Trimming my waste: Week 45 (The Denier-in-Chief)

Cartoon credits: Zapiro and Green Humour

Since my last post, the USA elected a climate-denier as the next President. We will soon have the embarrassing honor of being the only major nation on Earth led by someone who rejects climate science (although that hasn't always been the case). If you know anything about me or this blog, I don't have to explain to you why I've felt paralyzed for a while. I wrote and rewrote reactions but never published them. Then I thought of saying nothing because I try to keep this blog light. Then I calmed down.

I calmed down and remembered that this very big thing I care about has never been safely in the hands of any administration. I probably wouldn't have this blog if the world was already doing what needs to be done to address climate chaos.

The UN Climate Conference just wrapped up in Marrakech. The goal of the conference was to have leaders from around the world do the work to make the Paris agreement real. And representatives from the US were there in force. How did Paris come about in the first place? Not because leaders of nations suddenly woke up to the climate crisis. They got there because people who care WILL NOT SHUT UP.  Can we trust them to follow through? Hell no. So let's not shut up.

The actions that will ultimately drive change are, and always have been, in the hands of consumers. Change consumer habit and the market is forced to react. Recycle, reuse, repurpose. And demand what you want supplied.

Here's a shortlist of things you really can do:

1. Keep voting with your $$ lovely refabbers. 
Whenever you can, shop off the grid: used, local, small. Take the train. Ride your bike. Turn off the lights and shop for high-efficiency appliances.

2. Support clean energy by switching to clean energy.
Do you know where your power is coming from - wind, water, coal, or solar? If you want to ensure it's coming from a clean source, that's possible. In many parts of the US, consumers are now able to switch with no disruption and no change of provider. I switched to CleanChoice Energy a year ago.

If you can't switch, talk to your power provider to determine if a greater percentage of your energy could be coming from renewable resources. If you don't ask, they won't know that you care.

3. Continue to support organizations that know how to fight this fight. 
Pay attention to orgs like The Environmental Defense Fund and sign their petitions. Here's a great list of 25 environmental agencies and organizations who know how to fight.

4. Read actual, real good news.
Guess what? Our soon-to-be Commander in Tweets is not a king. There's a big difference between him saying he'll pull out of the Paris agreement and his ability to actually do it. How do I know this? Because I've decided to work a little harder to find real, powerful voices on climate and read them. Like this piece by Diane Regas, Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Fund. And articles covering the work of Jonathan Pershing, top climate envoy for the current US administration. And in case you can't tell by all the quotes, I'm a fan of Naomi Klein.

UPDATE: 1 June 2017: He announces "the withdrawal". Please read this. 

I'LL BE BACK SOON WITH A REFASHION :)