“The planet is well outside its comfort zone now. If the planet’s outside its comfort zone then perhaps we need to be a little bit outside our comfort zones in dealing with it.”
~Bill McKibben, speech at Northhampton Community College, April 19
Solidarity is an essential element of resistance. Without it, most of our political goals are out of reach. Since November 8, we have seen a tremendous and encouraging outpouring of solidarity, both in the streets and in the contributions of time, energy and money for a handful of candidates in special elections. In the three months since Inauguration Day, millions of people have shown up at thousands of protests, kicked off by the giant women’s marches in January. From town hall meetings to town square demonstrations, the blossoming of the resistance has been an antidote for many of us numbed by the election of a man unfit to lead a student council, much less a nation. Behind the scenes, a huge amount of fresh organizing is underway to challenge the reactionary policies and retire the politicians who have proved themselves bigoted and backward. Out of despair has emerged determination.
On the 100th miserable day of Donald J. Trump squatting in the White House—Saturday, April 29—the resistance will come together again at the Peoples Climate March in Washington, D.C., and scores of other American cities. (I will be joining with Kosacks and other climate marchers at the event in San Jose, California.)
The marches will focus attention on Pr*sident Trump’s catastrophic anti-climate agenda. From his approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to his proposed draconian budget cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency, from his appointments of climate science-deniers like Scott Pruitt at the EPA and Ryan Zinke at the Interior Department to his efforts to roll back vehicle mileage standards and to abolish the Clean Power Plan, from the removal of eco-data from government websites to the actual removal of the term “climate change” from official memoranda and emails, Trump has shown himself to be out of step not merely with the American people but with reality itself.
These marches are not mere opposition to Trump, however. He is no more out of step than the majority of elected Republicans. Every single one of the anti-environmental policies he is putting into place (or trying to) is rooted in think-tank white papers such as the Heritage Foundation’s, in the Republican Party Platform, in the fevered paragraphs of The Wall Street Journal’s science-challenged editorials and Op-eds, in the deluge of propaganda from the Heartland Institute and lying mouthpieces paid by Exxon-Mobil, and in the agendas of large numbers of Republican politicians at the federal and the state level, where the Koch brothers’ funding has achieved great successes. Trump is only a symptom of the disease.
The nationwide gatherings next Saturday are, as the Peoples Climate Movement labels them, marches for jobs, justice, and the climate. Despite our foes’ efforts to put those issues at odds with one another, they are inextricably entangled.
We must not permit the transformation of our climate-wrecking, fossil fuel-saturated civilization to be achieved by placing the burden for changing to a low-carbon future on those already afflicted by environmental injustices. We must take advantage of the transformation to reform or demolish the elements of our economic system that have created or exacerbated the climate crisis, economic injustice and the obliteration of jobs and job security.
That obviously will require not merely a few climate marches but a whole range of resistance and rebellion. To reiterate, it’s not just Trump’s agenda. It’s a far larger one and requires that we take the fight to transform the fossil fuel economy to the local level, initiating real climate solutions by imitating what some cities and states have already done and innovating new ones.
Here’s Jamie Henn, Strategic Communications Director at 350.org:
“As Trump's corrupt cabinet presents a dark and divisive vision for our world, we envision a world powered by renewable energy with an economy that works for all of us. For too long, a small few have exploited people and planet all in the name of profit. Now, we all must come together to fight for the world we know is possible.”
Mark Magaña, president and CEO of GreenLatinos, said earlier this year:
“Latino communities and GreenLatinos members across this country will stand together with the People’s Climate Movement and lift our voices for justice; the right to clean air and clean water; the right to a healthy, clean, and protected environment; the right to live. Latinos have a culture that is grounded in environmentalism and conservationism. It is a way of being for our community, and it is in our DNA. GreenLatinos members from across the country will join the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C., on April 29th to bring that collective culture and wisdom to bare on the most anti-environment administration and Congress in generations.”
And Rae Breaux, lead climate justice organizer for People’s Action Institute. said:
“The climate crisis is an outcome of the long-term disinvestment of low-income communities, and low-income communities of color. President Trump's First 100 Days plan is a clear sign that he will fast-track profits for corporations before he invests in the needs of the American people. Now is the time to come together and build an economy where investments are made to benefit workers, communities of color and low-income folks—an economy that is structured to reflect the fact that black, brown and indigenous lives matter.”
Join us in solidarity.
You can find detailed information regarding the Washington, D.C., and sister marches by clicking here.
TWITTER HAShTAG FOR THE MARCHES
Follow the hashtag #ClimateMarch.
FREE SIGNS AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT TO USE
CONNECT WITH OTHER DAILY KOS MEMBERS AT A MARCH
If you’d like to join other readers of Daily Kos and march with them, check Connect! Unite! Act! series that posts every morning at 7:30 AM PT.