(Earth in Brackets members with their demands listed at the Village Green,
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
This past September 20th, College of the Atlantic students in alliance with MDI High School students organised Bar Harbor's second ever Climate Strike. We joined over 7.5 million people striking in 185 different countries. Our message is both simple and extremely complex. It is time for all of us, politically, socially, and culturally; to recognize the state of emergency we are in. There is no debate among science that Climate Change - cause by anthropogenic carbon emissions - presents an imminent threat to humanity as we know it, and we must act upon it.
By an imminent threat to humanity as we know it, I truly mean, some are going to suffer while others get to sit and watch. The we, in we must act, refers to the political and social elites of this planet. And by acting, I truly mean dismantling capitalism, reducing our carbon emissions, transitioning our energy systems to non-extractivist renewable energy systems, preparing for mass migrations, and restoring equity and dignity to communities in the global south. Inequities and injustices in the world are deep, systemic, intersectional and historical. They are so ingrained in our minds that they limit our imagination as to what a just and sustainable work could look like, and without imagination it seems difficult to begin addressing the problem.
We have already warmed our planet an average of 1°C from preindustrial times. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has brought governments of the world to agree on limiting the warming of the planet to 2°C. This temperature rise limit is already a matter of survival for many communities on the planet. Small island states like the Maldives and Kiribati which would be underwater due to sea level rise. Communities in African countries like Mozambique and Ethiopia would see themselves affected by severe droughts and other extreme weather events. And the list goes on. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report with modeled scenarios of what would happen if the earth would warm an average of 1.5°C, and the results are equally as terrifying: Increased extreme weather events, sea level rise, permafrost melting, mass animal migrations, mass bleaching of corals, to mention some. The worst part of the IPCC report to my eyes, is that we are far from reaching a 1.5°C limit. If we continue business as usual, we are looking at a warming between 3°C and 4°C, which my professor of Climate Justice describes as an impossible environment for organised human life.
Prompting our governments to act is essential, but so is transitioning our personal lives, and life in community. This is why we strike. We need to create a political environment conducive to climate solutions in record time. Our carbon emissions must peak and then be significantly reduced within the next 10 years, and that is already too late. We need to create a global economic system that takes the focus out of growth, and turns to sustainability. In most places, we need to rethink our connection with our land.
So, what are we asking for?
Earth in Brackets, in collaboration with MDI High School student put up the following list of demands:
1. Declare a Climate Emergency
2. Recognize Historic Responsibility
3. Hold our Governments Accountable
4. Address Social Injustice Intensified by Climate Change
5. Create Inclusive Spaces for All in Decision Making
6. Implement Real Solution
7. Elevate the Voices and Work of Those Most Affected by Climate Change
We presented these demands to MDI community during the strike. In addition we used the platform of the strike to raise awareness about a very important issue (which I will be talking about more soon). The Amazon Fires. We had Mariana Orias Lopez, a senior student at College of the Atlantic from Bolivia, briefing us about what is going on at home. We can't ask for justice without elevating the voice of those suffering most. We also had representative Brian Hubbell (District #135), and a spokesperson for Jared Golden speaking to us about Maine legislature for climate action.
I will forever be impressed by the level of awareness and action that the tiny town I live in has with regards to climate action, and by the enthusiasm and resilience of its youth. Youth who keep fighting the big fight. Youth with hope and faith that we can change our societies to ensure we have a planet to live and to give to the next generations.
(Mariana Orias Lopez speaking about the firest fires in Bolivian Amazonia and Chiquitania,
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)
(Earth in Brackets presenting our demands to MDI, Village Green, Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor. Photo Credits: Yoi Ashida)