It truly feels like the universe is trying to send us a message right now. With negotiations over the infrastructure package ongoing we have had a record smashing heat wave on the west coast. We have seen a beachside property collapse in part because of rising sea levels and the wear and tear salt water had on its foundation. A oil pipeline bursting and quite literally setting the ocean on fire. On top of all this, Greenpeace UK just exposed in front of the whole world how Exxon twists the facts the public sees on climate science and how they successfully lobby to get climate legislation struck down.
It all feels a bit weird this is all happening at the same time, doesn’t it? But speculating on the supernatural aside, environmentalist everyday are having more clear evidence presented to us (unfortunately) that humans are accelerating our demise on this planet. It is our moral duty to educate as many people as we can around us using these events and the decades of climate change data we already had.
With obvious corruption having a strangle hold on our Government and an entire political party that flat out denies the basic scientific facts, it is going to take a movement of the people to get the change done that we desperately need. Mass protesting and unrest is needed to let the government know that we will not tolerate the destruction of the only livable planet that we know. Before we do that though we need as many numbers on our side that we can get. Don’t be afraid of conflict, don’t be afraid to speak out.
Something that most people don’t and need to understand is that there is no ceiling to how bad the climate crisis could get. It will just keep getting worse until humanity is no longer able to survive on this planet. It is our responsibility to think past our lifetimes and make sure we are leaving a sustainable society behind us.
People need to know that the problems we will face go way beyond things just getting hotter. More frequent hurricanes will terrorize the Atlantic and Gulf coast. There will be clean water shortages. More extreme heat will make it harder on farmers and led to food shortages. Rising seas will impact all our coastline cities. Tons of climate refugees will be created when some parts of the world become inhabitable.
If we don’t win this fight regular people are screwed. There is no doubt in my mind that the elites will leave millions to suffer in die while they try and profit off of the destruction anyway that they can and protect themselves. That is why I am an ecosocialist. The ruling class has proven time and time again they do not give a damn about us and they don’t give a damn about the planet. We must rise up and let them know this is our planet, not theirs. The fight for a green society and against elite rule is not a separate fight.
On top of educating those around you, start making calls to your representatives in DC and let them know that you are watching them and that they better be on the right side of history regarding the future of our planet. Look for protest and organizing events in your area, the more numbers the stronger our case gets. Even though they aren’t perfect, joining your local Sunrise Movement chapter is still a good idea, they do a lot of good organizing work.
This is a very uphill battle to engage in but it is one in which we must win. History will look kindly upon those who fought for the Earth.
Green Buddhist 