Phuong's climate trainings

We had a great mentor and learnt a lot from former Vice Present Al Gore.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much! 🍀🤗❤️ (please scroll down for English)

Khi Hilary - giám đốc các dự án đặc biệt của Climate Reality Leadership - viết thư bảo tôi hãy dùng phương pháp gây quỹ cộng đồng cho chuyến đi tới LA, tôi đã suy nghĩ về chuyện này trong vài đêm. Hai câu hỏi tôi đặt ra cho mình: Tôi có muốn gây quỹ không? Nếu có, thì mục đích gây quỹ của tôi là gì? «Gây quỹ cộng đồng» với nhiều người chưa quen thuộc hoạt động này được hiểu là «vận động tài trợ, xin tiền quyên góp từ tập thể và những cá nhân hảo tâm». Trước đây tôi đi xin tiền không biết bao lần, từ không biết bao nhiêu người cho trẻ khuyết tật, trẻ mắc bệnh tim bẩm sinh và trẻ ung thư giai đoạn đầu có khả năng điều trị thành công mà không đủ tiền phẫu thuật, học sinh nghèo miền núi, người già vô gia cư, những bệnh nhân phong bị gia đình hắt hủi… Tôi cũng ủng hộ những dự án huy động vốn cộng đồng của bạn bè. Với tôi, số tiền không quan trọng, quan trọng là người bạn ấy biết tôi luôn cổ vũ những việc họ làm. Có người muốn viết sách, người khác muốn biểu diễn trong lòng hồ băng đang tan ra trên dãy Alps để kêu gọi cộng đồng quan tâm hơn đến những vấn đề môi trường. Tất cả với tôi đều tuyệt vời, họ là những cá nhân can đảm, dám nghĩ dám làm. Lần gây quỹ cộng đồng này có vẻ như là tôi đi xin tiền cho chính mình! Ồ, tuyệt vời! Đây chính là lý do. Tôi muốn mọi người nói về hành động này, chỉ 5-7 phút trong những cuộc tán gẫu của họ thôi cũng được. Những ai thờ ơ, tôi mong họ nghĩ trong giây lát khi đọc chủ đề và nội dung dự án của tôi.

Và kết quả thật tuyệt vời, dự án thành công ngoài sức mong đợi. Trong vài tuần qua, những người bạn của tôi ở khắp mọi nơi đã bàn tán về việc này, đã chia sẻ dự án này, và một số thậm chí đã «nghĩ về các vấn đề môi trường» trong lịch trình bận bịu của họ.

Cậu bé An Vũ, lớp 4, trường Việt Úc Hà Nội - con trai người bạn đại học của tôi - là trường hợp khiến tôi vô cùng xúc động và tự tin những ấp ủ mình dự định trong những tháng, những năm tới là đúng đắn. Cậu bé đã dành một phần trong số tiền tiết kiệm của cậu để gửi ủng hộ dự án của tôi. Cậu bé đang háo hức chờ lá thư tôi sẽ gửi cho cậu kể về hành trình của mình với Climate Reality leadership training tháng 9 tới. An Vũ đã tiếp thêm sự lạc quan cho tôi rằng chỉ cần ở mỗi một lớp học của một trường tiểu học có một cậu bé như em thì những vấn đề môi trường của chúng ta có hy vọng thay đổi, cải thiện trong tương lai.

Một lần nữa từ tận đáy lòng mình xin cảm ơn những người bạn, những tổ chức đã cổ vũ và ủng hộ dự án của tôi. Tôi biết rất nhiều người trong các bạn ủng hộ tôi chỉ vì yêu quý tôi và muốn tôi thực hiện được «ước mơ của mình». Nhưng thực sự một môi trường sống trong lành, nơi trẻ em có cơ hội gần gũi với thiên nhiên không phải là ước mơ của riêng tôi. Tôi tin đó là ước mơ của tất cả mọi người.

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When Hilary - the director of special projects for the Climate Reality Leadership - advised me to use crowdfunding for my trip to LA, I had been thinking about this practice for several nights. Two questions I asked myself: Do I want to raise money? If so, what is my purpose for fundraising?

«Crowdfunding» is known as asking for donations from backers. In the past, I had been asking for money from a substantial number of people and organizations countless times for the disabled or children with congenital heart disease and early stage cancer who can be cured but have no money for surgery, poor pupils in mountainous areas in Vietnam, the elderly homeless, leprosy patients who are rejected by their families, etc. I do support my friends’ crowdfunding projects as well. For me, the amount of money or rewards is not important, it is important that friends know that I always truly cheer for what they do. Some want to write books, other love to perform in a melting glacier on the Alps to call on the community to pay more attention to environmental issues. All of them are wonderful, they are brave individuals, dare to think and take action.

This time, this crowdfunding looks like I am begging money for myself! Oh, that is great! This is the reason. I want people to talk about my action, only 5-7 minutes in their chit chat is greatly fine. I would like them to think of my project at the moment they read the contents.

And, the result has been so fantastic, my project was a success beyond expectations. Over the past few weeks, my friends everywhere have talked about this, shared this, and some even thought about eco-friendly life-styles, environmental issues and what to do despite their busy schedules.

An Vu, 4th grade, at Viet Uc primary school in Hanoi - my friend’s son - is a special case that makes me very moved and confident that my plans for the next few months and years have potential. The boy spent a part of his savings to support my project. He is now very eagerly waiting for the letter from me telling him about my journey to the Climate Reality leadership training in September and knowledge for environment issues. An Vu makes me upbeat, that if in every classroom of every primary school there is a boy like him, we will have hoped for changes of hearts on environmental issues.

Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to deeply thank my friends, and all the organizations for supporting my project and my journey.

I wish you all the best!

https://www.facebook.com/noikhongvoituinylon/videos/1203836599756495/

For years, California has been a leader in efforts to mitigate and prepare for climate change, doggedly building a comprehensive, policy-driven agenda focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting their impacts on our climate. As the federal government continues to threaten the course of progress in the Unites States, strong state-level leadership is needed now more than ever before to light the way for climate advocates across the nation and around the world.

This is what brings The Climate Reality Project to Los Angeles for our 39th Climate Reality Leadership Corps activist training. From seeing the president stack his administration with friends of the fossil fuel industry to listening as he announced to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement to watching the head of the Environmental Protection Agency work his hardest to roll back the Clean Power Plan and vehicle emissions standards, the climate movement has faced some of its toughest challenges in recent years. The good news is that there’s hope. Millions of people are still spreading the word about the crisis, pushing their cities and towns to go 100 percent renewable and fighting for cleaner, healthier communities - and their numbers are growing every day.

THE WORSENING CLIMATE CRISIS

The warning is clear. Without serious action to cut emissions, the western United States could see a dangerous new normal emerge, with years of warmer temperatures and disappearing rainfall drying out farms and devastating the economy. Between 2012 and 2014, California was hit with its worst drought in at least 1,200 years, triggered by high temperatures and reduced rainfall linked to the change of climate and weather patterns. The drought has since lessened, but if the world doesn’t tackle the climate crisis, new dry spells will always be on the horizon. This year, for instance, snowpack-one of the main suppliers of fresh water for California-in the northern part of the state is at a frighteningly low level again. Further impacts include more frequent and costly wildfires and increased stress on the state’s agricultural sector.

CLIMATE AND HEALTH

Climate impacts in California will have major implications for the health of the state’s people and communities. The populations most at risk to heat stress are infants and young children, the elderly over 65, those already ill, outdoor workers, and low-income communities. Communities of lower income and color are more likely to live in inner city areas with less vegetation and tree canopies and greater exposure to the urban heat island effect, where temperatures are amplified during high-heat events. Additionally, exposure to excessive heat can aggravate existing human health conditions like asthma and other respiratory issues and heart disease.

RAISING VOICES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Dating back to the days of John Muir, California has produced some of the strongest and most impactful voices in the environmental movement. Today, a diverse population of homegrown activists, climate heroes, and community leaders from across the state use their voices to fight for justice, fair and effective climate solutions, and environmental awareness. Activists are pushing for expedient solutions to the issue of disproportionately high pollution in disadvantaged communities and broader participation in environmental programs to ensure benefits reach all people. In doing so, activists in California are serving as a national model for climate justice. For more than three decades, California has been at the vanguard, passing ambitious, first-in-the-nation measures that have often served as models for national and even international environmental law. Activists, advocates, and concerned citizens helped pave the way for this legacy, and their role remains pivotal today.

BUILDING A CLEAN TECHNOLOGY FUTURE

The future is green, and no one knows this better than California’s climate-conscious companies and innovators. With the fast pace of new and existing technologies brought about by new policies, California has helped push national progress in clean energy, energy efficiency, and clean vehicles, all while boosting its economy. Despite critics’ complaints that moving to renewables would stymie economic growth and increase customers’ electric bills, the opposite has taken place. The push for clean energy in California has found a strong ally in the state’s business sector, who view clean technologies and policies as helping to drive investment and growth. Clean transportation also continues to race forward in California. With the federal government planning to reverse progress on key environmental and technological measures, such as fuel economy standards, California upholds its stringent standards and shows continued leadership as a policy trailblazer and facilitator of innovation.

STRENGTHENING LOCAL LEADERSHIP

States and cities throughout America have stepped up to lead the fight for climate progress. A leader among the pack, California is a founding member of the US Climate Alliance and its cities are among some of the most active in the push for climate solutions. After recently overtaking the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest economy, California’s international engagement is essential to meaningful worldwide action to solve the climate crisis. Thanks in part to strong state government leaders, California has shown the world that local leadership can have a global effect. California has forged direct bilateral agreements with countries from Central and South America to Europe and Asia to further climate policies and clean innovation, and continues to reach out to new partners. Through continued local, regional, and state actions within the state and through its many collaborations, California can cement its role as a policy leader to states, cities, and municipalities around the world.