The title quotation is from the Sunrise Movement website.
I am beginning to believe we might actually be moving toward solutions for our environmental crisis and dysfunctional economy, education, healthcare and political systems. That is a remarkable thing to say. I’ve been working to stop the explosion of the burning of fossil fuels for over 40 years (when I stopped owning a car), with pretty much no success. Since then I haven’t convinced anyone else to do so. Now it has become increasingly clear that we are moving more deeply into a planetary environmental disaster.
For years, The Climate Mobilization has been trying to convince people what is needed is a complete re-tooling of our policies and manufacturing, as happened when we entered the World Wars. A little progress has been made, but not on the scale necessary.
“If you have put a windmill in your yard or some solar panels on your roof, bless your heart. But we will only green the world when we change the very nature of the electricity grid — moving it away from dirty coal or oil to clean coal and renewables. And that is a huge industrial project — much bigger than anyone has told you. Finally, like the New Deal, if we undertake the green version, it has the potential to create a whole new clean power industry to spur our economy into the 21st century.” Thomas L. Friedman: A Warning From The Garden, The New York Times. January 19, 2007.
The Sunrise Movement is a rapidly growing group of young people who understand the depth of our environmental chaos and how quickly we need to stop using fossil fuels. That will require (1) Federal, state and local legislation and (2) engaging vast numbers of people.
The legislative part of this would be the creation of a House Select Committee on a Green New Deal, which is being introduced by Representative-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. More than 35 members of Congress are supporting this at the moment. She explains the need for this in the following video.
Who We Are
Sunrise is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
We’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.
We are ordinary young people who are scared about what the climate crisis means for the people and places we love. We are gathering in classrooms, living rooms, and worship halls across the country. Everyone has a role to play. Public opinion is already with us – if we unite by the millions we can turn this into political power and reclaim our democracy.
We are not looking to the right or left. We look forward. Together, we will change this country and this world, sure as the sun rises each morning.
The people part of this will involve community organizing and actions on a massive scale. As an example, this past Monday, December 10th, over 1,000 young people, representing the Sunrise Movement, flooded the U.S. Capitol to bring attention to the New Green Deal. 150 were arrested in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience as they sat outside Congressional offices. That is just the beginning. Last night I was on the conference call of the Sunrise Movement, where an evaluation of what happened in Washington, DC, and California this week, and the plans for next steps were discussed. Your help is needed. I encourage you to visit the Sunrise Movement website, https://www.sunrisemovement.org/
Quakers, social justice and revolution 