How to Boil a Frog
Encyclopedia
HOW TO BOIL A FROG is an award winning eco-comedy that shows the consequences of overshoot: too many people using up too little planet. An everyman dad (Jon Cooksey) gives us the scoop on the imminent end of the world as we know it, and five surprising ways we can save civilization while making our own lives better.
You can watch How to Boil a Frog on Canadian pay-per-view TV or at various film festivals in the U.S. The "Frog" is a full-length feature film created by over 400 volunteers.
How to Boil a Frog's humor-oriented website is run by TV writer/producer Jon Cooksey
Jon puts up free short videos, articles, links and other materials about the consequences of overshoot
, including global warming
, peak oil
, overpopulation
, income inequality and what the site calls the “war on nature” – overuse of natural resources, extinction, and so on. The site also has two subsidiary pages,– free-ranging cultural and political critiques, with lots of pictures, supposedly written by the site’s mascot, Lou the Frog – and a page with a sort of Candyland feel that serves as a video-based overview on the subject of peak oil.
The website went up in August 2007, and text on the site says it’s part of a feature-length movie currently being produced by Cooksey’s company, Fools Bay Entertainment.
The free videos on the website include both mini-interviews with top climatologists, environmental authors, experts in peak oil and energy depletion, journalists, politicians, activists, economists, sustainability experts, and others, as well as humorous mini-documentaries on issues like coal-mining and the Alberta tar sands.
The website also has a section called the “People's Video Project”, which invites people to upload their own self-interview videos to share their feelings and personal solutions on how each individual – and local community – can help prevent a climate change
emergency and plan for a better future.
The website keeps content fresh with an always-changing “Series of 5” recommended movies, books, articles, web-shorts, etc., and by taking on all the different aspects of overshoot – political, economic, social and environmental. It also presents personal-level solutions, with videos and other resources on permaculture
, relocalization lifestyle change, political action, formation of community
, and so on. Users are encouraged to make their own lives better now while helping to save civilization
.
The motto of the site is “make fun, make friends, make trouble”.
Energy & Environmental Media Specialist, Bracewell & Giuliani
(USA)
You can watch How to Boil a Frog on Canadian pay-per-view TV or at various film festivals in the U.S. The "Frog" is a full-length feature film created by over 400 volunteers.
How to Boil a Frog's humor-oriented website is run by TV writer/producer Jon Cooksey
Jon Cooksey
Jon Cooksey is a writer/producer living and working in Vancouver. He works both solo and jointly with his wife, Ali Marie Matheson; Jon & Ali together were the creators of “The Collector ”, on which they served as executive producers, showrunners and head writers, and they’re currently writing two...
Jon puts up free short videos, articles, links and other materials about the consequences of overshoot
Overshoot (ecology)
In ecology, overshoot occurs when a population exceeds the long term carrying capacity of its environment. The consequence of overshoot is called a crash or die-off. An attempt to apply this concept to human experience is Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, by William R....
, including global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, peak oil
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
, overpopulation
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
, income inequality and what the site calls the “war on nature” – overuse of natural resources, extinction, and so on. The site also has two subsidiary pages,– free-ranging cultural and political critiques, with lots of pictures, supposedly written by the site’s mascot, Lou the Frog – and a page with a sort of Candyland feel that serves as a video-based overview on the subject of peak oil.
The website went up in August 2007, and text on the site says it’s part of a feature-length movie currently being produced by Cooksey’s company, Fools Bay Entertainment.
The free videos on the website include both mini-interviews with top climatologists, environmental authors, experts in peak oil and energy depletion, journalists, politicians, activists, economists, sustainability experts, and others, as well as humorous mini-documentaries on issues like coal-mining and the Alberta tar sands.
The website also has a section called the “People's Video Project”, which invites people to upload their own self-interview videos to share their feelings and personal solutions on how each individual – and local community – can help prevent a climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
emergency and plan for a better future.
The website keeps content fresh with an always-changing “Series of 5” recommended movies, books, articles, web-shorts, etc., and by taking on all the different aspects of overshoot – political, economic, social and environmental. It also presents personal-level solutions, with videos and other resources on permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
, relocalization lifestyle change, political action, formation of community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, and so on. Users are encouraged to make their own lives better now while helping to save civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
.
The motto of the site is “make fun, make friends, make trouble”.
Contents
- Collections of recommended resources – 5 movies, 5 articles, 5 books and 5 web-shorts
- Mini-interviews with experts in many different fields
- Mini-documentaries
- Flash animation
- The People’s Video Project
- FrogBlog
- Peak Oil page
- External links
Experts interviewed for the How to Boil a Frog movie
Per materials on the site, parts of all these interviews will eventually appear on the website as well, in the form of free short videos.Peak Oil & Energy Issues
- Matthew SimmonsMatthew SimmonsMatthew Roy Simmons was founder and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, and was a prominent advocate of peak oil. Simmons was motivated by the 1973 energy crisis to create an investment banking firm catering to oil companies. In his previous capacity, he served as energy...
– Author, “Twilight in the Desert” - Charles Hall Professor, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNYState University of New YorkThe State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
(USA) - Chris SkrebowskiChris SkrebowskiChris Skrebowski is a well-known commentator on the oil industry and an expert on global oil supply. He is the founding Director of Peak Oil Consulting and consulting editor for Petroleum Review, the magazine of the UK Energy Institute...
, Editor, Petroleum Review - Dick Lawrence, ASPO Association for the Study of Peak Oil and GasAssociation for the Study of Peak Oil and GasThe Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, or ASPO, is a network of scientists, affiliated with a wide array of global institutions and universities, whose goal is to attempt to determine the date and impact of the peak and decline of the world’s production of oil and gas, due to resource...
(USA) - David Strahan Author, “The Last Oil Shock” Oil Crisis
Climatology
- James E. Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space StudiesGoddard Institute for Space StudiesThe NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies , at Columbia University in New York City, is a component laboratory of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Earth-Sun Exploration Division and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University...
(USA) - Stephen Schneider, Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (IPER) (USA)
- Andrew WeaverAndrew J. WeaverAndrew J. Weaver is a climate modeller in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and a lead author of a chapter on Global Climate Projections in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. ....
Canada Research Chair in Climate Modeling and Analysis at the University of VictoriaUniversity of VictoriaThe University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
(Canada)
Journalists and authors
- George MonbiotGeorge MonbiotGeorge Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
, journalist & author (“Heat”) (UK) - Ross GelbspanRoss GelbspanRoss Gelbspan is an American writer and activist. He has written two books relating to global warming-- The Heat Is On and Boiling Point . The Heat Is On received national attention when President Bill Clinton told the press he was reading it. Boiling Point was the subject of the lead review in...
, author (“Boiling Point”) (USA) - Paul D. ThackerPaul D. ThackerPaul D. Thacker, sometimes bylined as Paul Thacker, is an American journalist who specializes in science, medicine and environmental reporting. He has written for Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, Salon.com, and The New Republic, and Environmental Science & Technology...
, journalist (USA) - Naomi OreskesNaomi OreskesNaomi Oreskes is an American science historian, and Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California San Diego. She has worked on studies of geophysics, environmental issues such as global warming, and the history of science...
, journalist & science historian (USA) - Chris C. Mooney, journalist/blogger & author (The Republican War on ScienceThe Republican War on ScienceThe Republican War on Science is a book by Chris C. Mooney, an American journalist who focuses on the politics of science policy. In the book, Mooney discusses the Republican Party leadership's stance on science, and in particular that of the George W...
) (USA)
Environmental activism
- John Bennett, Climate Action Network (Canada)
- Rex WeylerRex WeylerRex Weyler is an American / Canadian author, journalist and ecologist. He has worked as a writer, editor, and publisher at newspapers and magazines, and occasionally as a commentator on Canadian television...
, co-Founder of Greenpeace International (USA/Canada) - David Dodge, Dan Woynillowicz & Chris Severson-Baker Pembina Institute Canada
Social Planners & Sustainability Experts
- Anita Burke, sustainability consultant and head of the Exxon ValdezExxon ValdezOriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska...
cleanup (USA/Canada) - Albert BatesAlbert BatesAlbert Bates is an influential figure in the intentional community and ecovillage movements. A lawyer, author and teacher, he has been director of the Institute for Appropriate Technology since 1984 and of the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee since 1994.Bates has...
, eco-village expert and author, “The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook” - Torbjorn Lahti co-author of “The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices” based on The Natural StepThe Natural StepThe Natural Step is a non-profit organization founded in Sweden in 1989 by scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt. Following publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987, Robèrt developed The Natural Step framework, setting out the system conditions for the sustainability of human activities on Earth;...
developed in Sweden - Julian DarleyJulian DarleyJulian Darley is a writer and speaker on policy responses to global environmental degradation. He is the author of the book High Noon for Natural Gas, and the founder of Global Public Media and Post Carbon Institute...
President, Post-Carbon Institute
Politics
- Marc Morano Former Communications Director for the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksUnited States Senate Committee on Environment and Public WorksThe United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for dealing with matters related to the environment and infrastructure.-Members, 112th Congress:...
- John GodfreyJohn GodfreyJohn Ferguson Godfrey, PC is a Canadian educator, journalist and former Member of Parliament.- Education :He was born in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Senator John Morrow Godfrey , was a Canadian pilot, lawyer and politician. John Godfrey graduated from Upper Canada College in 1960...
, Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Environment Critic (Canada) - Elizabeth MayElizabeth MayElizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
, Head of Green Party of CanadaGreen Party of CanadaThe Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and... - Yvo de BoerYvo de BoerYvo de Boer was the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 4 September 2006 to 1 July 2010...
, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992... - Nicky GavronNicky GavronFelicia Nicolette C. "Nicky" Gavron, née Coates is a British politician, former Deputy Mayor of London, a member of the London Assembly and the former Labour candidate for the 2004 Mayor of London elections.- Biography :...
, Deputy Mayor of London (UK) - Romina Picolotti Secretary of the Environment for Argentina
Public relations
- Jim Hoggan President, James Hoggan & Assoc. (Canada)
- Frank Maisano
Energy & Environmental Media Specialist, Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is an international law firm based in Houston, Texas, that began in 1945. The firm has over 470 lawyers, and has United States offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Hartford, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas, and Austin, and overseas offices in Dubai, and London...
(USA)
- Patrick MoorePatrick MooreSir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
, CEO, Greenspirit Strategies (Canada)
External links
- http://www.howtoboilafrog.com How to Boil a Frog