We are honored to introduce you to our November Climate Mama, Cambria Gordon. Cambria lives in California where she works as a busy Mom with three children. In her “spare time” Cambria is an award winning advertising copywriter and author. In 2007 Cambria co-authored, along with Laurie David, the first comprehensive children’s book on global warming, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming (Scholastic, Inc, September, 2007). The book has won numerous awards and is available in eleven countries.
Cambria is a contributing editor on environmental issues to the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She has also written articles for the on-line magazines Boys Life and Parent Guide News. She is a member of the Leadership Council of the Natural Resources Defense Council and travels around the country speaking to adults and children about global warming and how they can reduce their carbon footprints.
Join us, as Cambria shares some of her insights, concerns and hopes on the environment, climate change and global warming!
Name: Cambria Gordon
Current project/position/adventure: I just finished a draft of a middle-grade novel about deforestation.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, the steps you took, life events, decisions you made, that helped you arrive at where you are at today?
17 years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, I started becoming aware of what was going into my body. I bought Organic milk and produce. I also recycled vigorously and composted, even back then. I would stare at the ocean and worry about sewage leaks and urban run-off. A cousin introduced me to a woman who founded “Mother’s for Natural Law” a grass-roots organization that was fighting genetically engineered foods. I did some work for them and then met Laurie David who really opened my eyes to the issue of global warming.
What inspires you to keep going, to keep fighting this challenging battle against climate change?
My children. If I leave them a world worse off than I found it, I haven’t done my job for the next generation.
What are the three greatest challenges you feel the world faces with climate change?
1. Getting through the governmental bureaucracy to pass realistic laws that reduce our carbon emissions.
2. Making changes fast enough before our atmosphere becomes too saturated with greenhouse gases.
3. Adapting to population shifts, new diseases and reduced water supplies.
Scientific predictions seem to be pointing to dire scenarios, a shorter time frame for a warmer planet and all of the negative ramifications that this will cause. What will it take for us to avert these consequences?
The United States must be a leader in this fight. If developing nations like China and India see that we can pass laws in our own backyard, they will follow suit. We have a 2-year window to reduce our emissions on a global level. We are guaranteed 2 degrees of warming since the Industrial Revolution. We just need every American to realize this. Most other nations are farther ahead in awareness.
Do you see any hopeful signs that people are waking up to the dangers of climate change?
Every day! I see moms taking canvas bags to the grocery store. I see colleges offering in-depth programming and majors in environmental science. I see venture capitalists investing in algae-based bio fuels. I see solar panels going up all over California. And I see Congressman Henry Waxman leading the charge to get a climate change bill on President Obama’s desk before the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December.
What advice would you give to other Climate Mama’s and Papa’s, steps they can take as individuals and collectively to help change the course we currently find ourselves on with climate change.
Tell your kids not to be scared, that we have the technology right now to stop global warming. Teach them by example by turning out the lights, carpooling, changing light bulbs to CFL’s, taking shorter showers, pulling out those cell-phone chargers and buying toilet paper and paper towels made from recycled material. Talk about it at dinner and make a commitment as a family to use less carbon.
Other thoughts or ideas that you would like to pass on to our community?
We can solve this problem if we all do our part. There are over 1.2 billion kids between the ages of 8 and 16 in the world today. Think of the influence they can make on this planet, just by being aware.
Contact information or website you would like us to mention?
Please go to www.stopglobalwarming.org and join the virtual march, lending your email address to the list of over 1 million marchers who want to stop global warming. Then look at the classroom section and tell your child’s teacher to download our PowerPoint presentation based on our book.
Favorite book or movie?
I am a romantic and still stuck in childhood, so I’d have to say my favorite movie is “Say Anything” starring John Cusack and Ione Skye about high school love and popularity. My favorite book of all time is The World According to Garp by John Irving.
