Stars in the Dark

We read in 1. John 1:5:

“And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you,

that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all”

If you are feeling anything like me in this era of darkness you may just feel

like giving up at times. But I can’t give up on our environment. It is not just

for me but for future generations that will suffer for the harm that I have

helped to create.

Todd Larsen from Green America has some good insights that can help us:

“Now we are facing reinvigorated government backlash against

environmental and social justice intent on rolling back all the progress

we’ve made. We need to redouble our efforts to get corporations to commit

to and implement clear and accountable progress on environmental justice.

We’ve done it before during the first Trump Administration. After the

administration withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords and shredded

environmental regulations, renewable energy on the U.S. power grid still

increased by nearly 50%, thanks to corporate, state, and local actions.

States placed restrictions on several of the most toxic chemicals and we

got some large corporations to voluntarily restrict them.

Even in the dark times ahead, if we work together on policies at local and

state levels and keep up the pressure on corporations, we can not only

protect the gains we’ve made, but we can also keep making progress on

climate action, environmental justice, and protect people from toxic

chemicals.”

In another article in Green America by Dennis Greenia, he quotes from

MLK’s final speech:“I would turn to the Almighty and say:

If you allow me to just a few years in the second half of the 20th century I

will be happy.”

MLK goes on to say:

“Now that’s a strange statement to make because the world is all messed

up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land, confusion all around. That’s a

strange statement. But I know somehow that only when it is dark enough

can you see the stars.”

Greenia says that “the stars that Dr. King saw that night were the

movement – the people fighting for change – before his time, in his

Memphis audience, and now.”

Greenia continues, stating “Right now, the idea of hope seems strange and

distant. And yet, I have hope. Why? Because of history. Because we stand

on the shoulders of giants. Because we walk this path to a better world

together.”

He ends “Stars are light traveling across time. They are the light of our

ancestors guiding us on the path towards justice, shining in the sky to let us

know our time is now.”

Green America states that since its founding 40 years ago, they have

focused on how consumers, businesses, and investors together can create

a greener, fairer world without Washington. They state “In 2025 with an

administration that opposes solutions to the climate crisis and supports the

agendas of large corporations advancing profits at the expense of everyone

else, we are prepared for this moment. We’ll accelerate our green

economy, work on behalf of people and the planet, and make progress on

the most crucial issues no matter what happens in Washington – while

pushing back against the worse actions coming out of Washington.”

Their Hang up the Fossil Fuels campaign is moving the communication

section to 100% renewable energy that supports energy justice. Verizon is

now committed to 100% renewable energy, following T-Mobile’s lead and

AT&T is ramping up renewables as well. Their Cool It campaign is getting

commitments from giant grocery chains to phase out climate-destroying

refrigerants with Kroger announcing the use of natural refrigerants that

protect the planet in all their new stores. (An aside from me – Aldi’s has

already been given an A from Green America on this issue).

In 2025, Green America will put pressure on Comcast (which owns NBC

and Universal) and the tech sector to address the growing energy use of

massive data centers and AI. They will up the pressure on grocery chains

for climate friendly refrigerants. At the state level they will work with local

and national allies to stop California from pursuing biomass – cutting down

forest to create energy overseas.

In their Responsible Finance campaign, they launched the new Climate

Smart Insurance Directory to help people nationwide find answers with little

to no investments during the climate crisis. (We talked about this in one of

our recent blogs about money. This directory just came out at the end of

the year. My insurance got a B).

In 2025 they will launch an upgraded Get a Better Bank Directory, making it

easier to find thousands of banks and credit unions that are working to

build up communities nationwide. They will continue to defend socially

responsible investing and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion

programs from right wing attacks.

Another positive sign of resistance is that the philanthropic foundation of

Michael Bloomberg will cover the financial contribution that the United

States won’t pay to the Paris Climate Agreement, and provide the

agreement’s reporting requirements for emissions from climate change.

From Katharine Hayhoe’s email – “regardless of what the Trump

Administration says, the world is accelerating toward a clean energy future.

In 2024, investors across the globe spent twice as much money on green

energy as fossil fuel projects with investments hitting $2 trillion, a new

record.

Christiana Figueres states that “Politics will not be able to stand in the way

of this technological transition (also from Hayhoe’s newsletter).

Hayhoe states many of the world’s biggest companies are doubling down

on their commitments to climate action and renewable energy. Why?

Because these companies see the harm climate change will do to their

bottom lines and upsides to green power and they’ve already sunk billions

into these projects.

Jesper Brodin, the CEO of IKEA states “the train has already left the

station. The benefits are clear.” Clear too, are the risks of inaction, a report

from last year found that companies that fail to adequately prepare for

climate impacts could see their earnings drop up to 25% by 2050.

IKEA is a climate success story: it has slashed its carbon footprint by 30%

in 10 years while growing its profits by 24% in the same period. (All this is

from Hayhoe’s newsletter).

Even in these dark times, we don’t need to give up, we must not give up!

We do need to be there for each other, to encourage and care for each

other. We need to be the resistance. We can make a difference. We can be

the stars in the dark.