Thank you, Katharine! Even those of us who were never part of any activist group (and I was one of those, although I'd attended protests) need to step up now! Work with whatever group seems right for you. You can being your search on a resource page that our group (The Saners) has put up. See: https://wearesaners.org/resources/
Our group has studied movements throughout history and we believe we now understand what works. We intend to use this knowledge to prevent climate collapse and build a better, more humane and sustainable civilization than what we have today. (Yeah, it's a low bar, I know!)
One of the most impactful things you can do this year is to vote for climate friendly candidates, or at least against anti-climate candidates. It's very clear the RNC is the latter -- its platform not only doesn't even mention climate change, it doubles down on fossil fuels all around. This is an existential election. Climate shouldn't be political, but it is, so we have to vote Dem in the US if we hope to keep the clean energy revolution going, at least in the US -- and what the US does affects the entire world.
Climate friendly candidates with their massive carbon footprints. There is no such thing as a climate friendly "Big P" politician. They burn fossil fuels like nuclear reaction burns atoms.
Unfortunately, the electoral way is not an option anymore. Far right is rapidly rising everywhere in the world, and Trump will likely win the next presidentials, so the hope of climate-friendly governments is pretty much buried.
And even in the case of a winning for dems, America is now too divided and it could lead to some violent backlash like the ones we had after Biden's victory.
They used bikes and kinetic dance floors powered by fans, solar arrays, and using EVs and public transportation in addition to supporting sustainable aviation fuel.
"¡Don't hide your complaint or lower your voice! If something or someone damages or poses a threat to the planet, no matter how big or small: STOP IT! ¡It's your responsibility!"
“NATURE’S GENEROSITY IS NOT FOREVER”
There has been admirable worldwide advance geared to control and diminish continuing global warming. However, it is not enough and will not be enough unless we put into practice a one-size-fits-all proposal for that purpose, that is, geared to dramatically diminish or eliminate worldwide global warming. Could it be possible? YES! Following is a down-to-earth prospect, especially for young people to take the lead, one that can be globally understood and accepted. It is not however, a one man team nor will it be a walk in the park, and it needs rules and leadership.
ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY
GOOD and BAD SOVEREIGNTY
This proposal advocates for a significant paradigm change in how we perceive, understand, and manage the roots of global warming. This shift is essentially moving away from the present general basic beliefs of what is considered Sovereignty in our days as “the supreme power or authority of each country within their official boundaries admitted by the rest of the countries of the world”.
We find very damaging the claim “within their official boundaries”. Why?, because it allows countries to do, environmentally speaking, whatever they wish, whatever they choose, if it is “within their official boundaries “. It is a claim universally accepted in the Constitutions of the world. That unlimited power is wrong. It challenges that the environment is a shared global resource that transcends countries’ political boundaries and that is why we introduce and propose ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY which is totally divorced from the reigning notion of Sovereignty as far as the environment is concerned. ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY means that THE ENVIRONMENT IS UNIVERSAL AND MUST NOT BE POLITICALLY PARCELED OR DIVIDED, PROPORTIONALLY OR NOT AMONGST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD. We find that the present division of the environment amongst countries of the world is or could well be the major cause of global warming.
However, countries do not accept the assertion that “the environment is a shared global resource that transcends national boundaries”. On the contrary, countries take for granted that, within its borders, the environment is a rightfully earned and inherited property and therefore countries have an absolute free hand to do environmentally whatever they wish within those borders, which countries call “SOVEREIGNTY”. It is Sovereignty all right, but it is BAD SOVEREIGNTY.
In sum….
1) Countries policies cannot be a dominant factor reigning above the Environment. THE ENVIRONMENT is beyond not only of what countries presently call SOVEREIGNTY but also above their Judicial, Legislative and Administrative powers. It is a “Power above Powers”.
2) Political authoritarianism and lack of or improper enforcement of pro-environment laws is a very damaging factor that impacts very negatively the environment.
3) Worldwide environmental degradation will continue until the present concept of SOVEREIGNTY is changed and the world accepts that there are only two kinds of sovereignty in its place: GOOD SOVEREIGNTY or BAD SOVEREIGNTY. The first respects the environment as a power above all powers. The second, does not.
What does this all mean:
1) Human presence anywhere in the world should not be indifferent to the environment. When it is in a positive way, it’s GOOD SOVEREIGNTY. If it is in a negative way, we call it BAD SOVEREIGNTY
2) The environment has been and will be considered always the backbone of any country, city or community and as such should ne prioritized and cared for accordingly.
3) Caring for the environment is not only an obligation but also an art. We can start by abolishing military academies in 90% of the countries of the world as they are useless in present day warfare. They can be replaced by environmental universities. A police force in cities will always be necessary just as a force to look after the countries’ borders.
4) “Watch Dog” policy for automatic pre-stablished penalties (i.e., a country’s flagship planes will not be allowed to land in a foreign country until full environmental reparations are in place, including fines).
What do we propose?
Eradicate BAD SOVEREIGNTY from the world and replace it with GOOD SOVEREIGNTY, which prioritizes global environmental interest above all other interests. Highlighting the interconnectedness of environmental health with global well-being is a thought-provoking argument. Quite easy to say, not impossible to achieve. It can be done, and must be done, the sooner the better. Constitutions of all countries must therefore be changed accordingly. It will take time and resources, but we don’t see any other way out if we want a world for our and future generations. Big International Money will oppose it of course, just as political interests and arrogance, ignorance, fear, and indifference, but facts are facts: NATURE’S GENEROSITY IS NOT FOREVER.
P.S: (To reinforce the presentation and being a published novelist (in Spanish), a screen play idea came to my mind. Is innovative and has the potential to reach a wider audience, especially when considering the power of storytelling in raising awareness and inspiring action. As a writer, I know that using storytelling to convey complex concepts can be incredibly effective, especially when addressing issues as urgent, complex, and manifold as environmental conservation. That screen play is finished. Hopefully, it’s good enough so that it may catch a producer’s eye or Leonardo Di Capri’s interest as the official UN representative for the environment, and we can take it to the screen for worldwide view, understanding, and start our environmental groups worldwide. This is my way of better reaching out directly and I do hope I will find guides and followers in this journey).
Global warming is not our primary predicament. Human overshoot in general is, of which global warming is one offshoot. Nature's generosity IS forever and it will return, but only with the collapse of our current model and the impossible population it has spawned. Plagues run their course and then the fields return to bounty. "Plague" in our case is not a character defamation, we're as amazing a species as any this earth has witnessed, it is simply a numbers thing.
Really glad you included lobbying politicians at every level. This one often seems to get dropped from these types of 'What Can I Do about Climate?' lists like these. We'd also argue one should join a political party and lobby for a deliciously sustainable world from the inside
I strongly disagree. Biden did way more on climate policy than any US president and Kamala will continue his policies. Trump will turn the clock back on day 1 in an extreme way. To claim otherwise is to serve the Climate denying Fascists.
Pedestrians walking on special tiles creating kinetic energy to power of whole train station! Very cool. But yes, I agree the most impactful climate action are advocacy, advocacy & ADVOCACY! Which most of these suggestions are.
Many many thanks Katharine. I've become an admirer of your perseverance and of the work you do on behalf of the environment. 'Un fuerte abrazo' as we say in Spanish.
Great! We need more positive news about what we can do on an individual level to help reduce climate change.
Thank you, Katharine! Even those of us who were never part of any activist group (and I was one of those, although I'd attended protests) need to step up now! Work with whatever group seems right for you. You can being your search on a resource page that our group (The Saners) has put up. See: https://wearesaners.org/resources/
Our group has studied movements throughout history and we believe we now understand what works. We intend to use this knowledge to prevent climate collapse and build a better, more humane and sustainable civilization than what we have today. (Yeah, it's a low bar, I know!)
Please consider checking out our group at WeAreSaners.org.
https://youtu.be/MMl-qe4AnZY?si=CnUBZMuWQ_aq5jQv
One of the most impactful things you can do this year is to vote for climate friendly candidates, or at least against anti-climate candidates. It's very clear the RNC is the latter -- its platform not only doesn't even mention climate change, it doubles down on fossil fuels all around. This is an existential election. Climate shouldn't be political, but it is, so we have to vote Dem in the US if we hope to keep the clean energy revolution going, at least in the US -- and what the US does affects the entire world.
Climate friendly candidates with their massive carbon footprints. There is no such thing as a climate friendly "Big P" politician. They burn fossil fuels like nuclear reaction burns atoms.
Unfortunately, the electoral way is not an option anymore. Far right is rapidly rising everywhere in the world, and Trump will likely win the next presidentials, so the hope of climate-friendly governments is pretty much buried.
And even in the case of a winning for dems, America is now too divided and it could lead to some violent backlash like the ones we had after Biden's victory.
In the GOOD NEWS category - see this Instagram post from Cold Play about slashing emissions by 59% on their Music of the Spheres world tour: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8KlW1YPm6w/?igsh=cnlsMWZuaHV1Y3Q0
They used bikes and kinetic dance floors powered by fans, solar arrays, and using EVs and public transportation in addition to supporting sustainable aviation fuel.
Pearl Jam is another rock group committed to tracking and mitigating their touring carbon footprint: https://blabbermouth.net/news/pearl-jam-commits-to-200-per-ton-co2-for-carbon-offset-strategy
"¡Don't hide your complaint or lower your voice! If something or someone damages or poses a threat to the planet, no matter how big or small: STOP IT! ¡It's your responsibility!"
“NATURE’S GENEROSITY IS NOT FOREVER”
There has been admirable worldwide advance geared to control and diminish continuing global warming. However, it is not enough and will not be enough unless we put into practice a one-size-fits-all proposal for that purpose, that is, geared to dramatically diminish or eliminate worldwide global warming. Could it be possible? YES! Following is a down-to-earth prospect, especially for young people to take the lead, one that can be globally understood and accepted. It is not however, a one man team nor will it be a walk in the park, and it needs rules and leadership.
ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY
GOOD and BAD SOVEREIGNTY
This proposal advocates for a significant paradigm change in how we perceive, understand, and manage the roots of global warming. This shift is essentially moving away from the present general basic beliefs of what is considered Sovereignty in our days as “the supreme power or authority of each country within their official boundaries admitted by the rest of the countries of the world”.
We find very damaging the claim “within their official boundaries”. Why?, because it allows countries to do, environmentally speaking, whatever they wish, whatever they choose, if it is “within their official boundaries “. It is a claim universally accepted in the Constitutions of the world. That unlimited power is wrong. It challenges that the environment is a shared global resource that transcends countries’ political boundaries and that is why we introduce and propose ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY which is totally divorced from the reigning notion of Sovereignty as far as the environment is concerned. ENVIRONMENTAL SOVEREIGNTY means that THE ENVIRONMENT IS UNIVERSAL AND MUST NOT BE POLITICALLY PARCELED OR DIVIDED, PROPORTIONALLY OR NOT AMONGST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD. We find that the present division of the environment amongst countries of the world is or could well be the major cause of global warming.
However, countries do not accept the assertion that “the environment is a shared global resource that transcends national boundaries”. On the contrary, countries take for granted that, within its borders, the environment is a rightfully earned and inherited property and therefore countries have an absolute free hand to do environmentally whatever they wish within those borders, which countries call “SOVEREIGNTY”. It is Sovereignty all right, but it is BAD SOVEREIGNTY.
In sum….
1) Countries policies cannot be a dominant factor reigning above the Environment. THE ENVIRONMENT is beyond not only of what countries presently call SOVEREIGNTY but also above their Judicial, Legislative and Administrative powers. It is a “Power above Powers”.
2) Political authoritarianism and lack of or improper enforcement of pro-environment laws is a very damaging factor that impacts very negatively the environment.
3) Worldwide environmental degradation will continue until the present concept of SOVEREIGNTY is changed and the world accepts that there are only two kinds of sovereignty in its place: GOOD SOVEREIGNTY or BAD SOVEREIGNTY. The first respects the environment as a power above all powers. The second, does not.
What does this all mean:
1) Human presence anywhere in the world should not be indifferent to the environment. When it is in a positive way, it’s GOOD SOVEREIGNTY. If it is in a negative way, we call it BAD SOVEREIGNTY
2) The environment has been and will be considered always the backbone of any country, city or community and as such should ne prioritized and cared for accordingly.
3) Caring for the environment is not only an obligation but also an art. We can start by abolishing military academies in 90% of the countries of the world as they are useless in present day warfare. They can be replaced by environmental universities. A police force in cities will always be necessary just as a force to look after the countries’ borders.
4) “Watch Dog” policy for automatic pre-stablished penalties (i.e., a country’s flagship planes will not be allowed to land in a foreign country until full environmental reparations are in place, including fines).
What do we propose?
Eradicate BAD SOVEREIGNTY from the world and replace it with GOOD SOVEREIGNTY, which prioritizes global environmental interest above all other interests. Highlighting the interconnectedness of environmental health with global well-being is a thought-provoking argument. Quite easy to say, not impossible to achieve. It can be done, and must be done, the sooner the better. Constitutions of all countries must therefore be changed accordingly. It will take time and resources, but we don’t see any other way out if we want a world for our and future generations. Big International Money will oppose it of course, just as political interests and arrogance, ignorance, fear, and indifference, but facts are facts: NATURE’S GENEROSITY IS NOT FOREVER.
P.S: (To reinforce the presentation and being a published novelist (in Spanish), a screen play idea came to my mind. Is innovative and has the potential to reach a wider audience, especially when considering the power of storytelling in raising awareness and inspiring action. As a writer, I know that using storytelling to convey complex concepts can be incredibly effective, especially when addressing issues as urgent, complex, and manifold as environmental conservation. That screen play is finished. Hopefully, it’s good enough so that it may catch a producer’s eye or Leonardo Di Capri’s interest as the official UN representative for the environment, and we can take it to the screen for worldwide view, understanding, and start our environmental groups worldwide. This is my way of better reaching out directly and I do hope I will find guides and followers in this journey).
Thank you.
Jorge A. Partidas Alzuru
soberania.ambiental.global@gmail.com
(+52 744 123 4513)
Venezuela
Global warming is not our primary predicament. Human overshoot in general is, of which global warming is one offshoot. Nature's generosity IS forever and it will return, but only with the collapse of our current model and the impossible population it has spawned. Plagues run their course and then the fields return to bounty. "Plague" in our case is not a character defamation, we're as amazing a species as any this earth has witnessed, it is simply a numbers thing.
Really glad you included lobbying politicians at every level. This one often seems to get dropped from these types of 'What Can I Do about Climate?' lists like these. We'd also argue one should join a political party and lobby for a deliciously sustainable world from the inside
Great post! Two effective ideas to add:
1. Donate to the world's most cost-effective climate charities, such as those recommended my Giving Green and Founders Pledge. (https://www.effectiveenvironmentalism.org/climate-charities)
2. Think about how you can build a career tackling climate change effectively (https://www.effectiveenvironmentalism.org/careers-advice)
I cover effective climate action in the EE newsletter :)
https://effectiveenvironmentalism.substack.com/
I strongly disagree. Biden did way more on climate policy than any US president and Kamala will continue his policies. Trump will turn the clock back on day 1 in an extreme way. To claim otherwise is to serve the Climate denying Fascists.
Pedestrians walking on special tiles creating kinetic energy to power of whole train station! Very cool. But yes, I agree the most impactful climate action are advocacy, advocacy & ADVOCACY! Which most of these suggestions are.
Trying a new plant based recipe? I would think being totally vegan would be step 1!
Great post, thanks. Even better, prioritise biodiversity friendly climate initiatives while you’re at it! :) biodiversity-climate win-wins are possible. https://predirections.substack.com/p/the-search-for-win-win-biodiversity
Many many thanks Katharine. I've become an admirer of your perseverance and of the work you do on behalf of the environment. 'Un fuerte abrazo' as we say in Spanish.