“Since I realized that global warming posed a threat to my children’s — all children’s’ — health and well-being, one of my most rewarding discoveries has been that our voices and votes really matter to our elected officials. I’d thought that we just needed to make lifestyle changes, like recycling. However, I learned that the scale and urgency of the climate crisis is so great that the only way to effectively tackle the problem is to change our polices. Our elected officials make those policies. Talking to our elected officials is an act of parental responsibility. Voting is an act of love.”
-Dr. Sarah Warren, speaker, coach and consultant, founder Our Spheres of Influence. ClimateMama, October, 2016
“[I fight] so that future generations will have the resources and assets they need to survive on a planet that’s being destroyed every day.” — Miriam Miranda, leader in the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) which defends indigenous land rights and natural resources
“The environment is not a component of our life. We are a component of the environment, If all insects die, life really stops in this planet. If humans die, life flourishes.” For him, knowing not only how textiles are made but also how they break down is more important than ever. Each year, humans create 85 million metric tons of textiles while sending more than 11 million tons of textile waste to landfills." Majid Sarmadi, Rothermel Bascom Professor in the School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
RESOURCES
The Years Project is an Action Tool Kit for the Climate Movement.updated weekly with action you can support.
Why I Care About Climate Change An entire series, featuring experts from around the world, answering the question of "Why I Care" in small 2 minute segments.
THE NATURAL STEP: CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE PLANET
The Natural Step Framework has been renamed the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). It is a simple science-based tool for analyzing the complex issues associated with sustainable development.. It was developed in Sweden to help that country move toward greater economic and environmental health based in a stewardship model, Swedish change makers reached out to the U.S. to find early adopters willing to learn the language and practice that was working well for Sweden, and adapt the model for an American audience. It provides a means of developing practical solutions for businesses, government bodies, policy-makers, individuals and communities.. Local communities are using this framework to make a difference locally. Check them out.
In Dane County you can learn about the Natural Step efforts and study circles through Sustain Dane.
A PEOPLE ORIENTATION TO A REGENERATIVE ECONOMY:PROTECT, REPAIR, INVEST, AND TRANSFORM
A People’s Orientation to a Regenerative Economy: Protect, Repair, Invest and Transform of the Indigenous Environmental Network guides our planet collectively into a sustainable future, wherein Indigenous sovereignty and values are front and center.. It A has 14 Planks entailing over 80 policy ideas. "Indigenous Principles of Just Transition is our platform for any economic policy including green New Deal, which will lead us into a Regenerative Economy, reorienting us away from the colonized frames that, while sometimes well intentioned, only replicate the problems we are seeking to solve"..
The fourteen planks are deeply intertwined and should be held as a collective framework to achieve a Regenerative Economy. The planks are organized starting with a focus on championing human rights and dignity, moving into infrastructure shifts for a Regenerative Economy, and ending with how we can resource these solutions. .
OTHER BASIC ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE
Earth Day and Everyday, What you can do...The EARTHDAY.ORG’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.
United States Must Act On Climate Change-Petition: Inaction on climate change is not an option. The United States needs to honor our commitments to global climate action, and we must move climate action forward here at home, too. We cannot remain silent and wait for things to change. We must cut our carbon emissions today.
Subscribe to Climate Connections, a daily public radio series, to hear stories about how climate change is impacting our lives and what diverse people and organizations are doing about it (produced by Yale Climate Connections, formerly Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media).
Climate Wisconsin: an educational multimedia project featuring stories of climate change.