Spreading Al Gore's message in Canada
Safrata was recently invited to Nashville to receive training on the presentation from a team of scientists, public speaking experts, and Al Gore himself. Canadians joining him included VanCity credit union CEO Dave Mowat, Mike Gerbis, President of the Delphi Group, and Jim Harris, former leader of the federal Green Party.
As CEO of Vancouver-based courier company Novex, Safrata has long demonstrated his commitment to the environment. Novex has incorporated the concept of sustainability into all of their operations, evaluating performance according to financial, economic, and social indicators, a triple-bottom line approach termed ‘Novex Clean’.
Novex’s initiatives include a fleet with 17 gasoline-electric hybrids and 3 natural gas vans, efforts to reduce energy and paper consumption substantially, and becoming the only same-day courier in Canada with an environmental management system registered ISO 14001.
When Safrata saw Al Gore’s world-famous slideshow on climate change, the science wasn’t new, but the persuasive nature of the presentation impressed him.
“It’s the best summary I’ve seen, with the most compelling details,” he says. “It really underscores the veracity of the science.”
Eager to help others understand the importance of climate change, Safrata joined 1,000 others in Nashville this January for two and a half days of intensive training on the presentation.
Al Gore himself was there for a day and a half, giving the show on the first morning and then spending the afternoon going through each slide to provide details on their significance.
The presentation, which forms the basis of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, focuses on three areas: demonstrating that the science of climate change is real and that humans are contributing to warming; providing real-world and projected examples of what global warming will do to the planet; and suggesting what can be done to address the problem.
The full version consists of up to 286 slides, although presenters are free to choose the most important ones for their own versions.
The slides are factually verified by a team of scientists and constantly updated as new discoveries are made. The slide showing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide over the last 650,000 years, forceful because of its dramatic demonstration of the recent rise, will soon be updated to include a record for the past 1,000,000 years.
“They are very careful about what is included,” says Safrata. “It incorporates the latest widely accepted peer-reviewed scientific research, which is necessary to achieve the goal of show – to convince others of the reality of climate change and push attitudes towards a tipping point for action.”
The emphasis on solutions is relatively minor, as the most effective methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions can vary from region to region. So Safrata and other presenters from BC have arranged with a number of environmental groups to prepare a list of specific solutions relevant to the province. (Any more details to add?)
Safrata will give several versions of his presentation at EPIC, The Sustainable Living Expo, March 16th-18th at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.
EPIC - Ethical. Progressive, Intelligent. Consumer - is designed to bring together thousands of savvy shoppers and smart business operators and inspire ethical and environmental consumer behaviour.
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