What If…
We Changed the Conversation on Climate Change?
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By combining his intimate understanding of the realities and complexities we must face, and a deep sense of humanity, Mitchell has honed a powerful narrative about how solving for climate will enrich both people and the planet. The many layers he uncovers in this beautifully crafted talk put hope and responsibility back in each of our hands.
– Rebecca Aird, Director of Community Engagement, Ottawa Community Foundation
I have never heard so many applause from an audience during a TEDx talk.
– Claudette Landry, Finance Manager, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Mitchell’s TEDx talk speaks eloquently to the most pressing issue, or ‘X’, of our time, climate change. Mitchell earnestly speaks both from and to the heart, knowing that climate change is an issue of values and daily choices as much as it is a technical and financial challenge. It behooves all of us to listen to Mitchell’s talk to learn how to wisely and accurately respond to climate change discussions.
– Janice Ashworth, General Manager, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op
What if the solutions to the climate crisis are already practical, affordable, and ready for prime time?
What if we already know how to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and create tens of millions of jobs along the way?
What if political will is the last box to check to get climate change under control, but sustaining that will depends on far wider public demand for climate solutions?
What if the first step in building that public buy-in is to stop arguing about the climate crisis and start co-operating on climate solutions?
What if the only way we’re guaranteed to lose this battle of our lifetimes is if we convince ourselves it’s already lost?
And what if the urgent but polarized conversation we’re already having about climate change is slowing down the actions we need to take, at just the moment when we need those actions to speed up?
Those are the questions The Energy Mix publisher Mitchell Beer gets at in the 18-minute talk he delivered at Solving for X, the TEDx Ottawa event that took place at Canada’s National Arts Centre in October 2019.
Now, the talk is online, and Mitchell is available to carry the message—and extend the conversation—to groups across North America. Every new version of the talk is fresh and unique, based on the news we monitor every day to produce The Energy Mix, our thrice-weekly e-digest on climate, energy, and carbon-free solutions. But the core message remains the same:
There’s still time to build the future we want, as long as we all stand together to build it brick by brick.
Host Your Own Climate Conversation
The talk is available in these forms:
- A 30- to 45-minute keynote for larger meetings and events
- A shorter, 18-minute presentation for breakout sessions or smaller gatherings
- A virtual presentation that eliminates the carbon footprint and dollar cost of a travelling speaker
- An initial local talk followed by an executive or leadership briefing on climate opportunities and solutions
- An initial local talk followed by a smaller, less formal action planning session with participants
- A talk at a conference venue followed by discussion and action planning with local community organizations that aren’t already working on the climate crisis.
All proceeds from every talk help fund original reporting and analysis by The Energy Mix, a free, thrice-weekly e-digest on climate change, energy, and carbon-free futures.
