This is all well-meaning but COP 30 is going to be as useless as COPs 1-29. Fighting climate change in the Courts is also well-meaning and ultimately futile approach. And while Trump is by far the worst on climate, nobody ever has taken sufficient action to truly and effectively address the crisis.
Even the much touted Inflation Reduction Act, in fact the biggest climate bill in history, even if carried out in full (and Trump will stop that) would make no difference.
We, as a species, are dashing over the cliff to oblivion because leaders and systems everywhere have failed catastrophically and consistently for decades—if not longer.
James Hansen—and other scientists—gave a clear unambiguous warning to Congress and the world in 1988, letting us know about the crisis and that we would need to quickly and sharply slash use of fossil fuels (and CO2 emissions) or suffer the consequences.
Leaders chose to ignore the warnings and double down on oil. They will never willingly stop and the systems themselves favor oil and devastation. WE MUST DEFY AND SHUT DOWN THOSE SYSTEMS AND LEADERS AND DEADLY ACTIVITIES.
We can—but not in courts, not simply by voting, not by marching in the streets. We can stop the mass murder/suicide (because that's what it is) by NONVIOLENT NONCOOPERATION. That is the proven force, the proven people power strategy, the way ordinary people have repeatedly ended cruelty, oppression, brutality and injustice.
It works because it's the only strategy that plays to the strength of the people—and NOT to the strength of our opponents.
Governments are owned and controlled by the wealthy—the oil profiteers. The control isn't 100% so the people sometimes get a temporary "victory." But every year the climate crisis worsens. Because we play within THEIR systems and by THEIR rules.
Gandhi, King and others figured out that nonviolent noncooperation is a great force. It overcomes and humbles empires, outsmarts racists, and forces the most "powerful" of dictators to flee in terror.
Violence favors the evil. Nonviolence favors us. Why? Because the real power belongs to us. Because we do everything, we produce everything. Authorities, elites, dictators, plutocrats, communist parties, corporate executives—they only issue orders. They don't DO anything. They don't know how to do anything.
They are 100% dependent on us, on our obedience and our active support. Once we stop doing what we are told, what they want, what they demand—then we win. Easily.
Of course it's a bit more complicated than that. Under existing systems, we must work doggedly for the elites or we will be starved or imprisoned or at least denied what humans need to live decently. Or to live at all.
But WE can choose to help ourselves each other, to produce and share all the food and medicine and support and whatever others need. We can make alternative arrangements so we don't need their money, or to do their "work." That's what successful movements have done throughout history.
We can effectively end the existing deadly systems in stages, transitioning the entire world from this ridiculously self-destructive insane shitshow to a caring, compassionate civilization. We not only can do this, we must.
And some of us have begun. We are The Saners. We are small and fairly new, but we are already in more than 25 countries. We have studied Gandhi, King and others and intend to use their frameworks and strategies (but tactics designed for our times and circumstances) to prevent climate collapse, and build the society that every sane, caring person on Earth wants.
Read about us at WeAreSaners.org. And consider joining up.
