[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
I said yes 30 years ago and in the next
nine minutes
my hope is you’ll say yes to climate
change is not just an environmental
issue instead of letting the climate
crisis freak you out
grab a hold of this moment this is the
most extraordinary time to be alive we
are writing the history books about
humanity’s survival children a hundred
years from now we’ll be reading about
those of us who stood up to the powers
that be who turned over the pages of the
Industrial Revolution and moved us to a
clean energy shared economy overturning
systems of patriarchy capitalism and
racism yes these systems stall our
progress and frankly large-scale change
is what is needed and the call for
climate justice now requires much bolder
and swifter action my activism began
thirty years ago as an exchange student
in Australia when I learned about in
Justices to the Aboriginal people I
heard their call to love and protect
this earth well I fell in love with the
Great Barrier Reef
I made a collection of algae for my
university’s herbarium should something
ever happen to the reef little did I
know that it would go from this to this
in my lifetime one of my professors back
then told us that the population would
double to 6 billion people in 25 years
and I thought to myself how does he know
who will have babies and how many well
he was right he left us with big
questions like how are we going to feed
everyone and what if everyone in the
world wanted washers and dryers and when
he told us that it took around 600
gallons of water to make a hamburger I
had to stop eating beef right then right
there
my life took another turn the day I saw
the film and Inconvenient Truth who saw
that film yeah well in the end you may
remember the Al Gore said if future
generations could talk to us they would
be asking us what were you thinking and
why didn’t you do anything when you had
the chance I have never cried so hard in
my life because I didn’t want my two
daughters asking me those questions and
I committed in that moment to do
everything I could and to move others to
act as well think of a time your life
changed because of something you saw or
learned when I learned entire countries
were banning plastic bags I had to do
the same in my community to connect
people to their carbon footprint through
their single-use plastic pollution and
while yes
the fossil fuel industry and how to
stand up and demand greater change
here’s an example my community stopped
North America’s largest proposed coal
export terminal in Northwest Washington
yeah many grassroots efforts sprouted I
started 350 Bellingham to connect the
carbon footprint of shipping coal to
Asia to burn because it was clearly a
bad idea but it wasn’t until our local
indigenous neighbors the Lummi Nation
burned a symbolic check to show they
wouldn’t be bought that we felt we stood
a chance and it was featured on the
front page of the New York Times the
community spoke up the Lummi defended
their fishing rights and together we won
and we celebrated and after this
five-year battle the bonds between our
neighbors and the place we protected our
strained beyond measure and globally
people are rising up everywhere and the
page in the history books that will
stand out as our turning point was the
moment in Paris when 195 countries
agreed to take collective action on
climate change yes you can
yeah this is huge this is huge yet the
government’s commitments aren’t strong
enough and I recently went back to
school to figure out how can we move
even more people to act and build the
climate justice movement to urge our
governments to take bolder action
I found out in an extensive study of
over 300 social movements that it only
takes three and a half percent of the
population actively involved for a
social movement to be successful so in a
community of 10,000 do the math that’s
only 350 people this three and a half
percent
creates a momentous force that shifts
people’s thinking
climate justice the term first appeared
in a 1999 court watch report defining
climate change as a human rights issue
and ten years ago citizens called for
system change not climate change shaping
the narrative that systemic change is
necessary climate justice frames the
climate crisis as a moral call to act by
addressing issues of equality human
rights collective rights and historical
responsibilities for change while our
government is the only one that is
withdrawn from the Paris agreement this
is why we must join the call for global
climate justice now and push for local
and state level action and yes many
cities are committing to 100 percent
renewable or fossil free even as I speak
we must also transition together while
listening to and working with the
leadership of people of color and
indigenous and marginalized communities
Yakima tribal chair Jody Gowdy says it
best we have the mind the heart and the
spirit at this point in time to change
the future so that indeed our future
generations will be able to experience
what you and I and our ancestors have
right now 21 young people are assuming
our federal government for inadequate
protection of their future and their
cases
successfully moving through the courts
if these kids are doing what they can do
what can we do there are countless ways
to engage in the climate justice
movement in my region we mobilized in
kayaks and help stop shale oil from
drilling in the Arctic and we want ya my
friend here was moved to act because of
his love to protect the ocean but who’s
protecting who in this picture the
police need to protect the citizens not
corporations and as we saw in Standing
Rock peaceful water protectors helped
everyone around the world learn that
water is life and must be protected this
is it each and every one of us
personally contributes to this crisis
which is why each and every one of us
must personally respond so what will you
say yes to get engaged in any of the
justice issues because climate justice
is the intersectionality of social
racial economic and environmental
struggles yes they intersect and our
collective actions tilt the balance of
power exercise your privilege
be willing to stand in solidarity with
nonviolent direct action even if this
means risking arrest yes the protected
must start protecting as we saw when the
veterans showed up to protect the
indigenous at Standing Rock it is
critical that we show up and be counted
and stand up and speak out all the
marches sit-ins standing up to climate
denial and for what is right is in our
hands
share your passion with others who is
the first person you can think of that
you want to join you because we’re
building a movement right who’s yeah to
help you in your efforts
I made a climate justice field manual
it’s full of tips and resources it’s a
free download too
we build a movement how each and every
one of us can be a part before I finish
I want to leave you with four actions
that you can say yes to now first divest
from fossil fuels and urge institutions
to do the same yes because if it’s wrong
direct the planet then it’s simply wrong
to profit from the wreckage right to be
a conscientious consumer donate to your
favorite causes and of course vote for
the climate 3d eat a plant-based diet
support your local farmers and lower
your carbon footprint and lastly pick
your cause or causes and get involved in
your community right away know in your
heart what moves you to act because this
is for life the climate justice field
manual will give you many ideas on how
to engage in move others to act too now
it’s time to say yes and use your skills
resources influence and your passion
because we have a shared responsibility
to act and protect with justice as our
moral compass now if you’re willing and
able please stand up and be counted and
let’s say yes together because we need
everyone everywhere
and technology we need everyone
everywhere in the technology doing
everything all the time as quickly as
possible can I get a yes thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
I said yes 30 years ago and in the next
nine minutes
my hope is you’ll say yes to climate
change is not just an environmental
issue instead of letting the climate
crisis freak you out
grab a hold of this moment this is the
most extraordinary time to be alive we
are writing the history books about
humanity’s survival children a hundred
years from now we’ll be reading about
those of us who stood up to the powers
that be who turned over the pages of the
Industrial Revolution and moved us to a
clean energy shared economy overturning
systems of patriarchy capitalism and
racism yes these systems stall our
progress and frankly large-scale change
is what is needed and the call for
climate justice now requires much bolder
and swifter action my activism began
thirty years ago as an exchange student
in Australia when I learned about in
Justices to the Aboriginal people I
heard their call to love and protect
this earth well I fell in love with the
Great Barrier Reef
I made a collection of algae for my
university’s herbarium should something
ever happen to the reef little did I
know that it would go from this to this
in my lifetime one of my professors back
then told us that the population would
double to 6 billion people in 25 years
and I thought to myself how does he know
who will have babies and how many well
he was right he left us with big
questions like how are we going to feed
everyone and what if everyone in the
world wanted washers and dryers and when
he told us that it took around 600
gallons of water to make a hamburger I
had to stop eating beef right then right
there
my life took another turn the day I saw
the film and Inconvenient Truth who saw
that film yeah well in the end you may
remember the Al Gore said if future
generations could talk to us they would
be asking us what were you thinking and
why didn’t you do anything when you had
the chance I have never cried so hard in
my life because I didn’t want my two
daughters asking me those questions and
I committed in that moment to do
everything I could and to move others to
act as well think of a time your life
changed because of something you saw or
learned when I learned entire countries
were banning plastic bags I had to do
the same in my community to connect
people to their carbon footprint through
their single-use plastic pollution and
while yes
the fossil fuel industry and how to
stand up and demand greater change
here’s an example my community stopped
North America’s largest proposed coal
export terminal in Northwest Washington
yeah many grassroots efforts sprouted I
started 350 Bellingham to connect the
carbon footprint of shipping coal to
Asia to burn because it was clearly a
bad idea but it wasn’t until our local
indigenous neighbors the Lummi Nation
burned a symbolic check to show they
wouldn’t be bought that we felt we stood
a chance and it was featured on the
front page of the New York Times the
community spoke up the Lummi defended
their fishing rights and together we won
and we celebrated and after this
five-year battle the bonds between our
neighbors and the place we protected our
strained beyond measure and globally
people are rising up everywhere and the
page in the history books that will
stand out as our turning point was the
moment in Paris when 195 countries
agreed to take collective action on
climate change yes you can
yeah this is huge this is huge yet the
government’s commitments aren’t strong
enough and I recently went back to
school to figure out how can we move
even more people to act and build the
climate justice movement to urge our
governments to take bolder action
I found out in an extensive study of
over 300 social movements that it only
takes three and a half percent of the
population actively involved for a
social movement to be successful so in a
community of 10,000 do the math that’s
only 350 people this three and a half
percent
creates a momentous force that shifts
people’s thinking
climate justice the term first appeared
in a 1999 court watch report defining
climate change as a human rights issue
and ten years ago citizens called for
system change not climate change shaping
the narrative that systemic change is
necessary climate justice frames the
climate crisis as a moral call to act by
addressing issues of equality human
rights collective rights and historical
responsibilities for change while our
government is the only one that is
withdrawn from the Paris agreement this
is why we must join the call for global
climate justice now and push for local
and state level action and yes many
cities are committing to 100 percent
renewable or fossil free even as I speak
we must also transition together while
listening to and working with the
leadership of people of color and
indigenous and marginalized communities
Yakima tribal chair Jody Gowdy says it
best we have the mind the heart and the
spirit at this point in time to change
the future so that indeed our future
generations will be able to experience
what you and I and our ancestors have
right now 21 young people are assuming
our federal government for inadequate
protection of their future and their
cases
successfully moving through the courts
if these kids are doing what they can do
what can we do there are countless ways
to engage in the climate justice
movement in my region we mobilized in
kayaks and help stop shale oil from
drilling in the Arctic and we want ya my
friend here was moved to act because of
his love to protect the ocean but who’s
protecting who in this picture the
police need to protect the citizens not
corporations and as we saw in Standing
Rock peaceful water protectors helped
everyone around the world learn that
water is life and must be protected this
is it each and every one of us
personally contributes to this crisis
which is why each and every one of us
must personally respond so what will you
say yes to get engaged in any of the
justice issues because climate justice
is the intersectionality of social
racial economic and environmental
struggles yes they intersect and our
collective actions tilt the balance of
power exercise your privilege
be willing to stand in solidarity with
nonviolent direct action even if this
means risking arrest yes the protected
must start protecting as we saw when the
veterans showed up to protect the
indigenous at Standing Rock it is
critical that we show up and be counted
and stand up and speak out all the
marches sit-ins standing up to climate
denial and for what is right is in our
hands
share your passion with others who is
the first person you can think of that
you want to join you because we’re
building a movement right who’s yeah to
help you in your efforts
I made a climate justice field manual
it’s full of tips and resources it’s a
free download too
we build a movement how each and every
one of us can be a part before I finish
I want to leave you with four actions
that you can say yes to now first divest
from fossil fuels and urge institutions
to do the same yes because if it’s wrong
direct the planet then it’s simply wrong
to profit from the wreckage right to be
a conscientious consumer donate to your
favorite causes and of course vote for
the climate 3d eat a plant-based diet
support your local farmers and lower
your carbon footprint and lastly pick
your cause or causes and get involved in
your community right away know in your
heart what moves you to act because this
is for life the climate justice field
manual will give you many ideas on how
to engage in move others to act too now
it’s time to say yes and use your skills
resources influence and your passion
because we have a shared responsibility
to act and protect with justice as our
moral compass now if you’re willing and
able please stand up and be counted and
let’s say yes together because we need
everyone everywhere
and technology we need everyone
everywhere in the technology doing
everything all the time as quickly as
possible can I get a yes thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
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