Round Table Discussion Relating to Climate Change

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
RELATING TO CLIMATE CHANGE
with Florence Windfall


On this day, December 23, every year Humanists celebrate HumanLight Day, the Humanist alternative to Christmas Day. HumanLight Day is right between the winter solstice on December 21 and Christmas Day, December 25. So there are three holidays to celebrate if we celebrated them all! It is well to celebrate near the winter solstice since the days surrounding the winter solstice are the darkest days of the year.


Coincidentally, our Earth Awareness meeting falls on HumanLight Day this year, 2014. Earth Awareness usually meets on the Fourth Tuesday of every month, which this year falls on December 23, HumanLight Day. So we are combining HumanLight Day and our Earth Awareness meeting this year since they fall on the same day. This year we'll have a round table discussion relating to climate change, for Earth Awareness day, and social change, for HumanLight day.


We invite each participant to share their own impression of climate change or social change whether it's your own experience and ideas or those of someone you recommend we read. You're welcome to read aloud from an author whose text you have on hand or walk us through their ideas in your own words -- or just speak from experience. We ask that participants stick to climate change or social change topics. What climate changes or social changes have you observed or read about this year?


What climate changes do you know have been happening this year; how are ecosystems of the Earth becoming unbalanced; what social changes do you know have been happening this year; how are institutions of our civilization becoming destabilized? What is your response to some or all of the damages these crises are causing, and/or what expert(s) do you rely on to tell us about it?


We will avoid speculation and fantasy and stick to what we perceive as reality. Let's share what we think the climate and/or social crises are and share our personal responses to these and/or our theoretical understanding of them. There are hundreds of other organizations and Meetups where discussions about green technologies or techno fixes for climate change, and about heightened consciousness and positive thinking for social change, are indulged. But our group is Earth Awareness and we are Eco-Humanists. We stick to the facts and reality as we know them, even if we must mourn them. This does not mean that we miss out on the magnificence, beauty, and glory of the living Earth -- these are its reality as well. The reality of the living Earth is wondrous and spectacular and life on Earth is mystery and delight aplenty.


Everyone will have ten minutes to make their point or express their feelings. Discussion will follow each participant's presentation. The time allowed for discussion will be longer or shorter depending on how many participants there are. We hope to conclude our meeting by 9:30 pm. But if we get a late start, we may also end later, at 10:00 pm. If you are not so familiar with current developments in climate change or climate change science, or in social changes accompanying climate change, a few articles to read are suggested on our website shown below.