Why? Because our governments aren’t delivering on climate targets and we need to insist they act (now).
TITANIC FACT
If the officer-in-charge had acted immediately it could have been averted. By the time he did, it was too late.
Let’s imagine that we are all onboard the Titanic. We’re slipping on our dancing shoes and having a jolly time. Meanwhile the ship is on course to smack into a giant iceberg. Except this time there’s lots of people on deck - the world’s brightest scientists, Greta Thunberg, the Climate Strikes, Extinction Rebellion, to name but a very few - all shouting for the captain to urgently change course. The captain nods, makes an insufficient adjustment and blithely continues to steer towards head-on collision. Yes, the captain is our governments.
Let’s pore over the navigation charts:
Australia: Emissions are headed for an increase of 8% by 2030
India: Emerging as a leader in renewables but coal consumption growing rapidly
UK: Well-intentioned ambitions but not on track to meet 2030 targets, let alone 2050
USA: Actively pursuing a pro-fossil fuels agenda. Emissions surged in 2018
You can click on your country here for the rating.
Avoiding collision = limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Still bad but not catastrophic. Achieving that requires massive cuts in emissions to net zero by 2050 the latest. They’re still rising. Captain, captain?
Ok got it. So how do I take action?
Some politicians care a lot and some politicians couldn’t care less, but they all care about votes. That’s our golden key. Let’s make sure they know that this is critical, tell them what we want them to do for us and that they can count on our vote (only) if they do.
But who’s got the time to write to an MP, right? Aha…a quick fix! Here’s a cut and paste that will make it easy for all of us, including how to find whom to write to.
Cut > Paste > Post in 5 minutes.
We can’t leave it to the captain.
But will it cost me more money?
At most the cost of a stamp. Emails are free. Abdication on the other hand can come at a mighty high price.
We…
Aimee: I checked how my local area was doing using this and even though, relatively speaking, it’s not doing too badly, I’m going to be pushing for more.
Sonia: I’m embarrassed to say that (though I always vote) I didn’t even know who local councillor was! Now, letter written, stamp licked and sent. Power to the people.
“If we don’t ask, we abet.”