Curtain rises on another Third Act on Thursday
By Chloe Bennett
Two years ago, writer and activist Bill McKibben started an advocacy group to rally people with the time and resources to organize against climate change. Third Act is composed of people over 60 who want to work on climate and political issues.
Now a chapter is coming to the North Country.
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Third Act’s Upstate New York Working Group launches Thursday with a webinar featuring McKibben, Paul Smith’s College’s Curt Stager, the organization’s president Vanessa Arcara, Cornell University scientist Bob Howarth, poet Jane Hirshfield and Mothers Out Front organizer Alÿcia Bacon. Author and professor Robin Wall Kimmerer will attend via a recorded video.
“These working groups–which have sprung up across the nation–are turning into incredibly powerful hubs for progressive organizing,” McKibben said in an email to the Explorer. “They work on some of the nationally relevant projects around climate and democracy, but also figure out how to get involved in, or lead, lots of state-level fights.”
Schroon Lake-based Scott Ireland, a volunteer coordinator for the group, said he was motivated to join after witnessing this summer’s flooding and learning new information about how the Adirondacks would be affected by climate change.
“Everything connects back to climate issues,” said Ireland, who is also the executive director of the Adirondack Lakes Alliance. “So I was looking for a way to get involved.”
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The organization seeks new members and plans to start specific projects soon. Ireland said Third Act projects are centered around three main clusters of issues: fossil-free financing, democracy and amplifying voices of underrepresented groups.
The new working group is just the latest in a series of launches around the country.
Stager said he plans to give a presentation on some of the climatic changes already happening in the Adirondacks and why it’s important to stay engaged in the topic of climate change.
“I think people like me who are now more aware that our time is limited also see that a lot of us have resources we didn’t have when we were younger, and now’s the time for us to use those resources for something better than just some yacht trip on a vacation cruise or something, but actually make a positive change for the better for the sake of our kids and our grandkids,” he said.
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Those interested in joining the group can register at ThirdAct.org.
This article has an Oct 4 date but the first I saw it was in an Explorer email sent out on Oct 6, the day after the Third Act webinar. Because there may be several people who missed the webinar, if you can obtain and post a recording, Third Act might reach a lot more potential members.
Good point, Bill! We’ll ask about getting a recording of the webinar.
Thank you
Please chloe, won’t you follow up your report with some reassurance that people over 60 are responding positively to this effort by Bill McKibben, Curt Stager, Vanessa Arcara, Scott Ireland and others who are trying to activate a local Third Act in our Adirondack region? We could all use some encouraging words if we are to get ahead of the curve on the daunting issues facing us. For example:
*** NYT 10/6/23 – It’s Not Your Imagination. Summers Are Getting Hotter. By Nadja Popovich and Adam Pearce
*** Rutgers Today 9/30/23 – Wildfire Preventing long-term health risks for firefighters. By Deirdre Lockwood
*** NCPR 10/2/23 – The ‘silver tsunami’ of baby boomers has hit the North Country, and they have health care needs. By Amy Feiereisel
I would also add the following, based on my own personal experiences: As wildland fires increase in a globally warming world, the need for more rangers and more young volunteers to be fire fighters and emergency responders is an urgent political priority. At present, we risk losing the locally based young emergency personnel we need to adequately protect our Adirondack communities, our people and our visitors. This is unsustainable!
Fighting wildfires successfully must start with a return to the Smokey Bear era’s strong emphasis on education in fire prevention, and in adopting wildland-urban interface methods of construction. Saving lives and valuable real property in our forested regions in the coming years will not be achieved unless our political leaders can fix the underlying problems that are driving young families away and preventing young people from being able to volunteer – low wage gig economy, affordable housing, lack of adequate childcare, lack of reliable medical care and additional health protections for emergency responders and their families against cancer and other long term illnesses faced increasingly by responders.
For the good of the Adirondacks and its people, both young and old, I hope we can all come together and meet these challenges. A local “Third Act” group for those over 60 would be a great place to start.
https://vimeo.com/873052834?share=copy&emci=80b5151b-bd63-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&emdi=2885a28f-bc67-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&ceid=6575
Thanks Bill!