by Amy Hunt
Simon Rook, chair of Climate Reality Project’s DFW chapter, has been a member of CRP since 2020 and joined the chapter’s leadership team within months of joining. He’s a North Texas native who works as a freelance researcher in Dallas. A former U.S. Marine (2006-10), Simon has an M.S. in applied psychology, and is “perpetually curious about human nature.”
We had a few questions about what brought him to this work, how it affects his non-climate work (and vice versa), and how he stays positive despite not-always-positive climate news.
How and when did you become a climate activist?
Technically I did it twice. In 2007 I came back to the U.S. after being deployed overseas in the U.S. Marine Corps. It was the first time I had lived any place dramatically different from the United States, and I started watching a lot of documentaries about sustainability and the effects of globalization. In 2018 I saw a documentary about sustainability and food scarcity; that launched me into vegetarianism and several years of learning how to minimize my personal carbon footprint.
Years later, I took a course on environmental science and learned about the Climate Reality Project. I thought it would be empowering to take the training, but was never able to make my calendar sync up with their trainings – until the Global Leadership Corps training of 2020. Upon connecting with the DFW chapter I learned that the chapter had been influential in many local greening projects. It was inspiring to work with so many motivated experts, and every day I am impressed by the work our chapter has accomplished.
What do you do when you’re not doing climate work and how do you bring those skills to your climate work?
I think the influence is the other way around; my climate activism tends to saturate all of my other activities in some way. For example, I enjoy gardening. After several years of tending plants and learning about ecology, I began transforming my garden into a native permaforest.
As another example, I really enjoy weight lifting, and was a power lifter for several years. I am not the type to buy the plastic-wrapped, heavily processed “foods” and “supplements” so popular in the fitness community (because Capitalism), so I periodically dedicate a lot of time to researching sustainable recipes that balance the macronutrients.
My other hobbies include hiking, talking to my dogs like they’re humans, cooking, and reading. A lot of my time goes to remodeling my house (it’s very old by American standards – nearly 100 years). Every time something breaks or wears out, I consider the environmental impact of repairing or replacing that thing. All things being equal, I would rather fix something than replace it; I would rather use green energy than fossil fuel.
Particularly when most of the climate-related news is bleak, where do you find optimism and the will to stay engaged?
I try to connect with other members of the environmental community, or spend some time in nature with my dogs. I think it is important to appreciate and spend time in the natural world (enjoy what we’re trying to preserve), and to remember that I’m not isolated and fighting for a green world alone. I think the strength of the chapter is that we have so many members willing to help each other and give their time to building a greener, healthier world.
Amy Hunt is a Dallas Climate Reality Project leader. She can be reached at amyhunt@swbell.net.