Climate Action Guide

Climate Action Guide – Version 1.0.

 

Preface: if you are reading this, you are looking for information on how to combat the climate crisis, the defining social, moral, political, and existential problematic of our lives. You’ve already read (some of) the science, and the urgency is palpable. The good news is that there is plenty to do, and that climate action does not rest on your shoulders alone. If you want to go vegan or ride a bike instead of a car, great! However, those actions must be coupled with political activism. Whether that be getting involved with local politics or supporting any of the many environmental organizations, your voice is needed to help create the political will to transition to a sustainable world.  

 

With the 2020 Presidential Election coming up, your voice has never mattered more. Use it to demand comprehensive and aggressive climate policies from candidates! The only way to get candidates to implement climate policies is to demand them!

 

Organizations:

m

  •  Sierra Club – One of the longest-standing organizations dedicated to protecting the environment. SC has long legs and engages in everything from pushing air and energy policies at the governmental level to sponsoring bird watching expeditions.

  • 350.org – Organization dedicated to 100% renewable energy, stopping all new fossil fuel projects, and cutting “dirty money” out of politics. Co-founded by Bill McKibben.

  • Sunrise – The spearhead organization for the Green New Deal.

  • Climate Reality Project – Wide-ranging climate organization led by Al Gore. Looks to influence every sphere of human action, from business to government.

  • Citizens’ Climate Lobby – Specifically addressing national policies to combat climate change.

  • Friends of the Earth – National organization that focuses on strengthening governmental action in all things environmental.

  • Extinction Rebellion – Focus on the ecological aspects of climate change, not just corporate policing.

  • Earth Strike – Labor-focused group seeking to organize a general strike on September 27.

 

Steps for local political involvement (from OSU’s Climate Change Handbook):

 

  • Serve on a citizen advisory board
  • Find out where, when, and how often your local government meets. Local governments typically must hold open meetings where citizens can speak.

  • Communicate with local officials. The age-old method of direct action.
  • Writing, calling, emailing local officials.
  • Calls to the public (when citizens can speak on issues not on the agenda for a particular meeting)
  • Public hearings

 

News sources:

 

  • The Guardian’s Green Light – weekly environmental news aggregator

  • NYTimes’ Climate Fwd: -- same thing as the Green Light, but from the NYT.

  • Earther – Gizmodo’s environmental page

  • ThinkProgress – Has a section devoted to environmental news

  • Sign up for newsletters from your local environmental action group! It’s the best way to find out what action is being taken locally and how to get involved.

 

 

Books:

 

  • This Changes Everything – Naomi Klein. The climate action bible, and a case for optimism!

  • The Uninhabitable Earth – David Wallace-Wells. A work dedicated to exploring how we are vastly soft-selling the devastation of climate change.

  • The End of Nature – Bill McKibben. One of the books that ushered in the modern understanding of climate change.

  • Drawdown – Edited by Paul Hawken. A compendium of the most effective policies for battling climate change.

  • The Sixth Extinction – Elizabeth Kolbert. An account of the sixth mass extinction happening right in front of our eyes.

  • Small is Beautiful – E. F. Schumacher. A German economist’s collection of essays related to why moral questions must inform and change our economic ideas.

  • Ecology of Wisdom – Arne Næss. The ‘deep ecology’ bible; a book about Spinoza, mountains, morality, and ecosophy.