San Francisco Climate Strike — Introduction
This is the first post in a series about my 4 year climate strike in front of SF’s City Hall. A link to this and the next post will be included in all subsequent posts, as this one gives the context for the strike and the next will provide an annotated table of contents to the strike letters for reference.
What Was The Goal of My Climate Strike?
To have SF take action. I have no access to international decision makers or organizations, and am far from the national centers of political power. My national political representatives have a considerable amount of sway (DiFi, Pelosi, Kamala Harris at the start of this, and de León now) but national politics is operating far too slowly for the needs of the moment.
CA state politicians and political powers are seemingly easier to access than our fed electeds, while actually being harder to see, and more clearly wholly owned by monied interests — usually agribusiness. Though my state reps have relatively decent environmental records, one is much more focused on housing and the other on state finances. The governor talks a good talk but is actively trying to destroy northern CA’s hydrosphere and listens to only a few people (and never to “the people”). So they aren’t incredibly useful for environmental action, and Newsom is actually harmful.
But the city? SF is both a city and a county; our pols can make decisions and implement them without a lot of legislative processes. Actions taken at the city level have immediate impact on our lives. Because we’re operating at a smaller scale than state or national, actions at the city-level tend to be cheaper, easier to implement, and quicker to enact. And because I can walk into city hall and talk to the people making the decisions, it’s a lot easier to be heard. Yes, local politicians are purchasable, but they’re easier to harangue, too.
How Did The Climate Strike Work?
On Wednesday mornings, I would arrive at the Civic Center entrance to City Hall at 8:30 a.m., put up my signs, chalk out the day’s message on the sidewalk, open up my parasol or umbrella (depending on the weather), and watch the supervisors and workers arrive.
I had a rule for myself that, while I was outside, I’d talk to anyone who talked to me. I would not actively try to engage anyone in conversation who I didn’t already know except to ask the time or if there was something they needed to know (you dropped an item, you’ll get towed if you park here — stuff like that). I came to know a fair number of people this way; the city hall custodians were uniformly wonderful, informative, and underpaid, a few of the sheriffs were chatty, and some people who were on the edge of homelessness were really interesting political informants. A number of supervisors would stop and talk to me before they entered for the day. And a few aides I got to know always gave me a heads up about interesting things being talked about or in process.
At 10 a.m., after most were already in the building, I would pack up my signs, fold up my umbrella or parasol, and go inside. There I would visit the mayor’s office, then each of the 11 supervisors, then the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning, sometimes the Youth Commission, and then I’d (pre-pandemic) go to Market St to the SF Environment office. At each place, after the first week, I’d leave a letter with that week’s ask, admonition, information, or reminder. I’d talk to anyone I could talk to, hitting on the main point I was trying to drive home that week in our conversation. I’d answer questions, take contact information, etc.
Then I’d email the same letter to all of the above plus a number of local environmental organizations, environmentalists, interested parties, and news outlets.
Why Am I Posting the Strike Letters?
Because
- what I did is replicable in other jurisdictions,
- the letters contain a ton of research that should be put to use by others, and
- shame is the only tool available to me to keep pushing the SF pols to actually act.
I learned a lot about SF politics over 4 years, more than I ever imagined there was to learn, and the main thing I learned is that shame and money are the only two drivers that will make the SF political establishment act. I know this isn’t true for every municipality, but SF is nothing if not unique. Because I don’t have the kind of money the SF powers-that-be listen to, I’m trying a more public go of it here to see if shame can drive them to even a little action.
A Note On Nomenclature
I’m referring to it as a climate strike but it was actually called the Strike for the Planet since the current Great Extinction Event was always part of the strike and the letters.
A Note On References
All references were accurate to the best of my ability at the time they were written. Because the strike covers 4 years time, there have been changes. Some people referenced have been replaced and some died of Covid. The science info is usually more dire now. A number of references are behind paywalls (notably The Washington Post) but the majority are not.
