A couple of weeks into the worldwide observance of social distancing practices and pandemic-preempting government lock-downs, miraculous tales of a rejuvenated planet in typically smog-choked, polluted corners of the world began to populate our social media news feeds. Dolphins were frolicking in Venice’s canals again! From India, video footage emerged of a species of civet cat long thought to be extinct, strolling the empty streets of Calcutta like it owned the place. Over Chinese cities, clouds of toxic gas around industrial centers have dissipated, with emissions down at least 25% in February due to efforts to control the coronavirus, and residents can breathe freely for the first time in recent memory.
These are beautiful images, for all that they play into self-flagellating human narratives. Look how bad we are for the planet, the story goes, but isn’t it amazing how quickly Mother Nature rebounds to a state of pristine, Edenic glory when we leave her alone for a few days! The truly unfortunate thing about each of these stories, though, is that they aren’t true—or at best, they are heavily qualified. Each of the first two links in the previous paragraph leads to an article debunking the associated claim. There were no dolphins in the canals of Venice; the person who took that video of a civet cat in India had mistaken it for an endangered cousin. The third link, a CNN report about lower CO2 emissions and air pollution in China, verifies that these levels are down in Hubei and other areas under quarantine, but with the caveat that, as soon as the economies of these regions start back up, pollution levels will quickly rebound to previous levels, and may even exceed these levels, as the country tries to make up for many weeks’ worth of halted production.
reduction in NO2 pollution in China resulting from Covid lock-downs
Although the day may seem far off now, there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when COVID-19 is no longer a meaningful threat. Treatments are likely to emerge that reduce the severity of symptoms and the mortality rate, and potential vaccines have already entered human trials, although it will take many months to sufficiently vet and produce these. When that moment comes, surely we will collectively breathe a sigh of relief. Yet we will still be facing record-high annual temperatures, rising sea levels and historically catastrophic weather. There can be no palliative treatment, no vaccine for these. Just as governments worldwide mobilized rapidly to counter the spread of the coronavirus, modern society must reorganize and restructure itself radically if it hopes to withstand the systemic shocks that the effects of climate change are all but certain to augur.
Some argue that the current pandemic is an opportunity to model effective long-term responses to climate change. As with a fire drill, or a dress rehearsal, we are learning first-hand how well we respond to a threat that majorly disrupts the functioning of society, but does not in itself threaten to destroy it. “COVID-19 is climate on warp speed,” says climate economist Gernot Wagner. “Everything with climate is decades; here it’s days. Climate is centuries; here it’s weeks.” Hence, the damage that climate change threatens to wreak will not occur in the span of a few weeks or months. Rather, following the progression of over a century of scaled industrial activity on this planet, these effects will continue to show themselves gradually—yet their impact will be orders of magnitude more profound.
COVID-19 is a global emergency, to be sure, and we are right to focus the majority of our efforts and energies on preventing its spread and minimizing the loss of life that it causes. Nevertheless, we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to look further ahead than the end of the quarantine.
Text by Joseph Pickert. See his original blog post here.
A friend in my internship program in DC texted me on March 10. Amid the first appearance of coronavirus infections on the West Coast, our program at the University of California Washington Center–through which I was an intern at CCAN–decided to immediately pull hundreds of students out of the DC center and to end the program a month early. Counterintuitively, they were sending us back to California, which at the time was the second largest epicenter of the outbreak.
At first I was frustrated with their reasoning: why such a dramatic move? At the time DC had only a handful of cases, and it was unclear why sending students back home would provide any more safety or security than keeping us housed at the center. Students had to scramble to find housing and transportation. Some needed aid just to afford to leave DC.
But within a few days it became clear that they had made the proper decision: the sooner everything shut down, the better the outcome would be.
The University gave us until the following week to vacate, but I was already wondering if there would be travel lockdowns: the President had already floated the topic. I did not want to be stuck in DC without housing during a pandemic. I departed on Wednesday, March 18.
California to Chicago
Meanwhile, my family worried about my father.
He had just buried two brothers in one month’s time (unrelated to the virus). An 81-year-old with coronary heart disease, he had been cleaning out my uncle’s house in San Diego when the virus arrived. We wanted him to fly immediately back to his home in Chicago, but he had unfinished family business in California and insisted on completing his work. He decided it was safest to drive a car back to Chicago by himself.
He declined my offer to accompany him due to the increased risk of exposure.
Two days after he left, I learned that CCAN’s Anthony Field, with whom I shared a room in our office, tested positive for the virus. It started getting much closer to home.
California
By the time I arrived home in Oakland, California, the entire state was in lockdown.
I couldn’t see my friends who I had been away from for months. I learned that my friend Qilo was in isolation with coronavirus symptoms. They are a manual therapist who has many older and immune-compromised clients, and those clients were anxiously awaiting Qilo’s test results. Qilo had to try for days, however, to get access to a coronavirus test. Over a week later, their test came back negative, but they did not trust the results due to the widely reported inaccuracy of the tests. They also received widely-varying advice to self-quarantine for anywhere from three days to two weeks after symptoms have subsided.
It is also unclear whether one is immune after carrying the virus–information which will be crucial in the coming months for healthcare workers and manual therapists such as myself and Qilo, who depend on personal contact for our livelihoods. Since I can no longer see massage clients, I myself will have to file for unemployment, which luckily has been extended to gig workers, contract workers, and the self-employed during the crisis. Some service workers are using their vulnerable yet powerful position at this moment to demand better working conditions, benefits, and protections.
There is a clear parallel here with the climate crisis, where vulnerable communities who are the least responsible for climate change often suffer the worst impacts, yet receive the least support.
Nesting in North Oakland
Working from home in Oakland, California
Now I am sharing the strange collective experience of watching the virus spread throughout the world while sheltering in my apartment.
The increasingly tense and traumatic scenes inside hospitals and nursing homes elude me. Having spent most of my life as a physical laborer, the inability to take physical action to help those in need is unsettling and alienating.
Luckily, California acted earlier (as they have done with climate policy) than all other states with the shelter in place order–a wise move that has allowed California to dramatically lower the spread of the virus. Most people I know are taking the order seriously. While my fiance and I have still had an occasional friend over to our apartment while practicing social distancing, we have kept it to a bare minimum. My classes and internships are now online and most human contact is through Zoom or video chat. I spend over half my waking hours in front of a screen.
Working from home has proven difficult for the three members of my household, as I’m sure many of us have experienced. Every few moments I cannot resist the urge to look at data, read articles, and generally obsess about the pandemic. Luckily my supervisors and teachers have been forgiving.
Zain meets waffle
My fiance, Zain, has taken the opportunity of this crisis to advance one of his favorite hobbies: eating.
I’ve noticed lots of new treats making their way into our house–perhaps a reward for the half hour wait in line to enter the grocery store and a wait half as long to check out. A week ago, Trader Joe’s was rationing food: customers could take at most two of any given item. Our neighborhood grocery store, Berkeley Bowl, is limiting the number of people allowed in the store at once. Tape demarcates six-foot social distances for the line outside the store, which snakes around the block.
I’ve been taking the opportunity, amidst the toilet paper hoarding, to remind folks that wiping with water will save countless acres of forests. I’ve offered moral and instructional support for those transitioning to water wiping, and there are a few entertaining videos out there as well that I have discovered. People are panic-buying not just TP, but bidet toilet attachments! Luckily there are some still in stock, or one can use a simple plastic pitcher, as do most Muslims around the world, including Zain’s family.
Personally, I have valued the domestic time to concentrate on home projects, personal wellness, and valuable bonding time with my household. Other unemployed friends of mine have used the time to do creative projects, to clean and organize, to meditate, and to read and watch movies. Yesterday Zain and I revisited the 2011 Hollywood film Contagion about a much more virulent (and deadly) global pandemic.
Maybe I am an optimist, and I certainly have privileges that buffer me from the worst economic effects of this crisis–which will undoubtedly throw thousands more into poverty–but I see some silver linings.
Zain is a biologist who studies HIV (and now coronavirus), and confirmed that the science in that movie was sound, more or less, which made me actually feel relieved that the Covid-19 pandemic is not nearly as bad as the one in the film. This is a test run, said my friend Alisa, who works in new antibiotic development. Her whole industry has been frustrated by the lack of public investment and lack of concern for growing antibiotic resistance and the threat of new pathogens. Another friend of mine, who works for the State Department combating the illegal wildlife trade, said this had the perverse benefit of finally bringing attention to the issue. While many have pointed out the failure of the US to contain the spread, Covid-19 will likely ensure that we are not caught unawares when the next virulent pandemic arrives.
This pandemic has also enabled policies that progressives have only dreamed of: direct checks to support those in need, the extension of unemployment to gig and contract workers, paid sick leave and extensions of publicly-funded healthcare, and the release of non-violent offenders from incarceration, among others.
While most are temporary measures, it will be difficult and unpopular for the federal government to claw those away when so many workers have been suffering under wage and healthcare insecurity. These measures, however, will obviously not be sufficient to stem the dramatic economic nosedive that we are undergoing, which could likely rival The Great Depression. This is why it is more important than ever that we continue to organize, build power, and fight for policies that will help us arise stronger from this crisis.
Panino
In addition to greater support for social safety nets, I have observed increasing mindfulness and intentionality around me.
While in normal circumstances people move about their daily lives on auto-pilot, social interaction and space have moved to the foreground. When walking my dog, Panino, I have to engage everyone I pass to acknowledge our distance, with a glance of social solidarity. When social distancing with friends, the desire for contact and greater closeness is palpable. In my online classes and meetings on Zoom, it is harder for me to turn away or tune out, as my face is intimately visible to all of my peers. In some ways on Zoom, it even feels more intimate than meeting in person, and there is a stronger sense of empathy and shared purpose.
I believe that this reinforcement of the social ethic will have a more profound impact on our society moving forward than we can currently comprehend.
The Future
Coronavirus seems to magnify everything and to put it under the spotlight.
It is inflaming domestic abuse. It is exposing the weaknesses in our economy, our public health system, and our social support system. It is testing the bounds of fiscal and monetary policy. A friend of mine is considering dropping out of school because he has been unable to cope with his ADHD without a proper place to study outside of his home. Other friends of mine with anxiety disorders and depression are struggling to cope. Anxiety and isolation can fuel addictions, and sheltering in place has certainly not helped me reduce screen time. I have found it helpful to video chat with family and friends, to reach out to those in need, and to connect with the various mutual aid networks that are arising everywhere to help myself and my community members cope. I have also found it important to remember that the outside world is immense, and it is safe to go outside: to hike in the forest, to garden, to support my local farmers market, and generally to not be confined indoors.
It’s true that public health experts and others have been warning us about a pandemic for decades. While we were largely unprepared, we can now only control how we move forward. As the old saying goes, “never let a crisis go to waste.” There’s no turning back now. I look forward to organizing through this, and coming out the other end with strengthened social bonds, newfound courage, and a fighting spirit.
Let’s use this health crisis as a template for tackling the climate crisis, and let’s never forget what’s at stake.
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to unfold, we at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund are working hard to adjust our plans to continue fighting global warming. We know now, more than ever, how important it is to prevent a massive crisis before it arrives.
So here’s what we’re doing to take care of ourselves and the planet:
First, the health of our staff and surrounding communities is our main priority. We all have the responsibility to carry out “social distancing” as much as possible to reduce the spread of COVID-19. To that end, we are requiring staff to work from home if possible for the next several weeks at least, and we are suspending all CCAN planned in-person events during this time.
Second, we are shifting our focus to digital campaigns. How can we make large-scale systemic change happen in a world of “social distancing”? Here’s how: by getting “closer” on social media. Deepening our investments in social media will be a key part of our near-term organizing even as we continue to reach out to legislators through the conventional means of email and phone calls. We’ll be in touch soon with more on all that. But here are some things you can do right now:
Follow our main organization, CCAN, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for your daily dose of inspiration, reliable information, and activism. For regular updates on our legislative campaigns, please follow our sister organization, CCAN Action Fund, on Facebook and Twitter.
Third, we want to make sure YOU are taking care of yourself in these trying times. We’ve included a list of resources at the bottom of this email with advice about social distancing, mental health resources, and more.
And finally, let’s remember why we fight: We love and care about our neighbors and we want to ensure a basic quality of life for all. Climate change will not only impact the way disease spreads, it will impact every sector of society. So rest assured that we will not stop fighting the fossil fuel polluters. We will not back down. We will keep pushing to bring smart and clean energy policies to our region and nationwide.
We know that navigating COVID-19 together will be challenging, but we also strongly believe in the power of the people. The need for progressive movements is apparent now more than ever. We are proud to be a part of this movement.
Below are additional resources that might help you navigate COVID-19:
Resources for COVID-19 – A list of crowd sourced links covering a variety of COVID-19 preparedness materials, including information, tips for handwashing and social distancing, tips for how to help yourself and others, prioritize your mental health as well as physical, and how to organize in this environment.
Resources from adrienne maree brown– Links to the author’s books and podcasts that are relevant: “here are some resources that might help you think about where to be, how to be, and how to see the possibilities even in this moment, how to move towards life.”
House and Senate Pass “Virginia Clean Economy Act” on Tuesday, Feb 11
By Mike Tidwell
When it comes to clean energy policy, environmental activists nationwide commonly think of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network as true “climate hawks.” We sue polluters. We picket against companies like Dominion Energy. And when the time is right, our lobbying arm CCAN Action Fund, pushes HARD for transformative clean energy laws. Our collective actions over the past 18 years have led Bill McKibben of 350.org to call CCAN “the best regional grassroots climate group in the world.”
So when I tell you we strongly support the Virginia Clean Economy Act, it’s for one reason: It’s a strong and transformative bill. This legislation, which passed in both the House of Delegates and the Senate on Tuesday, February 11th, will now cross over to be heard in the opposite chamber. The goal is to get it to the Governor’s desk as soon as possible, where he says he wants to sign it.
CUTTING TO THE CHASE: This bill shuts down Dominion’s coal-fired power plants in a HURRY. It brings a tidal wave of wind and solar power to Virginia. And it protects low-income ratepayers with ironclad provisions.
Both House and Senate versions of the VCEA would effectively shut down ALL of Dominion’s coal plants by 2030. All of Virginia’s utility-owned gas plants – all of them – would shut down by 2045, but probably much sooner under this legislation. At the same time, the House and Senate bills will midwife the largest offshore wind farms in the nation and turbo charge the spread of both distributed rooftop solar power and properly sited solar farms. Both bills invest half a BILLION dollars in energy efficiency gains for low-income households over the next decade. And they cap the electric bills of low-income families at a guaranteed sustainable level, a game-changing move. Finally, despite the understandable suspicion (given history) that Dominion would only agree to a bill that gouges ratepayers, these bills contain bill-lowering competition for solar and wind projects that will keep prices down. The House bill, meanwhile, has even stronger mandates for energy efficiency gains to protect consumers.
WHO SUPPORTS THE BILL?
Before digging into the bill in greater depth, keep in mind that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is supported by the biggest clean energy coalition ever assembled not just in Virginia but perhaps in the nation. I say this from experience working across the mid-Atlantic and in much of the rest of the country. It is a sign of the times and a sign of the extraordinary work done in Virginia that virtually every major environmental group in the state, all the wind and solar companies operating in the state, and yes the main electricity polluters – Dominion and Appalachian Power Company – support either the Senate version of the bill or the House version. (Both bills make strong progress and will have a hearing in the opposite chamber soon). The supporters are too many to name here but they include Sierra Club, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, CCAN Action Fund, Southern Environmental Law Center, Sigora Solar, Orsted wind, and many progressively run corporations in the state like the Mars candy company and Akamai Technologies. This type of coalition is unprecedented in a southern coal state, for sure, but virtually unheard of anywhere in the country. Again, for critics who suspect Dominion is just gaming the system with another anti-consumer bad energy bill, you would have to believe that all of the groups – including mine – have been deceived after weeks of negotiations and careful bill writing. The truth: these groups support the bill because the net positive effect is tremendous for Virginia.
250 people came to Richmond to lobby for the VCEA in January.
A DEEPER DIVE INTO WHAT THE VCEA DOES:
Creates New Ratepayer Protections to Keep Bills Low
The Virginia Clean Economy Act would provide half a billion dollars in home weatherization funds for low-income households. It requires half of the funds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to help low-income residents invest in efficiency to keep bills low. The other half will go towards flooding assistance, with about $250 million earmarked for low-income communities.
The VCEA also creates Virginia’s first binding energy efficiency savings targets. Now, Dominion Energy will have to prove that their customers are using 5% less energy over a 2019 baseline by 2025. The savings target for ApCo is 2% of current load by 2025.
It also includes additional provisions to keep bills low for clean energy projects. On offshore wind, the bill requires Dominion to hold a competitive bidding process to find the company that will build the turbines for the best price. There’s also a cost ceiling to keep the cost of electricity low.
On solar, the bill will allow for up to 35% of the solar required in this bill to be owned by third party companies (i.e., not Dominion). This will allow for more competitive pricing on electricity from solar power. It also would utilize the “Percentage of Income Payment Plan” (PIPP) to cap energy bills for low-income ratepayers at a guaranteed affordable level.
Creates a Renewable Portfolio Standard
A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a state law that requires utilities to deliver a specified amount of renewable energy such as wind and solar to their customers. The VCEA requires 100% clean electricity by 2045 for Dominion Energy and 2050 for Appalachian Power Company (ApCo), with a benchmark of 30% renewable by 2030. Renewable energy is defined as electricity from wind, solar, falling water, and other in-state resources. For Dominion, 75% of all renewable energy must come from the Commonwealth in 2025 and beyond.
This bill creates the only mandatory RPS with a target of 100% clean energy in the South and one of the stronger versions of the law of any state in the country, putting the state within shouting distance of leading states like Maryland.
Expands Wind and Solar Energy
The VCEA would launch the largest offshore wind farms in America while turbo-charging the state’s solar industry. It establishes offshore wind as a substantial portion of the RPS as offshore wind comes online, and deploys 5,200MW by 2034, making Virginia a leader in offshore wind. It also includes labor provisions to require the use of local labor.
For distributed solar, it establishes rooftop solar as a portion of the RPS up to 1% annually beginning in 2021. It increases the cap on power purchase agreements to 500MW in Dominion territory and 40MW in ApCo service territories. It expands net metering by increasing the net metering cap to 6%, including 1% specifically set aside for low-to-moderate income communities, and allows larger projects to net meter. It also requires utilities to develop more than 16,000MW of renewable energy by 2035, equivalent to enough electricity for 3 million homes.
Key to the success of offshore wind and solar power is energy storage. The VCEA sets targets for energy storage of 3,100MW by 2035, including 2,700MW for Dominion and 400MW for ApCo. It also requires 10% of energy storage projects to be deployed directly “behind the meter” for power backups at hospitals, government facilities, and more.
Ends Fossil Fuel Emissions
The Virginia Clean Economy Act would shut down virtually all of Dominion’s coal-fired power plants by 2030, all biomass facilities by December 31, 2028 and the rest of the state’s fossil fuel power plants by 2045. This makes us the only state in the South with a mandate to shut down all fossil fuels.
While this House Bill does not create an outright moratorium on new fossil fuel development, it serves as a de facto moratorium on carbon-intensive electricity in Virginia by mandating a carbon-free grid by 2045 with exceptional interim goals by 2030. It also requires the Secretaries of Natural Resources and Commerce & Trade to report recommendations on how to achieve 100% carbon free electricity and fossil-fuel retirements. It bars the State Corporation Commission (SCC) from issuing new permits for power plants powered by fossil fuels until that study is received by the General Assembly.
Finally, it deters any utility spending on projects that do not help lower energy usage. Dominion will have to prove that they are meeting energy efficiency targets to lower overall energy usage before they are allowed to construct any new power plants powered by fossil fuels.
Advance Environmental Justice
Justice is incorporated into every aspect of the VCEA.
The ratepayer protection provisions were laid out above. Further, the bill requires the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Environmental Justice council to prepare a report to ensure VCEA doesn’t disproportionately burden minority and historically-disadvantaged communities. It includes language to ensure reliability is protected. And it sets the policy of the Commonwealth to consider low-income areas & historically disadvantaged communities when considering new renewable projects, energy programs, and job training. Finally, it requires utilities to consult with the Clean Energy Advisory Board on how best to inform low-income customers about their solar options.
Summary:
This bill is not the end for the climate fight. We will have to come back for transportation, agriculture, and more, until every sector of the economy is in line with the science. But the facts speak for themselves: This bill will hold Dominion dramatically accountable on rates and fossil fuels emissions. This is the best first step on climate a state has ever taken.
Happy CCAN Virginia team after the bill passed the House.
While other states and cities are moving away from powering homes and buildings with gas—a potent climate pollutant—Maryland Governor Larry Hogan plans to spend $6.5 million this year in his effort to “kick-start” a gas expansion across Maryland. This $6.5 million is a portion of the $30 million his Administration can spend on expanding gas infrastructure after he negotiated the terms of a settlement allowing a Canadian company to acquire a local gas supplier.
Among the projects his Administration is backing: a new, 11-mile pipeline providing gas to two state-run facilities on the Eastern Shore. In repowering these state facilities, the Hogan Administration foreclosed the possibility of any other type of energy source by only requesting applications for gas. The government should be leading the way towards zero-emission buildings, especially when it comes to state facilities, not putting its thumb on the scale for gas.
“Natural” gas is primarily made up of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. It’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane leaks during production and transportation and gas heaters themselves are inefficient. As a result, a leading scientist concludes that it may actually be better for the climate to heat your home with coal or oil than with gas. In an era of rapid climate change, we cannot wait to replace all of these polluting fossil fuels with electricity powered by clean sources like wind and solar.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric alternatives exist for all major energy end uses in buildings. Space heating, water heating, and cooking account for the vast majority of direct fuel usage. Electric technologies exist, and are in use today, that can supply all of these end uses.In 2017, Hogan signed a ban on fracking for gas in Maryland, saying that his administration had “concluded that possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits.” Since signing that ban, however, the Hogan Administration has continued to call gas “a bridge fuel” and has worked consistently to kick-start a gas expansion across the State.
Paolo is the Central Virginia Organizer at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Here’s his story.
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I was born in the Philippines, but Richmond has helped me to become the person I am today. I learned at a young age what it meant to be poor in America and how racial and socioeconomic disparities affected the lives of youth in my neighborhood. Growing up in America, I constantly hear about the disastrous effects of climate change miles across the ocean in my home country, the Philippines. I hear about the fear of typhoons coming for my friends and family back at home. At a young age, I learned and realized the systemic privileges that I had based on being Asian, the color of my skin, my immigration status, and the privilege I hold by living in America.
What impacts of climate change currently hit home to you?
Growing up in the Philippines, I didn’t really know what the word “climate change” meant back then, all I knew was that sometimes I would wake up and go downstairs to see my home completely flooded. And for my family that was normal. It was reality we faced on a daily basis. Whenever I see flooded communities broadcasted on the news I am always taken back to my childhood home in the Philippines.
What has inspired you most working with CCAN?
CCAN is an organization that understands that the climate crisis is a human issue. It’s exciting to be a part of an organization that acknowledges the layers of injustice and systemic racism that have led us to this point. The work CCAN has done to advocate and empower frontline communities to be hit first and the worst by climate change has inspired me to keep pushing in our environmental movement. We continue to grow to be a more diverse and powerful voice.
What have you contributed to bringing about a clean energy revolution that you are most proud of?
When I was little I remember growing up in an old house over at the east end of Richmond. There were times where the energy bills trumped the rent cost, times where we would have no heat in the winter. By sharing my story to people, I am able to help bring to light the energy burden issue in Virginia that needs to be taken into account in the clean energy revolution.
What do you hope to see happen in terms of climate in the next year?
I hope that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Bill will pass in Virginia with many of the equity measures still in place to protect frontline communities impacted by climate change.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on climate change?
I love to cook with my friends, collect recipes from everyone I meet, and play with my Goldendoodle, Kai.
Who would you high five?
Saul Alinsky, the father of community organizing. I recommend you read his book “Rules for Radicals.”
I grew up on Long Island, New York as the son of two public school teachers. My father, in addition to teaching English, also served on our town’s water board. Public service was an important value in our home and I went to college with the aspiration of making public policy a career.
While attending the University of Maryland, I was appointed by then-Gov. Martin O’Malley to serve as student member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. I then worked for Del. Heather Mizeur’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign, and moved to Tennessee for a statewide ballot initiative campaign protecting the right to abortion in the state constitution.
In 2015, I started working for the Maryland State Education Association—the state’s teachers union—where we stopped funding cuts and school privatization efforts by Gov. Larry Hogan, reduced standardized testing, and secured the largest statewide increase in teacher pay since before the Great Recession. I also spent three months on leave from the union to work on Ben Jealous’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
What woke you up to the climate crisis?
There’s always been a steady drip of understanding that it was a problem: my dad calling me into our living room to watch Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, Hurricane Sandy, a good friend’s wedding nearly postponed due to wildfires in Oregon. But my issue area had always been education policy and I knew others were working in the climate space. Then I saw the headlines late last year about 12 years left to cut emissions in half. I guess I needed a deadline to really pay attention.
I heard about David Wallace-Well’s Uninhabitable Earth and bought one copy for myself and one copy for my dad. It totally changed my understanding of the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. It was no longer just another piece of the progressive movement—I now knew it was going to be the defining issue of the 21st Century. The one that creates the context for all others.
Public education will always be one of the few most important responsibilities of our society, no matter what moment in human history. But climate is important in this exact moment in human history. So I made the leap.
What impacts of climate change currently hit home to you?
Photo from the California wildfires
I have been really fortunate that climate change has not directly or significantly harmed any of my friends or family. My sister lives in Los Angeles, which feels like it’s surrounded by fire every year now. My parents now split their time between living near coastlines on Long Island, New York and South Florida, both very susceptible to hurricanes. But we haven’t been displaced from our homes, subjected to air or water pollution, forced to leave our communities, lost food sources we rely on, or seen our careers and our way of life disappear. So many others have already endured these extreme negative consequences of our collective inaction and it’s just getting started.
What brought you to CCAN?
Once I decided I wanted to work full-time on changing climate policy, I looked for a place where I could have the most immediate impact. In the U.S., the most ambitious climate policy is being passed at the state level and no one works state climate policy harder than CCAN. There are so many advocacy organizations that exist in Maryland just to preserve their own access to powerful legislators, waiting in line until they’re told it’s okay to act. CCAN is different. Under Mike Tidwell’s leadership, CCAN has gotten big things done well ahead of the usual Annapolis schedule. With ten years left to make wide-sweeping and complicated changes to the way our economy, transportation system, and buildings work, CCAN’s culture of urgency is paramount.
What has inspired you most working with CCAN?
Without a doubt, I’m most inspired by how dedicated my colleagues are to going about our work in an inclusive way. As vital as urgency is to our work—it doesn’t matter how quickly we move if we’re leaving people behind along the way. The minute I came to work at CCAN, I walked into a culture of respect that has been built by both an eagerness and the hard work needed to understand the full extent of the change we’re working to create. How are we investing in frontline and disadvantaged communities? How are we moving from an exploitative economy to a worker-led economy? How do we build a movement that is led by those who have historically been shut out of decision-making? These questions dominate our work just as much as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
What do you hope to see happen in terms of climate in the next year?
There’s now a growing consensus in our country that not only is climate change real, but we also have just a short period of time to do something about it. There’s less of a consensus on what that “something” is — what is our unifying vision of how to address climate change? It will require system change in so many of our worlds: how we get from point A to B, the heating and cooling of the buildings we live and work in, the food we eat, and so much else we take for granted in our everyday lives. It’s entirely daunting. What would a comprehensive climate action even look like?
I hope come November of 2020, the vision for necessary and comprehensive climate action becomes more clear and a movement starts to form behind it. I think states can play a large role in that important policy development and I hope Maryland can be a leader.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on climate change?
Album cover from my band, If Only the Trees
I love hiking and kayaking, and usually plan my vacations around getting outside and surrounding myself with natural beauty. I go to Shenandoah National Park a handful of times every year and have gone to Denali National Park and Acadia National Park recently. I’m hoping to add more national parks to the list soon.
I also sing and write lyrics in a post-rock band called If Only the Trees (the name isn’t climate-related!).
Who would you high five?
I’ve been thinking a lot about Saul Alinsky, one of America’s great leaders in grassroots organizing in the 20th Century, since I started this job. He has this one quote that keeps coming back to me: “Together we may find some of what we’re looking for—laughter, beauty, love, and the chance to create.” To me, it really sums up why we bother fighting for a better version of our world.
But if I had to pick just one person, it would be David Wallace-Wells, a writer for the New Yorker and author of Uninhabitable Earth. I’ve never read anything more persuasive and important than his book, and I owe him for opening my eyes and pushing me to want to do this work.
Lauren Landis is CCAN’s Hampton Roads Organizer. Here’s her story.
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I was born in Virginia but grew up in Texas! I moved to Hampton Roads to attend William & Mary and then lived in the area after graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree in Government. I’ve worked for education, healthcare, and hunger relief nonprofits in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Raleigh, North Carolina and am passionate about advocating for basic human rights. This led me to the mother of all basic rights, the right to a safe and healthy environment!
What woke you up to the climate crisis?
Focusing on hunger relief while I worked for the Food Bank of CENC started me on the personal journey to learn more about climate change. The agricultural ties to food banking really highlight how closely climate change and food scarcity are linked. I began to learn and research about the impact of climate change on food production around the world.
What impacts of climate change currently hit home to you?
As a resident of Hampton Roads, the impacts of climate change are always on my mind. Our coastal cities are endangered by sea rise and many residents will soon be in the flood path unless drastic actions are taken. In addition, I see daily evidence of the fossil fuel industry in our region when the coal train cars drive across the street from my home or when I pass the mountains of coal in Norfolk.
What brought you to CCAN?
I was looking for local ways to contribute to climate justice and CCAN is a great actor in the area. I was drawn to CCAN’s policy focus and activism to protect my region.
What has inspired you most working with CCAN?
CCAN has a saying of, “no permanent friends, no permanent enemies.” I think this mindset is particularly inspiring given our highly bipartisan political culture. I love CCAN’s flexibility to push for change using all tools and appealing to all individuals who might be able to help.
What have you contributed to bringing about a clean energy revolution that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of the small role I played in getting people to attend the local events held for the September global climate strike movement. I think this moment was pivotal in showing the public support for climate justice and it was awesome to recruit others and represent CCAN’s call for clean energy.
What do you hope to see happen in terms of climate in the next year?
I hope to see progress on Virginia’s path to joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as I think it would be a big advancement towards a cleaner future. I also hope to keep meeting Hampton Roads residents who are curious or passionate about creating a cleaner, more sustainable culture in our region.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on climate change?
Most of my free time is spent with my family taking walks around our community! I also like to spend time reading, learning to bake, and sleeping as much as I possibly can :).
Who would you high five?
I would high five Mary Robinson! Her book, Climate Justice, was one of the first books that I read to learn more grassroots stories of individuals around the world affected by climate change. By simply relaying the stories of these frontline communities, she inspired me to seek out an organizer role. Mary Robinson has also established a Climate Justice Foundation (after her chapters as the Prime Minister of Ireland and UN Commissioner on Human Rights) and her career is a great example to me that it’s never too late to join the fight.
Hannah Laub is CCAN’s Virginia Grassroots Coordinator. Here’s her story.
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Hi there! I was born in raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. I left VA for the first time when I went to Kenyon College in Ohio, where I studied Sociology and Studio Art. After college, I did two years of Americorps – first in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and then in Seattle, Washington. About a year ago, I came back to Virginia and am happy to be back in the place I call home.
What woke you up to the climate crisis?
I went to Baton Rouge in 2016, when Louisiana experienced unprecedented flooding. I worked in a middle school, and our students were out for a week because the flooding caused destruction throughout the city. People lost their homes, businesses, and cars. Some had relocated to Baton Rouge from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, only to face the impact of climate change all over again. I spent that week gutting out people’s homes and working at donation centers, and even when students were back at school, the flood’s devastation lingered. It was shocking to see the impact three days of rain had on an entire community, and specifically how it impacted my students’ chances to have a happy, healthy school year.
What impacts of climate change currently hit home to you?
For me, the way climate change impacts public health really hits home. The air we breathe and the water we drink have a real impact on our health, and low-income communities are hit the hardest with these problems.
What brought you to CCAN?
I love CCAN’s concentration on justice and their belief in the power of grassroots resistance.
What has inspired you most working with CCAN?
The people! It really gives me hope to see the way CCANers advocate for our communities and the meaningful connections they make.
What have you contributed to bringing about a clean energy revolution that youare most proud of?
I just joined CCAN, so this answer will evolve. But for my previous job, I registered high school students to vote and helped them conduct get out the vote campaigns in their schools. So many of the students I worked with passionately cared about climate change. (That was truly the #1 issue students consistently brought up!) I’m hoping that by getting them more civically engaged, they will become lifetime advocates for climate justice.
What do you hope to see happen in terms of climate in the next year?
I hope that the pipelines continue to meet resistance and eventually stop construction. I also hope VA comes closer to adopting a clean energy policy, because we could be doing a lot better.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on climate change?
I love all things outdoors – hiking, swimming, just hanging out outside! I also try to stay active and make time to be creative by watercoloring and doing embroidery. I love spending time with friends and family, but my true love is eating.
During my freshman year writing class at the George Washington University this past spring, I wrote a research paper about the “Fridays for Future” climate change movement led by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
This week, I met Greta face to face.
This month was historic for climate activism. Greta has inspired millions of people around the world since she started skipping school to go on a “climate strike” every Friday for over a year. As her movement gained traction, she became the central image for the climate change movement and gave speeches to government officials more than twice her age at events such as the COP 24, World Economic Forum, and the EU Parliament. Then she finally crossed the Atlantic towards New York City on a sailboat, the only carbon-free solution she could find. Her first arrival in North America since beginning the movement has led to a crazy few weeks for climate activists — not only in DC, but also in America and the world as a whole. I was fortunate enough to see her twice.
Striking in Front of the White House with Greta Thunberg
It was announced on Wednesday, September 11, that Greta would carry out her 56th strike on September 13 in outside of the White House — only two days later. I arrived very early; I was excited to interact and strike with a woman I had been admiring for a long time. At first, it was just myself and the organizers in attendance, and I watched the crowd surge in size and anticipation while waiting for Greta to arrive. The crowd at this strike was young — it looked like a lot of kids actually skipped school to come. A few hundred people ended up striking with merely two days notice, and lead strikers noted that they were used to only having around 20 people join them in the typical Friday strike.
Besides the over-eager press corps looking to catch a glimpse of Greta in action, this strike felt authentic, like it accurately reflected the Fridays for Future movement as a whole. The speeches took place on the south side of the White House. The crowd squeezed into the narrow sidewalk, and the lead strikers only used megaphones and their own voices to convey their anger with American lawmakers but hopefulness for the movement as a whole. When it was finally Greta’s turn to speak, it was brief, only for about a minute. She echoed the messages of the speakers prior, and said “see you next week on September 20th” for the global climate strike. And then it was over.
Greta Thunberg marching with Friday for Future strikers on the National Mall.
Amnesty International Honors Greta and Other Youth Activists with Top Award
My excitement grew over the next few days as I anticipated watching her accept Amnesty International’s “Ambassador of Conscience” award a few days later on my campus, the George Washington University.The Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty’s highest honor to profound individuals and social groups working to protect human rights. As a current GWU student, I was lucky to obtain a free ticket to the event. The award ceremony was much more formal than the White House “strike.” Greta, along with a few other notable youth environmental activists, were being honored for their work in the movement. One of the recipients was Tokata Iron Eyes of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. Her speech was actually my favorite of the night as she spoke about her commitment to environmental justice and indigenous rights since she protested the Keystone Pipeline when she was only 12 years old. I had goosebumps when she spoke.
Greta spoke towards the end, again keeping her remarks short. Following her acceptance of the award, she engaged in a panel discussion with other leaders of Fridays for Future in North America. I got the impression that while Greta recognizes her significance in the movement, she didn’t want to dominate the spotlight. Instead she wanted to recognize other important youth activists she works with. On the panel, she only answered one question that was directly asked of her. Most of the time, she would pass the questions on to her colleagues to allow them to publicly reflect on their time in the movement instead.
Greta Thunberg accepting Amnesty International’s 2019 Ambassador of Conscience Award for the Fridays for Future Movement.
DC Climate Activists Take Over Capitol Hill
After these two events, of course, came the massive “Global Climate Strike” on September 20. This strike was to be much bigger than the White House strike with Greta, with people of all ages in attendance. Overall, the event seemed like a success for the lead strikers who watched their Fridays for Future branch grow from a usual crowd of 20 students to a mass of over seven thousand participants.
It wasn’t as big as some other strikes that took place around the world that day, like the 300,000 that turned out in New York City, but the creative homemade signs and high-energy atmosphere reminded me of the Women’s March and the March For Our Lives. And it is worth considering the cumulative numbers: that same day, strikes took place in more than 1000 cities around the world, including locally in Baltimore, Newport News, Richmond, and Virginia Beach (all places where CCAN had a presence). Overall, more than 4 million people across the world took part in a climate strike. This number is historic.
Strikers at the DC Global Climate Strike on September 20, 2019.
Unpacking my Wild Week of Climate Activism
We all knew Greta Thunberg’s arrival in America was a huge deal for the international climate movement. But after having the opportunity to witness first-hand the movement she created, I compiled two major takeaways.
First, the Fridays for Future movement makes me feel old! I’ve spent the past week listening to brilliant and compelling speeches detailing the severity of climate change and the failure of older generations to act on it. I’m only 19 years old and I was still older than nearly every speaker. When a 12-year-old has the courage to speak out in front of hundreds of strikers, onlookers, and possibly even climate change deniers about society’s ignorant inaction on climate change, it becomes too difficult not to feel complicit and part of the problem. When I was 12, I was afraid to give an oral presentation to my 6th-grade class — let alone a massive crowd of climate activists. I feel old, but I know that I am still young enough to have a future I want to protect.
Second: this movement is so much larger than just Greta Thunberg or any one individual skipping school. During the first strike I attended, Greta tried her best to blend into the crowd and become a normal student striker. She made the same effort during the Amnesty International ceremony, which could have easily turned into a night to honor solely Greta. Instead, she brought her top American and Canadian strikers on the stage to accept the award with her and reflect on the inner workings of the movement as a whole.
Greta Thunberg, Jerome Foster III, and more North American Fridays for Future activists participating in a panel for Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience 2019 Award ceremony.
These events have strengthened my belief in just how important it is to be involved in the climate movement right now. As a student in DC, it amazes me to witness any social movement come to life on the national scale first hand. But having the opportunity to witness a movement so personally relevant and important to me is something that I will never forget. As the UN Climate Summit takes place during this week and more Friday climate strikes in the future, I remain optimistic that eventually our world leadership will shift its course on climate action. It is times like these that remind me why I chose to pursue my higher education in our nation’s capital.
