WE can see for ourselves the deadly consequences of climate inaction, of allowing fossil fuel profiteers to continuing throwing oil on the inferno that’s consuming us. It’s time to stop the ecocidal maniacs and prevent the planet-wide murder-suicide which they are committing.
Instead of wasting time and energy engaging with them, and repeating their argument to refute them, we should IGNORE THEM and instead repeatedly and incessantly state OUR DEMANDS. It’s to time end talking with fools and to FORCE ACTION.
The authorities, in cahoots with the fossil fuel industry which is gleefully killing us all — including the children of their own executives, for profit — are LITERALLY INSANE. How else can you characterize people who are fully aware that they are destroying the habitability of the planet that they and everyone they love live on? Yes, they are LITERALLY INSANE.
We need to begin a revolution of sanity over insanity, life over death, love over hate, and truth over lies. Our revolution will be a nonviolent one, in the spirit of Gandhi and King. It will begin in what appear to be small innocuous steps. But it will build into a gigantic unstoppable force for good.
The early steps won’t be actions against our adversaries, the climate destroyers. The first steps will be an invitation to our friends to join us.
Over time, many of our adversaries will join us. That’s because they — along with their children and grandchildren — live on this same Earth. Some of these people (but not all) will see the light. However, we will not wait for them. We do not have the time.
First Steps — Early Adapters, Identity, and Demands
Although there are many heroic climate activists (and activist groups), this is not (yet) enough. We need a larger group, with a unified identity and a common, focused demand.
We need to become Saners.
Identity
I’m calling our group of focused climate activists “Saners.” We are not opponents of other climate activist groups. We are friends, or perhaps even amplifiers. Together, we are saying the same thing: the time for debate is over and serious action is required NOW.
Instead of answering the deniers and delayers, we ignore them and their tired nonsense, and simply yet forcefully assert REALITY.
The climate is collapsing and WE are on an emergency footing. WE will stop oil, stop coal, stop natural gas. WE will not only listen to the scientists (competent, honest scientists, not the industry-owed “experts” hired to spread lies)— we will put them in control, along with young climate activists who will inherit this damaged planet.
WE are done — completely done — with the failed authorities in every country who allowed or even aided the ongoing climate destruction for decades up to the present day. We do not recognize their authority and will disobey them. They are fully discredited by their actions and by current events. This is true of both government and business leaders. They are all complicit in this crime, or in failing to stop it. They are dead to us.
WE turn our attention and our support to those who are caring and competent; to those who are able and ready to lead us out of this catastrophe. We will empower and support genuine climate scientists and young climate activists under 30.
I’ve cited these groups as the ones with the ability and standing to lead in my original formulation of A Climate Declaration.
By “WE” I mean the Saners. This is the term I use for ourselves and our movement. We are positioning ourselves as sane people fighting against the insanity of ecocidal maniacs who are purposely destroying our common home.
Demand
Our demand is very simple. It could be worded as Greta Thunberg often describes our situation:
“Our house is on fire. Listen to the scientists.”
But our formulation is less colorful and a bit more specific and direct:
“We demand an immediate worldwide emergency program, led by climate scientists, to end fossil fuels, end climate abuse and repair the planet.”
Unlike earlier approaches, we are no longer asking authorities to introduce new policies. We are telling them to go away, that they have failed catastrophically and are no longer in charge. We will never again listen to them or obey them. We will defy them completely. Their time is up.
We are putting our full support behind people who are sane, caring and capable. We will accept nothing less than a full unimpeded all-out effort to fight the crisis with everything we’ve got.
Decades of stupidly allowing our leaders to continue INCREASING fossil fuel production (and use) has put us all in a dire situation. That’s why we must make the MAXIMUM EFFORT NOW.
Our demand also avoids specifics — intentionally. We purposely leave those to the scientists and young climate activists. The former have the expertise and the latter have the standing to make these decisions.
Presumably, the scientists will sharply slash fossil fuel use — perhaps to zero. And they will take other measures affecting diet, energy, production and more.
But THEY are the experts; most of us aren’t. I’m not.
Actions
We Saners will work towards ending business as usual. We want to see workers walking off their jobs at oil refineries, coal mines, every job that’s contributing to climate destruction. We will take care of those people and each other.
Ordinary people like us do all the work, while authorities merely issue orders. Once we fail to carry out those orders, those authorities are done. And we don’t need unanimity to achieve this. Every great change in history was begun by a small number of committed activists.
We time will be no different.
This is satyagraha, the same approach used by Gandhi and King and others. It harnesses moral force, and widely under-rated power that has brought down kings and empires repeatedly throughout history. We will use moral force to save humanity and Nature.
Our opponents will weaken because they don’t really want to destroy themselves, destroy our Earth, destroy their own children. They are blinded by greed and ideology and peer pressure. But satyagraha is the greater force.
Our commitment to life, to love, to Nature is far greater than our opponents commitment to personal lust for power and wealth. It doesn’t seem to be the case…but it is.
We will build our numbers, identify ourselves as Saners, and repeat our demands. We will announce our intent to defy the failed authorities everywhere, and to put our support fully behind those who will carry out the necessary steps to rescue the climate.
We don’t need to agree on every detail. Our movement is a big tent. We won’t be divided or played for fools. The stakes are too high.
Still Too Vague?
Our movement, like great movements of the past, do not have everything planned in detail in advance. Some improvisation is required. And, unfortunately, some mistakes will be made. We are imperfect, but good enough and determined enough to succeed.
Still, we begin with a broad plan.
- Establish our identity.
- Build our numbers.
- Make our demands known.
- Disrupt the deadly activities that are destroying our climate.
- Put climate scientists and young people in charge, and support their efforts to save Nature and to save everything we love.
Thanks for reading.
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