The Climate Reality Project is a group of climate activists founded by Al Gore in 2007. Their mission is to raise awareness and “catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.” On their website they have links to videos about what you can do, and an ebook that you can download for free that explains wind energy and debunks a lot of the myths about its efficiency and effect on the economy and jobs. This group is really active and has several initiative projects in the works. Working to engage different demographics in the struggle against climate change is something that the Climate Reality Project is doing very effectively. Targeting musicians, winter sport lovers, and educators are just a few examples. Their website also includes a page with a bunch of basic information about climate change, denial, and what you can do to make a difference. It’s like a one-stop-climate-change-information-shop.
Taking this class has really made me reevaluate what kind of career I want to go into, and my priorities not only as an individual, but how I can help influence and change the priorities of others and those within my field of choice. Before I didn’t really have any kind of idea what I wanted to do after graduation, I was planning on getting my BFA in painting and then just kinda winging it from there. This class, and really all the classes I’ve taken this year have helped me realize that I want to become an art therapist. Art is so important to me, and I also really enjoy helping people and listening to them talk about their lives, so combining the two just makes sense. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. That being said I am going to have to either double major or minor in psychology, in order to be able to study art therapy in graduate school.
The task of addressing climate change within the art therapy field can be done by providing creative therapy for victims of climate disasters. In October, 2015, there was a lecture/talk about the combination of climate change, art, and therapy put on by the Global Sustainability Institute that sounded like it raised a lot of questions and topic points relating to the benefits and logistics of climate change and art therapy. Here is a prezi explaining how art therapy can and has been used to provide a way for children who have been through natural disasters to better express themselves. From what I’ve found I think that not a lot of therapy, let alone art therapy, is being provided for those who struggled through natural disasters, I don’t think most people think of them as people who might have some form of PTSD or are in need of therapy. Just because it might not be seen as as traumatic as being in a war or a victim of domestic violence by mainstream media, doesn’t mean that these people don’t need or couldn’t benefit from therapy. I am really looking forward to the rest of my schooling and the prospect of going on to graduate school excites me.
When asked to play a climate change themed video game I initially had my doubts that I would find one that would interest me as someone who doesn't particularly enjoy playing video games. Initially I found a game called Never Alone, which had beautiful graphics and what looked like it was going to be a great storyline. Later on I found out it was $14.99 on Steam, and I am really not trying to pay for a video game at this point in my life. However I found Precipice, which was free (yay!!) and wasn't yet taken on the list of games (possibly because you had to download it….it took me 25 minutes). So after that I loaded the game and it was actually more of an interactive story than a stereotypical “video game”. Initially you start out in the year 2030, the world has been ravaged by floods and other various climate disasters. The game lets you go back in time to 2010 and interact with three people, George, Paula, and Marcus. Marcus and Paula are married, and Paula has all these great ideas about climate change and what society has to do as a whole to better the situation. You have three goals in the game, and each one is linked to a character and how your actions and conversation can get them to realize their potential when it comes to climate change and creating a better future not only for themselves but also future generations. Entering into conversations with these characters, you are given several options for what to say, and your job is to prompt George and Marcus into realizing that their preconceived notions about climate change and how it’s not going to affect them in their home is grossly wrong, or trying to get Paula to share her ideas with the general public. Then the game transports you back to 2030 to see how your initial actions changed or didn’t change the future. I enjoyed this game because it shows that even starting a conversation can change someone’s point of view, their life, and the future. All of the characters are also great sources of information about how the world really is and how misinformation can be so toxic. It shows the player how their actions can either open someone up or close their mind to environmental issues. Here is a link to the download page for this game. It's a pretty short game, but has a lot of interesting information and concepts.
The Climate Reality Project is a group of climate activists founded by Al Gore in 2007. Their mission is to raise awareness and “catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.” On their website they have links to videos about what you can do, and an ebook that you can download for free that explains wind energy and debunks a lot of the myths about its efficiency and effect on the economy and jobs. 
