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This week, we face crises on all fronts. The Human Rights Campaign has issued a historic ‘state of emergency” declaration in response to the alarming attack on anti-LGBTQ rights around the country. Conservative lawmakers have been relentless in their efforts to pass legislation attacking LGBTQ communities - from gender affirming healthcare, to banning books and inclusive education, to drag performances, to basic access, rights and safety. And while anti-wokeness thrives, guns continue to rip apart entire communities and wild fires rage threatening millions of lives.

Here’s the thing about centrism - there is no middle on whether young people deserve affirming spaces and essential healthcare, there is no middle on whether our kids deserve to go to school and not get shot. there is no middle on whether or not capitalism should continue to destroy the planet and our collective future, there is no middle on whether people deserve basic human rights like healthcare and housing, and there is no middle on a system that says some people get to be well and some people don’t.

This is a call to know where you stand on issues of love, justice and liberation. As Elie Wiesel reminds us:

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.”

Taking sides is not an invitation to be divisive or get caught up in senseless debates on social media. Rather get centered in what matters to you. And then do what you can to support the causes you care about and protect and aid the people who need it most. There’s not one right way but many possibilities to show up for this moment and make a difference.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by Penny’s Substack

NTK (need to know)

1. As smoke darkens the sky, the future becomes clear. Sixty percent of the pollution from American wildfires is experienced by people living outside the state in which the trees are actually burning. There is no escape.

2. How the SCOTUS 'Supermajority' is shaping policy on everything from abortion to guns. This very extreme group of six justices have the ability to make significant changes in our country going forward, but we have the ability to hold them accountable.

3. The problem with anti-woke centrism. The rising tide of fake liberals in media politics (and wellness) who want to take the “middle way” on issues of justice and liberation. There is no middle.

4. From Organizer to Elected: New Lessons on Co-Governance from those in Power. What does it mean when activists are the ones in office, and how should they and the movements they come from relate to each other?

5. An Evolutionary Roadmap for Belonging and Co-Liberation. Our shared work in justice-related efforts calls for us to renew, co-create, and follow boldly emergent narratives and frames that urge us to embody belonging every step of the way.

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Solidarity

This is what the present and future will look like if we don’t stop the climate crisis now— and it’s scary. But we still have time to change course. And no, I don’t mean shorter showers and compost products. We already know that Big Oil invented “carbon footprints” to blame us, individuals, for their greed. I mean getting organized and demanding and end to the reign of fossil fuel and corporate greed and extraction. Here’s how to get engaged:

FOLLOW Sunrise who is building a movement of young people across race and class to stop the climate crisis and win a Green New Deal.

CALL ON Biden to DECLARE A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CRISIS NOW.

HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS with deniers about climate change (see below).

Art by SUNSET MOVEMENT

Digging Deeper

A bunch of climate deniers jumped on my feed yesterday to justify what is happening right before our eyes. So I thought this was a good time to share some tips on how to talk about climate change with climate deniers.

“Climate change is natural and normal—it’s happened at other points in history.”

It’s true that there have been periods of global warming and cooling—also related to spikes and lulls in greenhouse gases—during the Earth’s long history. But those historic increases in CO₂ should be a warning to us: They led to serious environmental disruptions, including mass extinctions. Today, humans are emitting greenhouse gases at a far higher rate than any previous increase in history.  

“Even if it’s real, humans didn’t cause it.” 

The science is very clear and has been for the last 40 years. Humans are responsible for burning fossil fuels and causing our current climate emergency.

“This is the coldest winter we’ve had in years! So much for global warming.”

There’s a difference between climate and weather: Weather fluctuates day in, day out, whereas climate refers to long term trends—and the overall trend is clearly and indisputably a warming one. While the impacts of climate change have only just begun to hit the Global North, farmers in the tropics have been contending with impacts—from droughts to floods to a proliferation of crop-destroying pests—for years.

“There’s no consensus among scientists that climate change is real.”

Wrong. There is nearly 100 percent agreement among scientists. Moreover, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that global warming is accelerating, and will reach 1.C above pre-Industrial levels around 2030—a full decade earlier than previously forecast.  

“The economy won’t be able to handle all the lost fossil fuel jobs.” 

The process of transition isn’t an overnight thing. What we’re demanding is an end to expansion of fossil fuel production and the beginning of a gradual transition off fossil fuels until we end our reliance on fossil fuels as soon as possible, well before 2050. The new energy sector will provide far more jobs per dollar spent than the fossil fuel industry, and the jobs will be cleaner, safer and better for everyone’s health.

“China is the real culprit for causing climate change.”

All countries need to work together to decarbonize, and China and other developing nations will be crucial to that effort. But the US has a unique responsibility to lead on this issue due to our historical carbon emissions and our current high per capita emissions. Everything we can do to help other nations shift their economy will benefit Americans. What’s more, ending fossil fuel use here in the US will have immediate health benefits for Americans (through reduced air pollution) and will help reverse the legacy of environmental racism in our country.

“The economy won’t be able to handle all the lost fossil fuel jobs.” 

The process of transition isn’t an overnight thing. What we’re demanding is an end to expansion of fossil fuel production and the beginning of a gradual transition off fossil fuels until we end our reliance on fossil fuels as soon as possible, well before 2050. The new energy sector will provide far more jobs per dollar spent than the fossil fuel industry, and the jobs will be cleaner, safer and better for everyone’s health.

“OK, maybe climate change is real, but there’s nothing to be done—it’s too late.”

It’s true that we don’t have a moment to waste, but it’s not too late. If governments, business, and individuals begin taking drastic action now, we can keep warming within the 1.5C target set by the Paris Agreement. What can you do to make sure that happens? A lot. Here are actions you can take—both to make your daily life more sustainable and to push governments and companies to act—to secure a better future.  

Source: Greenpeace & Rainforest Alliance

We-ness

…With out art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness. Thank you Arundhati Roy. 💛

Thanks for subscribing to WELLREAD. For the last six years we’ve been providing folks with the need to know (NTK) news, calls to actions and resources for how to stay engaged and resourced along the way. But now, we’ve added an option to “upgrade to paid” to help sustain our work. While we will never put our content behind a pay wall, we depend on the support of our community to keep us going. 💛