Tag Archive for: Climate Restoration Emergency Action

Avoid extinction through climate restoration 

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Humanity, we have a problem. We are staring at our very own extinction. That’s what I call a big problem. But we have a big solution: climate restoration.

You might not have heard it put in these terms, but we humans are on the verge of polluting ourselves out of existence. The last climate conference I attended, a climate expert said that 4–5 billion people could die in the next decades and we may all go extinct.

Sounds bleak, right? But there is great news, too. These problems are entirely solvable! But first we need to understand the gravity of the situation if we don’t act.

The Sixth Mass Extinction

The sixth mass extinction is underway and scientists report that the climate emergency is spiraling out of control — imminently threatening our humanity.

First, we lost countless sea-dwelling anaerobic bacteria who could not survive in oxygen.

Now we are losing Arctic Ice and 1000s of species are going extinct.

We’re seeing daily impacts on human lives and living conditions from monster storms to raging fires. 

The fact is we’re in danger of losing all of humanity. All of the humans. All of us.

The clock is ticking.

This problem, even though so many of us want to deny it, isn’t going away.

That’s the bad news.

So, let’s get to the good news.

We can work together to restore a safe and healthy climate for all of humanity now and for future generations. Through climate restoration we can return our Earth to the safe home for us all it was intended to be.

Climate Restoration Emergency Action

We have a solution!

Worldwide “Climate Restoration Emergency Action (CREA)” can ensure that humanity can survive on Earth for generations.

We must 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.

On MLK Day earlier this year, I launched Build A Movement 2020 (#BAM2020) to spark a patriotic revolutionary political movement.

My goal is to mobilize all Americans to join together in a shared commitment to take urgent “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” to restore a safe and healthy climate to ensure the survival of humanity, for ourselves and for future generations.

I am committed to mobilizing the full capabilities of our American society and all of our global partnerships: the federal government, local governments, universities, academics, civic groups, faith-based groups, and the private sector.

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

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

If they are not willing to do this, I believe they are violating their oath to uphold our Constitution and they should be removed from office as fast as possible.

I am committed to demanding that our elected officials in federal, state, county, and city governments launch “Climate Restoration Emergency Action.”

You can take action immediately by texting BAM2020 to 52866. Within less than a minute you can email you legislators and tweet support for CREA. 

We can stop our own extinction with simple clicks of action. 

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

CREA for a Better World

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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. 

Step 6- Advance modern solutions: invest in climate restoration

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For far too long protecting the planet has been pitched in a false war against economic vitality. 

For far too long we’ve been led to believe that the only way for us to cool the planet is to bankrupt it. 

And for far too long, we’ve watched greed wage war on the planet, pushing us toward a mass extinction of all humanity, simply to wring MORE money which it turns out will is hastening our collective demise. 

Greed could well be the single greatest obstacle remaining to a worldwide effort to reverse the warming planet and save it. As teen activist Greta Thunberg said at the UN Climate Action Summit, “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales about eternal economic growth,” she said. “How dare you?” 

As a recent article in Vice pointed out, the climate emergency is not just about the eventual demise of Planet Earth–as if that isn’t sufficient motivation for concerted global action– but the imminent demise of capitalism as we know it. 

“A climate change-fueled switch away from fossil fuels means the worldwide economy will fundamentally need to change,” the article stated.

This all sounds rather bleak, but perhaps it’s darkest before the dawn. The path toward ending this climate emergency through climate restoration is one that combines modern technology and clean energy economic investments that, A) Ensures the survival of humanity, and B) ensures the flourishing of humanity through sustainable development investments to usher in a healthy and just way of living together.  

Here is how we will go from a #MarchToAMovement in 7 Steps: 

  • STEP 1: Forge systemic change
  • STEP 2: Demand More
  • STEP 3: Consolidate our Focus
  • STEP 4: Unleash Political Courage over Political Fear 
  • STEP 5: Sound the Alarm. 

Step 6- Advance modern solutions

Imagine that? It can be a win-win. Maybe not WIN-AT-ALL-COSTS for the greedy, but still an economic and environmental win. 

Need further proof? How does $47 Trillion sound? That’s how much the biggest bankers in the world have already committed to divert from fossil fuel investment into clean energy. If they believe it’s a better investment, than why shouldn’t we rapidly transition renewable energy? 

In the simplest terms, Climate Restoration offers available solutions to reverse the damage already underway and remove gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere.  We can do this now with carbon-negative building materials and rapid acceleration of ocean ecosystem restoration. We have to pull the carbon from the air where it won’t continue to heat our planet.  To learn more about the best approached here is a recently published Climate Restoration White Paper published in September 2019 by the Foundation for Climate Restoration. 

Investment from both private and public institutions will launch climate restoration technologies and begin the work of restoring our climate, So here we are, STEP 6 on our Roadmap from a March to a Movement. It’s the “big tent” of this plan if there ever was one.

Come one, come all. Let’s work together.

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

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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 4- Unleash political courage: Commit to climate restoration

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Millions marched. 

Now trillions are being reallocated to a UN-backed “responsible banking” pledge that will fight climate change by shifting investments away from fossil fuels.

UN Secretary General António Guterres told us at the Climate Summit in New York this week that these are not unrelated events.  

“Recent action by some countries and businesses, as well as the stunning rise of the youth climate movement, gave him hope that international goals to avoid catastrophic global heating could be met,” The Guardian reported. 

This is how you turn a march into a movement. Even Politico is paying attention. In its “UN Climate Summit Playbook” of Sept 23, it tabbed the Foundation for Climate Restoration’s White Paper as a BIG IDEA for change. As a Senior Policy Advisor for this effort, I couldn’t be more pleased with the traction we’re getting. 

Simply put, the world is listening. 

Candidates lagging

Well, most of it is anyway. Guterres noted the absence of support from the U.S., China, Australia and Brazil, countries with a long history as part of the problem, not the solution. Which is exactly why we are building a movement right here in the United States leading up to the election in 2020. Because, for all the talk about this climate emergency, our country’s leaders are not doing nearly enough. The status quo is no longer acceptable.

Take a look: 

Guterres told us that the world is not on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Paris climate agreement; If we maintain our current pace we will only be halfway there by 2030. Halfway during a global climate emergency is not good enough. 

So why aren’t more candidates on board? Because political will has long taken precedence over political strides, and even with ambitious ideas from many of the Democratic candidates, fear over the politics of Climate Restoration remains a serious obstacle. 

“Only three of the top ten candidates — Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Andrew Yang — are explicitly calling to invest in technology (to remove carbon from the atmosphere), despite the fact that many experts believe limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) depends on it,” said a report by The Grist. 

This represents a serious obstacle to the United States full-scale engagement in Climate Restoration that is absolutely essential. 

Courage over fear

Fear has long held back politicians. There is nothing new there. But how do we push them past the fear? We insist. This is step 4 of our roadmap from a march to movement. 

STEP 4: Unleash Political Courage. 

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: 

Politicians may not do as much as we’d expect or like, but they do listen. They are hearing us now. They saw us out in the streets. They are seeing how young people all over the country are engaged and insistent. 

That’s why we must Build a Movement 2020. We must be large enough and loud enough to break the political fear against Climate Restoration and ensure proper legislation is enacted. Our BIG IDEA must become a plan of action. 

Let’s take our march online today. Here are two simple steps you can do to help break the political fear. 

  1. Write every candidate for president from both parties and insist they support Climate Restoration. 
  2. Share this post on your social networks and invite everyone you know to text BAM2020 to 52866 and join this movement.

Let’s break the fear and push to solutions. Humanity depends on it.

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

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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.

Get to stepping: Join the Global Climate Strike

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Tomorrow we march. 

Tomorrow we join hands with everyone, everywhere to take a stand for the survival of humanity. 

Tomorrow we get to stepping…. one stride at a time, confidently rising as a collective for justice.

Tomorrow is the Global Climate Strike. It is part of the UN Climate Summit’s week of action.  

The strike will see millions of people walk out of their jobs or school for the day and join protesters to march for climate justice and bring further attention to the need to combat climate change.  It will be the largest climate mobilization in human history…and we are just getting started.

Four corporations– Ben & Jerry’s, Lush Cosmetics, Patagonia, and Seventh Generation — have made the socially conscious decision to shut down for the day, encouraging their employees to march. 

Tomorrow could be the tipping point of change, but only if we all rise and march together and then webbed to hold our leaders accountable. As the march organizers state, “Our house is on fire. Let’s act like it.” 

There is a reason we launched Build a Movement 2020 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day earlier this year. Social justice and critical change will only come when we as citizens create enough of a movement that leaders in political and business leaders are forced to respond. 

“The arc of the moral universe is long,” Dr. King said, “but it bends toward justice.” 

Climate restoration is crucial for the survival of humanity. It is the justice issue of our time. 

The clock is ticking. We can work together to restore a healthy climate for all of humanity now and for future generations. It’s time for worldwide Climate Restoration Emergency Action to ensure that humans can survive on Earth. 

We invite you to share pictures with us from all over the world. Tag @buildamovement2020 on Facebook and @B_A_M_2020 on Instagram. We’ll repost, reshare and shout your march for justice to everyone in our networks and partnerships.

See you outside tomorrow!