This is a recorded podcast between host Burt Dallas and Pat Finley, clerk of the Eco Justice Collaborative of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) and a former behavioral sciences professor.
Key Topics Covered:
Personal Climate Activism Journey
Pat traces their advocacy roots to childhood, earning the nickname “Crusader Rabbit.” Influenced by Paul Ehrlich, Rachel Carson, and the anti-Vietnam War movement, Pat grew frustrated with the fragmentation of protest movements — feeling they lacked coherence and systemic impact. Emergence of a Quaker Framework Becoming a Quaker ~35 years ago shaped Pat’s approach. The Emerge program at Radnor Meeting resonated for grounding climate action in values like empathy, mindfulness, and especially ecological integrity — defined as not just honesty, but wholeness.
Community Building & the “Eco-Friendly Households” Project
Pat describes an attempt to organize small groups within meetings and churches to work together on reducing their carbon footprint — a model that had success at Old Haverford but has been difficult to sustain. Political Engagement Pat argues strongly that disengagement from politics is choosing the status quo. Using the Davy Crockett story as a metaphor, they contend individual charity is insufficient — institutional and systemic action is necessary alongside personal effort.
Conservative/Liberal Divide
Pat discusses blocking a conservative cousin on Facebook after repeated hostile interactions, reflecting on the challenge of maintaining loving relationships across deep ideological divides — a core Quaker tension.
Climate Scenarios (Brian McLaren’s Life After Doom)
Pat outlines four possible futures: collapse avoidance, partial civilizational collapse, collapse with minimal survival, and total biospheric destruction. The first scenario (avoidance) is deemed no longer possible. Lifeboat Economy vs. Spaceship Earth Referencing Kenneth Boulding, Pat contrasts the “cowboy economy” (infinite frontier) with the lifeboat economy — wealthy individuals preparing to save themselves rather than addressing collective collapse. The Lugano Report is cited as a provocative (if disturbing) framing of elite thinking.
Personal Complicity & Spiritual Response
Both participants reflect on their own fossil fuel use and the importance of acknowledging complicity without paralysis. They cite Lee Hall’s example — giving away her car and advocating for public transit — as a model. Integrity,
Compassion & Love as Foundation
The conversation closes with a discussion of compassion (personal and systemic), the interconnectedness of Quaker testimonies (peace, simplicity, justice, equality), and love as the foundational platform for all of it. Pat adds reverence and generosity as values worth adding to the Emerge framework.