GlobalWarmingisReal contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up and comments on the climate and environmental news headlines for the past week:
- This last weekend Rainforest Action Network (RAND) held a public memorial for their executive director Rebecca (Becky) Tarbotton who passed away in an accident late last year. The service was very powerful and I want to share some takeaways for all advocates and activists for our environment:
To quote Becky, “The work of our time is bigger than climate change. We need to be setting our sights higher and deeper. What we’re really talking about, if we’re honest with ourselves, is transforming everything about the way we live on this planet.”
Environmentalism is fused with human rights. We are trying to create a better world for ourselves and since we live in our environment there is no separation between environmentalism and human rights. Maria Gunnoe of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition spoke at the event about working with Becky on the issue of coal mining and mountain top removal in Appalachia. While destroying hundreds of beautiful mountain tops the health of thousands of beautiful humans are also being destroyed. To paraphrase Maria; do not join us in fighting mountain top removal, join is ending the fight to stop mountain top removal.
Becky exemplified an improved way of fighting for the environment; fighting as a human for humans. This means that when we encounter supposed enemies we need to connect with them on a human level and help them see that we are fighting for a mutual interest. Since environmentalism is about human rights we need to convert everyone to allies, leaving no enemies to fight, because in this fight we are missing the point if we think we can defeat our enemies. Becky accomplished this with Disney and led a successful campaign to get them to stop using paper from endangered forests for their children’s books. Read More→
