This Sunday: Recommit to Save the Planet

by Chris Weiss, Executive Director, DC Environmental Network

“Global warming happens just slowly enough that political systems have been able to ignore it.”

- Bill McKibben, Writer & Climate Activist, The New Yorker, November 19, 2012 Issue

DC Environmental Network:

I am guessing you, much like myself, are pretty tired of decision makers not taking global warming seriously. With local and national elections behind us, many hope that the attention of our countries leaders can now start to focus on the survival of our planet and the societies that live on it.

The incremental change advocated by most decision makers, even in the District of Columbia, might be okay for some, but we all know the planet is trying to tell us something. We witnessed the over $50 billion dollars of impacts Hurricane Sandy,the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, wrought upon our country. We even felt a little of the pain here in Washington, DC. But the truth is most of us already believed the science of climate change and we are scratching our heads wondering why we as a people and country are not already doing more.

I believe we who live in Washington DC, our nations capital city, have a unique responsibility to engage in the fight against global warming. Not just at the local level, but to use our hearts and minds to represent the interests of every being on the planet who cannot get face to face with those, the President and Congress, who are arguably the ones that make decisions that impact all of us. Here’s how we can do this!

This Sunday, November 18th, we all have an opportunity to regroup, re-commit and re-engage our personal and professional efforts on behalf of the planet. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), local chapters of the Sierra Club and 350.org (and others) have organized a number of opportunities for all of us to re-commit.

Here are the details:

1. ECO-BRUNCH/MCKIBBEN,350.ORG WARMUP: On November 18th at 11:00 AM, please join the Sierra Club, Earthjutice and the DC Environmental Network (and others) for an informal gathering of DC enviros prior to Bill McKibben’s “DO THE MATH” show at the nearby Warner Theater. Mostly we’ll be socializing and enjoying Harriet’s’ $11 brunch buffet.  Vegan choices will be offered. Want to give a speech, present a spoken poem, or do stand-up comedy (on a relevant topic) for up to 60 seconds?  This is your big chance. This event will be at Harriets Restaurant, 436 11th Street NW in Washington, DC. RSVP Here!

2. DO THE MATH TOUR W/BILL MCKIBBEN, 350.ORG: On Nov. 18th at 1:00 PM at the Warner Theater (513 13th Street NW), Bill McKibben will be in Washington DC to present the terrifying new math of climate change and unveil a plan for how we can rise to this planetary challenge. Bill will be joined by friends from across the climate movement and beyond to explain how together we can confront the fossil fuel industry, using lessons from the most successful movements of the past century and the past year of dramatic new actions against the industry across the country. Following Do The Math at the Warner Theatre, we will also march and rally at the White House to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Get more info or sign-up HERE!

It’s time to stop our political system from ignoring what should be obvious. Let’s make our decision makers “Do the Math” then take meaningful action to save the planet. Hope to see you this Sunday!

Chris Weiss
Executive Director
DC Environmental Network