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 Bill McKibben's first book, The End of Nature, brought the global warming crisis to a general audience in 1989. Since then the book has been published in twenty languages and reached thousands of readers. McKibben continued to write on topics ranging from the modern lack of connection with the environment, our overexposure to television, population growth, local commerce and community focus, genetic engineering, religion and nature, and his own local environment in New England. In one experiment, he watched over 1700 hours of television in a single year and compared it to the ultimately much more fulfilling experience of seeing and listening to nature.
McKibben not only writes books and articles to bring awareness of environmental issues to the public, he puts his words into action too. In September 2006, he led a five day hike across Vermont to highlight global warming, meeting with political officials and holding conversations in towns along the route.
In 2007, he founded Step It Up, a grassroots campaign that organizing rallies across the United States for a National Day of Climate Action on April 14th, 2007. McKibben led the effort to arrange volunteers in every state to host events with speakers, musicians, artists, and community participation all centered on taking action to prevent global warming. Digital photos from hundreds of events around the country were posted online immediately afterward to demonstrate to the wider public and to Congress the strength of the movement. Participants called on Congress to commit to a reduction of 80% in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
McKibben is currently involved in 350.org, an international campaign focused on limiting the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million in order to avoid globabl climate change.
It is a huge undertaking, but McKibben knows that we can do it; after all, our future environment depends on our actions today.
Check out these links to learn more about Bill McKibben:
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