Become an Influencer

The Climate Emergency Forum welcomes Metta Spencer in a discussion about becoming a climate influencer. Metta explains that she believes there are at least six major interconnected global threats facing humanity and the need to look at them comprehensively.
This video was recorded on March 5th, 2024, and published on April 7th, 2024, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.
The dialogue features a discussion between Metta Spencer, a 92-year-old peace activist and former sociology professor, and the host Regina about becoming a climate influencer. Metta explains that she believes there are at least six major interconnected global threats facing humanity - war, weapons, global warming, famine, pandemics, cyber risks, and radioactive contamination. She emphasizes the need to look at these issues comprehensively rather than in isolation.
In 2018, Metta started an initiative called "How to Save the World in a Hurry" at the University of Toronto, which led to the creation of the "Save the World" project. This includes a website for sharing ideas, event listings, and Metta's recorded conversations (592 so far) with global experts on the six threats. Metta now plans to create a course on Udemy teaching people how to become climate influencers, using excerpts from her conversations as lectures.
Metta argues that the first step in addressing climate change is simply getting people to talk about and engage with the issue openly. She believes many are scared but keeping those fears hidden. Her proposed course aims to encourage people to step out of their comfort zones, express their climate concerns, and take community action towards solutions like reducing emissions or geoengineering approaches. Metta sees influencing as a way to complement youth activism with the skills and resources of older generations.
Links:
- Metta Spencer (Website)
mettaspencer.com/
- How to Save the World in a Hurry (Video)
kzbin.infoe_aJB7u...
- Science for Peace (NGO)
www.scienceforpeace.org/
- Project Save the World (Website)
tosavetheworld.ca/
- To Save the World (Metta’s YT Channel)
/ tosavetheworld
- Udemy
www.udemy.com/
- Peace Magazine (Website)
www.peacemagazine.org/archive...
- Chaos in the Climate Casino (CEF Video)
• Chaos in the Climate C...
- Eco Grief (CEF Video)
• Eco Grief
- CO2 removal by enhanced rock weathering
www.carboncommunity.org/carbo....
- Blue Planet - Permanent Carbon Capture
www.blueplanetsystems.com/
- Marine Cloud Brightening (CEF Video)
• Marine Cloud Brightening
- Ocean Restoration Update 2023 (CEF Video)
• Ocean Restoration - Up...
- The Canadian Pugwash Group
pugwashgroup.ca/
Special Guest:
Metta Spencer - is a Canadian sociologist, writer, peace researcher, and activist. After completing a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1969 at the University of California, Berkeley, Spencer joined the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto’s Erindale College in 1971. She taught regularly in the university’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program, which she founded in 1989 and coordinated until her retirement in 1997. More recently she has become a climate influencer with her KZbin channel “ToSaveTheWorld” and associated website tosavetheworld.ca
Regular Panelists:
Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute
Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa's Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University
Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow and LEED Green Associate
Video Production:
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader
Heidi Brault - Video production and website assistant, Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP team lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum; BA (Psychology); Climate Reality Leader
Our Website:
climateemergencyforum.org/
Attributions:
Background Music:
- Title: Through the City II
- Author: Crowander
- Source: Free Music Archive
- License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Image and Video: climateemergencyforum.org/ass...

[@benbashore8561]

I am delighted Regina is back.

[@michaelschiessl8357]

Great guest everyone and I love what Paul said you cant get down you find a way to plow thru ,having a dog,being outdoors in nature wiil certainly help with keeping a mood upbeat..

[@louisehoff9467]

What a great guest! Appreciate the nuance of duty and not hope being a motivator. The eightfold path is based on life being a rocky road and taking right action

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support. We enjoyed having Metta on our program.

[@adrianmacfhearraigh4677]

Thank you. We need a sense of duty to serving Life by caring, respecting and having a sense of responsibility for it. This encompasses the non-dual and reciprocal relationship with all Life that includes ourselves. Where has this wisdom gone? Economics, accountancy, governance, science, engineering, medicine, education, religion and many many other disciplines have failed to practice this wisdom.

[@amberazurescale5617]

I wonder if that wisdom was ever present, on a global scale..

[@remicaron3191]

We have been talking about it for 30 plus years and we’re further behind than we were at the beginning. We are blowing up pie lines, starting wars, supporting genocide but we should talk more. Anything to keep the old in comfort and the youth in trouble.

[@donniemoder1466]

And keep sociology professors employed. While sociology students go highly in debt.

[@nsbd90now]

@@donniemoder1466 The destruction of the Classical Liberal Arts Education is by design as it imbues students with critical thinking skills. Do a search for "The Powell Memo" written in 1971 by future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell. The dumbing of American can be traced back to that document.

[@petrlonsky2332]

Sense of duty for Planet, yes 👍 Thank you for this conversation. The list of people who are concerned with climate change an trying to make change is fortunately much bigger, than you mentioned. Hope this finally make shift to better future 🌍🕊

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Very welcome

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support.

[@user-di6pk8ez2y]

She is correct about how influencing group behaviors is a socially shared experience which happens through positive group activities. Growing and sharing community food gardens together. We have an urban home property we would love to share as a neighborhood garden. This is an APP that can be developed to help people organize neighborhood gardens as food, supplies, resources and labor is going to be too expensive for many families.

[@ashwinisarah]

What an absolute delight this conversation was...❤

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you!

[@Corrie-fd9ww]

Around the 23:00 mark- do the things! Not out of hope, but duty/dharma. Don’t attach to a result. This is probably the most difficult state of being for westerners to “embody”- non-attachment to action, and from a sense of deep purpose, duty, and alignment with a soul’s calling. This can bring a sense of peace and fulfillment, even as things continue into chaos and uncertainty. But the dominant cultural paradigm is all about goals, results, doing for the sake of getting. IMO, the root of anything, of any action, is the inner world/paradigm. And letting go of conditioning, identity, desires, fears, goals, or “ego” is just not gonna happen for most people. Otherwise, I feel that people should continue to communicate about ecological collapse as the result of industrial human activity- just don’t attach to any results. Do what you do, and let it go. Also though, it really isn’t safe for some people to be online, communicating about these things. For a list of reasons. And it’s likely to just get worse. If someone has thick skin and a good support system and all the resources needed to remain stable and grounded, they can handle the trolls that will keep coming, more and more. But some people online are literally insane. There’s not much protection against that kind of thing. Something to consider before attempting to start a social media platform. And definitely be aware of the side effects of being on social media- physical, mental, etc.

[@nsbd90now]

Yes. The problems we are seeing today seem, at their root, a problem of a mistaken sense of the "self" and the "I". Something about what today is being called "non-duality"...

[@Corrie-fd9ww]

@nsbd90now yes, and personally I’ve come to see the real root cause of ecological overshoot as being the inner paradigm or worldview of individuals and groups- the human centered and human supremacist worldview. That’s not something that can just be swapped out for the only paradigm that works with the earth, and is in agreement with how our earth works. The conditioning is not only deep and ingrained for most people alive today, but it’s the foundation for everything that has been built. So it’s identity and sense of self- and we see how people react when that’s challenged lol, and it’s also our entire society, economy, everything.

[@FacingFuture]

Thanks for your clarity and sanity Metta! The actions you suggest toward the end are all excellent. The Arctic melting is surely critical. An influencer who I appreciate on youtube is ClimateAdam, a young physicist with a great sense of humor,

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Wonderful!

[@heidibrault1313]

I also enjoy watching ClimateAdam.

[@HeloisaFischer]

Me too

[@JeffHiemstra]

We need to figure out how to become popular. Active ways to grow the subscriber audience is also necessary. Look for partnerships with the business community

[@wolfo4244]

Thanks.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

You're welcome

[@HeloisaFischer]

Some of my favourite climate influencers in addition to the three of you at Climate Emergency Forum are: Rachel Donald (Planet:Critical), ClimateAdam, Ella Gilbert (dr_gilbz), Dale Walkonen (Facing Future), Dan Miller (Climate Chat) and professor Jem Bendell. The late Michael Daudt was an outstanding communicator - what a loss.

[@cdineaglecollapsecenter4672]

It takes energy, and hence carbon emissions, to smash rocks and put them on fields. They are probably not going to sequester carbon dioxide fast enough to justify it. But I totally agree about a sense of moral duty being very important to any attempt to change things.

[@platklump]

Emotions of hope and fear cannot be in themselves good - Spinoza

[@christill]

Lol. Just in general. And also about her “recent retirement in the 90s” XD. In other news, I was recently born in the late 80s. Just talking now is going to do nothing. This whole system is incapable of changing. There must be a revolution by the people who understand what’s happening. Having said that, I applaud her for long time work. But it hasn’t been successful. There’s no point continuing to flog a dead horse. Peter brought up all these people who have been trying for years, and got nowhere. They’ve all failed. It’s revolution or nothing now. Even Paul has failed. Now he’s preaching to the converted, telling them to read the scientific studies. I thought the point was to reach out to the unscientifically minded and break it down into bitesize chunks for them.

[@anthonydavies6021]

You have to include David Attenborough: so many of his fabulous wildlife series highlight the negative effects that Climate Change is having on our precious fellow species, even if the policy of such as the BBC does not allow for advocating specific actions like keeping fossil fuels in the ground. He is squarely behind the movement, based on his lifetime experience of seeing degradation of the natural world.

[@nsbd90now]

Heh... she echoes an existential moral stance also addressed by Chris Hedges... the idea of "duty" regardless of victory. Not the same as "hope"... much less the hopium. It is a thing you do for existential success even though you are pretty sure you aren't going to win the battle. Paul picks it up... but... still... Newton the dog should make an appearance more often.

[@amberazurescale5617]

Couple of ppl mentioned that talking won't do anything much.. and I'd agree to that. There's been talking to no end for 30+ years, there's a huge lot of YT channels and social media and influencers. On the other hand, I understand her endeavour as a kinda "I know it won't work, but I still want wanna do what I can" thing. Which is a bit like my thinking, only that I believe one shouldn't anyhow imply to people that they can "save the world" - that is unrealistic to expect at this point. It's too late, and humans won't overcome greed and ruthless exploitation. In my view it's much better to face the very probable future of collapse, and getting on terms with that. Anthropocene is just a blink of an eye in the planet's history, and I'm looking forward to the time when humans will be gone, life will recover and bloom in full beauty again.

[@matthewdolan5831]

Try invading conventional dialogues. I am focusing on the MIddle East at the moment as it clearly highlights the complete futility of Zionism for example. Facebook KZbin are beginning to come around on this.

[@juskahusk2247]

How would a new band gain fans, by standing in the road demanding people buy their album?

[@RajendraTayya-rh9mk]

Self-control means reducing oneself and not rest of the world, as “divide and rule” scheme. Holistic means all-preserving. Both laws are equally natural.

[@ellenconraddumas3859]

Bill McKibben

[@amberazurescale5617]

Oh, didn't know him. What about Kevin Anderson, Lyle Lewis, George Tsakraklides, Nate Hagens and Guy McPherson (overpessimistic but still reaching ppl) ?

[@OurPredicament]

a single motivated individual with the ability to move a satellite coupd kick off Kessler Syndrome and force degrowth while protecting us from satellite enabled weaponry

[@donniemoder1466]

Last of my 3 comments. To say Al Gore is a "great communicator" is one of the most ridiculous statements in this video. I appreciate his bringing the subject to the American people's attention, but his actual commications skills are poor.

[@nsbd90now]

Yeah, good point. Not only his failures, but even back in his peak he was described as "wooden" and his wife Tipper was part of the "music lyrics are bad" satanic panic... AND... in a Playboy interview they did it on the Capitol steps. Al Gore is no hero by any means.

[@platklump]

Apart from knowledge about how bad climate change is, the problem is the inertia because of a lack of democracy. You get intertia because citizens necessarily have to resort to protests because they don't have a say about important decisions in the first place. Literally everyone knows about climate change, and they know it's kinda bad, but they don't see it as something life threatening (let's ignore the people who've fallen for the oil company influencers like Jordan Peterson). When they do, people like Leonardo DiCaprio point to the absolutely worst strategy: to vote with your wallet.. don't buy palm oil products to disincentivize the companies to loot the enivornment. Your only other option are protests, really. Why do people have to resort to protest to stop a coal plant or new datacenter from being built, instead of having a say in what is being built in the first place? Why don't we have a direct say about fossil fuel subsidies or how important public transportation should be? It's probably because green environmental decisions would very quickly tank the economy.

[@TheDoomWizard]

Your generation literally laughed in my face for the past four years when I bring it up in public. We're hopeless. It's over.

[@toram6210]

But she’s not a scientist