Thread by @SustainAllLife

Starting now: U.S. Back in Paris: Ending U.S. Greed and Isolationism. Thanks @NewEconomyNYC for sponsoring! We'll be live-tweeting til noon #ClimateWeekNYC

Flyer: docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/9a5b93_73a…

@NewEconomyNYC We begin with a land acknowledgement, recognize the centuries of the Lenape people living on and caring for this land

@NewEconomyNYC We will talk about how the same systems that had a devastating impact on these people are the systems having a devastating impact on the earth.

These systems affect our ability to feel good about ourselves, to think, to do our work.

@NewEconomyNYC I want to talk about the very negative role the U.S. is playing in regards to climate change. We could play a very positive role but we'll have to make change.

@NewEconomyNYC We turn to our neighbors now for paired listening: your name, where you are from, something you like about the U.S., something that frustrates you about the U.S.

@NewEconomyNYC First: some facts about the U.S., the negative role the U.S. government, systems, economy is playing in the climate crisis right now.

Many people don't know the important role the U.S. has in the climate crisis and why we need to work full out to change that.

@NewEconomyNYC Fact: The wealthy, industrialized countries have polluted our atmosphere with greenhouse gases with burning fossil fuel, deforestation, and consuming a lot of stuff we don't need.

@NewEconomyNYC After we signed the Paris Agreement, the U.S. emissions were starting to go down. But under the current president who is reversing policies, they are rising again.

@NewEconomyNYC The U.S. has put the most carbon emissions into the atmosphere, more than Australia Canada Iceland Japan Norway and Switzerland combined; more than the whole EU combined.

@NewEconomyNYC Most countries are not keeping up with their Paris Agreement commitments - and those commitments aren't even enough. @climateactiontr climateactiontracker.org/countries/

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr As many parts of the world are looking at reducing the use of petroleum and slowing production, the U.S. actually plans to increase petroleum production over the next 30 years.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr We have to leave 2/3 of fossil fuels that we know about in the ground. Instead we are spending $21 billion in tax dollars per year to subsidize the U.S. oil companies to drill and mine. #KeepItInTheGround @PriceofOil

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil U.S. fossil fuel companies have been attending climate talks like #ClimateActionSummit, blocking efforts to exclude their lobbyists from the floor of those talks. #PollutersOut

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil Now we pause. Not just trying to present bad news, but also offer tools of healing to allow you to absorb bad information. Pair listening exchange: How does it feel to hear this kind of information?

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil People don't know this information, because we have been systematically lied to by Big Oil & our government for decades.

Exxon, for example, was doing research in the 1970s and discovered burning fossil fuels was gonna warm up the planet. #ExxonKnew exxonknew.org

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil 1977-- We have a window of 5-10 yrs before the need for hard decisions re: energy strategies may become critical

1980-- no doubt fossil fuel usage aggravating problem of increased CO2 in atmosphere

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil Initially, U.S. govt was responsive, interested. George Bush said he'd address this when president.

But then Big Oil swarmed him, spreading propaganda that there was no science here. Destroyed the careers of many scientists. Did full page ads in NYT denying climate change

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil When US president announced backing out of Paris accords, some other countries felt like HOORAY. If the US isn't gonna do it, we won't have to spend all that money to uphold our part of the agreement.
So many countries have reduced their commitment to reducing green house gasses.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil There is so much wealth in the world. A lot of the wealth in U.S. is from colonizing other countries, bringing their wealth to this country.

Pulling out of Paris doesn't just say "we won't reduce our emissions." It also says we won't share the resources and wealth we have here.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil For us to succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we need to send hard cash to parts of the world that still need to develop their economies, meet people's basic needs. We could assist them to go straight to a renewable based economy.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil But right now, all we are offering them is coal, gas and oil.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil If we do not recommit to Paris Agreement and share our resources globally, there won't be enough resources world-wide to address the climate emergency.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil 👉👉👉Key point: Racism underlies why we aren't responding. The white majority has been conditioned, trained and hurt in a way that they aren't that interested in the rest of the world. And we certainly aren't willing to share our resources.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil That racism is a big part of why the U.S. is coming out of Paris.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil We're going to do an exchange venting, 5 min each way. Don't even try to be reasonable. Any feelings you have about how outrageous this situation is, how angry it makes you, how scared it makes you, share that with your partner.

... Did you enjoy that? "Yeah!"

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil We have heard a lot of facts about where we are at, the role the U.S. has played, what the fossil fuel industry has done to create doubt.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil But grassroots movements are growing. People are arising everywhere. Indigenous people, young people, old people, scientists, farmers.

They are saying: you can't fool us anymore!

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil I heard a young woman in Bangladesh weeping and screaming after they had floods, where her family and 8,000 other people lost their homes. #ClimateEmergency is real.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil Last night, we heard a young woman from Europe, @GretaThunberg, on the verge of crying, tell the U.N. how mad she was. #HowDareYou

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg How do we come together from around the globe unite? Stand for each other?

Have each other's back. Connect. Be hopeful. Take initiative. Do this all like we're never taken on before.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg It's a huge challenge for humanity. We have to come up with new ways of doing things. We need initiative, hope, connection, unity.

How do we do that?

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg We deeply believe this is doable. In this moment in history, we humans can pull this off - but we have some hard work to do.

Individually we need to examine where the places are that we can't stay hopeful, can't stay connected, ...

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg ...can't take initiative, don't have courage, still scared of being attacked and killed.

Where are the places where we go alone? Where are the places we get greedy?

Where are the places where we say "You know what? I like my privilege."

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg This stuff is like termites in the basement. They eat the foundation of the home, and gradually the whole house collapses. These feelings are the termites. At this moment in our history as a species, we can't afford to not take on our termites.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg What we've learned in @SustainAllLife over the last 50 years: oppression has hurt us very deeply. Racism, colonization, indigenous oppression, sexism, homophobia, classism-- we've been so hurt that we often can't recognize the hurts, think things are wrong with us as individuals.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg As activists, while we fight this huge fight, we need to make room for ourselves to tell our stories of oppression.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg I have to look at where I carry hopelessness because the US would come to my country and get rid of our democratic movements.

We have to look at our legacies of enslavement, our legacies of having lost our land, our legacies of not having been taken seriously as young people.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg We need to tell our stories to each other. And we need to feel and release the emotions we have.

As @NaomiAKlein said in her recent NYC talk: In order for our movement to get more powerful, it needs to be emotionally healthy.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg @NaomiAKlein Otherwise, the movement is going to collapse, and we will be set up against one another.

We can do that by telling our stories, feeling our feelings, releasing our emotions. @SustainAllLife wants to do this healing work with you, at the same time we are doing organizing work.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg @NaomiAKlein We live in a time when we are encouraged to numb our feelings at all cost. Numbness has become normalized in this country. As long as we are numb, we accept horrid things around us.

We have to allow our movements to create space for feelings.

@NewEconomyNYC @climateactiontr @PriceofOil @GretaThunberg @NaomiAKlein When we do, our minds start working better. New thoughts come to our minds. We become more connected, and we can hold onto this idea of unity with all humans.

Correction: @NewEconomyNYC is not sponsoring this US Back in Paris workshop. We’re sorry for the misstatement

Unroll @threadreaderapp