Hello <$firstname$>

Welcome to issue 9.

The time has come: tomorrow is Come Off It day, Tuesday 4 April.

Diana and Gaby at Clownfish Marketing have done a brilliant PODCAST featuring (the) Alistair McGowan, Lucy Siegle of The Observer, and Colin le Duc of Generation Investment Management.

Listen to the podcast

MSN has helped too.

www.msn.co.uk/htx/comeoffitday

The day has been warmly, widely and diversely promoted and publicised. We nearly got Al Gore behind us too!

Carpe diem – the fourth will be with you tomorrow, enjoy it!

In this issue:

I thank some of the many supporters of Come Off It day
Read a special Come Off It day message from Neil Crofts
Talk to the PM on MSN
Watch the UK's Watts live online

CARBON CONSCIOUS THINKING

Some Come Off It day thank yous

The way to change the dominant paradigm is to have more fun than they are. And make damn sure that they know it! So a huge thank you to all of you who have energetically backed the day.

Check out the latest long list of supporters

Thanks to Robert De Souza for sharing this quote:

"You can't fake caring. If you really understand why leaders fail,
it's because they are unable to care."
Len Roberts, Executive Chairman, Radio Shack

Thanks also to Pete Myers for sharing his poem:

I looked in a mirror
And what did I see?
A large round purple balloon…
With a name on it…
Me!

As Pete says “it's about each and every one of us looking in the mirror”. Perhaps I should explain to new subscribers that the purple balloon in the poem symbolises our personal carbon footprint. A one metre balloon (that’s huge) is what one kilogram of CO2 would look like. And for many of us, our personal CO2 balloon would be one of these… EVERY HOUR!

It's time to burst that bubble and jump!

"If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down."
Ray Bradbury

Now just be. Be on black alert. Be on heightened carbon awareness.

Let us now all join in calmly celebrating (and accepting) whatever tomorrow brings. If we make a tiny dint in UK power demand that’s great. If we don’t, don’t worry: we showed that we care and that we can act powerfully together.

If you've not done so already, take a look at www.comeoffit.org.uk

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A special message from Neil Crofts

Neil Crofts is a mentor and a hero to me. He is allowing me to share his thoughts with you via this special edition of Communiqué:

“I see care for the environment as a key part of authenticity – we and the environment are one. Here is what I say about this in my new book, Seven Stages of Authenticity.

"I have come to see that many of the issues we face are to do with self harm. Self harm is where people, specifically teenagers, harm themselves, usually as a response to emotional pain or tension. As we get older many of us continue with eating, drinking, working or smoking in ways we know are harmful.

“If we go up a level we can see that, as a community, homelessness, discrimination and poverty are also forms of self harm. As a community we continue to allow these things to exist. Perhaps we do this because we lack confidence as a community and seeing others worse off than we are makes us feel better?

“If we go up a further level we can see life on earth and the biosphere we rely on as a single organism. In this organism every one of us, every blade of grass, every insect, every fish and everything else are cells, and any damage we do to our organism is also self harm. When we pollute, when we destroy habitats, when we over exploit, this too is self harm. Perhaps we do this because we lack self confidence too: having stuff makes us feel better and travelling makes us feel more important, covering up for the lack of confidence?"

“I believe that by helping people to be authentic we will become more sensitive to the harm we are causing and will do something about it.

“That’s why I encourage you to support the very first Come Off It day tomorrow – a day to show that we care about preventing climate change - and that we are not going to let politicians and corporations mess up the planet through inaction.”

“This day has been created and energised by the amazing Carbon Coach, Dave Hampton. I have asked Dave to join us for the evening of Inspiration and Authenticity at Happy Computers in London on 11 April. As well as being inspired by our own authenticity and by connecting with others on the same path, we can also be inspired by Dave, and by our own power to halt the self abuse of climate change.”

Neil Crofts

For more information on Neil’s event on Tuesday 11 April, or to book your place, visit the Authentic Transformation website.

www.authentictransformation.co.uk

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NEWS

The PM on MSN

Coincidentally, MSN is also hosting a unique ‘first’ on 4 April. Users have been asked to submit questions for the Prime Minister. The lucky winners will get to pose their questions to the PM live via an online chat using MSN Messenger while the rest of us can watch via a live video stream. An archived video will be available on the site after the event in case you miss it. The topics chosen: climate change and Africa!

www.msn.co.uk/htx/tonyblairmessengerchat/

Watt watching

National Grid provide a fascinating real-time plot of electricity demand – you can view this online by clicking the link below. Will the 100 watt dip (drip) that you cause tomorrow show up against the 40,000,000,000 watts UK base load (ocean)?

www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Data/Realtime

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Remember, there’s no need to go without, tomorrow. Be bathed in the light and warmth of millions of people taking small caring actions together. We are not powerless.

As I said in the last issue, people power is one helluva turn on!

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and (one day!) the wisdom to know the difference.

Until soon

Dave Hampton
The Carbon Coach