Blog – Page 10 – Russ Vernon-Jones

Only a Global Green New Deal Will Work

July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 russvj 0 Comments International

It will cost the nations of the world roughly $73 trillion to transition to completely renewable energy by 2050, according to a report from Stanford University. The expense will pay for itself in under 7 years. The shift to a zero-carbon global economy will also create 28.6 million more full-time jobs than if nations continued their use of fossil fuels at current levels. After the payback period trillions of dollars will be saved annually.

Only about 10% of the $73 trillion will be required to transition the United States. So that leaves a lot of money that needs to be spent outside the U.S., much of it in poor, developing nations. These nations don’t have the resources to make those investments themselves, but they are critical to stopping global warming.

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Biden, Enthusiasm, and the Future of the World

July 14, 2020September 16, 2022 russvj 4 Comments

Throughout my writing of this blog I’ve been exploring connections between climate change and racial justice. I see them as deeply connected and I’m passionate about both. This post will focus on a connection I’ve not mentioned before — both require that Donald Trump be defeated in the presidential election in the United States this year. The re-election of Trump would be a horrible affirmation of racism and its vicious effects, and would likely doom the entire world to the horrors of runaway catastrophic climate change.

I don’t think we can get through this election season with simply opposing Donald Trump. I think we need to get behind Joe Biden and support and work for his election with our passion, our time, and our money.

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“How to Be an Antiracist”

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 russvj 3 Comments Race and racism

I’ve started reading Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to Be an Antiracist.” For Kendi, there’s no such thing as “non-racist.” If an idea or policy creates racial inequities or allows them to continue, then it is racist. If an idea or policy produces or sustains greater equity between racial groups then it is antiracist.

Kendi has found that antiracist and racist ideas can exist simultaneously in the mind of any person — White, Black, or any other race, including himself. In his words: “The good news is that racist and antiracist are not fixed identities. We can be a racist one minute and an antiracist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what—not who—we are.”

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Is This the Moment?

June 16, 2020June 23, 2020 russvj 1 Comment Economic system, Race and racism

Specific action steps to show up for Black Lives, how racial justice and climate justice are connected, and the possibility that this is the moment when the world turns and creates a just, equitable, and sustainable society.

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3 Things We Can Do About Racial Injustice

June 2, 2020July 13, 2021 russvj 2 Comments Race and racism

Whatever our feelings about the present situation, the reality is that racial injustice as been a major feature of the Unites States from long before we were a nation, right through to the present. No attempt to build a sustainable, just, healthy society can go forward successfully without making dismantling racial injustice central.

I’m often asked by white people, “What can we do?” There are many answers to this question.1 Here are three that are close to my heart today. Each of them I learned from African Americans who have guided and corrected me.

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Some Successes to Share

May 19, 2020June 26, 2020 russvj 0 Comments Hope, Talking climate

We need some success stories to share as we listen to people about their thoughts and feelings about climate change and express our commitment to doing whatever is necessary to stop climate change. Here are a few that have been helpful to me.

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Piano Man

May 5, 2020August 29, 2021 russvj 7 Comments Feelings, Hope

A nurse who is a friend of my partner had an amazing experience recently (and is amazing herself). She described it this way:

I woke up this morning singing “Piano Man.” At work I cared for a patient named Ted – a 60 year old guy who was really sick with COVID pneumonia. They were trying not to intubate him and he was on that edge….

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Earth Day Is for Being with the Climate Movement

April 20, 2020January 24, 2021 russvj 0 Comments

April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, was gearing up to be the biggest world-wide day of climate rallies and protests ever. Organizers from New York to Nairobi to the Philippines saw this as a pivotal moment for the climate movement and were planning to get millions of people into the streets to demand action on climate change. Then came the COVID-19 crisis and physical distancing. That didn’t stop the organizers, they shifted quickly to create a 3-day online experience called “Earth Day Live”, for April 22, 23, and 24.

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A Future of More Fear or More Connection?

April 7, 2020January 12, 2021 russvj 2 Comments Feelings

I walked through my town a few days ago ….
I tell this story because something I read got me thinking about what our mindsets will be when this crisis eases and we are again able to have closer contact with each other. We could come out of this fixated on the potential transmission of infectious diseases, with a constant low-level fear or suspicion of each other. Or we could come out of this feeling triumphant and connected – glad that together we behaved in ways that kept far more people alive, that our caring about each other was real, and with a new sense of all being in it together. We could come out with greater confidence that we can have a similar united front against climate change and work together to build a future that works for everyone.

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Climate Change and Coronavirus Are Related

March 24, 2020September 16, 2022 russvj 1 Comment Hope, Individual action

COVID-19 has certainly claimed our attention, and appropriately so. I hope you are healthy, following the guidance of the CDC, and finding ways to connect with people from a distance. While the virus may have pushed climate change out of the front of our minds, I think there’s plenty to be gained by thinking about these two crises together.

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Retrospective – 12 Starters for “Talking Climate” with Everyone

March 10, 2020September 16, 2022 russvj 0 Comments Individual action, Movement building, Talking climate

This month, March 2020, marks the one-year anniversary of my blog, “Love, justice, and climate change … I know you can make a difference.” – 25 posts in all. Whether it’s because you have a busy life, or because you only recently started reading this blog, you likely haven’t read all of them. This post provides a retrospective of the first 12 posts (more to come later) — an annotated table of contents, if you will. This will let you see what’s there and perhaps go back and read ones that are of special interest to you.

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A Battle for Your Mind

February 25, 2020September 16, 2022 russvj 0 Comments Feelings, Individual action

I used to think that if people of good will had more information about climate change, they would all be moved to take action to stop the climate crisis. I don’t think that any more. Why are some people moved to take action as they learn about climate change and some are not? One key variable is what perspective you hold about whether you believe you can make a difference, and whether or not you see yourself as significant, or potentially significant. If you believe you can make some difference you are much more likely to take action.

Don’t we all have this problem, to some extent? Don’t we all have days when we feel engaged, connected to others, and glad to be part of the action; and other days when it seems like nothing we do matters and the problems are all too big for us?

Do you have a choice?

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How to Talk with People about Climate Change and Why It Matters – Approach #1

February 11, 2020March 9, 2020 russvj 3 Comments Movement building, Talking climate

When I was a boy I lived in my grandparents house with my mother and brother. My grandfather was not very involved in my upbringing, but he did want things to go his way. If he told you something and you seemed not to understand or not to agree, his response was to say the same thing to you again, in an angry yell. While I often complied rather than get in more trouble, I have to say that his loudness and wrath never made me more open-minded to his point of view.

How do we change people’s minds or get them more engaged? How do we get the public as a whole, or the government, to take more action on climate change? How do we turn things around in the midst of this climate crisis?