Upfirst
Community Starlight
March 2023
John Forslin, Volunteer Climate Leader, making a call for action
in the Community Room of the Peter White Public Library in Marquette
March 11, 2023 (photo by Todd Carter)
John & Marge Forslin
A Call To Action By
The Climate Reality Project UP
The Mission of The Climate Reality Project
Our mission is to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every sector of society
The Twin Pines, photo by Todd Carter, Forestville, Marquette Township
Golden Birch, photo by Todd Carter, Baraga County wilderness
The Twin Pines Winter Solstice Star, acrylic on matted paper, painting by Todd Carter, 2020
Winter Moon by Todd Carter, prints and cards available
Marge Forslin in purple jacket at campfire party, Forestville, March 2023 (photo by Todd Carter)
The Climate Reality Project UP
Contact John Forslin jfsuperior@charter.net
cell 906-869-6621 #LeadOnClimate
March 13, 2023 by Mike OSullivan
Marquette, Michigan, USA
Saturday at the Peter White Public Library Community Room in Marquette, John Forslin, assisted by his wife, Marge, led a call to action on climate change.
During an excellent eye-popping, mouth-dropping, head-nodding presentation, John relayed the urgent need for action and an enthusiastic spirit of hope.
The message was plain and simple in a 10-Word Climate Briefing:
1. It's real
2. It's us
3. Experts agree
4. It's bad
5. There's hope
What is the hope? Urgent action across every sector of society. That includes you and me.
John Forslin explained the beyond extreme rise in carbon dioxide (CO 2) that has been fueled by the industrial revolution. He demonstrated ways to act now to help future generations.
John reinforced the importance of contacting our politicians. They need public action across every sector of society to support climate change initiatives.
Many resources were provided at the presentation, including "Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change," printed for us by Climate Reality Project UP. One of the questions in this New York Times article updated July 6, 2017 by Justin Gillis is "Question #2: How much trouble are we in?"
Answer: "For future generations, big trouble...the current generation of people is dooming future generations to a more difficult future."
Suggested books include Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe, 2023, described as "A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a divided world."
The NPR article "Trees on the Move as Temperature Zones Shift 3.8 Feet a Day" (February 14, 2014) that was shared at the presentation relates for me to the New York Times Best Seller: Finding The Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard, 2021.
From a forester and scientist perspective, Suzanne Simard pioneered western civilization's discovery of forest intelligence. In Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne shares a story taught by an elder of the Skokomish Nation in Washington State "...about the symbiotic nature and diversity of the forest, mentioning that under its floor 'there is an intricate and vast system of roots and fungi that keeps the forest strong'" (p. 283). Suzanne writes about Indigenous knowledge and beliefs of "we are all related" and "we are one."
In Suzanne's youtube Mother Trees and the Social Forest, she makes the call for us to act now to help trees to move. They will need our help to move faster than normal to survive, due to man-made climate change and man-made structures and cement areas that will hinder forests as they try to move to adjust for the climate changing.
Maybe the way to heal in a divided world is to learn to divine with Mother Trees. Mother Trees and all of the forest contain sacred intelligence. Trees cooperate, they communicate, they nourish, they heal, they learn, they protect, and they warn.
May we learn from the trees. May trees help us to heal our divisions. It is what trees do. And it is what John and Marge Forslin do. They cooperate, they communicate, they nourish, they heal, they learn, they protect, and they warn.
Todd and I know, because we feel privileged to call Marge and John and many, many mother trees our pals.
We are grateful for their actions and for their care, and we join them in the call for action.
Action creates hope.
Pray For The Dead, But Fight Like Hell For The Living! (Mother Jones)
Please join John and Marge Forslin
and Mike and Todd in urgent action!
Waiting, acrylic on canvas, by Todd Carter
Are you waiting for more info?
Learn about Free Training at
The Climate Reality Project
Land Acknowledgement
The State of Michigan occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabek – Three Fires Confederacy, of the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Bode’wadmi (Potawatomi). We recognize the historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, and those who were forcibly removed from their homelands. We further recognize the ongoing relationship of, dependence upon, and respect for, all living beings of earth, sky and water. In offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, history and experience.
The State of Michigan occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabek – Three Fires Confederacy, of the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Bode’wadmi (Potawatomi). We recognize the historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, and those who were forcibly removed from their homelands. We further recognize the ongoing relationship of, dependence upon, and respect for, all living beings of earth, sky and water. In offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, history and experience.
Contact Upfirst
Todd Carter
Michaeleen (Mike) OSullivan
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