Video Description:
Published on Dec 2, 2015

The climate crisis pushes us into an existential crisis of the soul. While it is natural for us to shirk that discomfort, Quaker and climate activist Jay O’Hara suggests embracing that loss is the gateway to powerful action. Through the lens of his own loss and action, he exposes the paradox of faith that may give us the chance to build the new world we need, and the movement needed to get us there.Jay O’Hara is a Quaker and native of Cape Cod. Inspired by Wendell Berry, he moved back to his hometown in 2007 to pursue a faithful response to the climate crisis, while working as a sailmaker. He is the founder of Climate Summer, a transformational summer training program for student climate activists. Called to bolder action to stop the burning of fossil fuels, in 2013 he, along with Ken Ward, blockaded 40,000 tons of coal destined for the Brayton Point power plant with their small white lobster boat named the “Henry David T”. The ensuing legal proceedings garnered national attention when Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter reduced and dismissed the charges against the two, calling climate change “one of the gravest crises our planet has ever faced“. Most recently he co-led the faith-based “Pipeline Pilgrimage”, and has co-founded the Climate Disobedience Center with members of the Lobster Boat Blockade team.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx