Tag Archive for: BAM2020

The Day the We Take Action for Good

/in , /by

Have you shaken off the Turkey Slumber yet? Are you ready to take action? 

Did you shop ‘till you dropped on Black Friday, or you more of a click-it and get-it type that lives for Cyber Monday? If so, are you ready to click-and-take action? 

Whatever you did, I hope you had a marvelous holiday weekend. And I hope you didn’t miss this really good news about climate restoration about the Foundation for Climate Restoration. I also hope you’re ready to join us and take action tomorrow!

As you know, I’ve been committed to waging justice for 30 years, but tomorrow starts a powerful new journey, one that is more important than anything I’ve taken on before. 

Tomorrow we take action to save humanity!  

Why tomorrow? Because tomorrow is the one day a year where America focuses its collective attention on doing good in the world.

giving tuesday

Tomorrow is GIVING TUESDAY, and in the last decade, it has literally gone viral. From a quirky online campaign to balance the commercialism (and gluttony!) of Thanksgiving, it has grown to a day where almost $400 million is given to social causes and charitable organizations.  

It’s the day we all think about how to make the world a better place.

It’s the day where Build a Movement 2020 must reach out and grow! 

If we want to have the resources and support to build a movement that grows and scales, we must be successful on Giving Tuesday. 

We need your help and it will only take a couple of minutes.

First thing tomorrow, please:

  • Show up first thing in the morning of Giving Tuesday and make a small donation on our crowdsource page here. 
  • Post at least twice tomorrow on your social media inviting friends and family to take bold action with you. 

By taking action, you combat our climate emergency. It’s a small action to call others to hold our leaders accountable for meaningful political change leading up to the next Presidential election and beyond. 

This is the moment of change. The start. The time we’ll look back on and say, “I was there. I was part of it.” 

See you online tomorrow. Here’s to our movement in 2020 and beyond! 

 

A Climate Emergency, but where are the alarms?

/in , /by

Friday night out means something very different than you’d expect for eighty-one-year-old celebrity and activist Jane Fonda. The superstar has pledged to get arrested by taking part in Fire Drill Fridays every week through January to raise awareness about the climate emergency our planet now faces. 

She’s already been arrested several times in Washington, D.C.

Talk about taking action! 

While getting arrested may not be feasible for you, taking action is. It is the civic duty of every human being who calls Planet Earth home. 

We are in a state of climate emergency, and yet millions of people aren’t hearing the alarms. 

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE TO CLIMATE RESTORATION!

CLICK HERE.

 

Sounding the alarm on the climate emergency

I’m breaking the glass and pulling the alarm. We can’t wait any longer. And you can join me one hour before the next debate at our Facebook Pre-Debate Live Event. Wednesday, November 20, 2019 EST and get briefed on the CREA President Candidates Report Card and next steps to demand action.

Climate Emergency. Take Action

Because of the urgency of our climate emergency, I have centered my first action and highest priority as the founder of Build a Movement 2020 on building a collaborative effort around Climate Restoration. 

Over the past month, a global movement for Climate Restoration is gaining momentum to ensure the survival and flourishing of humanity with an ambitious goal to restore a safe and healthy climate by 2050. 

The exciting news of collaborative change has finally begun to spread:

In September we held the First Annual Global Climate Restoration Forum. 

Hundreds of people from around the world attended the event at the UN Trusteeship Council with support from the UN Office for Partnerships and in partnership with Earth Day Network, Future Coalition, and the Foundation for Climate Restoration.

Take a look at the news coverage: 

In tandem with the Forum, we announced the launch of the Global Coalition for Climate Restoration public and private partners focused on large-scale carbon dioxide removal, Arctic ice restoration, and/or ocean ecosystem restoration. Many organizations are joining the effort as we speak. 

This type of collaboration is critical for meaningful change. We can ensure the survival of humans (or ensure Earth is livable for all humans) but only when we work together!  

We created our BAM 2020 Guide to Climate Restoration called “From a March to a Movement.” Read about these seven critical steps we can take together. It’s free. Share it widely, and turn it into action. You can get yours today. Click here.

Want to join this global effort? Want to help sound the alarm? Text BAM2020 to 52886 and then share this information widely. 

Everyone has a job to do. It’s an emergency! But we can solve it together. 

 

Our next President must save humanity

/in , /by

Our next President must be prepared to save humanity. In the face of a climate emergency that impacts every aspect of our lives, half-measures and plodding steps will not be sufficient. And we have just over 350 days to impact the election with this critical goal.

An effort to save humanity probably sounds extreme. But the science is clear: We are running out of time. Equally clear is that there are options for climate restoration that can do the job. We can save humanity.

This election cycle has focused more attention on climate justice than ever before. Several candidates are calling for a climate emergency. Several are offering bold ideas. But none yet has broken to the top of the field, according to our newly released Climate Restoration Emergency Action Scorecard.

Democratic voters in Iowa and around the country should be alarmed by the lack of ambition to address climate change by the Presidential candidates. 

CREA report card tracking saving humanity

All of the candidates are failing to respond adequately to our climate emergency. We need more than rhetoric and empty promises. 

Climate Restoration Emergency Action (CREA) won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Yet with bold leadership, it’s affordable and achievable. 

Now is the time for voters to make sure the next President leads a global movement for climate restoration. 

You can read the full report on the CREA report card here.

Ensure our next President helps save humanity

Our next President must also go beyond current ambitions for climate action. 

Besides ongoing mitigation (reducing CO2 emissions) and adaptation (preparing for inevitable consequences), the next President must set a new goal to achieve “climate restoration” — to repair the current damage and proactively ensure a safe and healthy climate for future generations.

The next President must mobilize the full capabilities of the federal government, universities, and the private sector to deploy innovative solutions to return atmospheric CO2 to safe levels of less than 300 parts per million by 2050. 

In addition, efforts must restore sufficient Arctic ice for eight months of the year to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emissions. This is an urgent priority.

So far, none of the candidates have committed to this goal.

The next president must lead the rapid acceleration of the three legs of climate action: mitigation, adaptation, and restoration. This will require mobilizing the entire federal government and society on a scale not seen since Americans mobilized to win the battle against fascism in World War II.

So far, none of the candidates have committed to this goal.

Our next President must unify a broad range of constituencies within the Democratic party and demonstrate their skill to mobilize cross-partisan support that attracts Independents, green Republicans, and especially non-voting Americans. A unified political movement is an absolute prerequisite for breaking the political logjam to accelerate federal climate action.

So far, none of the candidates have committed to this goal.

Our greatest presidents have called on shared sacrifice to accomplish broad goals like winning World War II and ensuring “government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

A new president’s mission is a little more succinct: to ensure people shall not perish from the earth. The top agenda must be to save humanity.

Let’s join forces with all Americans and vigorously demand action to restore our climate.

 

Use the digital power at your fingertips

/in , /by

As a doctor and father, I’m used to giving out advice. So bear with me, because I want to offer some simple and effective advice for my fellow activists and change-agents to tap into the digital power at your fingertips:

Use your powers for good. 

And read on, because within this post we’re going to help you do exactly that! Consider this your Digital Power 101 introduction. 

Class is now in session. 

Taking action with a few clicks

Never before in history has such power –aka digital power–been afforded us. The telephone you hold in your hand is more powerful than the first computers I worked on at the State Department years ago. Through the digital power of social media, you can reach more people around the world than many political leaders from twenty years ago.

We all share concerns about the impact of modern digital technology. We worry about our privacy, our identities or even what others are doing with the same tools to harm others. 

But we can’t run from digital tools. They spur change and help galvanize critical support for vital action. Digital power is here, for better or worse. These tools exist, so we must use them for good.

We spend a crazy amount of time on screens. Some of the latest studies found that adults view screens 11 hours a day! 

A lot of that time is passive–following celebrities, posting selfies, reading or watching content others provide– that has us “tuning in and tuning out.” 

What if we gave just a sliver of that time to waging justice? What if we posted for political action and used simple clicks to contact our legislators? What if we came together to use our digital power collectively go viral for justice?

Digital power through BAM 2020 campaigns

At BAM 2020 we made a significant investment in digital tools to make it far easier, more efficient and more impactful for you to make a difference–and do it fast! 

Have you wondered why we’re often encouraging you to text Bam2020 to 52866? If you haven’t done it, aren’t you just a bit curious about what will happen when you do? 

No, you won’t be asked for money. No, you won’t be besieged with spam in your e-mail inbox. You’ll come to this spot here: 

As you can see, we’ve teed it all up for you to quickly and rapidly write a letter and tweet directly to your Congressional leader. You don’t even have to know who your leaders are, as we’ll find them for you in seconds. 

By entering very basic information (none of which will be shared with anyone by BAM 2020) this sets up emails and tweets for you to send. Click another button and away they go! 

Think it doesn’t matter? Well, don’t take our word for it. Try it. Click here and get started right now.  You will contact all your Congressional leaders urging them to support legislation that advances Climate Restoration to confront our growing climate emergency. 

Once you’ve sent it out, wait for a day or two and see how many replies you get. 

Now imagine if you invite a bunch of friends to do the same? Imagine the next happy hour when you’re sitting around talking about your frustration with the lack of political action or solutions, you encourage everyone to do something about it, right then and there, with a cocktail or beer in hand! 

That’s called using your digital power for good.

If 20-30 or 200-300 emails like this show up, your political representatives will take notice. We can quickly and effectively raise this important solution to our climate emergency with those in a position to affect legislation and change.

We’re stronger together

Over the course of the next month, we’ll have several calls to action. You can do EVERY one of them, just as easily as you do this first one. You can keep making an impact, keep raising your voice, keep waging justice with a few clicks on your phone.

And don’t forget the power in your own posts. How many people liked or commented on your latest selfie? What if they saw a post from you showing a letter from your senator about climate restoration instead? What if they liked, commented and shared your posts about taking action to defend the Earth for generations to come? 

It’s simply too easy NOT to do it. 

Tap into your digital power (super power!) Get started today. 

  1. Support Climate Restoration here.
  2. Share your post using our social media links.
  3. Drop me a note and introduce yourself, saying “I’m waging justice!” 

This is how we will change the world together! 

 

CREA for a Better World

/in /by

Just what is CREA and why am I writing about it about so often? 

It’s a good question, one I’ll answer in this post. But first, let me ask you a question: Did you happen to catch the World Series? 

Of course, as a resident in the Washington, D.C. area I couldn’t avoid it. The city was galvanized by a baseball team winning it all against all odds. It was fun and brought a lot of good cheer.

But it’s still a game.

What if the entire city of Washington, D.C. came together to win the biggest battle facing humanity today? What if the entire country could be on the same team, working with others around the world to ensure this miraculous blue, green ball of life keeps on providing a safe and secure home for humanity for generations to come? 

Now that would be a celebration, right? 

Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. I know this because earlier in my career the world faces another perilous threat. The AIDS epidemic was spreading around the world killing millions. We needed a collaborative, innovative, large-scale effort to alter the course of the disease.

And we did it. In the process, we saved 32 million lives! 

So here we go again. We’re going to save humanity, and we’re going to do it by securing large-scale support for CREA. 

 

CREA: a bold solution for a critical problem

For the past several months I’ve had the privilege to work as a senior policy advisor with the Foundation for Climate Restoration who is leading the global effort on Climate Restoration Emergency Action, or CREA.

We can return atmospheric CO2 to safe pre-industrial levels by 2030 and restore Arctic ice to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emissions. Climate restoration legislation and investment will remove carbon from the air, spur clean energy investment and help reverse the impacts of climate change.

Climate Restoration is the global endeavor to return the Earth’s climate systems to a proven safe state in which humanity and our natural world evolved.

Climate restoration won’t be easy — in fact, it will be the most challenging endeavor humanity has ever undertaken — but it can and urgently must be done, as fast as possible.

 

Join a worldwide movement of change

We launched Build A Movement 2020 to provide grassroots support for these game-changing initiatives. 

Our mission is to bring together political parties, movements, coalitions, organizations, and individuals to save humanity, protect the Earth and solve our existential challenges.

Our vision is to break barriers to bring everyone together to challenge our current government through grass-roots and institutional advocacy to do better and to do more. Together we will not only ensure the survival of the human species, but we will usher in a more just and peaceful world.

Subscribe to get action alerts and invitations to make a difference right in your inbox. Being involved has never been easier. Join us and help build a movement of change for 2020. 

A Vision for Impact in 2020

/in /by

Eight billion people call this planet home. 

Each of us, every one of us, faces existential challenges that don’t discriminate by politics, race, religion or wealth. We’re in this together.

We’re also in a time of globalization and digitalization. Solutions are at our fingertips. One person can make a greater impact than ever before.

This is our world. Together we can save it. 

The Build a Movement 2020 mission is to bring together political movement, organizations and individuals to heal America and ensure our country advances solutions that protect our world and ensure the survival of all humanity.

Today, we turn the calendar. We are now 364 days away from the next election of the President and Congress. We have just one year to impact this election and ensure accountability in 2021 and beyond.

Over the next two months our vision for 2020 and how we’ll catalyze a movement of change.

At Build a Movement 2020:

  • We call for the restoration of democracy.
  • We call for climate restoration.
  • We call for a sustainable future. 
  • We call for gender equality and universal health care.
  • We call for the end of childhood sexual abuse and trauma that stems from inequalities, racism and gun violence.

To learn more about our five pillars and how they are interconnected, click here.

BAM 2020 seeks to unify behind grassroots activism and institutional advocacy to do better, accomplish more and see our calls to action realized in the upcoming American political election.

Together we will not only ensure the survival of life here on Earth for our grandchildren and their grandchildren, but we will usher in a more just and peaceful world.

Join us.

Text BAM2020 to 52886 and take the pledge to build a movement in 2020.

Step 5- Sound the Alarm: Declare a state of emergency

/in , /by

Have you ever sat in a building while the fire alarms blares and did nothing? 

Sure, we are wary at first and think it might be a false alarm. But it continues to shrill. Eventually, we make our way outside. 

We are marching to sound the alarm. It’s real. The world is on fire, but where will we flee? 

My work for the last 30 years to hold the United States and governments around the world accountable to save lives has brought me the courage to commit my life to save all of humanity.

I’m committed, as our millions of others (you’ve seen them out there in the streets, right?). The question is… will you join us? 

We need you to help turn this march into a movement of lasting impact. We are laying out a roadmap for climate justice, one that will help us Build a Movement for 2020 and beyond. 

Let’s get you caught up. Here is how we will go from a #MarchToAMovement in 7 Steps: 

  • In case you missed them, here are the first three steps: 
  • STEP 1: Forge systemic change
  • STEP 2: Demand More
  • STEP 3: Consolidate our Focus
  • Step 4: Unleash Political Courage over Political Fear 

And today?

Step 5: Sound the Alarm 

We can’t sit on a burning planet and do nothing any longer. Listen to one person who clearly makes the case while there is no choice, no middle ground, no waiting. Just listen:

It really is this clear. “A 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us, we who have to live with the consequences,” Greta Thunberg said.

It’s time. Sound the alarm. Take action. 

Everyone, everywhere, is urgently needed to deploy “Climate Restoration Emergency Action.”

It’s not workable any longer to stand by and watch all of humanity run like a herd of buffaloes off a cliff towards our almost certain probable extinction.

It is not okay.

By taking action today and every day we can change this.

We must insist that the President of the United States, Congress, and local governments take “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” as fast as possible.  

We can join forces and demand that our elected officials in federal, state, county, and city governments launch “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” as fast as possible.

As Winston Churchill said, “Nothing matters except victory in the existential struggle.“

Step 3- Consolidate our focus: Support a single bill for action

/in , /by

People often say our governmental leaders aren’t doing enough on climate change and they are right. The effort to date isn’t close to what’s needed to save humanity, which is why in Step 2 of our roadmap to climate justice we urged you to demand that our leaders commit to Climate Restoration, not just curbing carbon emissions. 

Without a doubt, our leaders are failing us as Build a Movement 2020’s climate scorecard makes clear.

But, we also have to realize that they are doing something (some of them, anyway). Did you know that right now there are about 50 bills languishing in Congress all offering solutions to global warming? 

This piecemeal approach, while commendable, represents a thousand flowers blooming, and nothing will become law. What we need is a bouquet of flowers that becomes a single, powerful message of lasting change. 

What if instead, we urge our political leaders to get behind a SINGLE bill that would in fact spur the tipping point of real change? This is Step 3. 

To recap:

Step 1: Forge systemic change

 

Step 2– Demand more

 

And Step 3:  Consolidate our focus.

We are building a movement to consolidate support around significant Congressional action for change. 

Climate Restoration is already prioritized in recently introduced Congressional Climate Emergency Resolutions (S.Con.Res.22, H.Con.Res.52) and by Santa Clara County, California (Res. 98193). Passing these bills into law would kickstart a worldwide “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” that can ensure that humanity can survive on Earth for generations. 

So far, our presidential candidates aren’t committing to Climate Restoration. Together, we will change that.

We can mobilize a bipartisan political movement to return atmospheric CO2 to safe pre-industrial levels by 2030 and restore Arctic ice to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emissions.

Climate restoration won’t be easy — in fact, it will be the most challenging endeavor humanity has ever undertaken — but it can and urgently must be done, as fast as possible.

Have you shared these posts with anyone yet? Start today. Share this on all your social networks to help Build A Movement for 2020.

Today a march, tomorrow the movement for political action

/in , /by

The next generation is leading us today. Around the world young people are standing together, urging us all toward a new mindset that is crucial for altering the course of climate change.

The Global Climate Strike has begun. 

They marched in the Pacific Islands where their entire way of life is under immediate threat. Massive marches in Australia started the crescendo around the world, soon joined by similar marches all across Asia.

They marched in Europe, from the U.K. to Germany to Rome and beyond. 

The strikes continue today, now, here in the U.S, right here in New York at the UN meetings, and then spreading out across the country.  

This collaboration of global support sends a powerful message to world leaders leading up to the UN Climate Summit in New York starting tomorrow.

Across America today these marches continue in thousands of communities. This is a Collaboration of The Determined, if you will, people who will no longer accept doing nothing while our planet burns. As we march, we also put massive pressure on our political leaders to take action. We must be clear that this is the start of a movement, not the end of an event. 

It is up to us to use this energy to build a movement that will powerfully shape the election of our country’s leaders in 2020. We have 409 days and counting to create this movement of transformation leading up to the election on November 3, 2020.

Climate restoration won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination. But it can be achievable as was discussed earlier this week at the Climate Restoration Forum at the UN headquarters.  

We can demand bold action in Congress and hold the next president accountable. We will continue to track the candidates’ movement on climate restoration so the public can make informed decisions about how the next president will address the urgency of saving our planet.

Over the next seven days, we will offer seven firm steps forward that will help turn this Climate Strike into a movement of sweeping change. 

Today we march for justice and build a movement. Tomorrow and every day going forward, we demand bold action from our political leaders. Because as Greta Thurnberg told Senate leaders, “Sorry, you’re not trying hard enough.” (We think they can do a lot more as they are not passing our Climate Restoration report card, as of yet). Let’s build a movement. Join us.