San Diego Climate Reality Project
News & Updates
It was quite a day today seeing so many young people and students stand up for their rights to a healthy planet.
Digital Amplification of Youth Banner Drops Day of Action: Friday, July 16
This digital toolkit contains sample tweets, photos and videos you can use to amplify CA Youth Vs Big Oil’s statewide banner drops today from 12-2pm. This day of action across the state will tee up the July 17 rally against the SoCal Gas compressor station in Ventura and calls on Gov. Newsom to act on climate during wildfire season. Feel free to personalize these or write your own.
By Climate Reality Leader, Scott Murray.
I spent some time swimming with my kids this Father’s Day morning. It’s a simple pleasure, to play with your kids and watch them challenge themselves, and each other, growing in the process. How far can you swim underwater? How long can you hold your breath underwater? Let’s race. It’s a little clip in time, of the movie of their lives. A life I hope will be a great, long into the future.
I spend a lot of time thinking about the future, working, planning and plotting a course for the best life I can give my kids. Where we live, where they go to school, what cultures and experiences they are exposed to all come into play. And I protect them from threats along the way. Like all fathers, I’m fallible. But in protecting them, I shoot for a zero error rate. Too many scary things are out there. And although most are not clear and present dangers, you only have to be wrong once for life-long negative consequences.
Some time back, I learned of a threat, one that could harm their quality of life forever. It was a threat that could actually kill them. And the chances of it happening were uncomfortably high. It scared the hell out of me. It wasn’t drugs or kidnappers or other such things we sometimes worry about. It was climate change.
The more I learned, the more concerned I became. Now I spend time worrying about how I’m going to pay for college, and how I’m going to make sure my kids are healthy just like every other dad. But sometime in the too near future the changes in the climate will endanger much of humanity’s very existence. The U.S. military spends a lot of time thinking about and planning for this future too.
They know that a world that is warming overall, disrupts the water cycle causing drought in some areas, and severe flooding in others. And some areas of the world will become so hot that places with billions of people now, will no longer be able to live in them. They know that sea level will rise significantly, and they need to move and protect their bases. They know that these disruptions will amplify tensions in the world, and the food and water shortages in the world will lead to increased violent conflicts. Just increased heat alone leads to more angry and violent behavior.
The problem is Climate Change is already here, it’s very real, and it will get much worse before it’s starts to get better if it does. The good news is we are causing it, so we can stop what we are doing, and can work to improve things. What is needed, and super quick, is to transition from a world-wide economy that is based on burning fossil fuels, to one based on expanding renewable energy and other low carbon emitting industries.
For my kids, I’m doing what I can to change our life, and teach them how to live sustainability. It’s extra important for me because I have 4 kids, higher than average, that they know those life skills. It isn’t to make me feel better. It isn’t to flaunt values or actions over others. It’s because I’m scared. This threat could kill my kids. It could kill my wife and I too. Despite this worry, I will go to battle, because I’m brave too.
What kind of father would I be if I didn’t learn all I could about this threat?
What kind of father would I be if I didn’t look for ways to prevent and mitigate the horrible events coming?
What kind of father would I be if I did nothing?
I’m not the kind of guy who does nothing. I’m the type of father who will fight! And I am a winner! If you want to join a group of like-minded fighters, consider Climate Reality Project’s leadership training.
On Thursday, May 30, Climate Reality Leader Scott Murray met with fellow Climate Reality Leader, Congressman Scott Peters. With Members of the Sunrise Movement and San Diego 350, Scott requested that Congressman Peters cosponsor the Green New Deal resolution, agree not to accept contributions from the fossil fuel industry, and to host a town hall meeting to discuss climate change. There was agreement on the importance of addressing the climate crisis, but some differences in the scope and scale of approaches needed toward the solutions. Congressman Peters agreed to consider the contribution request and the town hall meeting.
With Climate Reality Leadership Training you realize you are part of a much larger group of people concerned about the climate crisis. Through activism, you can increase your impact, working with other groups to speak truth to power. Those are valuable skills that make a positive difference in this crisis. We have the tools available right now to stop the damage from polluting fossil fuels. We need even more caring people to help fight as if your world depends on it. Because it does!
Through their Raise the Alarm Campaign, SanDiego350 is targeting four San Diego Congress members as part of a national week of action. RSVP today for one or more Green New Deal petition deliveries.
