We’re All in This Together
Climate conference leaves one Falmouth resident feeling hopeful
By Sydney Patten
Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s annual conference just took place in Washington, DC from June 11th to 14th. Six hundred members from all over the country converged at the Omni Shoreham Hotel for this three-day event, along with numerous presenters, politicians, scientists, psychologists, journalists, and more.
I found myself feeling a mixture of despair and hope … an odd mixture of emotions to feel at the same time. The despair came in moments when, for example, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat from Rhode Island) likened what’s going on in the ocean to multiple Hiroshima nuclear bombs going off every second. The hope came when I saw just how many smart people there are working on all this.
Hope came as well, when I saw the many young people who are making the study of climate and the environment their life’s work. Hope came when I attended a session to learn that equitable tree planting is currently happening in many of our cities – planting trees and creating shade where there once was none. And hope came when I heard Alex Flint, the republican executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions, speak. It was encouraging to hear from him and others that climate is now an issue which 70% of Americans (both Democrats and Republicans) care and are concerned about.
Lobbying for a Carbon Fee & Dividend
We are fortunate indeed to have people like Senator Whitehouse and our own Senator King devoting so much time to this. Eight members of our group lobbied Senator King who is deeply knowledgeable in many things related to the climate. One of Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s biggest goals is to pass what’s called a carbon fee and dividend. In a nutshell, a carbon fee would put a steadily rising fee on carbon-emitting fuels, at the source, where they are first introduced into the economy. Stay tuned to see what happens to this extremely important piece of legislation.
While I was in Washington, I felt as though I was working for the resistance in WW2. Only now, the enemy is carbon and those who don’t believe in the science of climate change. I try to remain hopeful. And, on many days, I succeed.
In the face of this existential crisis, I believe, as Anne Frank once said:
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Let’s hope Anne Frank was right!
If you want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, join CCL and get involved! Visit citizensclimatelobby.org.
Sydney Patten is a pianist and a climate change activist. She lives in Falmouth with her husband, Bill, and her dog, Patapouf.
We’re All in this Together is a monthly Climate Justice column provided by the Portland chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
