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| With Bill McKibben at Powell's Books, Portland, Oregon, 2019 |
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| Our 3 year old grandson Ethan |
The pictures and video I'm sharing above are all connected. There was this last time that I saw Bill McKibben speak in Portland just before Covid. I am always determined to never miss Bill when he comes to this area, and I have been blessed with seeing him speak more times than I can count. I've also been reading, watching interviews, and listening to Bill for many years. And I absolutely agree with the presenter at the Bioneers Conference: Bill McKibben is one of our living treasures.
As Bill McKibben and others have long been illuminating, "climate change is by far the biggest thing that humans have ever done." Out of all the crises, harm, suffering, death and destruction that our species has caused over millennia, there is not one that approaches the sheer level of devastation to Earth's life support systems greater than the human caused climate emergency that we are in the midst of.
Today I am acutely aware that there is no greater threat to my 3 year old grandson Ethan, to our other children and grandchildren, and to all of the children of all of the species on Earth. None. Which is why I am a mother bear relentlessly educating myself for years now about our warming planet, why I am endlessly speaking out and sharing the facts and the truths that I am learning about the climate crisis, why I am countering and illuminating dangerous disinformation and denial, and why I am fiercely taking every action that I possibly can to preserve a habitable planet for Ethan and for all of Earth's inhabitants.
And part of this is that I am moved again and again to encourage others to join me and to join the movements growing across America and across the world acting on behalf of life on Earth. As Bill McKibben has said, "We need many more people engaged in this fight." We do. This is our imperative. And there are so many different ways that we can get involved and continue to expand and evolve how we are individually and collectively making a difference in addressing the greatest crisis that humankind has ever faced. We are all needed.
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Third Act
What I am sharing here in this post is the latest movement to not only systematically address the roots of our warming planet, but also the interconnected links behind the world's biggest banks, racial injustice and economic disparities, voter suppression and disenfranchisement, corporate bought policians and other threats to democracy, justice, and the well-being of us all.
Third Act was founded by Bill McKibben. And the intention, integrity, vision, and goals of Third Act are so much greater than any one person or any of those who are instrumental in growing one of the largest movements of our times. We, you and me ― and especially those of us who are approaching our elder years and/or are now 60 years or older ― are a vital resource which has been hugely undervalued, under utilized, and under inspired and informed of how we can act to make a real difference. Now that we are in our third act, there is so much that we can do. So much.
About Third Act:
- Please go here for the home page of Third Act: https://thirdact.org/.
- Please go here to read more about the beautiful diversity and powerful wisdom of some of those who are at the helm of galvanizing and organizing Third Act: https://thirdact.org/who-we-are/.
- Please go here to see the working principles of Third Act: https://thirdact.org/what-we-do/working-principles/.
- Please also go here to sign the pledge to stop the funding of the climate crisis by the four most powerful banks in the world: https://thirdact.org/what-we-do/banking-on-our-future/. Please also note that this pledge applies to all of us regardless of whether or not we have any active accounts with these banks.
- And please go here to sign up and see how you can get involved: https://thirdact.org/get-involved/.
Please note the different online events which are coming up on February 14th at 7:30 ET and on February 23rd at 8pm ET. I participated in the last All-In Call in January, which was incredibly informative, inspiring, and hopeful. Bill Moyers was also among those who were scheduled to join us, but became ill and couldn't make it. He still sent a letter which was read during the call. I love Bill Moyers! And there were thousands of us from across the country on this call ― which gives me so much hope!
And that's something that I believe so many of us can do right now ― inspire one another to up our act in how it is that we are actively involved in addressing the climate crisis which is imperiling all that we love and cherish. There truly are so many different ways that we can expand what we may already be doing. So many. Third Act is but one powerful and empowering example.
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Our five grandchildren are now 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old. Every morning I need not only to be able to look at myself in the mirror, but also to look into the eyes of our children and grandchildren, the eyes of other humans worldwide, and the eyes of other beings across planet Earth. Regardless of outcome, I need to know in my deepest self that I am doing everything humanly possible to stand in protection of their lives, their futures, their well-being. I need to take seriously the threats and the peril they are facing and to act.
It is also my belief that we have within us all a deep connection with the thread of life. The joys and the sorrows of others are also ours. We are all related, all family, all matter. As I remind myself of this again and again, I am further integrating my experience of Interbeing and my sacred relationship with all of life. And because of our interconnection, and whether we are numb to it or not, it is my belief that at some level we humans all know that life on Earth is threatened, is endangered, is suffering and dying, and may go extinct if we fail to act individually and collectively to stop the madness of destroying our Earth home.
May this passion for standing in protection of life on Earth grow and spread and evolve and deepen. May we spread the word, educate ourselves, sign up, donate, march, pledge, inspire, speak up again and again, and even consider joining collective acts of civil disobedience. We simply don't want to squander away one more moment. Too many days, years, decades have already been wasted on the deadly industries that have plagued and poisoned us with denial, doubt, disinformation, polarization, apathy, and inaction.
And meanwhile, this dire planetary emergency continues to not be making the headlines day in and day out. There are no daily in-depth stories on American mainstream media documenting the devastating climate disruptions and the root causes ― and what we are and must do about it. Sure, we hear about some of the record breaking and horrifying climate disasters, which are most often referred to as "weather" ― the intense crazy snow and ice storms, the killer freezes and killer heat, the devastating tornadoes and cyclones and hurricanes, the catastrophic floods and droughts and wildfires, the terrifying rising seas and the heartbreak of species threatened with extinction, the numbers of homes and wildlife inhabitants lost and the deaths of humans and other animals, and on and on.
Yet, unless we are regularly tuned into independent investigative resources of information, a crucial part of what we vitally need to know is left out of the reporting about these catastrophic record breaking climate disruptions and the connections with the human caused warming of our planet and the burning of fossil fuels. Too many of us do not hear and are not informed that we are currently at 1 degree Celsius of warming and are heading towards 3 degrees of warming ― all within the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren.
Image all the daily climate related disasters that are happening today across the planet x3. Imagine how the lives of our loved ones and life across Mother Earth over the course of this century will be impacted if we do not act NOW. Just imagine.
And imagine if we all stood up collectively right now, here, today. Imagine if we were all tuned in with those like Bill McKibben and so many others who have been imploring us to understand and act upon this global climate crisis for decades. Imagine if we exposed the Big Banks for the professional planetary arsonists that they are and took them down. Imagine if we cut off the major funding of fossil fuels. Imagine if we stopped electing corporate funded democrats and corporate funded republicans. Imagine if we stopped buying into the story-lines that keep us polarized, propagandized, stuck in a toxic status quo, and divided and distracted and disempowered.
Imagine if we reclaimed our sacred power to stand together in protection of our Earth Mother. Here, now, today. Imagine what a whole new world would look like ― one rooted in partnership and sustainability, honoring and respect, interconnection and a circle of caring that includes all of life. Imagine a world grounded in compassion and love. Just imagine. It is up to us.
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| Our 2 year old granddaughter Audrey |
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| Photo by Molly |
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