theClimateers

Cross posted from It’s Getting Hot in Here

As 27 of my fellow SustainUSers are in Copenhagen are attending plenary sessions and planning actions with international youth from around the world, I’m holding down the fort in Washington, DC by bridging the news from Denmark to actions at home.

A friend of mine earnestly remarked today that he thought grassroots and youth organizing for COP15 was a lost cause because the real negotiating at Copenhagen, and that legislative change in the U.S. Senate happens behind closed doors between high-level decisionmakers and powerful lobbyists; that protests, petitions, and rallies are tiny blips on the political radar. And I suppose he has a point – the COP15 outcome depends highly upon decisions of key leaders, and the deep pocketbooks of special interest groups and corporations resonate at higher decibels than kids with hand-painted banners and street actions.

But he’s wrong to conclude that it’s a waste of our time. After a brief afternoon existential crisis of the importance of our collective work, I stopped to look around at all the inspiring work coming from delegates in Copenhagen and my friends all over the country. It’s easy to become apathetic or discouraged, but it takes a lot more to keep fighting the fight.

Don’t underestimate the value of expressing your two cents to your leaders – it’s money well spent! We’ve already seen a positive change in political climate from our tireless campaigns – from Obama’s willingness to engage with youth climate leaders to the growing support for 350 ppm as our new global CO2 stabilization target – and though our gains may seem incremental, they are certainly pointing in clear direction: forward.

“I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world,” writes poet Adrienne Rich. We may not have money or extraordinary power on our side, but we have our youth, creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and dedication, and no astroturf effort can buy that kind of genuine passion. Sure, even a visible Ark on the National Mall isn’t alone going to convince my Senator to vote for the Climate Bill, but it’s the combined effect of all sorts of actions happening worldwide that show our collective force.

As youth delegate Caroline points out in her dispatch from Copenhagen, it’s important for us at home to build on the momentum from our friends in Denmark to push for domestic action.  Join a rapid response team! Call your senators to voice your support for the Climate Bill!  Talk to your friends and neighbors to raise awareness about these issues to people who might not otherwise know about them! Attend a 12/12 candlelight vigil!

Tomorrow, youth activists in Copenhagen are holding a Bed-In to commemorate the assassination of John Lennon by singing a climate-adapted version of “Give Peace a Chance.” The message? Give youth a chance.

A couple weeks ago, in the days leading up to September 21’s Global Wake-Up Call for climate action, I had the pleasure of meeting the folks at Avaaz’s Climate Action Factory in Berlin. I was immediately impressed by the energy exuding from the group and by the way the walls (or lack of walls, in some cases) of the teamwork-oriented office reflected this energy right back at the activists. All this energy was definitely helping the team get a heckuvalot done: not only were they preparing for a large action in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate, but they were also the central organizing team for Wake-Up Call flash-mobs in 30 or 40 other German cities.

With just a few days to go before the action, these guys were BUSY. As a SustainUS member, I was warmly welcomed and quickly trusted to I help out where I could – assembling packets, setting up an online survey to collect post-action info, and throwing in my two cents on what might work for the staging of the Berlin event. But, arriving late in the game, I was definitely an outsider and had plenty of time and space just to observe and listen.

While there, I realized a story seldom told by activists: the behind-the-scenes story. We post pictures, media hits and occasionally reflections from the actions we produce, but most people don’t get to see the development process of our actions. Even we ourselves are sometimes too focused on our end-goals to recognize the beauty and wealth of the process. From the organizational charts to the unconventional “boardroom” meetings, from the email blasts to… the construction of huge cardboard clocks… what we’re creating from the ground up is energy and empowerment in true form.

So I wanted to take a moment to pause, reflect, and say, “Hey, all you climate activists out there, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Recognize it!”

I know the clock is ticking – COP-15 kicks off in 66 days – and we’re all feeling it; but remember to take a tiny step back now and then when you’re hard at work to feed off of some of that inspiring energy that your peers are producing. We’ve collectively got an amazing renewable resource right in our own backyards, whether next to us at the brainstorming table or linked in from across the globe through itsgettinghotinhere.org. Take advantage of it!

If you’re feeling down (say perhaps due to the German elections), keep in mind that our activist energy is like wind energy – even if thing’s aren’t blowing your way, the mighty activist wind’s a’ blowin’ full-speed for clean energy somewhere else. So get linked into that smart grid and let the power of our youth movement reenergize your work and renew your spirit.

And P.S. check out what all the hard-work, energy, creativity, teamwork, and process of the Berlin Climate Action Factory team created (photos courtesy Avaaz):

German Leaders Heeding Climate Wake-Up Call

Flashmobbers + Press - all organized by the Action Factory in Berlin!

And check out more photos from the Berlin Wake-Up Call or from Wake-Up Calls organized by Avaaz leaders and volunteers from around the world – a great way to get pumped about our power.