I had the best wing-woman a person could hope for. Dianne Dillon-Ridgley is a rock star, a long-time environmental activist, and a dear friend of Ray’s, and I got to sit next to her. Take that, world.
The location was pretty amazing. We were sitting on about the 10-yard line of the Superdome, a place from which Drew Brees has thrown many a touchdown pass for the New Orleans Saints. I’ll admit it – I dreamed of running a fade route to the corner and having him lob a ball up for me. But Brees wasn’t there, and football wasn’t the day’s occasion.
Dianne and I were there for something more important. That day was the beginning of the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual event Greenbuild, and the Superdome was hosting the Opening Plenary session. And this was a special Opening Plenary.
Dianne and I were giddy about the person we were about to hear speak. She even whispered to me right before with a big smile on her face, “You just know he is going to mention Ray at some point.” The “he” was our friend and Ray’s hero, Paul Hawken. And Dianne was right, he did mention Ray.
Paul was there to make an announcement that deserves as much press and attention that it can get. That Wednesday evening, October 22, 2014, was a momentous one, because Paul was introducing a new concept to the world that will leave it a brighter, cleaner, and more stable place.
In a word, Paul’s message is called Drawdown, or if you will spare me an extra word, Project Drawdown. I urge you to visit their website, and if you are so moved, to connect with them. Along with Paul, Project Drawdown’s Executive Director Amanda Ravenhill and their team are offering a real, implementable, and practical solution to global climate change. Let me rephrase that: we can solve climate change with a solution that exists right now, and I know the people who are offering it. And the bonus? Amanda and Paul are some of the best, most genuine people I have the joy of knowing.
I could tell you a lot about Project Drawdown here, but their website does a better job than I can. So instead, I will leave you with what Project Drawdown means to me.
I believe that one can never have enough hope, and that hope’s absence leads to despair, inaction, and tragedy. For too long, these are the words that have been associated with the cries of people concerned about the health of our natural systems. But the time for negativity has passed, if it ever had a time at all. What is needed now is a return to hope. We must, as a common people, focus on the healing that we can bring to Earth. We must focus on the good that we can foster, not the destruction that we bring. We must have a solution to which we can fix our hopes.
I believe that Project Drawdown is that solution.
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