They’re going full cult, full activist
Climate solutions are necessary. So we’re dedicating a week to highlight them
Climate change is here. And this week, NPR is doing something new. We’re dedicating an entire week to focus on the search for climate solutions, with stories across our network.
Why we’re focusing on climate solutions
We’ve just emerged from a brutal summer. Heat waves across the U.S. and the world. Fires across Canada. In Maui, the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in a century. Hurricanes. Melting polar ice. Ocean heat waves killing coral. When I talk with people about climate change, I often hear hopelessness. Like we’ve already lost. People just throw up their hands. What do you say to that?
I’ve done it so many times I’m not even going to show how stupid it is to link all that to human-induced global warming
I’m Julia Simon, NPR’s climate solutions reporter. I know that things are bad right now. But what if we reframe the conversation? With climate change, it’s not like this is a meteor hurtling toward Earth and there’s nothing we can do about it.
You aren’t a reporter. You’re a cult activist.
Humans are driving global warming. And that means we humans can find solutions to change our trajectory. We already have many solutions.
Now is not the time to back away from the challenge. Robert Bullard, professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University, equates this moment to when the U.S. faced past injustices, like slavery.
“I push back against any individuals or organizations that will say, ‘Well, we can’t do anything about this challenge.’ We can do something about it. But it would mean that we have to make up our minds that this is a challenge that we must address on a societal basis and on a global basis,” he says. “We should not and cannot accept climate change as the norm.”
In other words, force from government to make you change your behavior. No, no, don’t call them Fascists. The screed doesn’t really touch on actual solutions, except minor things like forcing you to eat less meat and going after companies…which would skyrocket costs.
And we have to remember that some individuals and companies are more responsible for climate change than others. So how do we hold them accountable? This summer in Montana, 16 young plaintiffs won a climate lawsuit arguing against the state’s development of fossil fuels. Last month, California filed suit against several of the world’s biggest oil companies. These cases could have major implications across the United States. Accountability can be a climate solution too.
Wait till they realize that if those suits succeed, the cost of living will skyrocket.
Read: NPR Plans To Spend A Week On Global Boiling Solutions »
The stopgap spending bill that will be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk doesn’t contain new money for Ukraine or even transfer authority for aid. Yet backers of Kyiv’s defense against Moscow say it may come soon.
A new 
The migrant crisis in New York is so bad that even Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is ramping up her attacks on US border policies, demanding “a limit on who can come across’’ and more agents to nab illegals.
Everyone lately has been talking about California’s 
The threat of a 
The administration plans to give the oil and gas industry up to three chances to bid on offshore drilling rights over the next five years, the fewest offshore leases in the program’s history.
