My apologies to Robert Reich (former American Secretary of Labour under Bill Clinton and professor at Berkeley University) for “borrowing” his title. In his Substack post this week he looks at how to mobilize the American public against the present Administration as the country continues to descend into darkness.
For me his phrase is also relevant to the Climate Chaos that continues to threaten the health and future of humanity. The world’s population is like that Sleeping Giant, very few are taking action. Clearly we are not oblivious to what we are doing to our planet. We are just not doing enough!
What the polls say
As I have mentioned before, polls have shown that people want their governments to take action. Oxford University shows in a report on ”The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024” that “80% of people globally want their governments to take stronger action”. Also that
”86% want their countries to set aside geopolitical differences and work together on Climate Change”.
A more recent article in the Guardian newspaper shows that “A silent majority of the world’s people want stronger climate action.” That number is 89%.
The newspaper further quotes The Yale Programme on Climate Change Communication which has published numerous studies documenting the same point: most people, in most countries, want stronger action on the climate crisis.
A recent blog on Linkedin states that “More people care about the climate crisis than you think.” However she then says that a great many people are confused by the negative messaging about the planetary crisis. She continues “This disinformation and negative messaging — funded in large part by the fossil fuel industry — keeps many confused, silent, and on the sidelines.” I think this is true, however I also believe that there are still many people out there who believe it is somebody else’s responsibility to act. While it is true that there are some things that only governments can do, it really is up to us to make the politicians act. Governments will act if they see that people truly want action.
So – Wake Up People!
The vast majority of people out there want and need change. We just have to believe it and act. In the words of JK Rowling “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better”.
So let’s get together, it will need many millions of us, and let’s find a way to show our governments we want a different world.
We must show them that we want:
- To end the use of fossil fuels
- Healthy food and a farming system that protects the natural world
- Climate Justice
- An end to Racism
- Empowerment for women
- Protection for our oceans
- An economic system that works for the planet not the rich and powerful
- An education system fit for purpose
- Community involvement
- An end to the use of plastic
- PEACE
In other words, we need a vision of a positive and encouraging future that we can get behind. A picture that will motivate us and drive us to action. One that will help each of us to find our courage when we get out of bed in the morning. A vision that will drive us to think of future generations and how they will live. It is the vision of the lives of my adult children and grandchildren that drives me and gives me strength to do what I do. No doubt for each of you it will be different.
Finding our Courage
An article that talks about finding your courage says that three things are needed:
- A risk
- An intention
- A goal that may benefit others
So for me, if my courage wobbled, (and it does!) I might think of the risk of a terrible future for my grandchildren. My intention would be to help other people act together in the fight for a better life. The goal would be that my actions would lead to a healthier and more equitable lifestyle that would ensure the continuity of the planet’s biodiversity and a happier life for as many people as possible.
Finding your courage might be as simple as:- If I don’t talk to my neighbours about the situation, nothing will change, I really want there to be change, If I talk to my neighbours about this, we could work together to make a difference.
Examples of Courage
For me developing courage has come gradually. (some days it escapes me completely!) I find the more I do that scares me, the braver I become. I also find that the more I watch other courageous people, the more I can do.
Courage comes in many forms, and I find I learn from them all
- In the early days of teaching university classes I was terrified. My knees were literally knocking so hard I thought I would fall over. But I didn’t, and it got better.
- I watch my French neighbours in their nineties coping with the indignities of age while quietly getting on with learning about the world, keeping up with the news, reading books on philosophy and great people, while being open to the world and kind to their foreign neighbours.
- We have friends whose house was destroyed in a forest fire and they have quietly got on with helping other people and moving to a new continent. They are among the kindest and most caring people I know.
- I have two African friends who live in different countries and face different frightening challenges. They are both using their skills and understanding in horrendous situations to help other people improve their lives. I admire them immensely.
- Single parents, often mothers, every day of their lives make sacrifices for their children to give them a better life.
- There are those people in countries where dissent may be fatal. Many have given their lives or live under a constant threat.
All these people, for me, are truly courageous, and yet I suspect they would say they are just getting on with their life. Certainly they boost my courage.
But for most of us finding our courage to fight climate change is not like that. We can start small. Talk to our friends and neighbours, invite a group in for coffee and talk about what they hold dear and how that will be affected by climate change.
We can move on to joining a group, writing to our political representatives, joining a renewable energy co-operative, going on a march, reducing our meat consumption and telling others about it. As we get braver we could give talks, set up our own groups, visit our political representatives and talk about what we want to see, write to the newspapers and keep acting.
All this needs us to be informed, so read up about what is happening, the good and the bad. Join a group that will help you deal with your upset, because what is happening is very distressing, and we need to recognise that.
Please help me awake that sleeping giant. Take the situation seriously and find some way to act to make a difference. It will boost your courage enormously and who knows where you will end up!
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Photos by Abby, Camerauthor and Wallace Fonseca on Unsplash.