The list of US cities declaring climate emergency grew by two this past week — congratulations to U.S. cities Flagstaff, Arizona and Asheville, NC — both the first cities in their respective states to declare.
The U.S. population represented by municipalities that have declared Climate Emergency is now at 29,242,934 people, or 8.9% of the country. Across the Atlantic, Spain declared a Climate Emergency last week, bringing the worldwide declaration total to over 1330 governments within 26 countries. Click here for full details.
New research
According to a new poll reported by Vice News, 80% of Gen Z and Millenials think that “global warming is a major threat to life as we know it.” The poll reveals that young people are waiting eagerly for governments to act and feel prepared for “bold action” to address the crisis.
2020 elections
In Iowa, polling of voter attitudes around climate shows increased engagement with the issue. Climate ranked second among important issues for Iowa Democrats, and one fifth of caucus-goers named it as their top priority.
Senator Bernie Sanders’ team is examining a number of major executive orders he could sign as President, including declaring climate a national emergency and banning U.S. crude oil exports. A new article examines his proposal for the nationalization of electricity production and a rapid transition to renewable electricity across the nation.
Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced a bill to outlaw fracking by 2025. Citing the health dangers and climate impacts of fracking, this bill would begin by banning all new infrastructure, and then phase out existing operations, starting with those causing damage to vulnerable populations.
The Climate Mobilization in the News
The online magazine Quartz ran an article describing the latest wins in the Climate Emergency Movement.
Climate Mobilization’s communications director Malik Russell traveled to Des Moines, Iowa last month to take part in the Black and Brown Forum, the oldest presidential forum focused on voters of color in the US, held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 20, 2020. Russell was part of a focused panel about the Climate Emergency and its disproportionate impact on communities of color. Russell reports that “The Brown and Black Forum was a great opportunity to discuss the Climate Emergency from a perspective often overlooked or ignored. Terms including climate justice, climate equity, and racial equity were used without blinking, and we were able to present visions for a future world not only free of fossil fuels but also free of inequality and racism.”
Margaret Klein Salamon is quoted in “Grief for a Lost Future and an Eroded Past”from The Outlook about her take on climate grief.
Climate Mobilization at Sundance
Founder and Executive Director Margaret Klein Salamon spoke at the Sundance Film Festival last week at the New Climate Narrative event, exploring the way that narrative and framing can help bring more people into the Climate Emergency Movement. Speakers included Hip Hop Caucus CEO (and TCM advisory board member) Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program Jacqui Patterson, artist and social justice organizer Favianna Rodriguez, along with members of the Indigenous Youth Council.
Climate Emergency Organizer Training
While the rest of the country was melting Velveeta (or vegan cheese!) for Superbowl nachos, our Organizing Director Rebecca Harris was in Miami collaborating with young people at a training for Climate Emergency Movement organizers.
Held in partnership with CLEO Institute, an environmental education nonprofit in Miami, the training was facilitated by three high school students from CLEO and a lead trainer from The Climate Mobilization, coordinated by Rebecca Harris.
CLEO Institute’s youth organizing program, Gen CLEO, has 100 young people involved. This growing organization and its partners have passed four Climate Emergency declarations in the metro Miami area and have six more in the works.
