[Sdpg] FRI July 25/ Sustainable World Radio Interview with Claude Genest/Permaculturist & Deputy Leader Canadian Green Party

Tue Jul 22 21:14:54 PDT 2008

Friday, July 25, 9-10am Sustainable World Radio on KCSB 91.9 FM and 
streaming live on www.kcsb.org. Also found 
on  www.sustainableworldradio.com, or www.radio4all.net later in the month

Join Jill Cloutier of Sustainable World Radio for an interview  with 
Claude Genest, Permaculture teacher, designer, and Deputy Leader of 
the Canadian Green Party, former actor and host of the Emmy Nominated 
PBS TV series Regeneration: The Art of Sustainable Living.

Claude is running as a Green Party candidate in a by-election for the 
Canadian Federal seat of Westmont-Ville Marie in Province of Quebec 
to become the first Green Member of Parliament in federal 
politics.  Recently, Genest was one of only a handful of Canadians 
chosen to receive training from Al Gore on how to teach others about 
the issues of climate change.

Also joining Jill will be fellow Canadian Wes Roe of the Santa 
Barbara Permaculture Network, who was involved in political campaigns 
in the late 60's and 70's in Canada before moving to the US.

More Info:

Claude William Genest interviewed on PBS
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOM7LljBjw>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOM7LljBjw

Greenologist and Permaculturist Claude William Genest hosts 
Regeneration: The Art of Sustainable Living on PBS. Four part series 
on Vermont Public TV
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=regen+claude&search_type =

Quotes from Claude on from email on Permaculture Listserve
And one more thing - While you Yanks criticize from your recliners 
about the nasty state of American Politics, I do not see you 
organizing to offer an alternative. Meanwhile the Canadian Greens are 
at 15% in the polls, will likely be in the Leader's debates and are 
on the verge of electing members to parliament carrying a platform 
written collectively by all members on a wiki and with a powerful 
core of earth ethics. And for me, that is something to feel both good 
and proud about. ..

Claude Genest quote"Personally, now that my earth is bermed and my 
trees planted,  I am taking portions of Mr. Gore's slide show, 
merging it with Permaculture and Green Party stuff and I carry it 
house to house, speaking in people's kitchens to a dozen folk at a 
time. For free. Every chance I get. and I ain't about to quit anytime 
soon." ...

Claude Genest quote "I have some planting to do  and I'm going to 
suggest that maybe ya'all have some political seeds to sow ;-)"

Green Party candidate Genest carries Gore's message
By Andrew King
Article online since May 1st 2008, 13:35
http://www.westmountexaminer.com/article-208505-Green-Party-candidate-Genest-carries-Gores-message.html

Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth' has brought worldwide 
attention to the topic of environmental sustainability, and now 
Westmount's Green Party candidate is spreading that message to create 
sustainable change that the community can embrace.
Claude William Genest, the former actor and current Green Party 
deputy leader, has devoted his career as a politician to bringing 
environmentally sustainable solutions to the way businesses operate 
and to the way each person lives at home.

Between being recognized by Gore, teaching permaculture at the 
University at Vermont and producing an Emmy-nominated series for PBS, 
Genest took some time to talk about his work and how he's willing to 
go door-to-door to make sustainability a reality.

"Before I knew it, I was leaving behind hosting Travel Travel, which 
was a plenty good job, to go work on farms in Australia and New 
Zealand and learn about things from the ground up," said Genest. "It 
completely transformed me."

Recently, Genest was one of only a handful of Canadians chosen to 
receive training from Gore on how to teach others about the issues of 
climate change.

"Mr. Gore was going to choose 200 people; I applied and was one of 
those chosen," said Genest. "I was so impressed by Mr. Gore and Dr. 
(David) Suzuki... These guys are true warriors. It's not what they 
say, it's about what they do. That really galvanized me."

With his diverse plate of environmental projects, including teaching 
and his PBS series The Art of Sustainable Living, Genest believes 
that he has the ability to successfully promote change through 
multiple venues.

"I've always said I was going to push the thing on all angles... All 
change comes from the bottom up... so I believe that and I practice 
that when I teach permaculture," said Genest. "But now, I really, 
really, really believe that change has to happen also from the top 
down. We need to have the policy and laws in place to move this thing forward."

Genest's approach of making personal connections to small groups of 
people, instead of delivering speeches to full auditoriums, has had a 
positive effect on what he sees as a society "divorced from our 
political powers."

"Every time I go talk in someone's home in front of 15 or 20 people, 
two or three of them immediately go, 'I'm going to have you go speak 
to 15 of my friends,'" says Genest. "We've got to go out there and 
start talking..."

Even with Genest's time limited with his non-stop work, he is 
preparing for a possible election, attending the Emmy Awards and is 
in the process of writing a book.

"Things are definitely moving [but] it's not me that's moving, it's 
green consciousness. The right thing is emerging and I'm just one of 
the people able to talk about it."

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