Highlights - Joëlle Gergis - Lead Author - IPCC Sixth Assessment Report - Author of “Humanity’s Moment”
"It was difficult to actually write about my dad because as I mentioned in the book, he died in 2017, and he was obviously a really significant person in my life. He really instilled this whole idea that education is the key to a better life, and that it's the great equalizer. So my heritage is from Egypt, so they were not wealthy. When my dad studied at university, he was able to break out of his social background, and it allowed him to move into other areas and create a better life, not just for him but for us.
And I think that it was very formative for me because it made me realize that anyone from anywhere can change their life if they're really determined - but it doesn't mean we all have equal access to equal resources. And my dad had to work really, really hard, as have I and many people around the world. It's like, at the end of the day, all you can do is really the best with what you've got. And I guess I've tried to do the best with what I've got and he certainly did his best with what he was able to do in his life.
The reason why I became a scientist, to be honest, is because of my deep love for the natural world and living in a country like Australia, which is absolutely extraordinary. You know, we have more unique plants and animals than anywhere on the planet. So more than places like Brazil or Papua New Guinea or Madagascar, these places you think of as being richly biodiverse. Australia actually tops the list, just in terms of the uniqueness of our natural environment. And so growing up in a place like that really infuses into your pores. And so I would go into these beautiful places, whether it be rainforests or the coast, which I love. And then as a young person, I was really drawn into wanting to study science. And so that's why I became a scientist."
Dr. Joëlle Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist and writer at the Australian National University. She served as a lead author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and is the author of Humanity’s Moment: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia. Joëlle has also contributed chapters to The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg, and Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility, edited by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua.
http://joellegergis.com
https://climatehistory.com.au
www.blackincbooks.com.au/authors/jo-lle-gergis
www.creativeprocess.info
www.oneplanetpodcast.org
IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
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