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Climate Code Red And
The Crucial 08 Election

By Bill Henderson

11 February, 2008
Countercurrents.org

Dear CounterCurrents readers:

I've just finished reading Climate Code Red . I've been sitting stunned for most of the afternoon. I've written more than 20 op-eds on runaway climate change but I hoped I was wrong. This Sutton and Pratt report details an emerging science of runaway warming too scary to contemplate and advocates escaping political and economic business as usual quickly, NOW, explaining that our climate change predicament is an unprecedented emergency.

Climate Code Red is a pdf that takes about an hour to read. More important than Stern, more up to date than last years IPCC reports, it should be front page news globally, but of course it isn't because, heretically, it is brutally honest about the scale of mitigation necessary and the need to escape BAU. What can we do? This is an emergency.

Climate change is a global-scale problem requiring a global agreement, plan and action to reduce GHG production and other mitigation measures such as forest protection. Practically, such mitigation action must begin and be lead by the US, the world's predominant economic power. The American 08 election is a window of opportunity to both raise climate change consciousness in the US and to build a consensus and mandate for action by the incoming government.

I have an idea for a campaign where local groups under the organizing umbrella of an international ENGO like Avaaz could be effective in the upcoming 08 election. Pasted on is a message to an Avaaz contact explaining how such a campaign would work. But I worked my Christmas holiday trying to find such an ENGO organizer/sponsor without success.

Stunned by Climate Code Red I'm trying again - I'm hoping one or more of you with the right skill-set, drive and/or connections will see merit and try to find such a sponsor: Avaaz, CAN or maybe even a religious or other NGO:

Hello again Paul,

I'm messaging again with a short scoping out of what a ' It's our kids future too' campaign could look like cause time is short and the 08 election the crucial opportunity.

As an example say I get together 6-10 enviro active people I know in Gibsons, mostly parents, maybe grandparents, but not excluding future parents or activists and we choose Portland Oregon and all candidate races there. We commit to letter writing, e-mail sending, phoning, maybe even paid ads if we can raise money, all of our usual activist tools.

We compose and have printed a folded single page brochure that (with pictures) says:

"We are parents concerned about climate change and our kids future. This global-scale problem requires a global agreement on greenhouse gas emission reduction and such an agreement and mitigation plan must practically begin and be led by the United States.

Climate change is a life and death issue for your kids and our kids - we all need leadership and action on climate change by the government elected in your country next election. We are therefor trying to inform and increase debate about climate change in order to help build a mandate for change for the next government.

We will try to be studiously bipartisan and respectful of American rights in your election, but it is our kids future too. Given the spectrum of climate change dangers and the closing window of opportunity for effective mitigation we think that all reasonable people should agree that 'It's our kid's future, stupid' and help make climate change THE issue in this crucial 08 election."

Or some such, We send brochures with contact info and maybe links to info sources, orgs, etc to ALL candidates, media, interest groups, etc; then we letter write and e-mail same and more; then we follow up with phone, media (Youtube, etc) and whatever else might work for the practical length of the 08 campaign.

But me organizing my local Gibsons group is small potatoes to you helping organize many, many such local groups world-wide, all of us picking candidates and publics in the US. I'm an activist out in the boonies and I can't do it from here; but I'm networked to more than 300 BC activists through 3 listserves - if Avaaz would consider co-ordinating, with Avaaz backing, I would send out a message recommending groups forming all over BC and I think it could catch on like wildfire. Think of the synergies possible if such a global campaign caught on.

So I'm hoping Paul that you will think about this idea for CC activism and maybe forward around for input. If you are interested and need more info e-mail me back. If not - no prob, I trust your judgement and good luck,

Bill Gibsons, B.C.

I never heard back from Avaaz, or from CAN and others to whom I sent this preliminary scoping out. Hey, maybe it's pie in the sky or there is just too much risk in venturing into US politics, but I remember civil rights activists heading down to the South to sign up voters and I'm sure there are Christian and business groups outside the US who are active in the US election.

Climate change is an emergency requiring thinking outside of the box. Presently climate change has been a peripheral campaign issue - it has to become THE ONLY issue. There is no alternative path to a US lead global deal and we have to get there fast and we are nowhere close.

It wouldn't be a lot of extra work if the local groups were big enough esp with umbrella help. I think trying to make climate change a major election issue let alone win a mandate for American leadership would be far more effective than any local BC climate change action with the possible exception of blockading coal exports from the coal ports in Roberts Bank and Prince Rupert (for just my local example).

Read Climate Code Red, consider my 08 campaign and maybe what other action you can take in your home place. What else can I say?

Bill

bill (at) pacificfringe.net

 


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