A Call for “American Stories About Global Warming”
What can U.S. citizens do to raise awareness about climate change and help inspire positive action? How about helping to author a book about the subject?
That’s what the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Penguin Classics are asking people to do: write or illustrate their personal thoughts about the impacts of climate change in the U.S. for possible publication in a book to be called, “Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.”
“From Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the nineteenth century to Rachel Carson and E.O. Wilson in the twentieth, writers have played a profound role in drawing attention to our natural environment and inspiring people to protect it,” says Kevin Knobloch, UCS president. “We want to hear from you … Is there a place that holds a special meaning to you that you want to protect? What people, animals, or activities that you love are at risk from a changing climate? Are you taking steps in your own life to stem the tide of global warming?
If writing’s your thing, you need to put together a personal account of 200 to 500 words (you can include a photo or illustration along with the essay, if you like). Artists are also welcome: just make sure your artwork or photograph (at least 300 dpi resolution) is accompanied by a 25- to 50-word caption.
Entries can be turned in through Nov. 15, after which a panel of judges will decide which essays and artworks to include in the book. An online version of “Thoreau’s Legacy” will be published in 2009, and limited-edition print copies will go out to anyone whose work appears in the book.
You can find more details and some sample essays and artwork (including geoscientist Richard G. Baker’s “One Acre at a Time,” “The Last of the Carnivores” by earth science professor Gabriel Filippelli and photographer Gary Braasch’s image of Mount Hood) on the UCS’ Website.
And to see how a single image can bring home a critical message about climate change, look no further than the photo accompanying this post. It’s a 1960s picture of a young boy in a what was then called an “eternal” snow field in Europe. The “eternal” field of snow is no more.
I hope they are allowed to publish some of Ansel Adams’ photographic work. His black and white images of the national parks are truly iconic and show what we had and what we are losing by the climate changes.