Get Political
Sustainable Steps 12-18
We’ve damaged our planet, and it’s time to make amends. Global temperatures have climbed too high, sea levels are rising, hurricanes are gaining intensity, and forest fires are making summer a season of smoky air and heat warnings. If we keep on like we are, we’ll have nowhere to live.
We can’t do this alone with our compost bins and cloth shopping bags. These can help to spread the movement, but we need that movement to transition into major, systematic changes. We need politicians worldwide to get on board.
A few politicians are already working hard for the planet. Al Gore woke a lot of us up with The Inconvenient Truth. Elizabeth May in Canada has worked across party lines to make positive change happen. Marina Silva has done amazing work in Brazil protecting the Amazon rainforest. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a fiery, feisty — and intelligent — voice for the new generation in America. And Mark Carney is emerging as a steady voice for practical sustainable steps that integrate our economic and environmental future.
Most leaders, though, don’t fall into this category. Many politicians are great at talking the talk, but have no plans to seek anything in their 4-year-term except re-election. Some don’t even pretend to care — as we’re witnessing from some of our superpowers right now. And then there are the politicians who got into the job for the right reasons, but are stuck by the ineptness of the system. These politicians would like to be on the right side of history — they agree that a science-based approach to a sustainable world is a good solution for everyone — but don’t know how.
These are the people we want to reach. Our challenge is to show, with evidence-based reasoning, the problem, the solution, and how they can use their time in office to be part of it.
This may feel daunting, but I named this blog Sustainable Steps (not Sustainable Leaps) for a reason. If we take it one step at a time, here are some ways we can get through to them:
Sustainable Step #12: Vote Wisely It’s time to skip voting for a party because you’ve liked them for the past several elections. What we’ve been doing isn’t working, and it’s time to shake things up. That shake-up might come from one of the major parties — like I think we’ve seen from Carney — but it might also be from a party you’ve never considered before. Research candidates’ — and their parties’ — positions on environmental issues. Fact check them to make sure they’re also balancing that with economic smarts. (I think one without the other isn’t actually sustainable at all.) Throw out any urge to vote “strategically” — voting for the second worst candidate to make sure the worst guy doesn’t get in is what got us here in the first place. If you see someone you like, who embodies the values you like, vote FOR that person — not against someone. Even if your first choice of candidate doesn’t get in the first time they run, the more the groundswell of support rallies behind them, the more likely they are to run — and win — a second time.
Sustainable Step #13: Volunteer For A Political Candidate Who Gets It Wouldn’t it be a dream if you didn’t have to petition local government because they already cared about doing the right thing? If you are lucky enough to have a candidate in your riding whose vision aligns with your own, knock on doors with them, or sign up with their campaign to volunteer in a way that works for you. It’s a great feeling to work with others who share your political vision, and an even greater feeling to help get their message heard. Whether they win or lose, you’re helping those ideas get heard and gain momentum.
Sustainable Step #14: Write A Letter To Your Elected Representative This can be a personal message, or an open letter where you copy local press. This is a great way to both communicate an idea for local change (like adding pink bins for soft plastic collection in your municipality), or register your concern about a project being proposed (like an LNG plant that will rely heavily on fracked gas, among other environmental concerns). Your idea may not be implemented, but then again, it might. And if enough people write letters to the same effect, the impact increases. Most representatives legitimately want to represent the interests of the people in their riding.
Sustainable Step #15: Talk Politics on Social Media This can get dicey. It can break up friendships. It can start vitriolic word battles that are much more prone to happen when people sit behind their screens than when they engage in real life. But if there’s an idea you want to share or a candidate you want to support, using your social media channels can help spread the word…and grow the movement.
Sustainable Step #16: Join A Local Activist Group This won’t be for everyone in all places, but if you run across a group you click with, it can be a fun social experience while you work on saving the planet. In my part of the world, My Sea to Sky is a smart, inclusive group whose voice resonates with me.
Sustainable Step #17: Engage With Local Government Attend city council meetings, and ask a question when there’s room for audience participation. Local governments are often both more accessible, and have more immediate influence on community policies.
Sustainable Step #18: Run For Office Maybe there’s no political candidate in your area you feel you can throw your support behind. If you have the time, energy, public speaking skills, and a thick enough skin to weather criticism, why not run yourself, and change the system from within it?
Want to keep this conversation going? Check out the blog posts below for more politically charged ideas:
