Climate Change & Coronavirus

 

3 Ways to Avoid Turning Climate Change into the Next Global Crisis June 4, 2020 Coronavirus has really brought this country — and our economyOpens a new window — to its knees. We’ve lost more than 350,000 people to this virus — and, five months in, the crisis is far from being overOpens a new window.  But we had to wonder — why was it such a surprise? Experts warned us about the potential for a global pandemic to cripple the world years ago. The signswere everywhereOpens a new window — but our administration still didn’t listen until it was too late. Way too lateOpens a new window. Wait — haven’t we heard this before? If you’re finding this all mind-blowingly similar to the discussion around climate changeOpens a new window, you’re not alone. And, just like coronavirus back in December 2019, climate change is a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. There are some pretty powerful parallels between the current crisis and the threat of climate change, and we’re thinking it’s time to make a loud enough racket so that this time our government will pay attention — before it’s too late. TAKE ACTION NOW! JOIN THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT Item number 1 We Have to Heed the Warnings We had plenty of advance noticeOpens a new window that there was a deadly virus headed our way. We also have one of the most advanced medical systems in the world. And yet, we became the global epicenter of the virusOpens a new window. Why? President Trump sat on the dataOpens a new window — to deadly effect. His administration willfully ignoredOpens a new window the statistics, even when coronavirus wasn’t some theoretical scenario, but a fast-moving and fatal global pandemic. The same is happening with climate change. Scientists first warned us about global warming 40 years agoOpens a new window (or longer) — yet we’ve done nothingOpens a new window but make the planet even hotter. Trump ignored the warning about COVID-19, too. As a result, this week marks 1.5 million confirmed casesOpens a new window of coronavirus in the US. It didn’t have to be like this. If our administration had listened to the experts, taken them seriously, and prepared for this diligently, a lot more people would be alive and well today. Item number 2 We Have to Face the Facts Here’s something to chew on: 97% of climate scientists agree that human activity (that is, our overuse of fossil fuels) is creating a climate crisis around the worldOpens a new window. Here’s another one: Climate change causes at least 250,000 deaths per yearOpens a new window from causes such as malaria, diarrhea, heat stress, and malnutrition. We can’t allow this administration to take “the coronavirus approach” (i.e., pretend it’s not happeningOpens a new window, blame othersOpens a new window for it, or wish it awayOpens a new window) to climate change. Climate change is real. It’s not a hoaxOpens a new window. We have to listen to what the experts are sayingOpens a new window — and we have to act now. Item number 3 We Have to Move Quickly We can’t get a “redo” on our flawed response to COVID-19. But we might be able to harness what we learned to help tackle climate change. Unlike coronavirus, we already know the cure for a warming planet: Reducing greenhouse gas emissionsOpens a new window. We already have many of the tools we need to transition to more renewable energy — the knowledge, the feasibility studies, and the desperate need to make it happen — but we’ve been lacking two things: political leadership and money. Somehow, Congress has found the funds to bail out corporationsOpens a new window and take care of the richOpens a new window. So we couldn’t help but wonder: Could that federal stimulus money actually be used tojumpstart a greener economyOpens a new window? World Resources Institute thinks it Opens a new window. Hundreds of huge corporations (including Microsoft, Visa, Nestlé, are also on boardOpens a new window, and have put together an initiative called LEAD on Climate 2020Opens a new window that calls on members of Congress to pass an economic recovery plan that recognizes the need for a “resilient, clean energy economyOpens a new window.” Pretty cool way to restart the economy (when safe to do so), while also doing triage on our ailing planet, right? What You Can Do to Help We know that we can’t go back in time to “fix” the mistakes of coronavirus. But we can move forward — cone held high — to take action on climate change before it's too late. Stand with us and join the movement as we work together for a greener, healthier future — one that starts now Donate Now