Personal Journeys: Also
- Why I Give – Bruce Justin Miller Lee
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Why I Give – Bruce Justin Miller Lee
YES!: You鈥檝e had a long personal journey as an environmentalist and activist.
Bruce Justin Miller Lee: I was working on a Ph.D. in coral reef ecology in 1969 when Gaylord Nelson proposed the first Earth Day. I signed up! That experience totally changed my approach. I shifted my focus from research to community-based programs that could make our lifestyles and communities more sustainable.
Among other things, I directed the Office of Sustainability at the University of Hawai鈥榠. Since I retired I鈥檓 working to get out the vote because I feel the most effective way to achieve the societal changes that we need is through wise government action.
Climate action is painfully slow. How do you keep yourself going?
I can choose to get discouraged and depressed or I can say, 鈥淚 can and will make a difference.鈥 And I choose to make a difference. I can鈥檛 give up.
How did you come to YES!?
I discovered YES! at a Bioneers conference in 2006. It immediately resonated with me because I鈥檓 interested in using visioning to create a better future and that鈥檚 exactly what YES! does. When we visualize something we can create it. And every article in YES! gives us something positive we can do something about. We need more of that!
You held a birthday fundraiser for YES!
I like to use markers鈥攂irthdays, the new year, the solstice鈥攁s a way to set an intention to make something happen. I wanted to use my birthday last year to get people to donate to something that could make a difference. So I did a GoFundMe campaign for YES! It turned out great and it felt really good.
I picked YES! because if we鈥檙e going to change this world, we need to have good ideas disseminated. YES! reaches a wide audience with values and ideas that I think are needed.
I hope you鈥檒l join me in supporting YES! and building the constituency for a more democratic and sustainable world!