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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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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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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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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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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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.
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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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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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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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?
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The economic system that prevails in the United States and globally has caused, and continues to cause, the climate crisis. That system depends on racism for its very existence. Therefore we must address racism if we want to stop climate change.
How does racism keep the current inequitable system in place?
Five ways that racism maintains the system and works against our efforts to stop climate change:
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What do we want? What should the climate movement be trying to accomplish?
How we see the current situation affects what we are trying for. It affects what we think are the most important things to do and how we go about getting them done.
We may see our current situation like this: vast use of fossil fuels has caused such high emissions of greenhouse gases that the climate is changing in ways that are disastrous for humans and other species. The best solutions are to dramatically increase the use of solar and wind power and to adopt some better practices with regard to food, farming and forests.
This description and its implied solutions are certainly accurate. All of the above is true. However, ….
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I learned this week that “eco-anxiety” is the new term for many people’s reactions to the climate crisis. Experts are saying this is not an illness or disorder, but rather a normal, healthy response to the news that we have less than 11 years to make big changes worldwide, if we are to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Healthy or not, what do we do about the “eco-anxiety” — the fear, hopelessness, dread, and despair — we feel?
There are two key constructive remedies…
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