In the lead up to the Mobilization for Climate Justice’s national day of action on November 30th, we’ve partnered with the Climate Pledge of Resistance to grow a social movement of signatures from people, like you, that pledge to take direct action to push our leaders to do something about climate change. Visit their interactive website – www.beyondtalk.net – to learn more and sign the pledge yourself!
Direct from their website:
Tired of hearing about climate change? Then do something. Now.
December 7-18, 2009, the world’s leaders will meet in Copenhagen to decide what to do about climate change.
Sadly, if these leaders reached an agreement today, it wouldn’t be strong enough to do much good.*
In order to bring global CO2 back to the safe zone, we need a global agreement now. But we can’t wait for politicians to do the right thing. We need to turn the political heat way up.
The good news is that civil disobedience works. A coal-fired power plant recently had its permit withdrawn as a result of a community blockade of the Desert Rock site, in Dine (Navajo) territory, and there have been powerful actions throughout Appalachia, on Mount Rushmore, against the Tar Sands in Canada, and elsewhere.
Last March, in DC, thousands of people risked arrest and shut down the coal-fired plant that supplies Congress’s power. (While Congress chose the false solution of natural gas instead, the action proved that civil disobedience does get a response.)
But time is far too short to shut down one site at a time. Massive action is needed today, in order to:
- ensure climate justice for the affected communities around the world that contribute the least to the problem, but are already feeling the effects
- implement a real deal that does not rely on carbon trading, offsets, or other false solutions
- keep all fossil fuels in the ground, and drastically reduce emissions
- end subsidies to climate polluters including oil and gas, coal, industrial bio-fuels, nuclear power, etc.
- end mountaintop removal and industrial logging of primary forests immediately
- invest in local union jobs driven by purpose, not profit, and protect our community health
During the Great Depression, it was only massive pressure from citizens, often including civil disobedience, that allowed Roosevelt to make the changes we all take for granted.
It was only the uncompromising action of hundreds of thousands that ended U.S. segregation and South African apartheid.
Today, when our leaders find themselves cornered by industrial lobbyists, they must be able to point out the window at us. Then, like Roosevelt and other leaders before them, they will be able to say: “Sorry, I can’t.”
This December, at Copenhagen, our leaders can choose to save our world. After that it may be too late. Through actions this fall leading up to November 30 and beyond, hundreds of thousands of us will show them directly the choice we want them to make. Won’t you join us?
The CPR is currently at 3701 and counting!
When at least 10,000 people have signed up on this list, we will be in a position to perform the largest civil disobedience action in the history of the climate-change movement.
And it will be worldwide — and especially in major cities. Our actions leading up to Copenhagen and beyond will challenge power and show our leaders the kind of change we want. It will give President Obama, for example, the excuse he needs to listen to people, not profits.
On November 30, on the 10th annniversary of the non-violent shut-down of the WTO meeting in Seattle, and one week before the beginning of the Copenhagen climate negotiations, we are calling for a full activation of the campaign. Are you getting ready?
As surely as Apartheid and Segregation were ended by non-violent civil disobedience, climate policy will change too.
