and then you

can plant some, uh, some small plants and

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there's drawing, there's, um, there's some

little activities like recycling doing,

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recycling using like, uh, the leftovers

of, um, of clove and make , new stuff.

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And I, I find it brilliant because,

um, the state of the planet will in a

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particular state because we as adults,

we've been messing up everything.

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And I think it's very, very important

to educate kids and to, to make them

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understand that, , you know, to make

it, to connect the dots, you know,

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um, Christina keeps talking about

connecting your dot, but sometimes,

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you know, it's very difficult for those

kids to yeah, to connect the dots.

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So this is, , something

that you've been doing.

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Yeah, definitely.

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What I'm, uh, I usually say is that,

uh, we call the kids, we name them

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as, uh, digital natives, but actually

they are climate change natives.

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So the reason why, , and so we

have, uh, uh, the responsibility

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to help them face all of this.

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And so we have the responsibility to

give them the tools to face all of this.

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Because they are the adults of the

future and of course we have to, we

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must do something now for them, for,

for their future, but also they have

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, they have the right to know and to,

to act and to influence us for them.

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So this is the reason why I'm

doing all of this, also because

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of course I heard the talk.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And have you noticed, uh, any.

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Because we talk a lot about eco

anxiety, um, is that something

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that you've noticed with kids?

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Yeah, and you have to be very careful

when you talk about these topics.

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When I gave the guide to Matilda's friend,

I noticed that she had a strong reaction.

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So I tried to Calm her down,

explain that, um, that, uh,

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we, we still can do something.

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And so this is the reason why I wanted

to do that game together with them

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in order to make them understand that

there are things that we can do right

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now to fight the climate change, to

change things because they need hope.

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Yeah, but this is something I'm

very curious about because I

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still don't know how to do it.

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, because some kids are very sensitive and

I don't, I'm just afraid of them being

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too depressed if I told them about,

you know, climate change and all that.

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So, how do you do it?

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How do you talk to them in a way

that they don't, they're not scared?

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Yeah, I think that, uh, and, and I

think that this is, doesn't apply

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just to kids, but also to adults now.

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I think that, uh, Adults are grown up.

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Of course we need to explain then, uh, no,

but the fact that I was thinking about the

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fact that, you know, we need to explain

that what's going on, but we need to say

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them that there are already solutions,

that there are things that we can

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already do, not, not stop, but, you know.

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Make it slower, um, and involve

them in, uh, in all kinds of action.

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For example, last week, my daughter

was with, uh, uh, some, uh, maids, uh,

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picking up plastics or rubbish, , in,

uh, in the gardens and in the streets of

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the town we live in because of a project.

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So this is just one action, you

know, I know that it's small, but.

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It's, it's also a way for them to

create good habits and give them

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hope and say, okay, we can do it.

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And I think sometimes children get

their parents involved in things, um,

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when they are passionate about it.

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Um, you know, I think, I think of our kids

growing up and when they were, they were

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learning things and interesting things.

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My son took a class, uh, called global

education when he was in grade 10.

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He's an adult, long since now, but,

um, what I remember about that class,

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I would have loved to take that class.

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The teacher was talking about

all sorts of things, including

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climate things back then.

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And one of the things he came home

talking about was, uh, fair trade

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coffee and how, um, one of the

big coffee companies here was not.

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doing things very well in other countries.

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And, and he and his friends had

decided they were no longer going to

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go to that coffee shop because they

had learned about this in this class.

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And it made me think about the coffee.

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And I think since then, uh, for a number

of reasons, that company has changed

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their practices and changed their ways.

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but it was him learning something in

school and bringing it home and having

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a conversation with us about it that

we thought, Oh, we didn't know that.

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So I think kids can educate us also.

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Absolutely.

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And this is the exact, the, the aim

of the guide, you know, this is the

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mission the kids have teach five others.

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, , and I think it works, um, how many

times, uh, they, Uh, introduce us

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to a new technology and they are far

more better than us using, uh, uh, uh,

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technology or, uh, uh, uh, you know,

um, a sport, a new sport and so on.

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So I'm an optimist,

probably, but, uh, I am too.

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What is your dream?

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Um, you know, this is a very big

project that you've taken on.

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How far do you see this dream going?

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I'm a dreamer.

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Uh, but you know, the fact is that, uh,

um, when I, I published the, , Italian

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guide, I had this dream to bring this

guide to as many schools as possible.

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And it was just a dream,

and now it's a reality.

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So I'm saying, uh, I'm saying to

myself, keep dreaming, , keep dreaming.

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Because maybe sometimes

they can they come true.

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And so this is just the beginning

because we as a group, uh, and I

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wanted to say that, uh, the Italian

group is doing, , a, a great job.

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We, we are finally, , founded

the association, the org,

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so we are official in Italy.

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And we call it Generation Carbon,

uh, because of the kid guy.

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And so we are very, very happy

and we did a great job, um.

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And we, we are going to bring , the,

this guide to 25, 000 families here in

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Italy, uh, all across the Italy, uh,

more focused in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna,

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of course, but not so, uh, with not

so many difference across the regions.

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And we have also the support of

the Ministry of the Environment.

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And this is because I.

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I dreamed big and I was so enthusiastic

that I had the energy to involve, , our

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partner, uh, a partner that, uh, found

Carbon Almanac very, very impressive and

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useful in their day to day activities.

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And they said, okay, I see you're

in Susan and we wanted to help you.

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And so they helped me.

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And, uh, then I found another partner

that, uh, was able to reach the schools

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because , for my professional role, I

already did a couple of projects with

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schools, so I contacted this kind of

partner, and when they heard what I was

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talking about, I said, okay, I'm in.

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I'm totally in.

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Because also, uh, it fits completely

:

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also why we easily had the Ministry

of the Environment support.

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And finally, I found another partner that

helped us giving the gifts for a contest.

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So, you know, and, uh, and, and, and what

also is impressive, I was just talking

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today with, uh, uh, the partner that,

uh, uh, reached the school that reaches

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the school and say, Oh, I'm so impressed.

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She told me that in, in, uh,

just a few weeks were saved.

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An enrollment of, um, so many schools.

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So this is the first time that happens.

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So well, keep dreaming.

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Yeah.

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Um, it's fantastic.

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I think that kids have resources

that we can't even imagine.

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And they have, um, they have no prejudice.

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They have no structural schemes.

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You know, sometimes they, they can't bring

solution that even, , thought about it.

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So, um, I think that it's really,

really important to involve them

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and not to hide what's going on.

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, but may part of, of the

change that we want to see.

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and because they are the future and, um,

and so this is also why this is a sort

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of pilot and I'm, and I hope that, uh,

everything will go as I expect and I

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imagine in order to, , make it bigger,

bigger and bigger actually, , has, uh,

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as an org, , we, we believe that, uh, And

as part of the Carbon Monarch Network,

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we believe that, uh, we have this duty

to help people understand , what is

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climate change and what we need to do

and what, what we need to do together,

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together, which is institution, that

is politics, that is industries and

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companies, and that is the single person.

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So we have a big mission,

God, we are happy.

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Uh, what impressed me most is that, uh,

we are not alone and we just need to

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do, uh, networking and bring together

all the forces that we have and going

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everybody towards the same direction.

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I know that Kristina is have burning

questions because she's planning

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to do something similar in Czech

Republic, where she's originally from.

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Because the Kalman Almanac will be

published in Czech language, and,

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uh, so maybe you can help her.

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More than happy to help her.

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I, yeah, I have a question about

how you got, uh, connections

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and, uh, how it became big.

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Because one or two schools are

not that difficult to reach here

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because we're a small country.

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Uh, a few schools, but bring it

into the Ministry of Education,

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Ministry of Environment.

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Uh, those are a little

bit tricky places to do.

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So love to hear your strategies.

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Yeah.

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No, the fact is that of course,

uh, uh, this is what I'm saying.

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We cannot do it alone.

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I was very, very lucky that the

partner I chose, , had a lot of

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expertise, uh, with school projects.

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And a lot of context

with the, the ministry.

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So I asked them for help and they

were so keen on, giving all that I

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have, um, to, to, to make it possible.

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Um, if I could give some advice, I, I

started talking about this, uh, This,

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this guided this project on social media.

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My social media, because we have a

generation carbon, uh, in, in Instagram.

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But what I noticed that, uh, , some

friends of mine, um, during a

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dinner told me, oh, I noticed that

you were working on this card.

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I wanted to give it, uh, as a gift too.

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I haven't talked with her for months.

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But she knew it, so I'm sure that, uh,

uh, keep telling, keep saying, uh, drip

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by drip as Michelle suggested, you know,

uh, I think that in the end it, it works.

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So, uh, I would start talking with,

you know, families or a new school

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and asking for create a pilot.

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And see what's happening and then

maybe, uh, the teacher knows another

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teacher and she asks, so, you

know, it's a chain, positive chain.

326

:

This is what I, I would have done if I,

I wasn't that lucky to have the partner.

327

:

I would have started small

and then big, big and bigger.

328

:

And I also, uh, I would have

collected all the email addresses

329

:

I knew with, um, of teachers.

330

:

Trying to create a database and I would

have done on my own, which is, you

331

:

know, uh, heavier and more difficult,

but I think that it's possible.

332

:

Especially here in Italy, there is a

huge need of project like that because,

333

:

, we, uh, we haven't, uh, um, ecology or

climate change in our school programs.

334

:

This is my second step asking, creating

a pledge, asking for make it, you know,

335

:

uh, mandatory in the program school.

336

:

Wow.

337

:

This is huge.

338

:

Are you using the, uh,

the educators guide?

339

:

Not at the moment because, uh, uh,

it was, uh, um, we hadn't the time,

340

:

but, , this is, uh, another, , tool,

fantastic tool that we want to introduce.

341

:

Yeah.

342

:

And translate it.

343

:

Yeah.

344

:

Absolutely.

345

:

Absolutely.

346

:

Because I helped create some

of the, uh, of the activities.

347

:

It was a very interesting

experience because, uh, it's

348

:

targeted for the American kids

and have never studied in America.

349

:

So it's, I have, it's, it's a very

long learning process that I'm just

350

:

thinking about this because if you

use that, I think that's, um, That

351

:

you also need to have a group, a

team around you to help rebuild.

352

:

Because , this educator's guide is

great, , but I think it has to be adapted.

353

:

There was, has been a very big

learning curve for me to get into it.

354

:

Yeah, but we adapted also the, the

generation kid guide because there

355

:

were some aspects that they didn't

particularly fit with the Italian culture.

356

:

So, we adapted, actually, um.

357

:

Oh, so.

358

:

Hamburger thing?

359

:

No, we got it.

360

:

No, but you know, there are, for example,

Uh, for example, there are, uh, some,

361

:

some events they use of the same t shirt,

the t shirt of the school or the caps

362

:

that we don't use it, for example, or,

uh, we haven't, uh, uh, the school, the,

363

:

the science school fair, we haven't.

364

:

So it's more things, of course, but.

365

:

We tried to make it, um, more Italian

as possible, uh, in order for them

366

:

to, you know, uh, relate it better.

367

:

And yeah, the educator's guide is

something that probably we will

368

:

make, uh, we will make available,

uh, at, uh, generationcarbon.

369

:

eco, which is, uh, the, the website

that we're going to build for our org.

370

:

So.

371

:

So is it's a website line?

372

:

No, we are working on it.

373

:

Yeah.

374

:

We've just started.

375

:

So, um, what I'm hoping is also enlarge

the Italian group here in Italy in

376

:

order to have, you know, bigger forces.

377

:

But, um, I'm also interested,

uh, that, okay, that, that's huge

378

:

because I didn't know that you

created, um, an association in Italy.

379

:

So do, do you have people outside

of the Common Almanac Network?

380

:

Because the Common Almanac Network is a

very mighty, very solid group of people.

381

:

But as you said, you need

more people, more resources.

382

:

So.

383

:

Have you managed to get

people from the outside world?

384

:

Not yet.

385

:

We decided not to, not yet, but, but

we're going to enlarge the group,

386

:

otherwise we, we can't, uh, you know,

uh, follow or plan any other project.

387

:

And, and as I said, I'm dreaming big.

388

:

And the first people that I'm

going to involve are the partners.

389

:

So there are a few people from the company

that are partners that are willing to

390

:

help us, uh, on, uh, an individual basis.

391

:

So, uh, I'm really happy with this.

392

:

I contacted the other guys in the

meanwhile, trying to understand if

393

:

they can be a good fit and they are

willing to help for free because

394

:

we are all volunteers.

395

:

This uh, but in the very beginning,

we are just the Italian group, the

396

:

Carbonara Monarch Italian group.

397

:

But, you know, We are very amazing

people and so, uh, I'm really

398

:

happy to collaborate with all

of you because it's amazing.

399

:

I'm feeling, you know, I'm feeling

I can do everything because of you.

400

:

So that's very nice to hear.

401

:

Thank you.

402

:

It's very inspiring.

403

:

And, uh, and as you said, drip by

drip, step at one step at a time.

404

:

Yeah.

405

:

Yeah.

406

:

As I said, I was, was so, uh.

407

:

I was impressed by the fact that a

new colleague of mine, uh, a few days

408

:

ago, uh, told me that, uh, he, uh,

he knew, uh, a girl who we have, uh,

409

:

a common, uh, acquaintance, okay?

410

:

And she said, Oh, she's fine.

411

:

She bought your book.

412

:

What?

413

:

I, I didn't speak to her for years.

414

:

And I think just, just because

I keep writing on LinkedIn, on

415

:

Instagram about carbon monoxide

that they end up buying the book.

416

:

And so I asked her,

wow, thank you so much.

417

:

And she told me, hi, it's beautiful.

418

:

I'm going to give away for free as

a Christmas gift or whatever, uh, to

419

:

everybody, you know, drip by drip.

420

:

No, I, I, I feel the same when I,

I say that, you know, the other

421

:

day I heard a colleague say,

Oh, I listened to your podcast.

422

:

I, I listened to a couple of

them, so I was like, Really?

423

:

Thank you so much.

424

:

Thank you.

425

:

Yeah.

426

:

I think that, uh, we, we need to be aware

that we, we made something incredible

427

:

we need to be proud of and we need to

talk about it because it's huge what

428

:

we did and we need to be proud of.

429

:

That is very inspiring.

430

:

So what are the biggest challenges

you're facing or see are coming?

431

:

I'm Yeah, uh, trying to calm

down my imposter syndrome.

432

:

Because I'm not a scientist, I'm not

a climatologist, I'm just a people

433

:

who can't tell stories because I

work for in marketing, you know.

434

:

Uh, but I'm starting, and I'm, I'm, I was

a newbie when I, I joined Carbon Armonica.

435

:

I didn't know a lot of things, uh, and I'm

trying to, uh, adapt myself and change and

436

:

make it things better as much as possible.

437

:

Of course, I'm not perfect, not everybody

is not perfect, so, and it's tough, you

438

:

know, it's almost impossible to be, you

know, 100 percent sustainable or going

439

:

at zero in just one month, for example.

440

:

And so, uh, but what I need to do

is trying to calm down my impulse of

441

:

saying, okay, I can speak and again,

talk about this topic, even though

442

:

I'm not an expert and I can, uh,

create occasions where people, , can

443

:

be together talking about this.

444

:

And we have to, especially

for common people like me.

445

:

And try to find the right language and

the right tone of voice because, uh, I'm

446

:

still thinking of, I'm still thinking

that, uh, we haven't found the right way

447

:

to meet the people where they are and

trying to find the right arguments and

448

:

topics to involve them in the right way.

449

:

So this is the biggest challenge to me.

450

:

And of course, trying to, uh, you know,

uh, enlarge the group, uh, you know.

451

:

I have a lot of ideas and a lot of

dreams, and if I can achieve just one

452

:

of them, I will be more than happy.

453

:

You're very good in your

way, as you can see it.

454

:

I think, I think Barbara, you're,

you're so inspiring because even

455

:

if you have imposter syndrome,

you're doing it anyway, right?

456

:

And that's those, that's the kind of

person that, that grows a movement and

457

:

makes things happen, is the person that.

458

:

Even if they're scared, even if they

don't feel qualified, they just do it

459

:

anyway with passion and heart and that's,

you know, that's what you're doing.

460

:

So yay.

461

:

Yeah.

462

:

It's beautiful.

463

:

But, but you know, you, you, you told

me that the community told me I wouldn't

464

:

have done few years ago, but because

of the community, because what we did

465

:

together, uh, because of, you know,

A lot of things that I've seen so

466

:

far, I keep going, even if it's hard.

467

:

And sometimes I confess it's hard.

468

:

And sometimes I would like to give up

everything and say, okay, stop, who cares?

469

:

It's impossible.

470

:

But I keep going.

471

:

And I kept going.

472

:

I actually would like to bounce

back to what you say that.

473

:

Um, you sometimes feel that,

oh, I'm not a scientist.

474

:

And I think there are a lot of people

who are scientists, that are researchers,

475

:

and uh, but some people just don't,

they'll, like, you know, they don't get,

476

:

they don't get people when they give you

data or, some people just need personal

477

:

stories to understand some concepts.

478

:

Some people are just like that.

479

:

And so, I think the fact that we're

talking about it, we're talking about

480

:

climate change, we're talking about

solutions, and how just simply having

481

:

this conversation, and you having all

this conversation in schools and doing

482

:

this thing, you know, through the

ministry is, is very, very helpful.

483

:

Because this science

cannot reach everyone.

484

:

Those kind of messages, some

people just don't get it.

485

:

Even though we know that, you

know, science is very important,

486

:

but some people just don't get it.

487

:

Yeah.

488

:

Absolutely.

489

:

I also think we need a

lot more nine year olds.

490

:

Yeah.

491

:

Yeah.

492

:

In fact, we need many more nine year olds.

493

:

Yes.

494

:

Yeah.

495

:

Yeah.

496

:

Yeah.

497

:

Yeah.

498

:

In fact, uh, uh, we have already some

posts, social posts, um, the caption is,

499

:

uh, 25, 000 changemakers are arriving.

500

:

Be prepared.

501

:

Yeah.

502

:

25, 000 changemakers and multiplied by

the number of people in the households

503

:

because you're talking about 25 families.

504

:

Wow.

505

:

This is massive.

506

:

Yeah.

507

:

Yeah.

508

:

Exactly.

509

:

So beautiful.

510

:

Congratulations.

511

:

It's amazing.

512

:

But we did it all together.

513

:

So I couldn't have done anything of

all of these if without you, without

514

:

Paige, starting the kid guide.

515

:

So.

516

:

Oh, yeah.

517

:

Yeah.

518

:

How can we help you?

519

:

Yeah.

520

:

How can we help me?

521

:

How can you help me?

522

:

I mean, we as in the, the people,

the audience, us and the audience.

523

:

Uh, I think that, uh, um, uh, well

downloaded a copy of the kid guide,

524

:

uh, in whatever languages because

it's available in so many languages.

525

:

So just download a copy and share it

and keep sharing and keep talking.

526

:

And for our listeners,

it's absolutely free.

527

:

It doesn't cost you anything

except the paper and the ink.

528

:

Yeah.

529

:

It costs anything.

530

:

Yeah.

531

:

Yeah.

532

:

It doesn't cost anything unless

you want to buy the whole copy,

533

:

but this, it's only available in

two languages so far, I think.

534

:

So far.

535

:

Now for the listeners, you can download

it from, uh, The CarbonAlmanac.

536

:

org website.

537

:

I just want to say thank you.

538

:

Thanks, Barbara, for all your work.

539

:

Thank you.

540

:

Yeah, thank you, Barbara.

541

:

Thank you.

542

:

Thank you all for helping me, for having

me, uh, for keeping supporting me.

543

:

You've been listening to Carbon

Sessions, a podcast with carbon

544

:

conversations for every day with

everyone from everywhere in the world.

545

:

We'd love you to join the Carbon

Sessions so you too can share your

546

:

perspectives from wherever you are.

547

:

This is a great way for our community to

learn from your ideas and experiences.

548

:

Connect and take action.

549

:

If you want to add your voice to the

conversation, go to the carbonalmanac.

550

:

org slash podcasts and sign up

to be part of a future episode.

551

:

This podcast is also part of

the Carbon Almanac Network.

552

:

For more information to

sign up for the emails.

553

:

To join the movement and to

order your copy of The Carbon

554

:

Almanac, go to thecarbonalmanac.

555

:

org.

556

:

Be sure to subscribe and join

us here again, as together

557

:

we can change the world.

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Carbon Almanac

When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.

The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system, ocean acidity, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, extreme weather events, the economy, human health, and best and worst-case scenarios. Visually engaging and built to share, The Carbon Almanac is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change.

This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late to for concerted, collective action for change.