A year ago this January I sat on the wood pew in the back row of my church for an evening presentation that changed my life. I wasn’t there to hear the usual religious message. I was there to hear Tim DeChristopher. Tim had gotten himself into a bit of trouble trying to stop some oil and gas leases in my home state of Utah. I was intrigued why he risked so much to stop a few leases. Why did this guy care? I sought the answers to my questions and it changed my life forever.
I realized something horrible has happened. There has been a shameful disconnect and I am just as guilty as the next person. I knew that the environment was really important. So important that other really important people are taking care of all that really important environmental stuff; right?
Wrong.
Since that night I immersed myself in environmental policy and science. I attended the Power Shift Conference in Washington DC and paid very close attention to the climate change policy discussion. I marched in DC with Tim DeChristopher, Wendell Barry, Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams, Robert Kennedy Junior and James Hansen. They are all really important people in the climate change movement but the masses must mobilize to put the brakes accelerating CO2 levels. I thought that people getting arrested protesting climate change were all nuts or overreacting or just misguided. I was wrong.
Call your senator and congressperson and tell them you are very concerned and you want to know what they are really doing to stop this climate catastrophe. Ask them about the McDermott bill. Take a hard look at the priorities of the company you work for and start asking questions.
If you truly love people you will understand and communicate what is at stake. Then do more than make phone calls; Attend rallies, write letters, consider organizing your own action. Acts of civil disobedience are not only a consideration. Civil disobedience is called for when lives are at stake.
When you shop spend your dollar on products with little packaging and buy from companies who have sustainable product production. Reward ecologically-minded companies with your business. Take meaningful steps by taking to the streets and changing the way you live. Join in taking back a planet from the hands of madmen.
Survival is not negotiable.
Some websites with more information:
Wake up, Freak out, Get a Grip:
Wall Street Journal, the latest science
Greenpeace; a time comes when silence is betrayal
James Balog Extreme Ice Survey
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