NANCY OGILVIE is the founder and chief visionary for Our Climate Change Legacy, a community of wise, loving and fierce elders joining together as a powerful voice and force to turn the tide on climate change. The OCCL community engages in mutual learning, mutual support, and joint action. You can reach her at www.facebook.com/ourcclegacy or ourcclegacy@gmail.com.
I was thrilled to "meet" Nancy via the internet and discover how much we have in common.  Apparently my vision of Elder-Activists is shared by others!  Read Nancy's story below and explore another view of Elder Activists....   Lynne

All it takes is reading or listening to the daily news to see that our world is in a heap of pain and trouble. It can be challenging not to feel instantly overwhelmed and tempting to simply look away, telling ourselves there’s nothing we, as an individual, can do to make a difference.

I challenge you to consider that those of us who are elders have unique gifts that only we can contribute – gifts that come from decades of lived experience. With some persistence and luck, we have harvested the gifts of love and wisdom that come from longevity. We have developed a level of confidence and trust that allows us a certain boldness and freedom to speak our minds. When we pool these gifts together, we CAN make a difference!  Together, we are exclusively equipped to be a powerful voice and force for turning the tide on climate change and creating a better world.

Having just turned 63, I gladly choose the label of “elder activist.” “Elder” is a title of honor and self-respect, reflecting the work I have done to grow in love and wisdom based on my life experience.  “Activist” means putting that wisdom and love into actions that leave a world that is better for my presence in it.

Claiming my “elder activist” self at this time in my life is a revolutionary act! It demonstrates my choice of service over self-indulgence, hope and action over despair and immobilization, love and gratitude over self-pity, wisdom and open-mindedness over ignorance and thoughtlessness.  It commits me to living in clarity and awareness, making deliberate, well-informed choices, applying the gifts of a lifetime to leaving a legacy of a vibrant and fulfilling life to future generations.

I spoke with Michelle Obama this past week – a short conversation that deeply touched my sense of power, possibility and hope.
 
Many times as an activist I get caught up in what is important to do without giving myself the time to reflect on the deep intent and spiritual core that guides my actions.  Yet, in my very brief conversation with Michelle Obama I connected deeply with the possibility that comes from allowing my intentions to guide my actions and my spirit to open my heart and mind.
 
I was attending the White House Chanukah party with my husband.  We were excited to be invited – though we both wanted something more than the schmoozing.  We agreed that the best possible outcome would be to ask Michelle Obama to help the brothers of our friend Hawa – who are refugees, living in Uganda and fearing for their safety.  We are trying to get them to the U.S.  It wasn’t completely farfetched since Michelle Obama, along with then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had given Hawa an award for being one of the ten most Courageous Women of the World in 2012 and had brought her to the U.S.
 
Though it was unclear how it might happen that conversation was our intention.  It worked.

A thriving world is a world that is safe from random gun violence; where we can shop, go to movies, or to work – and not be terrorized by people with assault weapons in our communities. 
 
31,000 Americans are killed each year by gun violence – not by terrorists from outside of the U.S.
 
There were more than 316,000 firearm deaths between 2004 and 2013, compared to 313 terrorism deaths of Americans.  (American Deaths from Gun Violence vs Terrorism in One Chart, Rolling Stone, 10.2.15)
 
"We spend over a trillion dollars, pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?" questioned President Obama speaking after a mass shooting on the Umpqua Community College campus.
 
Research shows—and cops will tell you—that common-sense public safety laws reduce gun violence and save lives.  It is simply too easy for the wrong people to get guns, leading to all kinds of violence—from deadly domestic abuse to suicide and school shootings.

There is a growing international movement of concerned elders and grandparents forming coalitions and becoming activists for climate change!

What a blessing!
The International Grandparents for the Climate Coalition had its inaugural meeting this past weekend in Paris!  A gathering of elders who came together to raise their voices and speak for future generations. 
"Grandparents for the Climate France, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, United Kingdom … are determined to call on the 152 heads of State meeting in Paris for the COP 21 to speed up decisions concerning keeping fossil fuels underground and financing a just transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050.”

This new coalition is just the tip of a growing movement.
The Norwegian Grandparents’ Climate Campaign was formed in 2006 by a group of concerned elders, many of whom formerly held influential positions in Norwegian society. Hosted by the environmental organization “The Future in Our Hands”, GCC has proved a significant voice in the public debate on the state of Norway’s climate policy at home and abroad.
The aim of the Norwegian Grandparent’s Campaign is to secure the planet for coming generations – for people as yet unborn, for people we will never meet – by reducing our use of fossil fuels and converting to renewables as fast as possible.
‘It’s a conservative campaign, not revolutionary at all.  It’s about conserving and protecting and preserving our planet from further desecration,’ says Mette Newth, one of the founders of the Norwegian Campaign.