I am the mother of 7 year-old twin boys and was relatively oblivious to what was happening with global warming until another mother started talking to me at the end of 2005 – around the same time that NASA’s James Hansen made his now famous comment that the world had about 10 years until a tipping point beyond which we would no longer have any control over runaway warming. At the time I ran an art gallery and was a practising artist. By the end of 2006, after a very steep learning curve, I’d done a training session with Al Gore in Sydney and started giving climate change presentations to groups around NSW. I am now revelling in the joy of my family, learning about permaculture and how to grow food, and making a steep energy descent from a very environmentally unfriendly lifestyle. My initial despair has been replaced by determination.

I am the 4th daughter of Dutch migrants & grew up in a very environmentally friendly household in Wollongong. Back then in the sixties we were recycling our newspapers, cans, and glass by bundling them up and taking them to the appropriate depots and factories. This was well before councils introduced recycling initiatives. My mother sewed us all supermarket bags years before the introduction of the ‘green bag’. I recall many a frown from the supermarket assistants because the bags did not fit well on the plastic bag stand. My mother had solar hot water tanks installed when they were first introduced. I am a city dweller (Sydney) with a small veggie garden and I’ve planted and am maintaining the neighbouring council owned strip of land with natives. I have two daughters, Rachel and Charlotte aged 14 and 12. I have a strong interest in philosophy, social justice and environmental issues and have discovered the joys of mushrooming.

I was born in Sydney in 1940 and, following my parents’ lead, have been a student, teacher and social activist all my life. I used to be paid to teach: first in English Literature and Language; then, as my children grew up, in various areas of Teacher Education, including Child Care and Multicultural Studies. After retiring I studied Social Ecology at the University of Western Sydney, and then found my retirement cottage in Katoomba. Since then I have set about achieving a sustainable lifestyle based on social, economic, environmental, and philosophical concerns. As an integral part of this I have been learning and teaching just for the love of it: including in the local chapter of U3A and at Katoomba Primary School. I am also a very enthusiastic Internet user, participating in Lis Bastian’s Year in a Day blog and the Blue Mountains Permaculture Network’s blog, and setting up my own blog on the evolutionary interconnectedness between humans and other Earthlings – oursevenages.blogspot.com

I am extremely aware of the interweaving between humans, their environment and other plants and animals that share that environment. I feel that Australia could be a world leader in the presentation of clean safe energy. Belonging to a climate action group is a way of ensuring that this message gets across to the politicians who make decisions for our country and ultimately the world.

I try to live my life under the ethics of Care for Earth, Care for People and Sustainability through Reduced Consumption. Although my working career started as a Registered Nurse, my husband’s interest in Entomology led me to become the first licensed woman Pest Manager in NSW. Since that time I’ve gained qualifications in Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management and Permaculture Design, Media and Education which I teach through TAFE. In my spare time I dabble as an illustrator. I support and am supported by my four children and husband Kevin.

I share many of the views expressed at your site, and I am trying the best I can to help make things better so that my two girls whom I love more than I can express with words can grow and live upon a planet that is healthy and in balance. As is discussed on my site and in my first story (located at http://kjh-es.net) I used to be an environmental consultant (my background is chemical and environmental engineering). I live in Charlotte, NC USA in a “small house” with a lovely spouse and two daughters (11, 14). Presently, I consider myself on “sabbatical”, and during this time I view my role as being an author and a full time activist.