Why am I walking? The question is somewhat rhetorical, and those who know me don't need to ask. I am already that "green" lady in Atherton, who carries on about climate change, carbon emissions, bicycling, recycling, energy efficiency, you name it. While I sometimes feel like this lady, most all of my friends don't actually doubt the seriousness of climate change or disagree that the U.S. needs to do something. However, what to do poses unique challenges.
As someone who has read many of the IPCC's reports, I don't see how anyone who has actually read them can really sleep at night. Since people are sleeping, I must conclude that even highly intelligent, Internet-savvy people don't instantly seek out primary authoritative sources when endeavoring to decide about the merits of the political debates going on: oddly, they leave the details to others. Luckily, though, others do seem to have read these reports, as I hear I won't be the only one attending the People's Climate March. I am not even the only one coming all the way from Silicon Valley. As someone who does lose sleep, I wouldn't miss this opportunity to march on behalf of the climate. I am downright thrilled to have this chance to do something that could be very significant. I am hoping it is a march that changes the course of US history . . . .
Will this be the "climate event" that rocks the world? Much like Hurricane Sandy, which flooded lower Manhattan and left millions without subway or electrical service and helped turn the tide in the 2012 elections, I am here to do my part to make sure that this climate event changes the trajectory of our political debates about climate change. I want to be a part of what I believe will be the most massive, peaceful pro-environment rally to ever happen, one which finally shames and scares our Congressional leaders into doing what is right and taking urgent action on Climate Change.
I am not here because I have nothing else to do: rather I am here because there is nothing better to do to compel our political leaders to take both the science and citizen concerns seriously. I am sorry, climate change is a very scary problem and no amount of avoiding or denying it is going to solve the problem. I am truly ashamed of our US Congress. The Climate Deniers among them either can't read, don't read or have no personal integrity. We have a lot of hard work to do and we need empowered political leadership that will enable us to achieve a roadmap towards real solutions within a very short period of time, so that we have a chance to mitigate the worst scenarios of damage to our climate before these impacts become locked and loaded for future generations.
I know I am not alone in feeling that we are at two major inflection points: a geo-political one and a geo-physical one. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for a Climate Summit ahead of the normal schedule for UNFCC's Conferences, even recruiting Leonardo di Caprio as a spokesperson, to address the gathering at the UN on September 23rd:
There is a sense that change is in the air. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business, and civil society to Climate Summit 2014 this 23 September to galvanize and catalyze climate action. He has asked these leaders to bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015. Climate Summit 2014 provides a unique opportunity for leaders to champion an ambitious vision, anchored in action that will enable a meaningful global agreement in 2015.
There are reasons to be optimistic about international cooperation on a new set of Agreements by 2015. China, which has previously declined to put any kind of brakes on its growing economy and energy usage, has been plagued by relentless pollution from its thousands of coal-fired power plants, is now suddenly preparing to launch its national carbon market in 2015. (They are also leading the world in investment in LFTR commercial development, one of the only truly scalable carbon-free energy technologies that can rapidly deploy in place of coal, within a decade but more on this another time).
Nationally, we need smart, ethical and accountable leaders to take stock of this situation and act responsibly towards the electorate. We need to rid the Congress of those representatives willing to put our entire futures at risk in kowtow to Koch brothers or other corporate donors desperate to defend their oil and gas hegemony. Our risks right now from climate change are much more urgent than those from even so violent an enemy as ISIL, yet how long did it take for the Congress to approve $500 million for that fight because of the loss of a few American lives. Let's get real here: we've endured dozens of billion dollar climate catastrophes in this country and the loss of thousands of lives to climate-related floods, fires, heat waves, hurricanes, tornadoes and sea level rise, all of which threaten not just the US but the entire planet and yet some within our government show clearly that they are too conflicted from their allegiance to fossil fuel interests to be capable of responding rationally to the risks that we face from climate change.
This march is our opportunity to show our political leaders and the world what really matters to the American public. Through the sheer heft and diversity of this massive rally for the climate, which includes representative from some 1,500 different organizations, those of us who have read and understood the science—and can actually get away from our busy lives—will shame those Congressional leaders who continue to perpetrate the hoax of climate denial. We will put fear into the hearts of those leaders who are not willing to stand up to fossil fuel interests and get the U.S. moving rapidly to transition to renewable energy, and weaning our economy and politics of its dependency on fossil fuels. This is truly an historic moment—I've not lived through one that I thought more important: I suspect there are going to be others that agree with me. With enough of us who feel the same way, even if it isn't everyone—we can change our destiny for the better.
Please Note: I am leaving early for the march, so unable to respond to comments until later!