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Climate Crisis: An Intergenerational Discussion

August 8, 2019
Thelma A. Boltin Center
516 NE 2nd Avenue, Gainesville, FL
10 AM – 2 PM

This one-day forum, sponsored by the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, Alachua County Branch, and other partners, will feature talks by local and regional climate activists, tabling presentations by local environmental organizations, live poetry and song performances, and small group discussions involving audience members. A free lunch, including vegetarian options, will be provided. Community members of all ages are encouraged to attend.

We will share our fears, our hopes, and practical choices – things we can do right now – in order to live more sustainably and justly in the world to come.

This event is free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.


Featured Speakers

Isaac Augspurg, a rising high school student at Trilogy School, Gainesville, has been involved in environmental activism since the age of 10. He is one of eight youth plaintiffs who are suing the state of Florida for violating their constitutional rights by creating and perpetuating an energy system based on fossil fuels.

 

Houston R. Cypress, a member the Otter Clan of the Miccosukee Tribeis a two-spirit poet, artist, and environmentalist who creates portals between worlds. He combines art, conflict management, multimedia communications, gender diversity, and spirituality to fuel his work within the Love the Everglades Movement. The Movement fosters community participation and collaborative global action to protect and revitalize the sacred lands of the Everglades.

 

Nancy Deren is an accredited financial coach addressing people’s relationships with money. She is connected with a number of organizations, researchers, farmers and investors deeply engaged in regeneration of soils, food, farming and health from the ground up.

 

John Nix is a retired Florida Power & Light Utility Engineer. He currently serves as an Energy Conservation Specialist with the Alachua County School District. He is a fourth generation Florida farmer, producing natural beef and trail horses. His passions are environmental protection, STEM education, and local healthy food production.


Tabling Organizations

Representatives from these environmental and municipal organizations will also be present to demonstrate solutions for living more sustainably and with greater resilience.


About the NAACP ECJ Committee

The Committee focuses on community issues affecting the quality of life and economic equity for all citizens in Gainesville and Alachua County. Environmental Justice recognizes that environmental benefits and burdens are not shared equally among all residents. Consequently, Environmental Justice issues are also civil and human rights issues. Chaired by Nkwanda Jah, the committee is comprised by members from various local organization. We aim to pursue concrete projects that achieve positive change for African Americans in Alachua County. Please join us at our regular monthly meetings, held on the third Tuesday of each month, 5:30–7:00 PM at the Wilhelmina Johnson Center, 321 NW 10th Street, Gainesville, FL.


“Climate Crisis: An Intergenerational Discussion” is sponsored by the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee (Alachua County Chapter), the Alachua County Labor Coalition, The Florida Natural Resources Leadership Institute, the Gainesville Cultural Arts Coalition, Imagining Climate Change, The League of Women Voters of Alachua County, The Sierra Club (Suwannee-St. Johns Group), and the generous gifts of several anonymous donors. For more information contact naacpecjcgnv@gmail.com.


The image shown at the top of this page is a single frame of an animation of global annual carbon dioxide emissions between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. It was created by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, Goddard Space Flight Center, as part of “Nature Run,” a project to use data on atmospheric conditions and the emission of greenhouse gases. See this page for this and additional animations and more information on Nature Run.