Many of us have heard about the newest U.N. report saying that humanity only has 12 years to address climate change.
However, many of us also struggle to accept this sobering fact, and process what it means.
The sheer enormity of the climate crisis may invoke in us feelings of incomprehension so acute that we simply go on about our daily lives as if it’s not happening, instead of facing this terrifying reality that literally no one on Earth can escape.
The gap between where we are and where we need to go may seem insurmountable, especially when we hear about yet more political obstacles to a sufficiently rapid shift to a green economy.
How can we successfully address climate change when top leaders refuse to acknowledge it as a threat?
What’s more, these well-understood barriers traditionally imposed by the right are only the tip of the iceberg.
I found out the hard way that our biggest stumbling block to addressing climate change may be our reliance on our leaders to deal with climate change for us - including liberals - instead of regular folks being clear on our visions, goals, plans, and demands and insisting our leaders do as we instruct.
One year ago today, January 9th, 2018, I was fired a year early from my contract as the Ready For 100% clean energy organizer at the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest (and therefore wealthy and influential) environmental organization in the country.
My job was to make sure that the plan called for in the 100% clean energy (by 2035) resolution passed by the Atlanta City Council in May 2017 was a good plan, and that we conducted a just transition to green energy that prioritized those most impacted and marginalized. It seemed to be a dream come true, both politically, socially, and personally.
But within four months of starting at the Georgia Sierra Club, certain “leaders” went behind my back and made things up to get me fired.
In a style very reminiscent of President Trump, people like Ted Terry, Megan O’Neil, and Yeou Rong colluded to censor me via firing because I dared to question them. I wasn’t alone: I know of several people were fired or quit for similar reasons.
In my role, I (professionally and politely) called for accountability and action commensurate with the crisis, instead of allowing those with conflicts of interest to decide which steps we should take - and which steps will again be pushed off farther into the future.
Apparently, dissent does not jive well with the political culture among several environmentalist leaders here in Atlanta. I have been told by multiple committed advocates to take my firing as a compliment, as this is common practice for those who really try to make a difference.
What does this say about the state of the environmental movement and who is running things?
I learned that even leaders who seem to be trying cope with climate change may actually be pretending: saying one thing to appease, and doing another to serve themselves.
No wonder so many people are so cynical, give up without trying, or just ignore the situation!
When even top leaders on climate change you believe to be allies can be arguably as bad as opponents to progress on the climate, where can you possibly go from there?
Nevertheless, instead of throwing up our hands, we must roll up our sleeves.
If we want to do what we can to save our planet from our little-big corner of the world, we’ve got to figure out how to get around all roadblocks to a sustainable Atlanta.
My experience working closely with those responsible for helping Atlanta transition into a green city has taught me many lessons that I’m compelled to share, a year after my retaliatory firing.
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Acceptance is the first step.
Once we understand the realities of climate change, we must bravely accept how much we have to do and how little time we have left. Instead of giving up, we must step up.
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We must save ourselves.
No one is coming to save us, not even our favorite charismatic politicians. We must accept personal responsibility for doing what it takes to transition to a green society. And yes, that means we need to eat less meat and reduce our plastic consumption.
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Cynicism is not an excuse for inaction.
Just because many politicians are untrustworthy doesn’t mean that we the People are off the hook! We are not helpless, and we are the only ones who can save ourselves.
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Solutions-focused plans for our green transition exist.
One of the best things we can do is to familiarize ourselves with the many scenarios already proposed - such as:
-the LEAP Manifesto
-the Green New Deal,
-the Solutions Project,
-Plan B 4.0,
-the Summary of Community Recommendations for Atlanta’s 100% Clean Energy Plan,
-the Georgia Energy Justice Snapshot from the NAAPC, and
-Project Drawdown.
Independently and en masse, we must understand existing plans and then insist on their implementation ASAP. Our familiarity and advocacy will fuel actualization.
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When we know what we want, we can make it happen.
Regardless of excuses about “political feasibility,” we can insist on rapid implementation of existing plans to mindfully green our society within the 12-year limit. We just need to know what we want, by when, and hold all of our leaders accountable to our demands.
I spent 2018 trying to make sense of what happened to me in the local climate change movement. The implications of my experience have led me to believe that addressing the climate crisis has an element of spiritual awakening, not just in politicians but in all of us.
As Eckhart Tolle says in A New Earth, “the dysfunction of the egoic human mind...is, for the first time, threatening the survival of the planet...A significant portion of the Earth’s population will soon recognize...that humanity is now faced with a stark choice: evolve or die.”
Our very existence depends on our transition from an ego-centric focus to a mindfulness-based focus. The ego is clearly alive and well in our political spaces, on both the left (liberal and radical) and the right. Individually becoming conscious is part of our need to collectively become consciousness so that we can transition into the world we need.
Mindfulness - consciousness - can instead reign supreme, which means transforming ourselves, but also our systems and institutions in line with respecting the Earth’s limits, quickly and intentionally.
Will you commit to becoming involved in doing what it takes for a just transition to a green society?
How will you be a part of the solution to this great challenge in this historic moment?
You could start with reading the proposals on the table (listed above, among others). Then, you can green your own life, and, most importantly, manage our leaders over the next 12 years so we can save our planet. We can do this from a place of consciousness instead of ego, as much as possible.
Then, our grandkids can look up to us as climate heroes when they inherit a more stable world. As protesters sang last year when calling out the hypocrisy in the environmental movement,
“The people gonna rise like the water! We’re gonna calm this crisis down! I hear the voice of my great-granddaughter, saying keep it in the ground!”