California River Watch 2019 Annual Statement
Finally we’re taken control of the narrative by using the term “climate crisis” rather than “climate change.” How serious is it? Well that depends upon whether you care about this planet’s future and the beings who will inhabit it. If you don’t, then it’s not very serious (believe it or not 40% of the American public don’t think it’s very serious). If you do, then yes, this situation is dire.
You hear about the “tipping point” and may think this means that all humans will be wiped out. But for all other life on the planets, especially animals, we’ve already tipped. We are in the Anthropocene extinction – considered one of the most significant extinction events in the history of the Earth. What distinguishes this current extinction from the meteor event that cause the prior extinction is that we know about and can eliminate the causes. Whether we have the will to do so depends upon you, upon all of us.
I agree with Greta Thunberg that we need to take the world leaders and “put them against the wall.” Not to shoot them but to push them aside since the solution of the climate crisis is not going to come from them. It is us, the citizenry, that must create this change by our vote, changing our own habits, reducing our own carbon footprint, contributing to persons and groups that will help bring about this change – anything and everything we can do so it cannot be said we just sat by and let it happen – like all those leaders against the wall.
River Watch will maintain on its website a list of things individuals and companies can do to reduce their green house gas (“GHG”) footprint, sequester GHGs and support persons, groups and companies committed to real change.