Me vs. We: What Matters Most for Climate Action?

George Lakoff, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Linguistics, UC Berkeley
Amanda Ravenhill, Executive Director, Buckminster Fuller Institute 
Margaret Klein Salamon, Founder and Executive Director. The Climate Mobilization
Greg Dalton, Founder and Host, Climate One

Where does change begin? Addressing the climate challenge requires incremental and transformational change on both personal and systemic levels. That means altering our personal habits as citizens, consumers, employees and parents. 

At the same time, society needs to fundamentally modernize the food, transportation, building and energy systems. That mind-blowing amount of change is so daunting, it’s no wonder people look at the scale of the challenge and want to skip away into the happy land of denial. 

How should we think about change — and how do our words shape our behavior? Will factors like power, social status and morality affect the transition to a green economy? Join us for a conversation on transforming our systems and ourselves with George Lakoff, professor emeritus of cognitive science and linguistics at UC Berkeley, Amanda Ravenhill, executive director at the Buckminster Fuller Institute, and Margaret Klein Salamon, founder and executive director of The Climate Mobilization.

Students currently in grades 9-12 who attend this event are eligible to apply for a Climate One Scholarship for a trip to the Arctic in summer 2020. The scholarship is for one spot in the New York Times Student Journey Iceland program. It covers the full tuition of $8,290 plus the student’s airfare from the Bay Area to the “gateway city” where the journey begins. 

Students must attend this Climate One program at the Commonwealth Club to be eligible. In an effort to make this scholarship more accessible, we are offering one free student ticket and one free guardian/chaperone ticket for any student who finds the ticket prices for the qualifying event to be a barrier. Please use code scholarship at checkout, if you need a free ticket for yourself and/or an accompanying adult.

Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception
Notes: High school students who attend this event in person are eligible to apply for a Climate One Arctic Adventurer Scholarship, an annual award that supports one student on a trip to the Arctic to learn about energy and climate

All ticket sales are final and nonrefundable.