#ClimateStrike

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 20^th 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.