By Alex Becker, Chair of Trustees, Rugby Eco Hub
I want to keep this short and to the point: chances are you're one of the roughly 4 out of 5 people who are worried about climate change. And if you're like most people, you don't really feel like there's much you can do about it. And all I want you to do is imagine yourself, as I have done, 30 years in the future when your children or maybe grandchildren ask you why, when we had the chance to reduce our carbon emissions and stop destroying our natural world, why didn't we try harder?
I'm Alex, and I'm really concerned about climate change and biodiversity loss, but despite that I'm a ridiculously optimistic person. I moved to Rugby in 2005 and kind of fell in love with this town, warts and all. I'm 42 and have worked as an engineer for GE, and then as a science teacher at Lawrence Sheriff School.
I'm concerned that my two daughters could grow up in a world that I wouldn't even recognise. Concerned that our changing climate is the elephant in the room that gets bigger with each passing year, yet is increasingly ignored in the hope that it might go away.
Hint: It isn't going away.
I was concerned enough to do something objectively crazy in order to do something about it, like convincing the people in my community that by working together, maybe we can actually make a difference in the face of world-changing events; convincing our local council to fund our work; and creating a new charity dedicated to helping the people of Rugby understand and work through the changes that are coming our way.
More than anything, I have been overwhelmed by the response and commitment from the Rugby community, to the point where I firmly believe that community is the answer we need.
There's lots more I could tell you about my personal journey to this point, but I'd rather leave that to others. I want this blog to be an act of story-telling and hope, an inspiration and a path to action. After all, we're all human and we share one world; we're not so different.
Interested? There are many ways you can be involved: sign up to our newsletter today. Or be more direct and sign up to be a volunteer. I would also love it if you could come forward and share your story; maybe its about your inspiration, maybe you have expertise in a subject you wish to share, or a great idea. Its only by addressing that elephant in the room that we can start to make a difference.
I leave you with these words from Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement. And I really hope that you'll lend your voice to this generation-defining issue.
Alex Becker, Chair of Trustees, Rugby Eco Hub