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Page A-10 — Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Jan. 13,
Retired teacher becomes ’Paladin’ for climate change
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By Kirk BoxleTtner— """"
kbox/e/tneerasoncounty com
Retired teacher Nancy Snyder has
found a way to educate people about
the causes of extreme weather, and
the Climate Change Committee of
the League of Women Voters of Ma-
son County is but one of the recipi-
ents of the knowledge Snyder has
gained in the past year.
Snyder was originally slated to
attend an in-person training ses-
sion offered by the nonprofit Climate
Reality Project, which was founded ‘
by former Vice President Al Gore in
2005 as the Alliance for Climate Pro-
tection. However, COVID-19 killed
those plans in
Snyder had a second opportunity
to participate in the Climate Real-
ity Project’s training in when
it was offered via a 10—day virtual
conference.
Snyder, who’s in her mid—70s, had
already been concerned with climate
change for years, but had previously
been content to support climate sci- .
ence through charitable donations ,
and making climate-friendly purchas—
es. Then she read “The End of Ice” by
journalist Dahr J amail in
After Snyder attended one of
Dahr’s lectures, she said she was
struck by‘the immediacy of climate
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change, so she took out an ad in the
Shelton-Mason County Journal that
underscored those global effects and
urged fellow grandparents to help
protect their grandchildren’s future.
Initially discouraged by the lack of
positive or negative reaction, Snyder
saw another opportunity by joining
the Climate Change Committee of
the League of Women Voters of Ma—
son County.
“Their guest speakers have shared
their expertise and research on cli-
mate issues,” Snyder said. “They’ve
all been invaluable to me, as I’ve
struggled to decide which path I
wanted to take.”
Missing out on the in-person Cli—
mate Reality training session was
disappointing, Snyder said, because
“I’d hoped to be immersed in a group
of like-minded people from around
the world, and to be able to learn
from them and the climate scientists
leading the training.”
Snyder said she tends not to care
for Zoom and other online technolo-
gies, but she nonetheless signed up
to sit in front of her computer for 10
days, “listening and learning.”
Snyder realized she needed to pre-
pare her own presentation, not just
pass on knowledge she’d received on
the climate. She realized she needed
to show how climate change applies
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to‘our region, noting, for instance,
that the acidification of our waters
has harmed shellfish and other ma-
rine life. Rising temperatures and
droughts affect the resilience of agri—
cultural lands and forests.
“When I first started teaching so—
cial studies in the 1970s, I was con-
tacted by the Flat Earth Society,”
said Snyder, who explained that
the group essentially wanted her to‘
“disprove” photos taken of the Earth
from space by astronauts. “I ignored
the’ request, but neither did I teach
my classes about the dangers of con-
spiracy theories..I wish now that I’d
done more, throughout my teach-
ing-career, to emphasize the need to
counter such theories with verifiable
facts.”
Snyder sees parallels between
those earlier conspiracy theories and
“well-funded” modern groups claim—
ing that climate scientists’ findings
are a hoax.
Snyder noted that taking action
can consist of simple steps, from
sending letters to your local news me—
dia and emails to your government
representatives to supporting mea—
sures in your hometown such as tree-
plantings and community gardens.
Snyder said that the extreme
weather we’ve experienced over the
past'year has made her mission all
org.
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the more urgent.
“The heat dome in June cost peo-
ple’s lives, as well as those of mil-
lions of marine animals, resulting in
millions of dollars of economic dam-
ages,” Snyder said. “The more recent
atmospheric river — which caused
unusual rainfall amounts, resulting
in flooding and mudslides throughout
our region — is just one more reason
to take action.”
Despite the effects of such weather
events, Snyder said she hopes to of—
fer reasons for hope as well, from
advances in technology and “innova-
tion” to basic steps that nearly any-
one can take.
“Two-thirds of Americans simply ,
never talk about the warming of the
planet,” Snyder said. “We can all
avail ourselves of resources to take
action and learn more. For instance,
you can go online to the NOAA web-
site and see pictures and data for
yourself. To me, anything’s better
than relying solely on social media.”
Paraphrasing the motto of the
mid-20th century TV cowboy Paladin,
Snyder says of herself, “Have presen-
tation, will travel,” inviting groups
large or small, with appropriate
COVID protocols in place, to email
her at whyweirdweather@gmail.com
about arranging a date, time and lo-
cation for her to present to them.
Springs Road.
To make an appointment, call 1-800-398—7888,
sponsor code 443B, or go to www.BloodworksNW.
I Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks