Join Forces To Ensure the Survival & Flourishing of Humanity
You might not have heard it put in these terms, but we humans are on the verge of polluting ourselves out of existence. To learn why, take time on September 17 to watch the Global Climate Restoration Forum, which precedes the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Action Week in New York.
At the last climate conference I attended, a climate expert said that 4 to 5 billion people could die in the next decades and we may all go extinct. The sixth mass extinction is underway, and scientists report that the climate emergency is spiraling out of control — imminently threatening our humanity. First, we lost countless sea-dwelling anaerobic bacteria that could not survive in oxygen. Now we are losing Arctic ice and thousands of species are going extinct.
The clock is ticking. This problem, even though so many of us want to deny it, isn’t going away. That’s the bad news.
Room for Optimism
There’s also good news. We can work together to restore a safe and healthy climate for all of humanity now and for future generations. We have a solution!
Worldwide “Climate Restoration Emergency Action (CREA)” can ensure that humanity can survive on Earth for generations. We must return atmospheric CO2 to safe pre-industrial levels by 2030 and restore Arctic ice to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emission. Climate restoration won’t be easy — in fact, it will be the most challenging endeavor humanity has ever undertaken — but it can and urgently must be done, as quickly as possible.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day earlier this year, Build A Movement 2020 (#BAM2020) was launched to spark a political movement to mobilize all Americans to join in a shared commitment to take urgent “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” to restore a safe and healthy climate to ensure the survival of humanity, for ourselves and for future generations.
It’s not workable any longer to stand by and watch all of humanity run like a herd of buffalo off a cliff towards our almost certain probable extinction. It is not okay.
By taking action today and every day we can change this. We must insist that the president of the United States, Congress, and local governments take action as quickly as possible.
The Time To Pull Together
Let’s join forces and demand that our leaders pass legislation to launch a massive mobilization of people, resources, and companies on a global scale in response to climate change. It will be a larger and faster social project than World War II if “Climate Restoration Emergency Action” is going to be successful.
Let’s convene in a National People’s Convention as soon as possible to enable us to recreate our country as an authentically operating democracy. It is time for a government “by the people for the people” so that together we can ensure the survival of all of humanity and that all of us can have prosperous lives.
The next president must lead an historic effort to achieve global climate restoration as fast as possible. As Winston Churchill said: “Nothing matters except victory in the existential struggle.“
Most 2020 presidential candidates agree we face a “climate emergency” and have plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions to slow global warming. It is imperative that candidates also embrace bold climate restoration solutions that are urgently needed to reverse global warming and restore a healthy climate.
The Change Starts This Week
On September 10, BAM2020 and ClimateChangesEverything.org released the first CREA 2020 Presidential Candidates Report Card. Sadly, none of the leading candidates are yet demonstrating leadership on climate restoration. Report card grades range from D+ (Biden, Buttigieg, Harris, Sanders, Warren); to D (Weld); to D- (Trump), based on an independent review by an advisory committee of the verbal and printed policy positions of candidates.
Climate restoration is prioritized in recently introduced Congressional Climate Emergency Resolutions (S.Con.Res.22, H.Con.Res.52) and by Santa Clara County, California (Res. 98193). But the national decision remains unmade and largely undebated.
Our response to the failure of leadership is the inaugural Global Climate Restoration Forum, which will be held at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 17. Join the event online to hear from climate, political, religious, and nonprofit leaders about the many options humanity has to establish a prosperous post-carbon future.
Join Build A Movement 2020 and help ensure that we can recreate our government to be authentically functioning by the people, for the people. All of our lives, our children’s lives, and potential future generations literally depend upon our courage to take bold and transformative action now.
About the Author
Dr. Paul Zeitz is the founder of Build A Movement 2020 and senior policy adviser with the Foundation for Climate Restoration. He is a physician, epidemiologist, an award-winning advocate for global justice and human rights. He is also the author of Waging Justice: A Doctor’s Journey to Speak Truth and Be Bold. Dr. Zeitz worked at the State Department as Director, Data Revolution for Sustainable Development. He led the Global AIDS Alliance from 2000 to 2011.
About BAM2020
A new coalition, Build A Movement 2020 (BAM2020) is calling for Climate Restoration Emergency Action (CREA) to rapidly deploy technologies for CO2 removal and to restore Arctic ice. Launched on MLK Jr. Day, it is a newly forming movement to usher in a more healthy, just, and peaceful world.