We have many pieces in place. We’ve got a good idea of how to prevent climate collapse, and fix some of our civilization’s most egregious ills. But how do we set a gigantic widespread and disciplined movement in motion?
I think of it as the great unsolved problem. Much is known about movements - why some succeed and others fail. But what takes a movement from tiny and invisible (and therefore ineffective) to an energetic sizable community, working together and generating real change?
That’s one of my current challenges. Over the last few months (and, actually, last two years), I’ve been studying movements and using what I’ve learned to shape our group, The Saners.
I’m pretty convinced that our core ideas and strategies are sound. And I think our messages are compelling and resonate with most people who hear them.
Ah, but who hears them? Not nearly enough people. Not yet. This is an issue I need to solve. The Saners need to make things happen. So far, we haven’t been able to get things done.
We need to raise awareness and generate actual activity. Excitement. Hope. Possibilities. And ultimately, a feeling of inevitability.
Often, It Seems To Happen Spontaneously-Or Not At All
Police officers kill black people and the act is captured on video and posted to the Internet. This happens all too often. It happened many time before George Floyd was murdered.
Several earlier incidents got some attention, but did not generate a visible ongoing response. The Floyd murder did.
I don’t know why. I was as horrified by the earlier killings as by the Floyd murder. That one killing draws little response and another sparks a vibrant and very active movement is hard to understand.
Perhaps if we could understand why, our movement could take advantage of the reality of the issue we are facing-and we could make our movement visible and more energetic by making use of a particular climate event.
Maybe we could have a single person, as a hurricane approaches Florida, make a video outside in the budding storm. He’d be holding a sign saying “You won’t say it, governor…but I will. This is climate change and you’ve failed. We won’t.” And the URL of The Saners is on the bottom of the sign.
Would this work? I don’t know. It could be a risky move for a brave protester. But perhaps with proper precautions-while the storm is building but the winds aren’t yet deadly-someone could make and post this video.
Even then, it might never be noticed. Or it could be big, and completely shift attention-and start a series of actions with motivated Saners taking action and inspiring millions of others to join overnight.
A visible, sympathetic public act can be powerful. Occupy started as a small quiet encampment and protest near Wall Street. Within a few weeks it was a worldwide phenomenon, with similar encampments in dozens of major cities around the world.
Occupy was centered on an issue that people knew and cared about: that a wealthy greedy few controlled everything and that ordinary people were ignored or abused. And initially, the encampments looked friendly, welcoming and orderly-albeit unorthodox. People joined because THEY SAW IT and it looked like something worth being a part of.
That movement had other problems and did not succeed in its aims. But it revealed a possible solution to the Spark problem.
Show Me That It Can Work
As I’ve said frequently, people believe they are alone and that they are powerless. Only powerful people can fix the climate and the powerful people won’t listen to us. We need to show them otherwise, that ordinary people can take control of events-and without the help of “powerful people”.
I will keep thinking about the Spark problem. I will try to imagine actions by individuals or small groups that could make it happen. I will also ask others, people with experience in movements who have struggled with strategy. I have specific people in mind.
And I’ll begin talking about this with our (small but wonderful) group of Saners, people who have already signed up and are on the email list. (If you aren’t one yet, you can sign up now at WeAreSaners.org/join.)
I think that this will also be the subject of our next live online Saners group video chat. And probably at least one podcast at 5 Minutes to Save the Earth.
That’s Not All
As I continue wrestling with the Spark problem, I’m also working on other aspects of the movement, thinking ahead. For example, The Saners is committed to supporting and fully executing a worldwide climate emergency plan, created by climate scientists and other experts. This plan will need to include sharply and quickly slashing CO2 emissions.
Our group does not have such a plan to unite behind. If a plan that meets these requirements exists-along with experts ready to manage its execution-we need to find and work with that group. Or we need to find scientists and others to develop at least a preliminary (but actionable) first version of an emergency plan.
I’ve been searching for groups or individuals to help with that. And reaching out.
Also, I noticed that historically, even though usually one name per movement dominates the history books, it’s typically a group of intensely committed people working together who guide successful movements. The Saners cannot depend on me alone. I’m actively looking for experienced activists with strategic and tactical knowledge-people who know more than I do-to recruit and help guide and inspire our movement.
If YOU are friendly with a climate scientist who might be interested in helping, or someone who’s been involved in the core of one or more movements, helping decide what next steps are most promising, would you point them my way?
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