Thousands of young people — kids and adults — and their parents/caretakers took to Boston City Hall Plaza on Friday 9/20 to demand action on climate change. I went with my daughter and another family from our town. My poster said, “I’M A CLIMATE DAD”. I think that’s got to be the next unavoidable swing demographic bloc, and I’ll flog that to any poll-swilling political wiseguy who will listen.
Let me say this with no ambiguity whatsoever: If you are a parent, a grandparent — if you have any relation to any young person at all — you have a duty to do all you can to prevent the catastrophe of climate change. Your highest leverage will be through systems change: That’s political action, also corporate action. Personal action is also meaningful — put that under the rubric of cultural change. Take the first step, whatever that may be; and then the next and the next. We need everyone.
Of course, there’s a Massachusetts political valence to this event. Green New Deal author Senator Ed Markey was on hand, even as his main rival Joe Kennedy III was planning his primary challenge rollout.
Members of @SunriseSalem excited to meet climate hero @SenMarkey. The @sunrisemvmt + @AOC have endorsed Ed Markey’s re-election. We need climate hero’s —not centrist middle ground @RepJoeKennedy #Boston #mapoli #GreenNewDeal #ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/EAh7BDRmn5
— Noel Healy (@DrNoelHealy) September 20, 2019
This is going to be a strange and interesting primary. The kids filling the streets, marching from City Hall to the State House, were chanting “GREEN NEW DEAL!” They know who Markey is. I’m guessing that Kennedy’s early poll leads have more to do with name recognition — particularly from older people who wouldn’t mind a Kennedy restoration. The 73-year-old is the hipster; the 38-year-old is the link to the past, a comfortable continuity. You know where I stand on that.
Michelle Wu spoke with passion and specificity, linking climate to the host of intersectional injustices that climate change will aggravate. (Mayor Marty Walsh was there in a rather less interesting appearance, defending a less-interesting record. Still I was glad to have him on hand as official imprimatur if little else.)
The Reverend Mariama White-Hammond delivered a tough message, couched in the only value system I can understand — that of love. And she called on us to build real relationships in real space — to build those ties that bind. (For those of us extremely-online people this may not come easily.)
“If we really want to turn the tide … we’ve got to build relationships … we’ve got to build this movement on love.” @RevMariama #StrikeWithUs #ClimateStrike #climatestrikeboston pic.twitter.com/F05sKGyMAA
— Blue Mass Group (@bluemassgroup) September 20, 2019
May this be the new Zeitgeist. (We need songs to go with.)
And naturally, there was no stopping at City Hall — we marched straight to Bizarro Disneyland, The Place Where Dreams Go To Die, aka the Massachusetts State House. As you know, Speaker DeLeo is sitting on a treasure trove of terrific environment/energy bills — including one calling for 100% renewable energy by 2050 — which he has no intention of letting pass this session. The very wise-adult-in-charge Charlie Baker has offered no leadership or encouragement.
That has to change. We saw the legislature break a logjam with the new education funding formula, widely praised by advocates and probably even acceptable to the Governor. Clean energy and climate adaptation are not controversial; they are consensus issues in Massachusetts. It’s hard to get politicians to pass marginally-popular things; but why is it so hard to pass massively popular things — with a constituency rallying outside saying essentially, We’ve got your back?
In any event … this is the beginning. Sunrise Boston folks made mention of a Black Friday demonstration event; and since climate change will continue, so will this political mobilization. Welcome to the future — if you missed Friday’s events for whatever reason, there will be a lifetime of opportunities to engage.
May these young people who inherit the world awaken the slumbering hearts of their elders. And may these young people succeed in not only raising awareness but in gaining actual governing power — winning elections and entering into the halls of power with a mandate and a to-do list. More on that later.
fredrichlariccia says
“Only one beneficiary from Trump attack on [California} fuel standards : Big Oil.” Sen. Ed Markey, the leader who wrote the mileage standards
gmoke says
Friday was good but what are you going to do Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Every damn day?
If we have something like a decade to turn the (sea level rising) tide, where’s the daily action calendar on a global, national, regional, local, personal level? What are the benchmarks? Anybody know of anything like this? Anybody working on it?
Will Friday climate strikes become Friday climate teach-ins and Friday climate solution hackathons and barnraisings? If not, why not?
I was at a conference at RISD on Saturday and a teacher of high school students asked the “expert” panel what he could offer to his students on a practical level after the Friday climate strike. They had little or no advice and threw it to the audience which responded with, generally, academic BS and gobblety-gook. I got angry and essentially repeated what I’ve written above in a very loud voice after the microphone was passed back to the panel and the moderator ended the questioning.
Dead silence.
I repeat: Friday, September 20 was a good day but what are you doing today and tomorrow and all the rest of the time we have left?
PS: For the last decade I’ve produced a free weekly listing of Energy (and Other) Events around Cambridge, MA as a listserv and a webpage (http://hubevents.blogspot.com). There is always a lot going on. Unfortunately, the local environmental community has never, to my knowledge, made use of what I do consistently and effectively. I guess it’s not as dramatic as a march or a sit-in or a demonstration. Too bad people haven’t realized the leverage the academic capital of the world can provide, every damn day.
jconway says
On the one hand, it’s easy for me to be snarky and say that Saugus will never care about this issue like Cambridge did and it’s a wash. On the other hand, data is showing swing voters and young voters rejecting the GOP denialism in droves and embracing solutions.
It’s a hard balance. Alarmist enough to be real (our security and way of life is truly on the line), but optimistic enough about solutions to keep people hopeful enough to act. Bravo Charlie and the young folk. We need you.
None of my students were able to go, but I have a few who are involved in campaigns to save revere beach, save rumney marsh, save the bees, and shut down the Wheelabrator power plant. The latter campaign has led to internships and an interest in pursuing environmental law for the students involved. I hope they can teach us how to fix it.
Kudos to Greta-way more courage than I had at her age.
Trickle up says
Why wouldn’t Saugus care about climate change? Does the town have a magic extreme-weather deflector?
Have you asked the DPW about climate change and costs going forward? How do people feel about their water rates going up to harden MWRA facilities against flooding?
It’s going to cost them tons of money even if things don’t get worse, and they will get worse.
Christopher says
Saugus is on the shoreline so has every reason to be concerned.
jconway says
I’m not saying it shouldn’t, I absolutely think it should. Two major watersheds, one critical. One smog spewing power plant linked to higher juvenile asthma and cancer rates. Yet the town voter overwhelmingly for a climate denier for president. So I think it’s a lot of “I got mine, you get yours” kind of voters.
gmoke says
Saugus has about a fourth of the population of Cambridge so they are not commensurate in people power or votes. It ain’t a wash just by the numbers.
Obviously you care about climate change so just keep working. Perhaps some of your fellow Saugus residents will join up with you and you can change the politics there.
I’d suggest that you concentrate on preparing for the next weather emergency which will be climate adaptation and, often, climate mitigation. You don’t even have to mention climate change/crisis/catastrophe/catyclism as you talk to your neighbors about what to do about the next hurricane, flood, drought, blizzard, or heat wave so that everyone can get through it without much damage. I’d suggest that you use Solar IS Civil Defense but I’ve been saying that for about 20 years now and haven’t seen anybody else pick up on it yet. We seem to like the conflict more than practical action that benefits us all.
Charley on the MTA says
You’re anticipating my next post, which was a Twitter thread …
The Sunrise Movement is dedicated to registering young voters and pushing the Green New Deal. In other words, they’re taking concrete steps to develop political power, on the lobbying side and the vote-mobilization side. I think they’ve done a decent job of thinking it through.
There’s a tendency among left/liberal type people to imagine that they’ve done their work by being right. But wielding power, not being right, not being public or showing off, is now the game.
gmoke says
Sunrise Movement is planning actions in support of the Green New Deal to the 2020 Inauguration and beyond.
October 2 a Global Solar Yatra will attempt to get 1 million students in over 70 countries building their own solar lights for studying.
October 7 Extinction Rebellion is planning a series of global actions.
You can do something about climate every day that fits with your values and time.
Charley on the MTA says
Climate activism is like another job … Monday I got into Boston after having pedaled 400 miles from Bar Harbor to Boston on the Climate Ride, raising $ for 350.org, Boston Cyclists Union and Union of Concerned Scientists. (Donations still gladly accepted!)
Tuesday, sadly, I missed Environmental Voter Project’s annual fundraiser in Boston.
Friday was the Climate Strike.
Every day plugging here or some social media.
There’s always something to do.
fredrichlariccia says
Greta Thunberg to world leader climate denier Trumpists at the UN today: “Change is coming whether you like it or not!”
Give ’em hell, Greta!
doubleman says
Pssst. She’s not talking only about Trumpists.
fredrichlariccia says
Not all climate change deniers are Trumpists BUT all Trumpists ARE climate change deniers. So there. 🙂
doubleman says
She’s not speaking to just climate change deniers. She’s calling out everyone not taking the crisis as seriously as it is and actually doing something – whether they believe the science or not. A lot of people on our side are in that mix.
Charley on the MTA says
If you moved those event listings onto Facebook you might get more traction. Just a suggestion.
Trickle up says
“moving onto facebook” is a pretty bad strategy. “linking to them on facebook” is the way to go, just sayin.
gmoke says
I announce the webpage when it goes live on Sunday with the new edition on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on both the main page and about four different LinkedIn groups.
Trickle up says
That’s how it’s done.
terrymcginty says
This kind of activism from youth is encouraging, in a discouraging era. Thanks for highlighting it in such detail for those of us who could not be there!