At the beginning of the Union Climate Connectors campaign, we asked Connectors to email in stories about why they joined the campaign, and why finding a solution to the climate crisis is important to them.

We got about 150 responses, here are a few:

"A friend recommended it to me. I have always been interested in protecting our lovely planet and I am looking forward to learning and doing more to help and sharing with friends."Kerri, Kelmscott WA

"[I joined the campaign] because I coundn't live with myself if I did nothing to stop climate change and left a damaged world for my children. I am a member of a local area climate action group that has succeeded in getting 17 1 Kw solar arrays onto local roofs. I am convinced that ordinary people want to make a difference and will act accordingly if given a realistic opportunity. I think that both major parties have shut down real community discussion about climate change and so Union Climate Connectors is a great opportunity to open it up." Barry, Darlington WA

"I worked for a few years selling Green electricity products and through that saw An Inconvenient Truth. As it became more obvious that the science is telling us we are in real trouble, I knew that this is THE challenge of our generation. Nothing else is as important. The future of our species and all other species is at stake. The politicians in this country and around the world will not take action unless they know the people demand it. How can I not be involved?" Erik, Port Willunga SA

We found lots of people are particularly concerned about their kids and future generations:

"I look ahead to the legacy we are leaving our grandchildren and their children. I want them to be able to live in a world that gives them the same joys and opportunities that we have been fortunate enough to be able to take for granted." Mary, Berridale NSW.

"Largely because of my kids - they are certainly much more enviromentally aware than I ever was at there age (6 and 12). They have actively implented small changes at home and are always trying to come up with new ideas about what we can do at home, work and school to make a contribution, no matter how small." Joanne, Lyons ACT.

"I have worked in the diving industry, working out of the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef. When I first went diving, there was life everywhere and I couldn't get enough of it. Now lots of the places we used to go to have been bleached and it's heartbreaking to go there. Considering I've witnessed the place teeming with life before. I'm originally from Tasmania and before wood- chipping came and clear felled the forest and polluted the bay, I used to go out with my uncle and pull up crayfish. Now the whole bay is like a graveyard and you can't catch anything there. Now I've got kids, what's going to be left for them if we carry on like we are now?" David, Cairns QLD

"Each generation of citizens has stewardship in influencing environmental impact. I'm a student of history, it is obvious that what we do today affects what happens tomorrow. As a responsible parent, it is incumbent on me to pass on what we have so that future generations may also enjoy. My grand parents did this, my parents did this, I do this." Brett, Thorneside QLD

"My career in the fields of early childhood education and sustainable education have seen me work to combine these two interests. Teaching young children and educators about environmental sustainability is driven by concerns about the convergence of climate change, peak oil and water shortages. My hope for the future is that we wake and take action." Tracy, Dingley Village VIC

"I decided to become a Union Climate Connector because I'm genuinely concerned about global warming and the planet's future. I believe we all have a responsibility to the planet, regardless of who we are. In the West, particularly, we need to make changes to the way we use the earth's resources and we need to start living in a manner that will provide a sustainable future for the environment and for future generations. The time for talking about global warming is long gone - we can't afford to keep deferring action. We need to do something urgently." Jo, Balaclava VIC

"A union colleague of mine urged me to become a climate connector. However, I have been concerned for our deteriorating climate for years. I have recently taken up kayaking and want to be able to kayak for years to come. Call me old fashioned but I'd like to think that future generations will also be able to kayak as well." Joe, Kingswood NSW

And many Connectors are empowered by how unions can contribute to tackling climate change:

"As I sit in my comfortable government office, I have an almost constant analysis running in the back of my mind of how much climate change is already affecting us, other communities around the world and other life. I also realise there is much of what I do everyday that must change in some way if we are to avoid catastophic change of the world's ecosystems, food security, weather patterns, international relations etc. We can only do this by cooperative effort to develop new norms of behaving. I am trying to do this in my community but it also needs to be a front of brain priority for all of us in all our workplaces. This is why I have become a Union Climate Connector." Andy, Indooroopilly QLD

"Climate change has such major implications for our health and quality of life that we can't afford not to be involved. On the flip side the opportunities for Australia are massive if we embrace effective action. I was inspired by how the British unions have embraced climate change as a workplace issue and negotiated to have union delegates address environmental issues in the workplace in the same way that workplace health & safety is addressed." Mark, Morningside QLD

"The summers get hotter, the disasters more frequent. The politicians seem happy to fiddle while we burn. I think if we are going to get out of this train wreck, all of us have got to stop being passengers and get the train off the track it's on. I think unions have often been a part of the solution -- on apartheid, for justice for Aboriginal people, and saving the environment in the green bans and beyond. So its about time we got busy on the world's climate as well! Jerome, Fitzroy North VIC

"Passionate and committed to both social justice and the environment. Unions and doing something about climate change are a natural fit." David, Barton ACT