I
was worried as I arrived at Pittsburgh’s version of the global climate strike
with a friend at about 11:40 on a beautiful Friday morning the 20th
of September 2019. I was worried that the
Pittsburgh region wasn’t going to make me proud. I’d already seen the massive crowds assembled
in Brisbane, Luxembourg, and other large and small cities to the east across the
ocean that Greta Thunberg had just weeks before traversed in a zero-carbon
emissions sailboat to help focus global attention on the climate crisis. I didn’t expect Pittsburgh to mobilize
anywhere near the numbers who were rallying with Greta in New York City that morning,
but I’d hoped to see school buses convoying into the downtown, hordes of people
streaming with signs toward the rally point, and streets cordoned off by police
cruisers. Instead it was quiet and I was
feeling both embarrassed that our turnout might not measure up and glad that my
friend and I added two to the small crowd that was gathering.
As we made
our way to the Climate Reality Project table where protest signs were available, we were shocked to hear two
professionally-dressed older white men confronting the teenager who stood by
herself behind the table. They were
accusing her of “child abuse.” They said it wasn’t right to be frightening
children with unfounded worries and they insisted that she present facts to
support claims that there’s a crisis.
I’d seen both these guys around town in my professional capacity and I wasn’t
surprised to hear the venom coming from two global warming deniers. I was surprised though to see them ganging up
on a youth volunteer at a peaceful demonstration.
Playing a
“child abuse” card seemed odd. Did they
not see the irony in accusing a teenager of child abuse when it was clearly
they who were abusing this young person’s rights to peacefully assemble? Later, my friend discovered that the
conservative, Washington Examiner,
had run a piece by Tiana Lower on 8/29/19 wherein Greta’s parents along with
“climate alarmists” and the media were accused of child abuse. The argument goes that Greta’s “stage-parents”
are milking her “clinically diagnosed obsession” with the climate crisis as a
way to regain the celebrity they enjoyed before Greta’s mission overshadowed
their show business careers. Lower
concludes that, “Conservatives shouldn't mock her. They should worry for her.
Social media has made it too easy to prop up children as moral authorities —
even children especially predisposed to crack under the pressure.”
If anyone is
cracking under pressure, it’s President Trump who suffered Greta’s scorn after
mocking her impassioned speech to the UN.
The full transcript of her remarks can be found here,
but to appreciate the intensity and passion with which she delivered them, do
yourself a favor and listen (along
with the more than 3 million others who had done so as of 9/23/19). That the climate-change-denying leader of the
largest economy on the planet (and the nation most responsible for this crisis) would crack is understandable after being
schooled by Greta that, “for more than 30 years, the science has been crystal
clear” and that,
“…you are still not
mature enough to tell it like it is. You
are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal.
The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us,
I say: we will never forgive you.”
In response,
the president tweeted: “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward
to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” The Commander in Chief of the most powerful
nation on the planet feels it’s necessary to mock a 16-year old from Sweden? With leadership like that, the mindset of the
two thugs I observed attempting to bully the young climate strike volunteer is sadly
understandable.
I’m glad my
friend and I were there to observe and intercede. Not that the volunteer really needed our help,
it was just embarrassing to see and I guess we felt that two more older white
guys entering the fray on the side of climate justice might help balance the
equation. They tired of having to tangle
with people their own size pretty quickly after that and stalked off, probably
seeking other youngsters to abuse.
But, by then, it was about noon and the crowd
had grown significantly. Speeches commenced, youth leaders shared impassioned
testimonials, adult supports including a member of the Electrical Workers Union voiced their support, and community and political
leaders contributed to infusing the crowd with hope and action.
Then it was time to take to the streets and our march did
Pittsburgh proud. While I wish we had
ten or twenty times the 500 or so who attended, we did stop traffic, turn pedestrian
heads, and attract media attention. Most
importantly, we asserted ourselves as having the sovereign power that Al Gore wrote
about that same day in the New York Times:
“The people, in their true function as the sovereign power,
are quickly understanding the truth of the crisis, and they are the ones who
must act, especially because the president is not on speaking terms with the
truth and seems well beyond the reach of reason.
This will require a ferocious attack on the complacency,
complicity, duplicity and mendacity of those in Congress who have paid for
their careers by surrendering their votes and judgment to powerful special
interests that are sacrificing the planet for their greed. To address the climate crisis, we must
address the democracy crisis so that the people themselves can reclaim control
of their destiny.”
To “reclaim control of their destiny” we all need to engage
politically and reassert our sovereignty.
We do that by reevaluating, rethinking, and empowering ourselves with
action. As Reverend Jim Magaw said in a
recent sermon to the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills,
“I have decided that I’d rather be part of a
movement making history instead being pushed around by it… I will speak
out in whatever way I can to point out the ways in which our leaders and our
social, political and economic systems are continuing to cause great harm to
people who are marginalized and oppressed and great harm to our planet, which
is at risk of becoming uninhabitable in just a few generations because of our
own human irresponsibility and recklessness…And I will act in such a way as to
turn away from despair and turn toward hope.
…the only way to turn toward hope is to act. In
the words of Greta Thunberg, “Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So
instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will
come.””
The Climate Reality Leadership Corps recommends actions such
as those listed below that are aimed at stimulating others to rethink what’s
needed, recognize what’s possible, and help change things:
·
Contact an influencer (call, write, or meet with
elected officials and community/business leaders);
·
Write letters and op-eds (whether published or
not, get your message out to the media for a wider distribution);
·
Post a blog (share your thoughts, concerns, and
ideas on social media or other electronic forums);
·
Publish news articles (if you have access to a
publication, submit an article);
·
Participate in an event (get out, pitch in, share
ideas, and engage with others!);
·
Meet with co-leaders (collaboration with others
who share your passion goes a long way toward helping us persevere and have
fun);
·
Mentor others (share your expertise and passion
with others in training events or informal gatherings);
·
Organize an event (inspire others to come out
and get involved by arranging an educational event, a workshop, a petition drive,
a rally, a strike, or other activity);
·
Appear in the media (if you have access to TV,
radio, or other public media formats, get interviewed and speak up!);
·
Host a webinar (get your message out to a mass
audience and let it live in perpetuity); and
·
Give a presentation (this is the core action
that Climate Reality Leaders are trained to deliver to groups large and small
using the latest information assembled in high-quality graphics by the Climate
Reality Project).
I’m hopeful that this
climate strike represents a societal tipping point that will propel us toward
sweeping policy changes that will have large-scale and long-term
benefits. I only hope that our collective actions come quickly enough to
re-balance the already-tipping climate scale before humanity is tipped off
entirely.