Well friends, it’s been quite a ride, and it’s far from over. But we’re in no mood for snarky analysis. If you’re desperate for it, here’s a debunking of Trump’s comments yesterday, here’s a piece about how the Trump waived conflict of interest restrictions for swamp lobbyists they hired, here’s documentation of the millions of dollars fossil fuel companies have given the senators who pushed Trump to pull out and here’s an explanation of why Trump really pulled out (to troll) where literally every paragraph ends with a great kicker.
Instead of our regular sass, indulge us, please, for a moment. We’d like to get a little personal. (Well, third person plural, anyway.)
Like many of you, we’ve dedicated a lot of time on Paris. Years of work went into laying the groundwork for the global agreement. Getting reporters familiar with the nuances of international diplomacy, working with scientists to quantify emission scenarios, helping grassroots groups and frontline communities tell their stories, and so much more. It’s been a core part of our work, and our lives, for years.
All, it feels, for nothing. Cast aside by a con man who got conned.
But did we fail? Have we lost? Was our effort, the community’s, the scientists’, the media’s, was it all a waste?
Maybe it was. But we tried. We poured our hearts and souls and brains into this work, day after day after day. Long hours connecting with scientists and reporters all over the world, so many weekends responding to one baseless attack after another, so many nights spent trying not to think about the fact that if we don’t do our job right, the only thing at stake is the long term suitability of the planet for sustaining life. No biggie. No stress. The weight of the world totally isn’t on our shoulders. (At least we share that burden with so many wonderful people.)
But unfortunately, there is little that could be done to stop fossil fuel companies from funding politicians to do their bidding. There’s little more we can do to convince Murdoch (and now Mercer) media to tell the truth about the climate, no matter how many times we point out their lies. And it takes more than a few years to undo the damage of decades of concerted efforts by the Koch brothers and others to politicize and delegitimize science and evidence in the eyes of conservatives, swayed by deceptively simple talking points.
So excuse us while we take some time to lament the unraveling of what we’ve spent years building. We’re sure you’re doing the same. This is certainly a setback, but not the end of the line. The fight continues, as it has and as it will.
With that, we’ll leave you for the weekend with a message we desperately need to hear, and one you probably could stand to hear as well: It’s not your fault.
It’s not your fault.
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