The Green Flash

“Climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.“ former Secretary of Defense, James Mattis

“The US Department of Defense recognizes the reality of climate change.” “These impacts are already occurring, and the scope, scale, and intensity of these impacts are projected to increase over time.”

This Thursday evening, September 26th, 2019 don’t miss this rare San Diego County screening of the national award-winning documentary, “THE BURDEN Fossil Fuel, The Military and National Security” (https://www.amresproject.org/the-burden) including a live discussion with the filmmaker. The film features top military experts illustrating how fossil fuel dependence is our greatest long-term national security threat, and why our military is ready and willing to speed the transition to clean energy.

Joining us via Zoom for Q & A will be “THE BURDEN’s” creator Roger Sorkin, who directed, produced, and edited this groundbreaking film in conjunction with the Truman Project. Roger founded and runs American Resilience Project, which has produced such acclaimed documentaries as “Tidewater” and “Current Revolution”.

Featuring guest moderator Eve Simmons, a decades-long environmental speaker, activist, former Congressional Liaison and lobbyist, wildlife guide, Fish and Wildlife Advisory Commissioner and green blogger, THE GREEN FLASH Awakening Your True Nature… with Eve Simmons.

Join us at 6 PM, or arrive at 5:30 PM and enjoy live music by Sabine and John Sherman prior to the film.  https://www.dryadflutes.com/

Popcorn and beverages will be provided. You are welcome to bring a “brown bag lunch/dinner” or takeout to eat. *The Leeds home is at the end of a long driveway off the main road. Look for the orange traffic cone to see where to turn. This event is hosted by Nikki and Merrill Leeds and the North County Climate Change Alliance. Please contact nikkileeds@cox.net to RSVP or for any questions.

Want a more visible bang for your buck during this coming weeklong climate strike? Jamie Dimon, the C.E.O. of JPMorgan Chase, is an oil, coal, and gas baron almost without peer. Let’s encourage him to change his mind on fossil fuel funding. If you’re looking for the best location to choose for your personal statement on raising climate awareness and action for this week’s climate strike (from Sept. 20th – 27th), I can’t think of a better spot than your nearest Chase Bank. Please obey all laws, be courteous, and use common sense. But by peacefully and respectfully displaying your climate sign visibly near the financial institution most responsible for funding fossil fuel investments you will quietly send a powerful message. Not only is profiting from oil, gas, and coal, shortsighted, it’s risky from a financial perspective. Stranded assets anyone? By the way, any Wells Fargo, Citibank, or Bank of America locations could use the same gentle but clear reminder. Want to dig deeper? Two excellent articles on divestment are here:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/money-is-the-oxygen-on-which-the-fire-of-global-warming-burns https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-16/divestment-fossil-fuel-university-of-california-climate-change

I’m going to channel my inner Greta and so can you.

En masse climate actions send powerful messages, but so can singular efforts, as our glorious Greta Thunberg has proven. So if you can’t make it to a major #StrikeForClimate demonstration on September 20th (or even if you can), then #CloneGreta and DIY locally that day and repeatedly at anytime.
Give yourself permission to hit the streets anytime with your sign (mine says “STRIKING FOR CLIMATE AWARENESS AND ACTION”). For maximum impact I’m encouraging people to do this often, as individuals or in small groups, in any pedestrian-safe, high-foot-traffic area. For example, in front  of libraries, banks, post offices, at shopping centers, city halls, colleges, etc. Snap a photo of yourself with your sign and share on social media (as well as to local broadcast and print media if you’d like) to spread this idea and #CloneGreta  This is something we can all do in any town, at any time. Meeting a friend for coffee? Bring your sign and sit outside:) PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! Thanks!!

When a product gets more expensive, people use less of it. And when pollution goes down, economies rise. So let’s imagine something wonderful.

What if… we had a bill in Congress that charged fossil fuel companies for their pollution, and it worked so well that the GHG emissions the U.S. keeps launching into our atmosphere dropped by half in about 10 years?

What if that same bill prevented millions of premature deaths because our air was so much cleaner?

What if that bill also helped protect our troops by keeping them out of harm’s way?

What if it created millions of clean energy jobs in the U.S.?

What if it had a border policy that encouraged other countries to follow suit AND protected U.S. jobs and U.S. companies?

What if this bill was way stronger than our Paris commitments, way more effective than the Clean Power Plan (hitting its targets for 2030 in just 4 years instead of 10 years), and much stronger than any EPA regulations – existing or pending?

What if 98% of the top economists all over the world said “This works. Pricing carbon is the biggest and most effective first step we could take toward solving the climate crisis.”?

Well we do. Yes Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus, this bill is real, and it’s called the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR763.

OK now bear with me…  what if, in order for this bill to pass, we had to take all that money that we got from the fossil fuel industry for polluting our atmosphere and give it to other wealthy corporations, or political pet projects, stuff we may not like? Hmm… not so much?

Oh really? Knowing the severity and the urgency of the crisis we face, just how badly DO we want to save humanity?

Or on second thought… what if we make this bill socially just as well?

How about we distribute all that money from the fossil fuel industries to EVERYONE, equally, so there’s less political resistance and this bill can actually become law? What if those who can least afford the increases in goods and services end up with MORE money in their pockets than before this bill goes into effect? In fact, those with the lowest incomes, the bottom 60%, would end up ahead. The rest would break even, and only those who could best afford it, those with the highest carbon footprint, would begin see an increase in their costs – that is UNTIL they lower their carbon footprint!

So how do you like them apples?

No other bill that’s ever been proposed has come close to this.

We’ll be correcting the market failure that’s been built into our economy by massive and needless subsidies to fossil fuel industries since before any of us were born. It’s revenue neutral, which Conservatives like because it doesn’t grow government. It’s socially just, which Progressives like because it lessens the hardship on those already most burdened. We actually have a shot at passing this groundbreaking bill into law. Please learn more about the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR763 at EnergyInnovationAct.org

We need each of you to spread this knowledge and support this bill far and wide. This planet is our home, shouldn’t we try?

Climate Change affects us all. Often those hardships are felt even more profoundly by those least able to adapt and recover quickly due to a lack of resources. Join us tomorrow, Saturday, April 13th, at 10 am. I’ll be speaking on our “Rights At Risk – Time to Take Action” to the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Del Mar-Leucadia Branch, at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Dr, Encinitas, CA All are welcome to this free event.