Dear friends,
COP26 went into overtime, but the final agreement was pretty tepid. This video (produced by my own springling!), is a powerful indication of the scope of the climate movement, what’s at stake, and what meaningful action would look like.
Tweet the video with this message: As #COP26 ends, I join activists demanding @AlokSharma_RDG & gov’ts reject polluters’ schemes like carbon markets, do their fair share, pay up for loss and damage, and advance #RealSolutions, like making #PollutersPay! Watch & share @stopcorpabuse
Along with all of the frustrating news from Glasgow and the continued failure of world leaders to lead us away from climate disaster in the direction of a sustainable, more just future, I read an astonishing call to action.
Ben Okri urges us to use our imagination to envision the catastrophic end that we dread in order to transcend fear. His idea is that once we do this, we will be ready for transformation, for what he calls
a conscious evolutionary leap forward. No longer can we be the human beings we have been: wasteful, thoughtless, selfish, destructive. It is now time for us to be the most creative we have ever been, the most far-sighted, the most practical, the most conscious and selfless. The stakes have never been, and will never be, higher.
What is called for here is a special kind of love for the world, the love of those who discover the sublime value of life because they are about to lose it. For we are on the verge of losing this most precious and beautiful of worlds, a miracle in all the universe, a home for the evolution of souls, a little paradise here in the richness of space, where we are meant to live and grow and be happy, but which we are day by day turning into a barren stone in space.
We have to be strong dreamers. We have to ask unthinkable questions. We have to go right to the roots of what makes us such a devouring species, overly competitive, conquest-driven, hierarchical.
We ought to ask questions about money, power, hunger. The scientists tell us that fundamentally there is enough for everyone. This Earth can sustain us.
I encourage you to read Ben Okri’s whole essay.
Meanwhile, we need to add our voices to defend those who are under attack.
trumped-up charges, police violence, excessively high bail and intensive aerial surveillance.
I couldn’t find an up-to-date number of people facing charges, but I imagine it’s approaching a thousand. The struggle against Line 3 continues. The Water Protectors are on the front lines of the climate struggle and they are not the criminals.
Tell Attorney General Ellison & Gov. Walz: Drop the Charges against Indigenous Water Protectors!
The real climate criminals continue to pollute and destroy lives with impunity. I bet you can guess where I’m going with this. We need to make fossil fuel corporations pay for the damage they are doing. The NYS legislation under consideration would charge corporations $55 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions.
Some of the eighth grade students I teach are very clear on the importance of this provision of the Climate and Community Investment Act:
Julio: Then the fossil fuel [companies] will do less damage to people.
Miriam: There will be repercussions when it comes to fossil fuel-making industries, so that they will do it less and possibly make these companies get out of business.
Jake: It would be a major step forward on switching to cleaner/green energy.
Juliet: We need to take care of climate change before it's too late.
I marched on Saturday — and counted at least 5 work-from-homers in the crowd — for the passage of the CCIA. I overheard some young protesters saying that there was a 2019 vibe. This was praise for the energy and strong turnout at the Times Square rally and march to Governor Hochul’s office. I haven’t seen any press coverage, but the demand for the legislation is real and our work is to amplify and repeat our message.
Call on Governor Hochul to include the Climate and Community Investment Act in the budget! There is a call script and this only takes a minute.
A spontaneous encounter with Assemblyman Robert Carroll, District 44
The fate of democracy in the nation as a whole is very much in question. This being Monday morning of the busiest week of my semester, I am not taking on the national picture. Plus, we need to get our house in order first.
Voting rights are under threat here in New York. The failure of the state ballot measures (#1, 3, and 4) earlier this month was not the only signal. A new report about the dysfunction of the NYC Board of Elections points to the need for urgent action.
The recommendation to restructure the NYCBOE involves reducing the number of commissioners from 10 and removing the role of each borough's Democratic and Republican party bosses, who currently select the commissioners for the agency.
The case for revamping the state’s election system is built on a long list of recent election snafus: from voters improperly removed from the rolls, scanner breakdowns, an insufficient number of language interpreters, misprinted absentee ballots and hours-long lines to vote.
[Note: The Democratic party boss, Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn is mired in scandal and facing calls for her to step down. This is practically a New York tradition AND she is really problematic in lots of original ways.]
Contact your state senator to let them know that election reform must be a priority for their legislative agenda. Here’s a sample message that feeds a few birds with one seed!
Okay, lots to do today. Have a great day!
with love,
L