This last week has been rough. Really, really rough. I will readily acknowledge that as a privileged white woman from a thoroughly liberal family, I have often been spared the bigotry and racism that too many friends and colleagues are made painfully aware of and face every day. At the same time, I knew such hatred existed. But to see it endorsed, to see it fully embraced not just by a major political party in this country but by nearly half the voting populace… is heartbreaking. It’s demoralizing. It’s infuriating and confusing. And it’s outrageous.
And yet the days march inexplicably on, even while our country is suspended in this mire of white nationalist xenophobia… so how do we move forward? What do we do now? For me, the first step has been taking comfort in those around me who have responded to this hatred with love -- I have been more grateful for the care and companionship of my colleagues, friends, and family than I ever have been in my life. The second step is recognizing the growth of the movement that has accomplished so much in protecting our communities and our climate from expanding fossil fuel operations and infrastructure. These victories have helped grow the climate movement, and no administration will ever be able to defeat it. Every person, regardless of what they look like, who they love, or who they pray to, is entitled to clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a safe community not only from dirty fuels and fossil fuel infrastructure, but from hate. We must see and protect one another, we must take strength from the connections that now bond us even closer. We must cement these bonds into alliances that will withstand even the most vicious attacks. And we must stiffen our resolve to fight back.
And how do we do that? We will stand with our brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters who have and continue to face inevitable attacks on their air, water, and communities, forging an even broader movement that will continue to fight against the threat of hate and an emboldened fossil fuel industry. And we will use the skills, expertise, and raw determination that has allowed our respective Davids to champion their veritable Goliaths countless times over. Because the climate crisis looms closer -- and it will impact all of us. So here are a few ideas on how we keep up the fight:
We strengthen local actions and connections. We have to build up our burgeoning movement to be stronger than ever, from the bottom up in order to defeat corporate polluters seeking to run pipelines through our neighborhoods and fossil fuel operations in our communities. We must deepen our alliances with our brothers and sisters in the progressive movement who will be persecuted and who will also be fighting back -- those in the LGBTQ, immigrant, women’s, black and Latino rights movements -- to defend each other and collectively demand something better. And as we build this power from the bottom up, through grassroots organizing and one-on-one conversations and connections, we can pressure local, municipal, and state decision-makers to heed the people’s calls and stop pipelines, reject fossil fuel terminal permits, advance strong environmental safeguards, and invest in clean energy. We must also build up our work with individual landowners who can and are fighting back against fossil fuel companies’ attempts to take their land for private gain. And luckily, the Sierra Club, with its long legacy of grassroots organizing, millions of members and supporters, and more than 60 chapters in all 50 states, is committed to cross-issue, justice-based movement building that is critical to this work. And this community based, movement-building is how we’ll reverse this backwards step our country has just taken.
We go to court. We still have the Constitution, existing laws, and rules on our side. We will defend environmental protection regulations like the recently finalized methane standards. We will continue our innovative litigation like that filed in Oklahoma against oil and gas companies for the earthquakes they’ve been causing. We will continue to challenge fossil fuel projects -- including any attempt to resurrect the rejected Keystone XL pipeline -- until they are defeated. And luckily, the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program is the nation’s leader in grassroots environmental litigation, with a long history of defending environmental protections and holding polluters accountable, and is ready to take on this new challenge.
We target fossil fuel corporations and financial institutions. We can continue to activate our network of millions of members and supporters to pressure fossil fuel corporations and their financial backers to end polluting practices and stop financing polluting projects. The environmental movement has been successful in pressuring companies like Shell to drop risky and dangerous investments like drilling in the Arctic Ocean and in pressuring banks to consider pulling funding for controversial projects like the Dakota Access pipeline. With shaky financing and an eroding moral license, we can pressure these companies to clean up their acts.
We defend against attacks on safeguards for our water, air, and climate. At the same time, there are more than 200 climate champions in the 115th Congress, and countless more in statehouses across the country who can and should stand between Trump and his agenda climate-denier rhetoric. We must demand that they stand strong and fight to protect our clean air and water, our climate, our communities, our freedoms, our civil rights from the coming attacks. As outgoing Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid boldly said, “We as a nation must find a way to move forward without consigning those who Trump has threatened to the shadows.” We need a cacophony of outraged public voices demanding that all elected officials take a cue from Reid and stand strong in the face of what’s next. We cannot allow them to normalize the climate denial, racism, and misogyny of Trump’s rhetoric by cowing to it, or by compromising with it -- we must demand fortitude and integrity in the face of bigotry and bullying.
Do not despair, my friends. We must take care of each other, console one another and pick ourselves up. Because the future that we believe in, the future that we know is possible -- a just and equitable future, where everyone has access to clean air and water, where renewable energy powers our homes and vehicles and sustains good, family, supporting-jobs, where we treat each other with dignity and respect, and where we avert climate disaster - because THAT world is worth it. Because our grandchildren and their children are worth it, and deserve a shot at that world. And because we are on the right side of history, and we will persevere. Fight on, my friends. I’ll see you in the streets.