âMy whole life has been two worlds,â says Danielle Crumrine, who grew up in a family of coal miners. Her father is a retired miner. Her 5â3 grandmother worked underground.
She speaks of the âcoal mine prideâ where she was raised between Greene and Washington Counties before she knew what the word environmentalist meant. âReconciling those two worlds has been challenging, especially now given our political climate,â she says.
As Director of Tree Pittsburgh, Crumrine is on the front lines of the environmental sector in Pittsburgh. And yet, she has shied away from talking about climate change not only to her relatives but also on social media, to avoid alienating family. That changed last week after Crumrine participated in the Climate Reality Project at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. She was one of approximately 1,400 â the largest ever of the 36 events â to take part in the workshop training.
The purpose of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training is for citizens to work with former Vice President Al Gore and top climate scientists and mentors to learn whatâs happening to our planet, and how to use social media, storytelling and personal outreach to inspire others to take action. On the first day, Al Gore spent more than two hours presenting 500 slides depicting climate change and its effect throughout the world.
âGive us three days. Weâll give you the tools to change the world,â their website promises.
As a follow up to the event, NEXTpittsburgh talked to some participants, all of whom seemed pumped and ready for action. The one exception was an older man who approached as we stood near the door during the slideshow and muttered something about it being time to cue the violins. He left in a huff â by slide 300 or so â before we could find out what that was about. (Wrong conference, perhaps?)

Others were unanimous in how deeply impressed they were with the training â free with underwriting from The Heinz Endowments â and how they were ready for action. (Missed the training but want to get involved? Contact Divya Nawale, of the Mayorâs office, who is already forming the Pittsburgh Chapter for Climate Reality. Anyone interested can join.)
Workshop participants had to commit to 10 items, some which are restrictions (no lobbying on behalf of Climate Reality, not seeking payment, etc) and others are affirmative actions. The key commitment is performing at least 10 activities within one year of completing training, which could include giving climate presentations, contacting influencers, writing letters to the editor, or other forms of climate advocacy.
âClimate Reality raised the bar on the conversation around climate change,â says Deb Smit, communications manager of the newly-formed Air Quality Collaborative. âIt solidified the science of climate change in my mind which I will be using to make the case!â
The coal minerâs daughter
The takeaway for Crumrine was âto learn how to talk about climate change in a new way, in a way that has been tried and tested across the country to all types of audiences. I want to be able to talk about it to my family and people back home.
âI run Tree Pittsburgh. I plant trees. Before that, Allegheny CleanWays, where I cleaned up garbage. I feel Iâve earned the respect of people, that I walk the walk. I donât want to be scared to talk about climate change anymore.â
After three days of training, she said, âI really feel confident now. Iâm so excited. Iâm already thinking about how Iâm going to present and to whom, and how to talk about this at Thanksgiving.
âWhat I took from this training is the solution to this climate crisis is also the solution to our economic crisis: jobs in solar, jobs in wind, there are more jobs in that sector than there are coal mines. Instead of subsidizing an antique tech like coal, why arenât we investing in new tech in those communities?
âThe Waynesburgs out there, the 84s and the Bentleyvilles, everyone who feels theyâve been left behind â so often they blame the environmentalists. Theyâve been scammed by that. Itâs not an economically viable industry.
âInvest in solar and wind and wind turbines â build âem here! Thatâs exciting if political leaders are truly willing to invest in those communities. Other countries are moving in that direction. Weâre going to be left behind if we donât.â
One thing on the agenda for her and a small group of Pittsburghers is to bring the solution-focused Earth Optimism Summit to town. âItâs an event to bring people together to talk about all the great projects happening,â says Crumrine.

The reluctant participant
Unlike Crumrine, Mt Lebanon resident Teresa Saxton was apprehensive about even applying to the Climate Reality Project, thinking she would be out of her league. âBut then I thought about it and said to myself, I would be crazy to miss out on this opportunity to learn. So Iâm proud that I got out of my comfort zone and stepped up to the challenge.â
Saxton, a former Donor Relations Manager for The Nature Conservancy, responded to our question by email with this fitting analogy:
âThe three days of training delivered a Category 5 level hurricane of information and my brain reached overflow at the 100-year flood equivalent! Now Iâve got to let those flood waters recede a bit to find where I can best put my efforts and skills to work.â
So what does she plan to do?
âThe very first thing is to say âYes, I can do this!â My next action is to work with Deb [Smit] and Beth Evans [of Mt. Lebanon] â also newly certified Climate Reality Leaders [who were seated with Saxton] â to write an editorial piece to submit to the local media. We also plan to brainstorm, set goals and prioritize our activities. We know we want to present together, perhaps at our local library or for the PTA. We will try to bring sustainable practices to our community. Mt. Lebanon is a Tree City, why canât it be a Solar City or a Sustainable City?
âOr why not think about asking one of our local supermarkets to try eliminating plastic bags? Beth suggested maybe start by requesting one plastic bag-free lane. We could photograph people in the no-plastic line if they were amenable and add a social media component. This might be a fun project to tackle with a high school or college environmental club. Things like that. Small actions and initiatives that will add up and could lead to policy changes which is where the real progress gets made.
âOne of the other things Iâve already done is to collaborate and share ideas. I will join the Pittsburgh Chapter of Leaders. Here we will pool our skill sets and resources. Iâm also writing down every single crazy idea I can think of to capitalize on the momentum. I wasnât thinking about doing any of these things and now I am. And I feel confident the Climate Reality Network will have my back to help me be successful.â
The clean air activist
For Thaddeus Popovich, co-founder of Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN), the training âwas both exhilarating and exhausting. While he and his daughter saw Al Gore deliver his slideshow at âAn Inconvenient Truthâ in 07/24/2006 at Chautauqua Institution, he was âblown awayâ by Goreâs updated version of the slideshow, as well as by his presence. âThere was great breadth and depth throughout the three-day period. I am inspired!
âAs a result, my work at ACCAN continues with more clarity and energy with the Shenango Campaign. We were fortunate to be chosen to lead an Action Session titled âCoal to Solar: Accelerating the Switch to Renewable Electricity in Pennsylvania.â We are beginning work on submitting a shareholders proposal which will include climate realty language.â
The anti-petrochemical activist
âThe training impressed me with the number of people who attended, including hundreds from the Pittsburgh area and even more from across the country and around the world. So it was an excellent opportunity to connect with others working on the same issues,â says John Detwiler, PhD, a Squirrel Hill resident and retired engineer and business consultant.
âFor example, at my table were seven other Pittsburghers, none of whom I had met before, and all of us working toward the same goals. So we are now in contact and making plans to collaborate. There were dozens of other âPittsburghâ tables, and many other folks reported similar experiences.
âFor most of us, the most pressing issue is the threatened petrochemical industry build-out in the Ohio River Valley. If it goes ahead, this build-out will affect communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia; so, again, last weekâs meeting was important for building relationships.
âGas and chemical industry boosters are making grandiose proposals for multiple âcrackerâ plants, along with related âupstreamâ (gas wells, cryogenic processing, pipelines and compressor stations) and âdownstreamâ (waste disposal, plastics and associated manufacturing) infrastructure. Those boosters are promising billions of dollars of âinvestment,â all of which is absolutely opposite to the direction our economy must take â and is already taking â over the next few years. And theyâre asking for taxpayer subsidies in the billions to jump-start their proposals.
âIf built, this petrochemical complex would make our region a pariah instead of a leader in responding to climate change. So last weekâs meeting was an important rallying point for our sustainable vision for the Ohio Valley.â
Like others we talked to, Deb Smit said the three-day event blew her away. âIt was exciting to see so many people in Pittsburgh getting behind a clean energy future,â Smit says. âI will continue to elevate these issues so responsible regulators and polluters get on board in advancing the vision for climate reality and clean air.â
If you were at the event, we welcome your comments below as well as your plan for action.