Protect our Winters
Climate change is a topic on everyone’s lips, but it is perhaps most notable to those who rely on consistent yearly weather patterns for their livelihood. While this is definitely an issue for farmers, which should make it a concern for society as a whole, this angle doesn’t seem to motivate individuals to create change. Perhaps we are too far removed from the real process of creating food or we are brainwashed by the media, but regardless of the cause, people are not inspired to action. To affect any real change we have to be motivated enough to break from our comfy routines and band together to create a plan.
Enter Protect Our Winters or POW for short. Seeing the real effects of climate change being unleashed on our ski hills founder Jeremy Jones decided it was time to do something. Harnessing the power of the 6 million strong snow-sport community he plead his case, without some big changes stemming from society as a whole our winter’s were at risk.
By building a case on people’s passion for skiing and other snow sports POW quickly gained a following. They opened up a donation page where they crowd source money for various initiatives and signed on a whole host of professional athletes as ambassadors. Most recently this group was responsible for the #uniteforpow campaign which allowed individuals from around the globe to share their stories and pleas for action at the COP21 in Paris.
My question is, is this enough? I personally took the pledge, signed up for the e-mail blasts, but am I really a part of any real change? Or did I just assuage my guilt for participating in a carbon intensive sport by signing onto a group that I barely participate in?
I am by no means saying that efforts of this nature are futile and not worth pursuing. However, I worry that if even a group of such passionate individuals, many of whom depend on consistent snowfall for employment, can be lulled into inaction how, as individuals, can we affect change?
While I am continuously reflecting on what some of the possible solutions to this question might be, I feel confident in the fact that organizations such as POW are a step in the right direction. They have given us a platform to have these conversations and have legitimized climate change as an issue that is relevant to our daily routine. We may not have a solution just yet but as more communities of motivated people crop up and connect perhaps it won’t have to be left to the individual who affect change after all.
I am of the same view as you Tess, although we (we as humans) talk the talk an awful lot I often wonder if this is enough. Will we be able to create a long-term viable change? I have formed the same opinion as you: at least by talking we create a platform, one that will hopefully capture an audience and make them listen, and maybe out of those listening one will have a idea for real change. Although talking doesn’t get us anywhere in the long run, it is the easiest first step to take – hopefully a step in the right direction. I think marketing is poised to start these type of conversations for companies and for the world. If we can aim to create meaningful buzz around campaigns and products than maybe we achieve more than simply increasing profit margins. I personally heard of POW through ambassador Caroline Gleich on Instagram. I started following her because she is a Patagonia. Slowly but surely she caught my attention for different reasons. Through her I have come to follow many other movements like POW and all because the marketer at Patagonia decided to promote her. I think this is a prime example of how powerful talk, if given the right platform, can be.
Patagonia athlete*
(I can’t figure out how to edit these things….)