Well, it’s #ZeroWasteWednesday for another 13 minutes here on the West Coast. I was all set to publish something the next piece of my food waste series, writing about farm shares and managing what’s in my fridge and all that.
But politics took over my free time today. It’s been 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit here for the past 5 days in a month when the historical average high is 69 degrees. And I was “Feeling the Bern” with thousands of screaming Bernie Sanders fans last night when he spoke about political revolution after losing the CA primary, and in all likelihood, the nomination.
Friends Of Earth Action feels the Bern
I’ve spent all of my free time today digesting what that means and figuring out how to best harness the energy he’s gathered. I don’t have any answers yet, but I do know that we should not go softly in to the dark night politically. Sustained advocacy and action will be necessary to gather the political will we need to steer towards environmental justice and social justice and against fascism and anarchy in the face of climate-fueled instability. I’m thinking about these questions and hope others are, too:
- Can we give up coal, oil and gas by 2050, as the UN directs countries to do? What kind of political revolution can make that happen?
- What can or must we accomplish through technological advancement, personal action, and collective/political action?
- How does one stay politically active while also living simply and sustainably, avoiding the “driving cars to the anti-oil protest” problem?
When the presidential election becomes too much to think about, here are some more local initiatives we can focus on to stay involved, and perhaps make more of a difference:
- Ontario’s liberal government is planning to make big investments in climate initiatives with the money it makes from cap and trade.
- Washington state may pass the first carbon tax in the nation this year while lowering the tax burden of low-income families and businesses, too. We are hosting one of the initiative’s interns in our home this month to help out with the effort – she’s bilingual, and a super helpful, delightful young person!
- Massachusetts moved a step closer to banning plastic bags recently – #ZeroWaste is really catching on!
And finally, a hopeful glimpse at the political will of our global family: The Paris climate accords move forward thanks to the Obama administration, the French Parliament, and India’s Prime Minister.
Goodnight and sweet dreams, everyone.