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A rural teacher with global reach

Greg Craven of Monmouth, Ore., shot a low-tech video on climate change that is attracting a major online audience.

from the December 20, 2007 edition

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Climate-change skeptic Warren Meyer, a Phoenix businessman whose blog includes many detailed postings and videos on climate change, calls Craven's video "a clever kind of sleight of hand," particularly regarding the likely economic costs of major government policies.

"He argues that one buys car insurance without actually knowing if he is going to crash his car or how much such a crash might cost," Mr. Meyer says. "I would retort, 'Yes, but you wouldn't pay $35,000 for car insurance if you only had a $30,000 car.' Costs matter a lot, as does the magnitude of risk."

Thomas Demelo, a junior in Craven's chemistry class, is not totally convinced by his teacher's arguments about global warming. "It really did get me to think about it, though," he says. Thomas, who's been taught by Craven since freshman year, calls him "a really good teacher who likes what he's teaching and gets the class involved."

Alicia Brown, a senior in Craven's physics class, likes his emphasis on critical thinking, as well as his ability to get students excited about the subjects he teaches.

"He's made a history and English nerd like me like math and science," she says.

So far, the 44 additional videos have not taken off like "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See" and "How It All Ends."

"That's the nature of a nonlinear system," Craven says with a hint of disappointment. "But I get a number of contacts a day, and that keeps me going. People have said I've changed their behavior.... People have made websites and discussion forums."

He realizes it's all a bit quixotic.

"My mission in this is to change the culture," Craven says, "so that a policymaker can't turn around without somebody saying 'Hey! What are you doing about climate change?' We need significant changes in the basis of our modern society, which is cheap, easily accessible fossil fuels."

His efforts have become a bit bewildering and sometimes exhausting. "It's been hard to think I'm not delusional.... I need to get back to being a husband and a daddy," he says, speaking of Jodi and their young daughters, Katie and Alex.

But something keeps pushing him forward.

"This line from a Dave Matthews song – 'Did I do all that I could?' – kept running through my head," he says. "If this doesn't save the world, it at least allows me some moral absolution. It allows me to know that my daughters will forgive me because I did the best I could."

 

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