Taking Action for Climate Change in Your Community

Politicians listen to voters, and if environmental issues are a low priority for voters, they will be a low priority for policy makers...Polls show that voters consistently rank environmental issues among their lowest concerns in every election. This is a huge problem. Politicians want to win elections, and if environmental issues are a low priority for voters, they will be a low priority for policy makers.

Yet polls also show that tens of millions of Americans strongly prioritize progressive environmental policies – the real problem is that these people do not vote. Indeed, even in recent nation-wide elections, over 15 million individually identifiable environmentalists have stayed at home on Election Day. Therefore, the key to getting powerful environmental policies in place might not be to persuade more Americans to be environmentalists; it may be as simple as getting more of our existing environmentalists to vote. Learn more at Environmental Voter.org at https://www.environmentalvoter.org/our-mission

The YEARS Project is a multimedia storytelling and education effort designed to inform, empower, and unite the world in the face of climate change. #YEARSproject. Follow them on social media and visit their website for additional resources. The Years Project has endorsed the environmental voter pledge and works to advocate for climate science. #YearsofLivingDangerously helps viewers to Get Informed and Involved with, The Years Project at http://theyearsproject.com/learn/climatefacts

It’s simple. If we make carbon pollution expensive, we’ll get less of it. Less carbon pollution means less climate change. Put another way, a price on carbon makes fossil fuels like coal and oil more expensive. And when that happens people switch to cheaper forms of energy like wind and solar. It’s the solution to climate change. #Put a Price on It is another resource for staying informed and involved with, The Climate Solution at https://theclimatesolution.com/

Supporters of a carbon tax include a vast group of organizations, individuals, companies, and municipalities. National, Regional, and Local Groups are forming to combat the effects of climate change in their communities. In Washington, D.C. groups like the Chesapeake Climate Action Network @CCAN https://www.ChesapeakeClimate.org operate in Maryland and Virginia listed as just one of the many supporters of the carbon tax at https://theclimatesolution.com/who/groups

The World Economic Forum has partnered with and is working to educate and motivate investment. The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum strategy is simple and effective: bring together the most relevant leaders from all sectors of global society, and identify the best ways to address the world’s most significant challenges.

What can you do to support

UN Environment is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. [They]amplify the power of 3.5+ million members and supporters to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. One of the most effective groups in lobbying for the environment is the Sierra Club operates in localities around the country. Visit their website at and search for your local Sierra Club group at https://www.sierraclub.org/chapters. Today, there’s a serious set of challenges ahead: a warming climate, unprecedented levels of pollution, and powerful special interests undermining basic protections. There’s no time to waste in coming together for new solutions – which is why the Sierra Club is bringing people together ... Learn more at https://www.sierraclub.org

When you realize that things do not add up, it is time to stand up and chip in today, you will be giving our movement the power it needs to keep achieving environmental victories on the issues that matter most. Now, take the next step and become a member of our community of activists. Tell Your Members Of Congress to Support a Green New Deal! Join the fight today at https://addup.sierraclub.org/resist

Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace challenges the systems of power and privilege that destroy the environment and place disproportionate burdens on vulnerable communities. As Greenpeace, we know from nature that diversity is essential to life on the planet and success in our organization. [They] welcome, value, and rely on a diversity of people, cultural experiences, and perspectives. We learn from one another. Through our campaigning, we create solutions that promote environmental sustainability rooted in social justice.

or will leadership arrive from the most unlikely places. In Europe, a young lady is bringing the world's leaders to attention. Activists such as Greta Thunberg are rewriting the rules of engagement and are not backing down in the face of resistance. #FridaysForFuture is a movement that began in August 2018, after 15 years old Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament every schoolday for three weeks, to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis. She posted what she was doing on Instagram and Twitter and it soon went viral. On the 8th of September [2018], Greta decided to continue striking every Friday until the Swedish policies provided a safe pathway well under 2-degree C, i.e. in line with the Paris agreement. The hashtags #FridaysForFuture and #Climatestrike spread and many students and adults began to protest outside of their parliaments and local city halls all over the world. The future will belong to their generation when we are gone, support their efforts for action and learn more at https://fridaysforfuture.org/about

In America, Mothers are standing up and taking action and forming groups to combat climate change. With parties to educate and inspire action instead of purchasing kitchen utensils, Mother's Out Front has emerged as one of the leading forces in grassroots support for climate action. [They] build collective and individual power by encouraging personal agency, learning and sharing, innovation and risk-taking... [with] an inclusive movement where mothers’ voices are front and center. Learn more at https://www.mothersoutfront.org/our_mission_and_values

The indigenous people of Canada are organizing and encouraging others to join their efforts to protect Turtle Island. Idle No More calls on all people to join in a peaceful revolution, to honour Indigenous sovereignty, and to protect the land and water. Idle No More seeks to assert Indigenous inherent rights to sovereignty and reinstitute traditional laws and Nation to Nation Treaties by protecting the lands and waters from corporate destruction. [They have] laws older than this colonial government about how to live with the land. Learn more at http://www.idlenomore.ca/story This is an attempt to take away sovereignty and the inherent right to land and resources from First Nations peoples. [Idle No More] believe[s] in healthy, just, equitable and sustainable communities and has a vision and plan of how to build them. [Without them] we will be left with nothing but poisoned water, land and air. Support #IndigenousRights http://www.idlenomore.ca/manifesto

The Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice unites all people of faith with a common purpose to protect and defend the Earth for future generations and is a leader in the spiritual aspects of the climate change debate and supporting families and individuals committed to non-violent civil disobedience. Along with lobbying, legislative, and judicial attempts to protect the environment, non-violent civil disobedience plays an important role as well in resistance to fossil-fuel infrastructures.

This year, activists climbed into tree sits in the path of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipeline, sometimes for weeks at a time, and mounted blockades of constructions sites. The mission of the Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice is to be faithful stewards of creation by supporting resistance to its degradation and exploitation. [The Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice] ministry intends to provide resources to those who protect the earth’s ecosystems, safeguard public health, and ensure sufficient, sustainable energy for people. Learn more at https://www.iacjva.org

Take the Environmental Voter Pledge at https://www.environmentalvoter.org/

Virginians across the Commonwealth are becoming more conscious of the actions of our elected representatives and concerned about the direction of our initiative. Inspired by an inner desire to speak for those who may not speak for themselves and to add our voice to the voices of those who can. I have taken the environmental voter pledge and support individuals, community groups, organizations, and elected officials who wish to be a part of the solution and to guide our community towards sustainability. Show your support for the groups in our community who are fighting for climate justice. Stay Informed & Get Involved starting with a Like & a Follow for climate awareness in Hampton Roads.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network @CCAN
https://www.facebook.com/ChesapeakeClimate

& CCAN Action Fund https://www.facebook.com/CCANActionFund

The Chesapeake Bay Group Sierra Club
https://www.facebook.com/Chesapeake-Bay-Group-Sierra-Club-103737382868

Mothers Out Front Hampton Roads
https://www.facebook.com/MothersOutFrontHR

Will leadership come from international organizations which unite governments in cooperation. Will the United Nations fulfill an organizational potential. Are we ending each year with more accomplishments, are we facing less challenges, or is it time for unity of purpose. Are we evolving or going extinct. Are we marching towards armageddon or waiting for a miracle to save us. Which side are you on, on Earth there are no sidelines.