Ivana |
Hello,
My name is Ivana and I am a second-year political science graduate student from Colorado State University where I am studying environmental politics and policy. I am working under the guidance of Dr. Michele Betsill whose research focuses on the many ways societies seek to govern global climate change. I am conducting a study of the CRAG movement as an example of the trend toward community-based protection of the global commons for my thesis. Apparently, there is much interest in your group from my state! This undoubtedly reflects the quest to understand individual contributions and lifestyle changes necessary for a climate solution.
I am very interested in understanding what CRAGs offer in terms of the governance of global climate change and would love to hear your opinions on the matter. Below are 10 questions I believe will give me better insight into whether and how CRAGs are contributing to localized climate change governance. There are no known risks or direct benefits in your participating and answering the questions, and doing so is entirely voluntary. Your identity won’t be revealed in my thesis, and your responses will be generalized so as to maintain your confidentiality. Overall, I hope this information, which will be used only for my thesis project, will help community management groups communicate better among themselves and non-members; ideally, it should provide a better understanding of how communities fit into the governance of climate change in hopes of democratizing global climate decision-making.
I would greatly appreciate your time in answering these questions, which should take approximately 15 minutes. And if
I’ve missed anything important or you would like to know more about my thesis, please feel free to let me know.
Answers to the following can be emailed to me at medvedivana@yahoo.com
Thank you sincerely for your help in aiding me to understand your efforts better.
Ivana
Michele M. Betsill, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Clark B350
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
USA
970-491-5270
970-491-2490 (fax)
m.betsill@colostate.edu
1) What were some of your motivations for getting involved in carbon rationing?
2) Are you a part of any other community efforts including, but not limited to, those oriented around environmental/other social causes?
3) Do you think community groups such as the one you are a part of have place in the context of global climate change decision-making?
4) What do you think are some of the contributions you (and your group) are making to the climate change solution?
5) Do you think you as an individual CRAG member have made progress toward your original goals? Have CRAGs as a whole?
6) What role do you think individuals ought to play in the climate change solution? What is your role?
7) How are CRAGs able to build a strong community online?
8) What role, if any, do you think community groups such as yourselves should have in contact with elected decision-makers?
9) Do you think there is value in local knowledge to a global problem?
10) What do you think are some of the benefits/drawbacks of functioning mostly through an online medium?
Below is an example as answered by one of your fellow CRAGgers!
1) What were some of your motivations for getting involved in carbon rationing?
I saw sense in ideas such as C&C and personal carbon allowances. i didn’t see our government moving towards such policies. I didn’t see why we shouldn’t have a go at doing it ourselves. I was very keen on the equity aspect of rationing type schemes.
2) Are you a part of any other community efforts including, but not limited to, those oriented around environmental/other social causes?
Currently, a member of local Greenpeace group. Have previously been involved in local Friends of the Earth group. Never a member of any political party.
3) Do you think community groups such as the one you are a part of have place in the context of global climate change decision-making?
Our politicians tell us that it is up to us (i.e. climate concerned citizens and NGO’s) to create the public awareness and political space that is necessary to allow the government to take meaningful action. Unfortunately, we don’t enjoy the huge resources of the anti-future corporations. Governments are caught in the electoral cycle, future-friendly businesses are still tied into an unsustainable economy, the media knows controversy sells better than consensus, NGO’s tip toe around the unsustainable lifestyles of their mass memberships. On the upside, this leaves plenty for CRAGs and others to do!
4) What do you think are some of the contributions you (and your group) are making to the climate change solution?
Our individual, group and network carbon reduction efforts are insignificant against the scale of the problem. Our message of “fair shares” and “less is more” is unlikely to be taken to heart by exponentially increasing numbers of folk any time soon! However, CRAGs offer us a chance to better understand and take responsibility for our individual and collective impact on the world and life around us and to do so with the support and encouragement of like-minded souls. For me, our Glasgow CRAG is simply another small platoon on the cultural battlefield, hopefully on the side of life.
5) Do you think you as an individual CRAG member have made progress toward your original goals? Have CRAGs as a whole?
As a founder member, my own goals and those of the network as originally conceived were identical. As far as I remember, the original goals were to find out if the CRAGs approach could help us (1) radically reduce our carbon footprints; (2) argue for or against similar approaches at an national and/or international level; (3) create solidarity amongst climate concerned citizens; and (4) share knowledge on low carbon living. As an individual, it has worked for me on all four counts. Being involved in CRAGs has helped me find a way of reducing my personal CO2 emissions to less than 2 tonnes of CO2. It has persuaded me that an upstream auctioned cap or carbon tax followed by distribution of the proceeds to the population (for example as per the Cap and Dividend approach) probably represents the best compromise between equity, efficiency and electability and I have contributed to the national debate to that effect. I definitely enjoy the fellowship of our local CRAG and feel part of the wider CRAGs network. I have learnt a lot from my fellow CRAGgers about low carbon living. Most importantly to conserve, spend less and live locally. If part of the original thinking was that the network should grow rapidly, then website activity would suggest this has not been the case. Steady rather than exponential growth is what we have seen. Neither has the entirety of the original carbon rationing scheme been taken up by all CRAGs. Many call themselves Carbon Reduction Action Groups so as to avoid the potentially negative connotations of the word “rationing”. Many CRAGs do not implement either a common allowance or a financial penalty for excess carbon.
6) What role do you think individuals ought to play in the climate change solution? What is your role?
Whatever role they feel called to play. There will be as many roles as there are concerned individuals. All roles are useful as long as they are supporting the cultural war effort. My role? Erm, still working on that.
7) How are CRAGs able to build a strong community online?
I am not sure if this iis happening. The strength of the community is within the local group, at least in my experience. The occasional face to face meetings (at Climate Marches or Climate Camps) with CRAGgers from others areas have also been fantastic experiences.
8) What role, if any, do you think community groups such as yourselves should have in contact with elected decision-makers?
My own view is that flawed as they are, they are all we have got, so let’s do what we can with them. They cannot be allowed to claim that they were never made aware of what was happening in our world. Their only excuse should be their own incompetence.
9) Do you think there is value in local knowledge to a global problem?
Definitely!
10) What do you think are some of the benefits/drawbacks of functioning mostly through an online medium?
We can communicate with folk on the other side of the world! It’s still a bit difficult to hug someone online.