MMOB'S FIRST STEP IN TACKLING THE ENERGY/CLIMATE CHALLENGE
1. BRAIN UP. Achieving a timely turnaround on the energy/climate crisis is a tough but not impossible topic. We know that the old energy structure of King Coal and Big Oil and those resurgent loonytunes in the 'Nuclear Renaissance' corner aren't going to let any good decisions get by. So this is, in the end, an urgent political problem that demands unusual new degrees of populist intelligence and bravado. If you think you have no time, jump down to MMOB's Time-Saving Tips.
MMOB's BRAIN UP SYLLABUS STARTER
1. ReadTackling Climate Change in the US: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions from Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy by 2030
(And we don't mean READ it by 2030, by the way!) This useful, useful report on the solutions at hand is available to order, or online as a PDF, from the American Solar Energy Society. We suggest ordering it so that you can study it comfortably, and maybe pass it along. It was just published, heavily peer-reviewed, and does a wonderful job laying out the basic analysis of each source of hope on the climate challenge. It took some careful reading and a mighty quiet house to get through, but delivers an invaluable framework of understanding going forward. Go to www.ases.org/climatechange to download a pdf or order a printed copy.
2. WatchDr. Don Aitken Overview of the Turnaround: This 42-minute online video presentation from Dr. Don Aitken gives a cheering, expert overview of the solutions at hand. With warm thanks to EON Media.
3. Read the amazing report from the Apollo Alliance New Energy for Cities (pdf). It is one page after another of extraordinarily tangible progress being made in actual cities and counties around the country. Consensus among many of the big climate challenge thinkers is that big change is NOT going to happen fast enough from the top, but it's clear in this succinct, straightforward document that change is kicking into high gear at the local level nationally. This is exactly how the boom started in Germany, one local government at a time. Read here to see the same ignition points in the U.S.
4. Watch "Going Local: The Movement for Community Choice Energy." This grassroots film from Ecological Options Network (link:http://www.eon3.net) will get you up to speed in 18 quick minutes on Community Choice Energy, one of the very best policy routes to renewables available. Law in California and 4 other states, Community Choice allows cities and counties to batch their buying power and negotiate for maximum supplies of clean energy at competitive prices. This short film shows that local power leads the way in meeting the twin challenges of peak oil and climate crisis. Watch, learn, and get Community Choice Energy started in your state, county, city.
So you don't have time? Here are a few time-saving suggestions, followed by the texts we've found most useful:
Throw your cable/satellite service in the hopper. Surprisingly, it's a thrill. Staying informed is overrated in the hierarchy of problems. Local TV news is mostly horseshit. Bootleg Jon Stewart and Colbert. Beg your neighbors for a hit of Olbermann, CSPAN, etc. And lo, no ads with Netflix!
Skip fiction. Blasphemy perhaps, but aren't these times stranger enough. Fiction can take a rest. Think of it like college - who read anything that wasn't on the syllabus, or had time to watch TV? So get some bubblegum, coffee, glasses and a highlighter. We have a syllabus starter below.
Boost your book group. Did you know that ANY group of people who regularly meet are in fact a seat of power? YOUR book group is what every online activism organization dreams of in their sleep: locally self-organized people meeting face-to-face. So ask your group: Can we DO something?
Make your kids do more. Have them pick up 30 things. Teach sweeping, fried eggs, dishes and folding. Put 10 minutes on the timer, a raucous song on the stereo, and see how much floor and table they can get cleared. Or rope your kids right into your actions –– this is good parenting.
Photos from The MMOB's Step It Up climate action events:
