09/22/2024
I’ve never been good at math. I left that up to my dad and younger sister.
Yet when it comes to climate change and communicating the challenges we face, I’ve still got my training wheels on. Especially when all the talk is in Celsius. And while I may be from Canada which uses Celsius, they didn’t change over to that until many years after we moved to the states.
So my Phoenix friends, I’d like you to understand what the rising global temperatures can mean for our city and families.
The average high in July of this year was 112. Add 3.6 degrees to that. Our high temperature, based on what I could find, was 118 this year. That puts us at nearly 122.
Climate change is a kitchen table issue. What we do today impacts the life we have tomorrow – including our electricity costs, food costs and health – for us, our kids (if we have them) and friends and communities near and far.
Many of you I've had the privilege to know sacrifice for your kids, give to your community in ways that go beyond your job, and vote to advance the ideas and ideals that we hope will make life better for us and others.
My ask for you today and every day is to embrace just a few more actions that can make all those sacrifices and privileges worthwhile.
1. Vote. Vote in ways that lift up the future for all. And don’t stop there. Holding those “representatives” accountable is where the real work begins. So once the election is over, put in the names and numbers/emails to all those representing you – from the statehouse to Congress. A key reason why those reps don’t center climate change more urgently is because they don’t hear that from their constituents.
2. Support local media by subscribing to at least one publication. Accountability as well as knowledge grows when we nurture that ecosystem too. It’s part of the fabric of our country’s founding. We are lucky to have great environmental reporters azcentral and elsewhere.
3. Pivot some of your generosity of time and treasure. When it comes to time, consider volunteering with environmental nonprofits that need a lot of hands-on or leadership support. And consider time you can put in to learn more about climate solutions and ways you can take action in your own life. And finally, consider moving some of your generosity to climate, climate justice and environmental organizations. Only 2% of all giving goes to this issue category. There is no way these groups on the front lines will be able to scale their work on our behalf. If you are so inclined to start, I invite you to start with EarthGives.org and find a few great organizations near and far doing incredible work.
Earth Gives and Earth Gives Day was my pivot – devoting my time and bootstrapped efforts to build a movement of earth givers. I have learned from so many incredible groups across the country protecting the water, our food, the air we breath. They're advancing renewable energy, utilizing Indigenous practices to heal ecosystems, and teaching kids all about nature and biodiversity.
The most critical degree is the one in which we choose how many steps we will take to determine what our futures look like.
EarthGives.org
