During the past 12 months I’ve had the pleasure of meeting up with many such folk.
There’s Elton Cleary, a retiree in the southern town of Geeveston. He’s got the energy of a 30 year old, and is busy helping his town community to slash their power bills.
There’s Jess Wright an amazing young person, a true climate champion, busy organizing creative projects all over town. There’s Lilith Waud, public servant, whose gone solar and has done dozens of things to her Dynnyrne home to make it climate friendly.
There’s Nick Towle, a young Burnie doctor, who straddles his job with a multitude of climate activities, all around the state.
Then there’s Margaret of West Hobart, Julie from Sheffield, Ben from Turners Beach, Ed from Launceston, Mel from Kingston, Helen from Cygnet, Sandy in Launceston, David from Taroona, Zoe from Middleton…
What do all these wonderful personalities have in common? Rather than view the climate crisis with despondency and inaction, they’re living the change they would like to see… and loving it. As another sparkly eyed retiree, Stuart, mused the other day ... “Since we started along this path we’ve become totally engrossed. When you begin to see this as a living adventure and a personal challenge, your whole life changes for the better.”
Street-by-street, community-by-community, suburb-by-suburb members of the Tasmanian public are out there, changing their lives and challenging each other to do likewise. In every corner of our state, they’re forging new community relationships, they’re busy creating community gardens, they’re plugging the leaks in their homes. They’re defying rising energy costs whilst helping the state reduce its carbon footprint.
They’re the voice of the future.
This website, Powerdown Tasmania, is one expression of this amazing, life-affirming groundswell. We invite you to join in wherever you live and in whatever capacity you choose. You will never regret it. That’s our promise.
Chris Harries
Project coordinator
The Powerdown Method is the brainchild of author, activist Richard Heinberg. It shows householders, businesses and even governments, how to reduce their greenhouse footprint, in manageable bites.
Something is afoot. All around Tasmania a groundswell is taking place as more and more people, impatient with government inaction, are rising to the challenge of climate change.