You can make a difference to the hurt being caused by climate chaos and the great extinction event in your town or your city! How? Reuse, repurpose, and recycle this information. You can push your local politicians to act. It will make a difference!
This is the letter for week 121 of a weekly climate strike that went on for 4 years in front of San Francisco City Hall, beginning early March 2019. For more context, see this story. For an annotated table of contents of the topics for all the strike letters, see this story. Meanwhile…
STRIKE FOR THE PLANET
It’s waaaaay too late in the game for ego.
This week’s topic: To survive we have to work the problem
Which means it’s long past time to listen to and act on the science.
“Science? Why?”
Science depends on reproducability, full disclosure of all information and data, extensive peer review, actively looking for faults in explanations and procedures, and extensive testing of hypotheses before they are provisionally accepted. This way mistakes get found, ideas are built upon, insights feed other insights, global collaborations are common, and major efforts can be brought into focus to produce large-scale results. A great example of this are the IPCC Reports.1 Other examples abound, from the space programs to the endangered species successes (though those gains now appear to have been temporary2) to the cleaning of rivers (though they are now dying from different pollutants3), and more.
This process is how the periodic table was created, how the Covid vaccines were made, how we got planes to fly.
This is how we will survive, if we are going to survive.
“But I do politics, not science,” you say
Your job has always been to follow the science, and to use your political skill to implement the science, and it’s absurdly obvious now that that’s the case.4, 5, 6, 7 Really simply put, if you ignore the science, SF dies.8, 9, 10, 11 People are already dying because of ignoring the science. If you need added incentive, doing the right things science-wise is also acting in the most humanitarian way possible, it’s community nurturing12, ecologically, socially and economically just13, 14, 15, and pro-survival.16, 17
“So what’s the problem? Be succinct.”
Sorry to disappoint, but you’ve left things so long, that the problems are legion, difficult, and increasingly deadly. For example:
- extreme heat killing people at work18
- extreme heat killing the biosphere19
- the megadrought20
- the dying ocean21
- rising sea levels22
- and so much more.
“How do you expect me to ‘work the problem?’”
You can start by admitting that you were wrong in past actions and present inaction, and then convince your constituents that acting is in everyone’s best interests while you act on the science to save SF.
“But in politics if you admit you were wrong you’re seen as weak”
Really? I don’t see that happening to Dr. Faucci. True, he’s a scientist but he’s working in politics quite a lot lately. On the other hand, not admitting he was wrong doesn’t seem to be doing Cuomo’s career any good.23 And admitting you were wrong now and taking action to fix it will count in your favor when you get sued for not protecting SF from environmental catastrophes, as will most assuredly happen.24, 25
Will everyone back you if you admit a mistake and work to fix it? No. But you will be supported. This is in contrast to what happens if you know about issues in advance and not only don’t address them but actively take actions to make them worse.26
Not admitting you’re wrong kills
How many deaths and injuries do you need before you admit you cave to corporate lobbyists over all other interests?27 How long will it take you to get some courage and act?
The problem isn’t people bothering you; the problem is physics
Physics doesn’t care about your agenda or your donors’ agendas. Are your donors’ pockets deep enough to pay for you to ignore climate change?28, 29, 30, 31
Do your job
The costs of climate change are huge.32, 33, 34, 35, 36 Damage is already being done and it’s going to get worse.37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 That’s why you have to fight for the people of SF now while it’s still possible to accomplish anything. Because you’re in this mess, too. The only way out is to fight.
FOOTNOTES
1. “Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report”. IPCC. 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/ar6-syr/.
2. Damian Carrington. “Earth’s sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn”. The Guardian. 10 July 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn.
3. Scott Johnson. “About a third of US rivers contaminated with agricultural runoff”. Ars Technica. 8 April 2013. https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/about-a-third-of-us-rivers-contaminated-with-agricultural-runoff/.
4. Adam Vaughan. “Will the IPCC report help focus politicians’ minds on climate change?” NewScientist. 16 August 2021. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2287132-will-the-ipcc-report-help-focus-politicians-minds-on-climate-change/.
5. Brady Dennis and Sarah Kaplan. “Humans have pushed the climate into ‘unprecedented’ territory, landmark U.N. report finds”. The Washington Post. 10 August 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/08/09/ipcc-climate-report-global-warming-greenhouse-gas-effect/.
6. Damian Carrington. “Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney”. The Guardian. 13 October 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-ignoring-climate-crisis-bankrupt-mark-carney-bank-england-governor.
7. Andrew Jeong. “Major California hydroelectric plant forced to shut down as severe drought continues”. The Washington Post. 6 August 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/06/california-drought-oroville-powerplant/.
8. Simon Osborne. “Greta Thunberg erupts at politicians for ignoring climate crisis in warning to Joe Biden”. Express. 22 April 2021. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1426840/greta-thunberg-news-joe-biden-climate-change-fossil-fuel-carbon-emissions-earth-day-summit.
9. Josh Marcus. “Why sea-level rise will wipe out billions in waterfront Silicon Valley tech properties”. Independent. 29 July 2021. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rising-sea-levels-climate-change-silicon-valley-b1892592.html.
10. Abraham Lustgarten. “Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration”. ProPublica. 15 September 2020. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-will-force-a-new-american-migration.
11. Elizabeth Fernandez. “Climate Change Will Give Rise to More Cancers”. UCSF. 4 November 2020. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/11/418976/climate-change-will-give-rise-more-cancers.
12. Adam Mahoney. “Car culture disproportionately kills Black Americans. The pandemic made things worse.” Grist. 7 July 2021. https://grist.org/transportation/racial-disparities-traffic-accidents-black-americans-covid/.
13. Aliya Uteuova and Andrew Witherspoon. “Too hot to work: the dire impact of extreme heat on outdoor US jobs”. The Guardian. 17 August 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/17/outdoor-jobs-us-heat-impacts.
14. Dan Charles. “What’s The Best Way To Help The Climate And People, Too? Home Improvement”. NPR. 22 June 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1003382636/home-improvement-could-be-a-1st-step-toward-climate-justice.
15. Jena Brooker “Disasters aren’t natural — they’re political, a new book argues”. Grist. 16 August 2021. https://grist.org/extreme-weather/disasterology-samantha-montano-disasters-are-political/.
16. Tom Bell. “Our survival depends on fighting climate change”. High Country News. 28 September 2012. https://www.hcn.org/wotr/our-survival-depends-on-fighting-climate-change.
17. Maanvi Singh. “‘Fighting for the survival of planet Earth’: Democrats tackle climate crisis in town hall - as it happened”. The Guardian. 5 September 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/sep/04/trump-news-live-latest-updates-today-republicans-democrats-2020?page=with:block-5d7058c88f081f0141f4dea5.
18. Umair Irfan. “Extreme heat is killing American workers”. Vox. 21 July 2021. https://www.vox.com/22560815/heat-wave-worker-extreme-climate-change-osha-workplace-farm-restaurant
19. Ajwah. “Heatwaves Are Killing Off Sea Life In Billions - Destroying The Ecosystem”. ENVPK. 16 August 2021. https://www.envpk.com/heatwaves-are-killing-off-sea-life-in-billions-destroying-the-ecosystem/.
20. Grace Kay. “Take a look at some of the lakes in California that have been swallowed up by the ‘megadrought,’ hitting record low levels. Business Insider. 11 August 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-look-at-lakes-that-dried-up-california-drought-2021-6?op=1.
21. Joe McCarthy and Erica Sánchez. “87% of Our Oceans Are Damaged By Human Impact, Report Warns”. Global Citizen. 26 July 2018. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/87-of-worlds-oceans-are-dying-climate-change/.
22. Ida Mojadad. “What Islais Creek tells us about rising sea levels in San Francisco”. San Francisco Examiner. 18 June 2021. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/what-islais-creek-tells-us-about-rising-sea-levels-in-san-francisco/.
23. Dareh Gregorian and Teaganne Finn. “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns after sexual harassment allegations”. NBC News. 10 August 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-resigns-n1260310.
24. Jennifer Klein. “Potential Liability of Governments for Failure to Prepare for Climate Change”. Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. August 2015. https://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/climate-change/klein_-_liability_of_governments_for_failure_to_prepare_for_climate_change.pdf.
25. Sandra Laville. “Governments and firms in 28 countries sued over climate crisis - report” The Guardian. 4 July 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/governments-and-firms-28-countries-sued-climate-crisis-report.
26. Like, for example, closing off the Great Highway to everyone but cars or threatening to put cars back on JFK Drive or the myriad environmental wimp-outs and walk-backs you all do on a regular basis to appease the privileged and wealthy at the expense of the poor, families, frontline communities and peoples, and the environment.
27. Roger Rudick. “It’s Lobbyists and Electeds Marring our Streets and Public Process, Not Activists”. StreetsBlog SF. 10 August 2021. https://sf.streetsblog.org/2021/08/10/its-lobbyists-and-electeds-marring-our-streets-and-public-process-not-activists/.
28. Eric Roston. “The Massive Cost of Not Adapting to Climate Change”. Bloomberg. 9 September 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-09/the-massive-cost-of-not-adapting-to-climate-change.
29. Starre Vartan. “The Cost of Tackling Climate Change Is Less Than the Cost of Doing Nothing”. Treehugger. 21 April 2020. https://www.treehugger.com/tackling-climate-change-will-help-economy-when-we-need-it-most-4865281.
30. Andrew Hoffman. “Rising Insurance Costs May Convince People That Climate Change Risks Are Real”. Huffpost. 1 November 2018. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/insurance-costs-climate-change_b_5bd0a8d0e4b04d1f9a5582d9.
31. Sébastien Roblin. “The U.S. military is terrified of climate change. It’s done more damage than Iranian missiles.” NBC News. 20 September 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/u-s-military-terrified-climate-change-it-s-done-more-ncna1240484.
32. Harper’s Index. March 2021. https://harpers.org/archive/2021/03/.
33. Harper’s Index. March 2021. https://harpers.org/archive/2021/03/.
34. Dana Nuccitelli. “New report finds costs of climate change impacts often underestimated”. Yale Climate Connections. 18 November 2019. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/11/new-report-finds-costs-of-climate-change-impacts-often-underestimated/.
35. Rebecca Hersher and Nathan Rott. “What Are The Costs Of Climate Change?” NPR. 16 September 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913693655/what-are-the-costs-of-climate-change.
36. Samantha Fields. “Insurance increasingly unaffordable as climate change brings more disasters”. Marketplace. 31 August 2020. https://www.marketplace.org/2020/08/31/insurance-increasingly-unaffordable-as-climate-change-brings-more-disasters/.
37. Matt McGrath. “Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months”. BBC News. 24 July 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48964736.
38. Heather Smith. “Climate Change: Even Worse Than We Thought”. Sierra. 8 October 2018. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/climate-change-even-worse-we-thought-ipcc-report.
39. Michael Grose and Julie Arblaster. “Just how hot will it get this century? It’s worse than we thought”. Phys Org. 18 May 2020. https://phys.org/news/2020-05-hot-century-worse-thought.html.
40. Amelia Urry. “The scientist who first warned of climate change says it’s much worse than we thought”. Grist. 22 March 2016. https://grist.org/science/the-scientist-who-first-warned-of-climate-change-says-its-much-worse-than-we-thought/.
41. Rafi Letzter. “Today’s Climate Change Is Worse Than Anything Earth Has Experienced in the Past 2,000 Years”. Live Science. 25 July 2019. https://www.livescience.com/66027-climate-change-different.html.
42. John D. Sutter. “Vanishing”. CNN. Accessed 30 June 2020. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2016/12/specials/vanishing/.
43. Peter Castagno. “Biodiversity Loss Worst in Human History — 1 Million Animal Species Risk Extinction”. Citizen Truth. 6 May 2019. https://citizentruth.org/biodiversity-loss-worst-in-human-history-1-million-animal-species-risk-extinction/.
44. Kristen Callihan. “Earth’s Currently Ongoing Sixth Mass Extinction Is Worse Than We Thought”. OutwardOn. 7 August 2017. https://www.outwardon.com/article/earths-currently-ongoing-sixth-mass-extinction-event-is-worse-than-we-thought/.
45. Lauren Frayer. “Scores Are Feared Dead In India After Himalayan Glacier Breaks Away”. NPR. 7 February 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/07/965046888/scores-are-feared-dead-in-india-after-himalayan-glacier-breaks-away. It’s now looking like it was a landslide which makes the situation worse.
46. Zoya Teirstein. “2020 was the hottest year on record. We’ll remember it as one of the century’s coldest.” Grist. 16 January 2021. https://grist.org/climate/2020-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-well-remember-it-as-one-of-the-centurys-coldest/.