SAVE OURSELVES NOW CAMPAIGN

The Association for the Tree of Life believes that the only possibility for a livable future lies in mobilizing a critical mass of our nation, in concert with the voice and support of our foundations, with effective carbon pricing policy as the centerpiece of the effort.

Few people understand how dire the situation is related to the risk of climate destabilization. Most who do understand have just focused on changing personal habits such as replacing light bulbs, instead of working for large-scale structural shifts. Many feel overwhelmed and believe nothing can be done. Yet, people can face the threat when they understand that effective measures are available if enacted quickly. Greenhouse warming is simple science and can be readily grasped by most. Enough Americans must realize that their lives, their children and everything they hold dear hinges on decisive action.

The outline of the necessary national grassroots campaign includes:

• Simultaneous education and advocacy across the nation in at least a hundred locations. The relevant model is the national teach-in that accompanied the first Earth Day in 1970: Had we continued the environmental progress and momentum generated by the first Earth Day, we would not face complete catastrophe today. The ATL is ready to execute this national teach-in immediately.
• The national grassroots campaign must convey specifics of what is needed, such as the necessity of a carbon price, its affordability, why the US must lead, along with the urgency of the threat and tight timeframe for effective action.
• Advocacy that cannot be ignored is required. This means simultaneous rallies that include direct action. ATL has dozens of groups that can be deployed as national partners, ready to go—putting thousands of people in the street, demanding a livable future.
• A driving principle of this education, advocacy and direct action is the illegality of our conventional pattern of energy use. Much of customary fossil fuel development and use is illegal under international and domestic law. The US and other industrial nations are scorning the laws they have constructed and confirmed—enforceable international agreements that are designed to keep us from cooking ourselves off the planet.