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Climate change and a need to “do something” are driving forces behind former London poet laureate Tom Cull’s decision to pursue the Green Party’s federal nomination for London-Fanshawe.

“You can worry about something, you can complain about something, or you can get involved in actually changing things,” said 46-year-old Cull, who currently teaches writing and creative writing at Western University.

Transitioning towards a carbon-free economy and giving serious consideration to what the scientific community says about climate change are some of his top priorities.

“The Green Party is not turning away from these issues, but turning towards them and facing them directly,” he said.

A few years ago, he and his partner created the grassroots river clean-up group, dubbed Antler River Rally, to promote citizen engagement, direct action, and protection of the river’s health.

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He tells 980 CFPL he’s been mulling over an attempt at politics for a while, motivated by long-standing concern for the environment, threats of global climate change, and environmental degradation.

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But the Green Party of Canada isn’t just a one-topic party, he added. The party’s position on election reform, social justice, implementing a universal wage, and creating stable non-precarious employment, resonates with Cull.

“The Greens are consensus builders. They don’t whip their votes, so I can speak my mind as I run this campaign,” he said.

“I’ve been working on the community level for a long time, but the one thing I’ve noticed is the work we do on a community level has to be supported upstream. At the larger federal level, we need to be working with and supporting initiatives that are [addressing] the dire futures we’re looking at. That’s what I offer.”

If Cull gets the nomination — he’s uncontested so far — he’ll be running for a federal seat against Ward 1 Coun. and Conservative candidate Michael Van Holst, and NDP candidate Lindsay Mathyssen. Her mother, Irene Mathyssen, is the current NDP MP for London-Fanshawe and has said she won’t be seeking re-election.