Environmental Agencies Call for Mass Public Action

Greenpeace USA, Rainforest Action Network, and 350.org—three renowned environmental advocacy groups in the United States—called for action in a letter to the public, requesting ideas for ways to stop global warming.

Pointing to the increasing impact of global warming and inadequate government response, the letter asks the public as well as other environmental agencies to organize a nonviolent mass action.

The past decade has been the warmest decade in the history of the world, according to the letter.

We’re going to have to build a movement, a movement much bigger than anything we’ve built before, a movement that can push back against the financial power of Big Oil and Big Coal

“Nineteen nations have set new all-time temperature records; the mercury in Pakistan reached 129 degrees, the hottest temperature ever seen in Asia. And there’s nothing abstract about those numbers, not with Moscow choking on smoke from its epic heat wave and fires, not with Pakistan half-washed away from its unprecedented flooding,” said the letter.

Noting that it was the 20th summer in a row in which the American government did nothing about global warming, the letter asks the public to put their minds to work in order to bring about direct change. “We’re going to have to build a movement, a movement much bigger than anything we’ve built before, a movement that can push back against the financial power of Big Oil and Big Coal. That movement is our only real hope, and we need your help to plot its future.”

The public can send their ideas to climate.ideas@gmail.com. The letter also says that the organization is open to working with other environmental organizations in the country.

The organizations emphasize nonviolent action, with a broad appeal so that all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, can take part.

“Our actions must be infused with the spirit of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other peaceful protesters before us. No violence, no property damage. We need large actions, with many members of the general public. Think hundreds and thousands. So don’t concentrate on the kind of tactics that only a few hardy specialists can carry out,” says the letter.