A recent diary by Pakalolo warns that billions of people will be displaced by climate extremes by 2050. A comment in the same diary by marsanges warns us that “All generations going forwards have to plan on and expect to live with less, get less, be able to afford less.”
This prompted me to create the title of this Climate Brief. The climate deniers will most likely hang on to their delusions beyond when they are standing on the roof of the flooded house waving the helicopter off. The rest of us need to follow Greta Thunberg’s and marsanges’ exhortations to change now if we expect to save ourselves and future generations.
How do we manage that? It's going to take six months to get my solar panels installed from signing the contract to having the first collection and conversion of solar to electricity. I’m off to an EV car show tomorrow and aside from winning a raffle for a Tesla, the likelihood of my getting an electric vehicle is remote. Too little, too late.
But there are tools. I remember the days of BDS, boycott, divest, and sanctions, to end apartheid in South Africa. Here’s an article written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2014 [seven years ago!!!] about boycotting climate destroying companies. Emphasis mine.
There are many ways that all of us can fight against climate change: by not wasting energy, for instance. But these individual measures will not make a big enough difference in the available time.
People of conscience need to break their ties with corporations financing the injustice of climate change. We can, for instance, boycott events, sports teams and media programming sponsored by fossil fuel energy companies. We can demand that the advertisements of energy companies carry health warnings. We can encourage more of our universities and municipalities and cultural institutions to cut their ties to the fossil fuel industry. We can organize car-free days and build broader societal awareness. We can ask our religious communities to speak out.
We can actively encourage energy companies to spend more of their resources on the development of sustainable energy products, and we can reward those companies that do so by using their products. We can press our governments to invest in renewable energy and stop subsidizing fossil fuels. Where possible, we can install our own solar panels and water heaters.
We cannot necessarily bankrupt the fossil fuel industry. But we can take steps to reduce its political clout, and hold those who rake in the profits accountable for cleaning up the mess.
And the good news is that we don’t have to start from scratch. Young people across the world have already begun to do something about it. The fossil fuel divestment campaign is the fastest growing corporate campaign of its kind in history.
This graph shows the increasing number of institutions divesting from the fossil fuel industry. That’s encouraging!
According to Wikipedia
Fossil fuel divestment campaigns emerged on campuses in the United States in 2011 with students urging their administrations to turn endowment investments in the fossil fuel industry into investments in clean energy and communities most impacted by climate change.
An extensive list of companies that support fossil fuel exploration and production shows the US and Canada with the most organizations.
On the plus side, here is a link to groups involved in divestment campaigns. They need our support.
At the local level, creating signage to focus on fossil fuel companies is scary. I can think of three companies that are within a few blocks of where I live. Do I have the courage to call them out? Probably not! But I can make a sign to encourage my neighbors to GO FOSSIL FREE!
This month I have made some strides in my own little world to changing the things I can.
- I’m turning off the shower when I’m soaping and turning it on for rinsing.
- I have turned the thermostat two degrees lower than I had it last winter.
- My son and I are attending the EV car show. He just bought a Honda hybrid vehicle. I’ll buy a raffle ticket to support the Rogers Environmental Center in Sherborne NY and maybe win a Tesla! Hahaha!
- I took Amtrak to NYC to see the retina specialist (after driving to the rail station) and took public transportation in the city.
- I ordered two shipments of fruits and veggies from MisfitsMarket.com.
- I’m eating vegetarian meals, but still hooked on eggs and dairy. Cutting back though. It’s a work in progress.
- i wrote a letter to my senators and representatives (state and federal) advocating for solar installations.
I brainstormed some actions we can take based on Pakalolo and marsanges’ warnings for what we need to do or at least think about during the month of October to save ourselves from extinction. It’s a challenge to do the right thing even though it may be costly and uncomfortable. Let’s see who is up to the challenge.
1. Stop the commute. If you can’t walk or bike to work or work virtually, move closer to work or find a job closer to home.
2. If you live in a gated community, give your house to the gardener or housekeeper so they have a shorter commute and move to an area where you can walk or bike to where you need to go.
3. If you earn more than $40,000 a year forgo flying and take public transportation. And purchase an EV that is charged with solar power.
4. If you still eat meat, give it up.
5. If you feel the need to wear the latest style, make the sacrifice to the climate and shop at consignment or second-hand stores.
6. If you drive a vehicle, mow the lawn, blow the snow or whack the weeds with a gas-powered machine, convert your tools and vehicles to electric or rechargeable battery power.
7. If you have not written a letter to your elected representatives this week, write it and repeat every week. Even if they are doing all the right things, your representatives need to hear from you.
8. Put pressure on carbon extraction companies to leave it in the ground! That is one topic for those letters to our legislators.
9. Support the groups involved in divestment campaigns linked above.
Many of these actions take time and money and won’t immediately solve the urgency of the climate situation. So starting now, let’s keep brainstorming how we can stop the unending crawl toward extinction.
P.S. It won’t be necessary to discuss in the comments about how unrealistic these actions are. I know it already! I’m just priming the pump of you readers who have more practical ideas.
Don’t be a Mitch, be a Greta!
Here’s some music to accompany the Poll.
The 1975
The writers in Climate Brief work to keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking world climate crisis news while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts.