Today is the day Donald Trump will be inaugurated as America’s 45th president. I planned to wake this morning and tweet, “I'm embarrassed to be an American for the first time in my life”. I even contemplated changing my blog from 'Verdant Yank' to 'Verdant Paddy' or even 'Verdant Viking', in keeping with my Scandinavian roots! However, yesterday I previewed the French film “Demain” (Tomorrow) in preparation for Friends of the Earth’s Dublin screening event tonight and all my Yankee troubles seemed to fade away. |
Directors Cyril Dion and Melanie Laurent must have been thinking along similar lines when they created Demain. It’s a snapshot of what a world of climate action would look like. From food to energy, education, economics, and politics, Demain shows us that if we take an ecosystem approach to all those systems we create happier, healthier communities while also decarbonizing society and tackling climate change. | |
Demain’s producers are distributing the mostly English film to communities all over the world, encouraging you to host your own screening and providing great background materials to make it a truly impactful event. This is documentary distribution at its finest – not just designed to entertain but to make a long-lasting difference across the globe. More of this please!
What I should have tweeted this morning was “I’ve never been happier to be Irish”, not just because I have the option of living outside the USA far away from that political mess, but also because some amazing things are starting to take place here politically and environmentally that are so counter to what’s happening with the “clowns to the left of us” and “jokers to the right”. |
These are huge victories in a country whose Prime Minister has opposed any kind of climate action over his six years of “leadership”. In a hodge-podge government we were told would result in chaos and inaction, we’re achieving more action on climate than we have in over a decade (if not longer). Funny how that works… |
Those who can’t see the change that’s coming are the last remaining dinosaurs – The Donald Trumps, Rex Tillersons, Scott Pruits, and Jim Inhofes of the world. They’re the dinosaurs who haven’t moved on from their 1980s ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ ambitions, and their obsession with burning carbon will eventually cause their extinction. -The last men standing with stranded fossil fuel assets will most certainly be the biggest losers. |
What I learned from ‘Tomorrow’ is we have no need to despair over one man today.