EARTH DAY IS FOR BEING WITH THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT

Editor’s note:  This column originally appeared in advance of Earth Day, on Russ Vernon-Jones’ personal blog.  While Earth Day has passed, his call for readers to get involved remains timely. 

April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, was gearing up to be the biggest world-wide day of climate rallies and protests ever. Organizers from New York to Nairobi to the Philippines saw this as a pivotal moment for the climate movement and were planning to get millions of people into the streets to demand action on climate change. Then came the COVID-19 crisis and physical distancing. That didn’t stop the organizers. They shifted quickly to create a 3-day online experience called “Earth Day Live,” for April 22, 23, and 24. There were also many fine local and regional online town halls, teach-ins, concerts, and other virtual events.  (Find links here for some outstanding workshops and handouts by “Sustaining All Life”).

As their website says: 
“…activists, performers, thought leaders, and artists will come together for an empowering, inspiring, and communal three day livestream mobilization.”
“The fights against the coronavirus and the climate crisis go hand-in-hand, and as we work to flatten the curve of this pandemic, we must strive toward the longer term goal of building a society rooted in sustainability and justice.”

Be Part of It
If you care about the climate, if you want a more just world, I urge you to be a part of this by watching on your computer, phone, or tablet.  If have limited time, I recommend watching material from Wednesday, April 22.  

Why do I think it makes sense to devote some time to this?  I think you/we will:

1. Learn more about climate change and how we can stop it.
2. Be inspired and find new sources of hope and energy.
3. Personally experience solidarity knowing that millions of people came together to say, “We care!  Act now!”
4. See the diversity of the climate movement and the growing clarity that racial justice, universal health care, economic security, caring about each other, and social justice generally are all needed to have a society capable of confronting and handling the climate crisis.
5. Contribute your presence to the groundswell for climate action.  

Movement Toward Connection and Solidarity
In our societies today people are badly divided, as oppressions, partisan politics, and vast economic inequities separate us and often set us against each other.  Nonetheless, there is a countervailing movement toward greater connection and solidarity that is growing stronger.  We see it in the collaboration of so many climate organizations working together — from 350.org to Extinction Rebellion, from the Sunrise Movement to the Sierra Club, from the Labor Network for Sustainability to the Indigenous Youth Council.  You can see it in the diversity of the climate movement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Robert Bullard to Varshini Prakash to Madonna Thunder Hawk, and that’s just in the United States.  People of all races, ages, and identities are coming together to organize for climate justice.

You can see it in how many climate organizations, from the big national ones to the smaller local ones, are pitching in to meet the needs of people whose lives have been devastated by the COVID-19 crisis and the economic fallout from it. (The Sierra Club, for instance, is using its national reach to solicit funds for smaller grassroots groups that are providing emergency aid to vulnerable communities in the virus crisis.)  You can see it in the quote above from Earth Day Live.  

Multi-issue
Many climate organizations, while still focused on climate, are becoming multi-issue in their work as they build alliances with social justice organizations of all varieties. Throughout the population there is a growing awareness of how connected the issues are. Racism, inadequate health care, the lack of a strong social safety net, and wealth inequality all make any crisis worse (whether it’s COVID-19 or the climate emergency) and damage the ability of the economy to meet people’s needs and serve the common good.

In the virus crisis we make a difference by staying physically distant from each other.  With the climate crisis, we can make a difference by viewing presentations  online for Earth Day Live.   We must insist that the denial, delay, and inadequate government leadership and action that have characterized both crises come to an end.

Communicate With Others
After you watch some (or all!) of the Earth Day Live pieces, write to your friends about something you learned or liked about it.  Communicating with others is key to our making a difference on climate change.

Russ Vernon Jones blogs regularly on climate justice at www.RussVernonJones.org