Franke James’ “Bothered By My Green Conscience” Wins 2010 Green Book Award

Green Book Festival Medal by Franke James

May 2010: Bothered by My Green Conscience is the winner of the 2010 Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels. The award honors books that, “… contribute to greater understanding, respect for and positive action on the changing worldwide environment.” Bruce Haring at the Green Book Festival said, “Franke’s book is a sheer delight and the judges are proud to honor it with this award.”

Author and artist, Franke James commented, “I’m absolutely thrilled it won the Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels! Book awards catch the attention of the media — and are therefore a great way to get the core message of my book to the public, and that is, ‘Do the hardest thing first.’ And then brag about it, shamelessly!”

“Do the hardest thing first.”

“Tell everyone about the wonderful green thing you did! Pretty soon, you’ll discover it’s fun and you’ll be inspiring others. Your friends and family may feel envious at first — but before you know it, they’ll be doing their own ‘hard green thing.’ And then we’ll have a real green revolution happening! And we need that.

“We’re treating our world as though it was disposable, and we had another shiny new one just waiting on a shelf for us. But we don’t! We need to get serious about protecting the environment, so that our children and grandchildren will have a healthy planet to live on. We can do a lot to fix the world, but we need to get ambitious now — and not wait for the politicians to save us.

“Do the hardest thing first. You’ll be surprised how fun it is, and how good it makes you feel!”

Franke James’ book is in good company — other Canadians who won the US Award…

climate cover up  cover James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore won the overall Green Book Festival prize for Climate Cover-Up (Non-fiction). It is a book I highly recommend. It’s a fascinating, and illuminating read about the crusade to deny global warming.  It will give you insight into the inner-workings of the PR campaigns (financed by the fossil fuel industries) that are sewing climate confusion, and in many cases, using outright deception to fool the gullible public.

The campaign to deny global warming mirrors the campaign by the tobacco industry to convince people that smoking was safe. And we all know how that ended up. Decades were wasted, lives lost, all unnecessarily, because society refused to face the scientific truth.

Now every cigarette pack in Canada comes with warning labels, such as “Smoking Kills.” What warning label should we put on our planet that will wake people up? Please leave your suggestions in the comments.

smoking illustration by Franke James

Will our children inherit a Canada where polar bears can only be found on Toonies?

polar bear on toonie image photo illustration by franke james

TORONTO, September 30 — Concerned that one day polar bears may only be found on Toonies, and that Canadian voters are wrongly being asked to choose between the economy and the environment on October 14th, Canadian artist Franke James has created a visual letter to Stephen Harper.
Dear Prime Minister
“Dear Prime Minister, You say a pollution tax would wreak havoc on our economy”
See the visual letter.

Weaving together expressive drawings with photos and hand drawn text, James asks the Prime Minister simple and thought-provoking questions including this pivotal one, “why are you making us choose between the economy and the environment

James challenges Harper’s assertion that the other parties are “dangerous because they will tax polluters.” She asks, “But if we don’t tax polluters, who will pay to clean up the mess? Will my children — and yours — be paying?” She backs up her statements on the Alberta oil sands and China, with facts from the Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Canada, The Telegraph UK and other sources.

The “Dear Prime Minister” letter urges all Canadians to vote for the environment and the economy on October 14th. James says, “Canada has one of the worst records for emissions of any G8 nation. Pollution is a bullet we can’t dodge. If we don’t act now we are only fooling ourselves. Our children will pay the price in a damaged environment. The upcoming federal election is an opportunity for us to send a strong message that we must tax pollution now, rather than pass the mess (and expense) onto our children!” She asks, “Will our children inherit a Canada where polar bears can only be found on Toonies?”

What People Are Saying:

“With wit and flair, Franke shows the Harper government’s environmental policies are nonsense — and severely jeopardizing our children’s future.”
Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization

“Wowzers! This is FANTASTIC. Thanks so much for sharing it. Your visual essay clearly articulates the risks of NOT acting. Policy analysts struggle to convey what you have so clearly expressed.” Eli van der Giessen, David Suzuki Foundation

About the Artist:

Franke James is a Canadian artist and writer who blogs at MyGreenConscience.com (www.frankejames.com). She is also an entertaining and persuasive advocate for the environment. In 2007 James battled Toronto City Hall for the right to build a “green driveway” and won. She has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University. James’ environmental essays have been featured in newspapers, TV, radio, books and online.

Web links:

Dear Prime Minister visual letter
Franke James’ bio

Contact information:

Franke James, MFA
Email: franke@frankejames.com
Website: MyGreenConscience.com
(resolves to: https://www.frankejames.com)
Tel: (416) 256-9166