Fwd: #OccupyWallStreet and the #Climate Movement
Oleg Izyumenko
From: Phil Aroneanu, 350.org <organ...@350.org>
Date: Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:25 PM
Subject: #OccupyWallStreet and the #Climate Movement
Dear friends,
I'm writing from New York City, where the Occupy Wall Street movement is taking off.
What started as a small group of young people with a vague call to action is evolving into something truly inspiring -- and our crew at 350.org is excited to support this nascent movement.
Here’s what Bill McKibben had to say about “The 99%” who are Occupying Wall Street -- and how climate change fits into the picture:
(Can’t see the image above? Click here)
Let’s show the activists in New York (and in cities all over the country and the world) that the climate movement stands in solidarity with them. Share this image on Facebook, post it on Twitter, and consider joining a local “occupation” near you on this Saturday, 15 October. We don't know exactly what every local event will look like -- some will be massive, others will be tiny, and it's up to all of us to make sure that they all are non-violent from start to finish. Regardless of where you are, we encourage you to engage in dialogue and join the conversation that is shaping one of the most exciting grassroots movements in recent memory.
It's hard to believe that just 10 days ago, I was in the afterglow of Moving Planet, sorting through inspirational photos from people all over the world who were moving beyond fossil fuels. The images were powerful, and they fired me up for whatever came next.
What came next was the Occupy Wall Street movement. In the last two weeks it has grown from something small, local, and overlooked by the media into something massive, global, and unignorable. There are now non-violent protests springing up in hundreds of cities, and stories of "the 99%" are dominating headlines everywhere. No one knows exactly what it will become -- but it has the potential to be a true game-changer.
We now face exciting questions: what can we all do to support and expand this groundswell? And how might Occupy Wall Street’s amazing energy further embolden the climate movement?
The answers to these questions are starting to become clear. Two days ago I joined a crew of passionate climate activists in Manhattan to march with tens of thousands of people as part of Occupy Wall Street. The demands from the crowd were varied, but it all boils down to this: just about every problem we now face -- from foreclosures to the climate crisis -- is made worse by unchecked corporate greed and a corrupt political process. As I marched through the city, it struck me that naming (and acting on) the root causes of the world’s biggest problems is precisely what this moment demands.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be zeroing in on the root causes of the climate crisis, and focusing on the iconic battles in the fight for our planet’s future. Here in the USA, there’s lots to do -- from Wall Street to Washington DC to cities across the country, this is a crucial time to escalate the movement. For the next couple of months, much of our work in the US will be focused on stopping the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Internationally we’ll be turning our energies more towards Africa in the coming weeks as South Africa prepares to host the next major United Nations climate meeting in Durban. It’s unclear still what the meeting can deliver, but we’ll also be using these months as a chance to highlight and act together with the incredible stories and climate solutions movements spreading across the continent.
We hope you’ll have the chance to get out this Saturday and connect with this burgeoning occupation movement -- and together we’ll build the movement for climate solutions that science and justice demand.
Onwards,
Phil Aroneanu
P.S. 350.org Board member Naomi Klein has an excellent article connecting the climate crisis to the #Occupy movement, the full version of her speech to activists on Wall Street a few days ago. Here’s one excerpt we wanted to share:
“What climate change means is that we have to do this on a deadline. This time our movement cannot get distracted, divided, burned out or swept away by events. This time we have to succeed. And I'm not talking about regulating the banks and increasing taxes on the rich, though that's important. I am talking about changing the underlying values that govern our society.”
MORE INFO ON OCCUPY WALL STREET AND THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE
- Occupy Wall St (in New York) and Occupy Together (all over the country and increasingly the world)
- "Climate Activism Stands With Occupy Wall Street Movement" - Grist.org
- "Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now" - Naomi Klein in The Nation
350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email alerts. You can help power our work by getting involved locally and donating here.
What is 350? Go to our website to learn about the science behind the movement.