In this episode, we meet a young Climate Hawk who is just beginning her journey of activism. Rachel Geiger is committed to fighting climate change, and her story is both a template and inspiration for others. Listen in!
Rachel’s – and other’s -work with the Mount Holyoke College's Climate Justice Coalition and Fossil Fuel Divest campaign can be tracked at this link to the Facebook page, Instagram, tumblr, and twitter! As usual, the Facebook page is a good place to start.
Rachel gives this recommendation:
Advice to fellow activists, especially youth and young adults, since the young tend to think we are invincible. Find any way you can to get involved, but also, take care of yourself. Take breaks when needed and do not take on too much, so you do not burn out. Look out for each other and connect as people, not just activists. We need to build networks of people, because no one can do this alone-we need a society shift! We need to build these networks based on care and love for the earth, the people who inhabit it, and each other.
If you want to get involved:
- If you are looking to start a divest campaign, Divest Student Networkcan be immensely helpful, and 350.org. So can http://gofossilfree.org/, which has a handbook on how to start a Divest Campaign (attached).
- In the Northeast, some organizations that help students with Divestment campaigns are Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) and Better Future Project (BFP). BFP works on an assortment of climate justice issues and is currently most focused on stopping natural gas pipelines from entering MA, while REC focuses on pressuring institutions to invest responsibly, including fossil fuel divestment campaigns, other kinds of divestment campaigns, and reinvestment.
Some inspiring links here:
- Do The Math. Here's the video that inspired Rachel and here's the article from Rolling Stone.
- Here is the link to the new Bill McKibbon article about methane, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry. Many listeners are probably already aware that methane is not the bridge to the future many have claimed it to be, and that reports show that MA does not need it to power itself on renewable energy.
Other great resources are Naomi Klein's Capitlism vs the Climate and The story of stuff f by Annie Leopold who provides a great explanation of capitalism as inherently impossible because it is a system that assumes infinite growth, but the earth is a closed system.
Rachel’s work is funded by other Climate Hawks, so you can help. Here is the link for how to donate to better Future Project's Climate Justice Fellowship. As for those who do not do online banking: One can write a check to Better Future Project, and specify Climate Justice Fellowship in the check's memo. They can be sent to Better Future Project at 30 Bow St. Cambridge, MA 02138. If someone is donating by check, that can include their email address and phone number if they want occasional updates about the fellowship and Better Future Project from BFP. They should also include who solicited the donation. BFP says "Donations to Better Future Project and its programs are tax-deductible. All donors who give online receive a receipt automatically. Please note that the receipt refers to donations to “Better Future Project, 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future (350 Mass), the Climate Justice Fellowship, and other programs of Better Future Project.” They will send receipts either electronically or via mail to donors who give via check."
Please support MCAN’s work. You can easily donate on-line !
Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon.
Thanks for listening.
…Ted McIntyre