We should be preventing climate disasters rather than continuously dealing with their aftermath. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

John -

Last year, amidst a pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, a series of climate-fueled wildfires smothered breathable air for my community in Colorado.

A grey tower of smoke hung over my son's elementary school playground, and several mornings we would wipe ash from our car windshields before heading to work and school.

Smoke from the fire. View from my neighborhood street.

Wildfire and hurricane seasons are getting longer and more severe every year. People across the US and around the world are forced to flee their homes due to climate disasters at a rate unlike anything we've seen before.^1,2 Quite frankly John, as we head into the summer months, I'm worried.

There is one reason — and one reason alone — for worsening climate disasters: powerful special interests are blocking climate action. And they will not stop until it is too late for our communities and our planet. Every year, Big Oil pours millions and millions of dollars into political lobbying to influence politicians and maintain the status quo. So far, their strategy has worked...

But times are changing. They may have the money, but we have the people. We have YOU. The sheer inertia behind their political influence is strong. So it will literally take every single one of us to turn this crisis around... but I have never been more certain that together, we can win.

Before I explain what gives me so much hope despite everything that is at stake, I wanted to say thank you for your ongoing support, and ask if you can do one more thing: can you chip in $3.50, or any amount that works for your budget, to help us fight back against the powerful interests that fund and exacerbate the climate crisis?

I want you to think back to just a few years ago, John:

Do you remember when being a climate activist was considered extremist? When movies and TV shows made fun of tree huggers? When almost no politician of any major party in any government was talking about climate change? I do.

Those days are largely gone, thankfully. The climate crisis and climate solutions are a part of public discourse now. People across backgrounds and across generations are protesting in the streets for climate action; For the first time in history, climate was a topic during the presidential debates; Courts are issuing orders forcing Big Oil companies to reduce emissions and climate activists are infiltrating Big Oil company boards; We're even seeing massive and largely conservative international agencies calling for an end to new fossil fuel projects.³

Climate change is no longer considered a 'fringe theory'. That's because of us. The work you and I and our incredible movement have done has paid off, and climate action is now an attainable goal. It's truly inspiring.

We're not even close to being done, though. We still have major challenges ahead in order to successfully curb the incredibly alarming trajectory of climate-related natural disasters here in the US and across the world.

Your support and involvement has put us in a position to launch campaigns that meet the scale of this crisis:

• The head of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, recently said that climate change is not something that influences their policy decisions.⁴ We know it must be. That's why we've launched our biggest fossil fuel finance campaign yet, targeting the Fed.
• We're launching our Climate League program — a group learning experience where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Climate League trainers will share research, stories, and campaigns in relation to the ways in which climate change affects daily lives. The goal for this program is simple: to build a movement that centers BIPOC leadership, and to learn from the lived experience of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Because there can be no meaningful climate action without climate justice.
• We're hard at work supporting Indigenous partners and activists on the frontlines fighting to stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline. We faced a minor setback earlier this week when a Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the project's approval,⁵ but that only means one thing: we'll ramp up our efforts to demand that Biden revoke the permit and stop Line 3 once and for all.

I'm being as honest as I can be when I say that this work is only possible because of thousands of grassroots supporters like you chipping in what you can, when you can. Because the power of people is the single most powerful force that exists. That is why I have to ask:

Will you please chip in to support our work to prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis, and fight the fossil fuel industry, before it's too late?

Together, we will create a better world for all.

Thanks again for your support,

Brett Fleishman
Director of Fossil Finance Campaigns
350.org

CONTRIBUTE

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1 - CNET
2 - NOAA
3 - The New Yorker
4 - CNBC
5 - MPR News