KC FreeThinkers shed their clothes to "Keep Winter Cold"
The KC Free Thinkers -- a group of atheists, agnostics and humanists -- gained some notoriety when they erected a provocative billboard in Overland Park last October. Saturday, they're employing a different attention-grabbing tactic: taking off their clothes. But this frigid baptism has got nothing to do with God.
This weekend marks a national day of action to raise awareness about global warming. It started in 2005, when the Maryland-based Chesapeake Climate Action Network got 20 environmental activists to hop into the frigid Chesapeake Bay for its first annual Polar Bear Plunge. The effort raised eyebrows among the comfy, heater-hugging public. It also raised $12,000 to fund the group's earth-cooling advocacy. Last year, 230 people took the plunge and raised $90,000. This year, they're hoping dozens of cities copy-cat their crazy notion.
In Kansas City, Iggy Dybal picked up the idea. The Free Thinkers, he says, are involved in a number of outreach projects, from feeding the hungry to planting trees. Always on the look-out for ways to lessen his environmental footprint -- be it changing his light bulbs, driving a hybrid or keeping his lawn in check with an electric mower -- he thought jumping into a lake in genital-shrinking temperatures would be an interesting way to get global warming on the public radar.
"We are free thinkers who are progressive, fairly liberal folks," he says. "Our thing is we need to move it along, move ahead with science and education, with solving the issues of the world. And we believe global climate change is one of those opportunities for us to unite. The technology already exists to start to get rid of fossil fuel dependency. We just need everybody to get on board."
At least a half-dozen Free Thinkers and their cheerleaders plan to wade into the water at Weatherby Lake, north of Parkville, Mo., at 3:30 p.m Saturday. The group will continue the science-loving fellowship with dinner and drinks once their nipples have thawed. "And we might have some Canadian whiskey to warm us up before we jump," Dybal adds dryly. -- Carolyn Szczepanski
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