Dear friend,
Things are slowly taking shape. I've found that once you’ve made up your mind to act, the motivation comes in a steady stream. And a steady stream is necessary because there's a lot on the web to digest. I’ve noted that working towards social impact has a different engine than that of working simply for money. Perhaps it’s like chasing a different high, like fulfillment or purpose. Of course the economics of green companies won’t be too different from that of non-green ones, but it did make me wonder if there’s a recruitment process. If people are willing to make the switch, is there an open funnel to help bring talent and companies together?
The idea of being connected by the same engine brought to mind this comic piece I had seen a couple of weeks ago:
"Uprisings and revolutions are often considered to be spontaneous"... but they're not, the comic seems to imply. This frame of thinking got me to recognize the need for a community. We're all a part of the same movement, all contributing to the same engine, spinning the same wheel. While I may be a single screw or bolt, I could accomplish a lot more attached to a frame. And it's my responsibility to seek it out.
So I did. I've since found myself subscribed to an online community of change makers, all invested in the climate cause in one way or another.
Over Slack, a fellow member, Sarah Adams, welcomed me. She asked for a 140 character bio to include in community's weekly newsletter. I thought about it a little, before sending her this line: "Daniel is a marketer looking to transition into the climate space, with a keen interest in climate policy, agriculture, and innovation."
The truth, of course, is I don't exactly know what I'm trying to accomplish here, but I suppose it's a good place to start. I have in mind this vague outline of what needs to be done, and what stands in our way. Resistance to the climate cause manifests itself in the same way climate activism does: the greater the force, the greater the push back. In that sense, I think the growth of mushrooms is applicable to resistance as well.
Of course, we're unable to simply uproot resistance the same way we would with the underlying body of fungus. As a marketer, I think about climate publicity a lot. On many counts, the culture in Singapore doesn't seem volatile. There are no active rallies against the science behind climate change. Instead, there are many active, ongoing PR campaigns in public spaces.
Some time last week, the noise of drilling and hammering that came from the installation of solar panels ceased. I've taken that to mean that the installation has since concluded, which is in some parts comforting. If our environments shape our development, then I am of the opinion that Singapore is taking the right steps forward — not only in climate action, but also in shaping a progressive culture.
So in all of this, I am thankful for the stable political climate. When I was younger, I held this belief that Asians were nonvocal and blindly obedient as a general public. As an adult, watching tensions rise between Hong Kong and China have diluted that perception. Yet in other ways, I think the lack of political turbulence regarding climate innovation and progression is comforting.
Does it indicate unanimity — a collective thumbs up — of the general public for the climate cause?
In any case, I think it's a privilege to be alive during this very narrow window of time that we have available. When it's still possible to make the most important changes to all facets of our society; to take action on climate change. Can you imagine the frustration that comes with wanting to take action but being unable to do so? I imagine it would be a real pity if we were born a decade too late.
To wrap things up, I allude to my earlier analogy: I am a bolt. Or a screw. I am a thing, that hopefully has some utility on the bigger frame. Understanding how the machine works and how to help the machine work better, is what I'll be spending more of my time doing, moving forward. Ultimately, if climate action is to have any impact at all, the net effects of the 'climate action machine' has to overcome that of the resistance.
I think that's the core interest of all those in the climate action community.
Til the next one!
Daniel