Live from Earth: A Ground-Breaking Online Summit April 17–22
Humanity is at a crossroads. The recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report is ominous. Yet simultaneously there is a groundswell of organizations and determined individuals who are bringing forth actionable solutions for our planet. The Live from Earth broadcast highlights these inspiring initiatives and exemplifies what is possible when tech platforms support communities in collaborating towards positive social and environmental change.
Common Ground: Whether you are a climate activist or a climate-change denier we can all agree that many of our youth are looking into the future with fear and uncertainty. They see images of our oceans filling with plastic waste, hear news reports of our rivers getting contaminated with pollutants (like the recent train derailment in Ohio). They also know about the extinction of species and desecration of wildlife habitat.
The the internet and social media make all of these realities abundantly clear in Information Age. Luckily there are plenty of things we can do to turn this around. Social media needs to play a leading role in educating and inspiring solutions to these challenges.
Social Platforms Fall Short: Artists, cultural creatives, and visionaries are traditionally the ones we turn to in times of uncertainty or great change for society. Yet many of these innovators struggle to have a voice in today’s crowded, pay to play media environment.
Most social media platforms have become exploitative places where users, artists, and content-creator’s personal data is extracted to target them with corporate ads. The end result is disjointed and polarized online communities seeking purpose in a digital landscape that lacks meaningful depth.
Coming Together: The Live from Earth free broadcast is being produced by an emerging social platform called PORTL which uses carbon-neutral servers, offers data sovereignty, and an equitable way for content-creators to be rewarded for their contributions to the platform. This collaborative event is 6 days worth of inspiring, solutions-oriented content from a diverse collection of brilliant, creative and passionate thought-leaders.
A Shifting Social Media Landscape: People are becoming less interested in vanity metrics (the race to increase number of followers, likes and videos viewed) and we are all certainly tired of arguing about divisive politics online. Instead many of us are seeking more meaningful engagement and positive impact in the world.
One example of this idea is a platform spearheaded by Shawn Heinrichs that encourages impact metrics rather than vanity metrics. What is more valuable to you… the number of likes you can get on an instagram video or being able to tally the trees you have planted and the plastic waste you have removed from the oceans?
Love is Greater than Fear: Marketing experts and psychologists have known for a long time that shocking headlines, controversial gossip, and divisiveness leads to clicks. Fear elicits adrenaline and it can grab your attention. This equates to clicks and big profits. That’s why today’s social media environment is ruled by advertisements and a gamified casino-like addiction to scrolling by design.
The climate movement has also been driven for over 3 decades with ominous statistics and doomsday predictions about the future. This does not help the movement. People tend to become overwhelmed, depressed, or hopeless from this approach. There is actually a term now for it, “crisis fatigue”. It doesn’t need to be this way!
Protecting the planet can be celebratory, it can unite people rather than divide them, it can also be an exploration in human resilience and creativity.
Another collaborating partner for the event is an organization called Earth Gratitude. It is founded by Natalie Pace, Bill Gladstone and Christopher Van Buren with the simple philosophy that gratitude for the magnificence of our planet leads to a sense of connection, awe and love. We all naturally protect what we love but so many people have forgotten this simple wisdom. If we are to heal our planet we will need to start with a sense of well-being, gratitude and love rather than panic.
Impact Media: Since film is such a powerful cultural influence and PORTL is dedicated to spotlighting independent creators Live from Earth will explore ways to inspire, educate and elevate the movement toward restoring ecosystems. Actress Nathalie Kelley and Ryland Englehart of Kiss the Ground Film will give an introduction to their series Grow What You Know. Each episode has useful tips for small actions that all of us can take to regenerate natural systems.
Filmmaker Marco Rios Bollinger will also be presenting a premiere to his Hidden Heroes series with Actress Holland Roden. Marco explores the world to find ordinary people who are creating extraordinary change in their local communities. By celebrating the solution-creators we begin to see that each of us has our own special part to play in creating a better future.
Themes for Change: Each day of the Live from Earth experience focuses on a different theme and benefits different nonprofits. The event is free to all but encourages people to chip in and support these high-impact organizations who are dedicated to environmental causes. Beneficiaries include the Pachamama Alliance, The Climate Initiative, Navdanya International, Conscious Alliance, Ocean Futures Society, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, UNIFY, and If Not Us Then Who.
- Each Day Begins at 1pm PDT
- Monday April 17: Food and Water
- Tuesday, April 18: Indigenous Voices
- Wednesday, April 19: Wildlife and Habitat
- Thursday, April 20: Youth Activism
- Friday, April 21: Ocean Futures
- Saturday, April 22: Earth Day Celebration
A New Paradigm: I believe that Live from Earth will herald a new paradigm in the way we think about social media, community, and addressing the many challenges we face today. The polarization, fear and hollow exchanges we have been witnessing online are played-out. Though this previous model may have served political, ego, or financial interests it is not the path forward. We are all ready for something new, an opportunity to come together in meaningful ways with a shared purpose to make things better for all of us and our planet.
Click on over to Live from Earth to be notified as the schedule and special guests are announced. This is a grass-roots effort so lend a hand and help us spread the word by sharing this article through your networks. Whatever you do and wherever you are this month be sure to take some time to connect with, nurture, and love your Planet Earth.