The news over the last few days has been particularly dire, and another thing I’ve learned is this – the kids read the news. They read on social media, and in the classroom. We can’t isolate them. So we need to read as well.
- Science journal, Bio Science: World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency
- The Guardian : Climate-heating greenhouse gases hit new high, UN reports
- BioEnergy International : New “production gap” report shows how fossil fuels hinder climate goals
- Nature : Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against (from a few hours ago) – in which Nature says we are in a PLANETARY EMERGENCY and need to ACT NOW.
If you’ve been reading this stuff for decades, you have observed the change in tone, the calls to action, the urgency – they are deafening compared to just a year ago. Never have so many scientists pushed for direct action, and we can expect the fervor to increase.
Many of us work across multiple organizations. We are seeing the same things. Slow progress, and a desire to move much, much faster. We know some tipping points will leave us with unrecoverable resources. We are small humans, and though we can make unbelievable huge messes in our atmosphere, we do not have enough tools on the planet to bring back our ice caps. Concerns have turned to fears, and feared repercussions are coming in much faster than predicted.
NOW WHAT?
For parents and elders… it’s time to not just put on a game face, but to develop our game MIND.
Our grief, unfortunately, changes nothing. Resilience requires that we learn to move through it and find what is on the other side. Here are some resources for starting this journey:
- Anna Brown Griswold’s monthly Community Grief Support group to help understand ways to move through grief (we are the sponsor) (Seattle-based)
- Joanna Macy’s, The Work that Reconnects (FB Page)
- Coming Soon! Emotional Resilience Handbook from local therapists!
We need to understand as much as we can about the science and impacts. We highly recommend: 
- The Guardian Environment desk
- The Sightline Institute (NW USA)
- The Years Project / Facebook
- Yale Climate Connections
We must understand what climate justice truly means – understand how climate disruption will affect our entire community, and begin preparing NOW. We need everyone in the movement, which means we have to serve everyone.
- The Sightline Institute (NW USA)
- Puget Sound Sage (Washington-based)
- And this great work – I-1631 Takes Aim at the True Cost of Fossil Fuel Use for Communities of Color
- Got Green (Seattle-based)
- See this joint report with Puget Sound Sage : OUR PEOPLE, OUR PLANET, OUR POWER.
- Front and Centered (Washington-based)
From here, we must think outside the box, remember how things have been done before, while witnessing what has changed, and how to leverage it. We must move into action.
- The Parent’s Guide to Climate Revolution
- Blueprint for Revolution
- Emergent Strategy
- This is an Uprising
And through it all, we can’t forget to enjoy ourselves – find the joy and cultivate it. 
- Sing!
- Play games!
- Make art – to support the movement or not
- Work in teams – and get to know each other well
- Celebrate and share wins
- Practice gratitude as an act of resistance (got that from Anna Brown)
All of the tears in the world won’t stop our emissions from going up, but 20,000 people demanding change on the state capitol steps WILL. We DO have power. We need to learn to use it differently, and to use it in service of all.
Action is our middle name. Are you with us?
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