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.
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