Thank you for this piece, Emily. It speaks to my conflicts and my heart. The issues ARE all connected. So thank you for keeping at what you do best and for making the connections.
I feel it gratifying to read that you find yourself motivated by spite, because it honestly motivates me a lot, too. Fuck this administration and all the fascists who support it. Also, those cookies look damn good.
You said it all, I'll just reinforce that the fossil fuel industry elected Trump and continues to obscenely finance him and his successors--we must never forget Project 2025 architects are waiting with baited breath to take over. So, there is a direct, hard line between FF and state terror.
I feel many of us doing good work are feeling just like you. I am kind to myself, take breaks to hug my dogs, go out in the woods for a few hours, and listen to music. Then I return to the work in bits and pieces. If you need to produce less content right now, we subscribers and readers completely understand. Thank you!
I am definitely going to copy and quote you on one paragraph but I got a nice chuckle by your last sentence... bake! That is exactly where I went on this icy day in Texas where all events are canceled for 3 days or more. I baked kale quiche and lots of caramel popcorn. Your cookies look divine.
I like what Renee wrote: be kind to yourself and it you need to take a break and produce less content, don't feel guilty for it. Care fore yourself as well as the life on this miracle planet.
Yes to everything you've written, Emily. I would add corruption as another link among these issues that the Trump regime and its enablers want us to believe are separate. The billions of dollars flowing from the private prison, surveillance, defense, fossil fuel, and tech industries, among others, prop up a violent state that sees everything--humans, other species, ecosystems--as objects to be controlled and dispatched with. Their inability to recognize our fundamental interconnectedness drives their psychosis.
Thank you for writing this Substack. There is so much to be heartbroken and angry and confused about. But this Substack is an oasis of sanity for me. Just… thank you.
Please, please don't question your purpose for a moment, though you may need to take a breath or bake. The sad fact is that the violence that disturbs millions of us is empowering to this administration.
I feel you and share those same feelings. And with so many friends turning away from all news, not just climate-related, it's doubly hard to get them to even want to talk about it, let alone keep up with the latest.
And for some warped reason, I feel a responsibility, as I have since I was a teenager, to keep up with all the news, from a broad spectrum of sources, even the worst, most depressing developments, and then share them with folks in my social circles.
When it gets to be about midday and I'm overwhelmed with sorrow and ready to start crying, I switch off the news and put on music and turn to creative work or housework.
For those of us who have worked on climate issues for 15 years or more it's been hard enough to watch as we moved from mitigation possibilities to adaptation realities all while the fossil fuel alliance pushed us to worst case scenario at every turn. And now their power has been supercharged.
That was bad enough. But then when the January 6 insurrection exposed the connections between Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other White Christian Nationalist organizations and the oil and gas industries, we could see and feel the danger and threat of this unholy alliance.
Today the look and tactics of ICE and the other secret police invading and then occupying American cities seems exactly the same as those who invaded and occupied the capitol in 2020 and tried to overthrow the election results.
And environmental activists and journalists have good reason not only to feel depressed and overwhelmed we also have cause to watch our backs. Activists and journalists are already being labeled as domestic terrorists and anti-American because of their support for renewable energy, conservation and environmental regulations. You only have to look at other oil run governments in other nations to see how those kind of people get imprisoned or killed.
It's no wonder none of us know what to do. But I think we all know what we're not supposed to do, and that's to give up. We're not supposed to let the bad guys intimidate and scare us into stopping doing what we do, or to shut up, or to stop calling them on their shit.
And when you think about it, we probably do know what to do and we're doing it.
We're checking on our friends and family, caring for one another and making our bonds even stronger.
We're reaching out to wider networks and connecting with like-minded neighbors and community members who we never would have otherwise. We're showing up in the streets at every opportunity, we're supporting more groups that need our help, and we're ready to do more.
I'm 68 and I'm tired of this shit. But I'm not so tired that I'm giving up. Especially not to these bastards.
Thanks, Emily. In the U.S., fighting for democracy is fighting climate change. The $6 trillion dollar fossil fuel industry has bought Trump (as have others in the Oligarchy, working with white nationalists/fascists) and the rich are pushing us hard.
Big money explains why Congress capitulated (including some share of Democrats), but this small minority is up against 340 million of us and Minnesota is showing the way. My latest Thesteepclime Substack, "Climate Fiction, Climate Fantasy" shows that you are not alone.
Thanks for what you do and how you speak out so clearly. Have a cookie and get back to the work.
I feel you. We have the same problem at Climate Action Now. So much of the activist and donor energy has moved from climate to democracy, and understandably and rightfully so, but climate remains the great threat. So keep on keeping on. I LOVE your work.
Thank you, this is a terrific post. To me, it’s “both/and,” not “either/or.” I do my work on climate, but also devote much of my activism to pro-democracy efforts. Especially over the past year, I’ve typically closed my climate talks with this exhortation: “If you want to save the people and places you love, then now is the time to defend democracy, safeguard the rule of law, stick up for science, and build community.”
While self-care is vital, it’s the solidarity of friendships formed over many years of activism that has sustained me during our darker moments and helped pull me forward. Whether it’s climate, justice, democracy, or whatever one’s cause, none of us can do it alone, so cultivating community is crucial to enduring this marathon.
I, on the other hand, am giving in. I've cancelled my "productive" plans for the next two days. I just need the space and time to weep ... and eat ... lots. I'm not American, but I can see you guys out our living room window, and I've visited the Twin Cities, and have an online friend there, and an old penpal lives there. This feels very personal for me ... yet I can't even imagine what it's like for the people living — and dying — there. Bon courage to all those under siege, from those of us under threat of invasion.
I imagine you are Canadian, like me, and you have expressed much of what I'm feeling. I too have visited the Twin Cities and I lived in the U.S. for 20 of my 73 years of living. I care deeply.
The forces pulling us away from the climate space are real and everywhere. For me, your journalism pulls me back and makes me smarter. You’re a climate force-multiplier—thank you Emily.
Thank you for this piece, Emily. It speaks to my conflicts and my heart. The issues ARE all connected. So thank you for keeping at what you do best and for making the connections.
♥️
I feel it gratifying to read that you find yourself motivated by spite, because it honestly motivates me a lot, too. Fuck this administration and all the fascists who support it. Also, those cookies look damn good.
You said it all, I'll just reinforce that the fossil fuel industry elected Trump and continues to obscenely finance him and his successors--we must never forget Project 2025 architects are waiting with baited breath to take over. So, there is a direct, hard line between FF and state terror.
*bated....
I feel many of us doing good work are feeling just like you. I am kind to myself, take breaks to hug my dogs, go out in the woods for a few hours, and listen to music. Then I return to the work in bits and pieces. If you need to produce less content right now, we subscribers and readers completely understand. Thank you!
Either the dogs or the matriarchy will save this world, Renee. Isn't that right?
I am definitely going to copy and quote you on one paragraph but I got a nice chuckle by your last sentence... bake! That is exactly where I went on this icy day in Texas where all events are canceled for 3 days or more. I baked kale quiche and lots of caramel popcorn. Your cookies look divine.
I like what Renee wrote: be kind to yourself and it you need to take a break and produce less content, don't feel guilty for it. Care fore yourself as well as the life on this miracle planet.
Yes to everything you've written, Emily. I would add corruption as another link among these issues that the Trump regime and its enablers want us to believe are separate. The billions of dollars flowing from the private prison, surveillance, defense, fossil fuel, and tech industries, among others, prop up a violent state that sees everything--humans, other species, ecosystems--as objects to be controlled and dispatched with. Their inability to recognize our fundamental interconnectedness drives their psychosis.
100 percent
I know exactly how you feel. But, as we work to eject the current disturbances, Ma Nature continues to react. So press on, regardless!
I relate to this really deeply and really appreciate you sharing it
Thank you for writing this Substack. There is so much to be heartbroken and angry and confused about. But this Substack is an oasis of sanity for me. Just… thank you.
Please, please don't question your purpose for a moment, though you may need to take a breath or bake. The sad fact is that the violence that disturbs millions of us is empowering to this administration.
I feel you and share those same feelings. And with so many friends turning away from all news, not just climate-related, it's doubly hard to get them to even want to talk about it, let alone keep up with the latest.
And for some warped reason, I feel a responsibility, as I have since I was a teenager, to keep up with all the news, from a broad spectrum of sources, even the worst, most depressing developments, and then share them with folks in my social circles.
When it gets to be about midday and I'm overwhelmed with sorrow and ready to start crying, I switch off the news and put on music and turn to creative work or housework.
For those of us who have worked on climate issues for 15 years or more it's been hard enough to watch as we moved from mitigation possibilities to adaptation realities all while the fossil fuel alliance pushed us to worst case scenario at every turn. And now their power has been supercharged.
That was bad enough. But then when the January 6 insurrection exposed the connections between Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other White Christian Nationalist organizations and the oil and gas industries, we could see and feel the danger and threat of this unholy alliance.
Today the look and tactics of ICE and the other secret police invading and then occupying American cities seems exactly the same as those who invaded and occupied the capitol in 2020 and tried to overthrow the election results.
And environmental activists and journalists have good reason not only to feel depressed and overwhelmed we also have cause to watch our backs. Activists and journalists are already being labeled as domestic terrorists and anti-American because of their support for renewable energy, conservation and environmental regulations. You only have to look at other oil run governments in other nations to see how those kind of people get imprisoned or killed.
It's no wonder none of us know what to do. But I think we all know what we're not supposed to do, and that's to give up. We're not supposed to let the bad guys intimidate and scare us into stopping doing what we do, or to shut up, or to stop calling them on their shit.
And when you think about it, we probably do know what to do and we're doing it.
We're checking on our friends and family, caring for one another and making our bonds even stronger.
We're reaching out to wider networks and connecting with like-minded neighbors and community members who we never would have otherwise. We're showing up in the streets at every opportunity, we're supporting more groups that need our help, and we're ready to do more.
I'm 68 and I'm tired of this shit. But I'm not so tired that I'm giving up. Especially not to these bastards.
Thanks, Emily. In the U.S., fighting for democracy is fighting climate change. The $6 trillion dollar fossil fuel industry has bought Trump (as have others in the Oligarchy, working with white nationalists/fascists) and the rich are pushing us hard.
Big money explains why Congress capitulated (including some share of Democrats), but this small minority is up against 340 million of us and Minnesota is showing the way. My latest Thesteepclime Substack, "Climate Fiction, Climate Fantasy" shows that you are not alone.
Thanks for what you do and how you speak out so clearly. Have a cookie and get back to the work.
I feel you. We have the same problem at Climate Action Now. So much of the activist and donor energy has moved from climate to democracy, and understandably and rightfully so, but climate remains the great threat. So keep on keeping on. I LOVE your work.
Thank you, this is a terrific post. To me, it’s “both/and,” not “either/or.” I do my work on climate, but also devote much of my activism to pro-democracy efforts. Especially over the past year, I’ve typically closed my climate talks with this exhortation: “If you want to save the people and places you love, then now is the time to defend democracy, safeguard the rule of law, stick up for science, and build community.”
While self-care is vital, it’s the solidarity of friendships formed over many years of activism that has sustained me during our darker moments and helped pull me forward. Whether it’s climate, justice, democracy, or whatever one’s cause, none of us can do it alone, so cultivating community is crucial to enduring this marathon.
I, on the other hand, am giving in. I've cancelled my "productive" plans for the next two days. I just need the space and time to weep ... and eat ... lots. I'm not American, but I can see you guys out our living room window, and I've visited the Twin Cities, and have an online friend there, and an old penpal lives there. This feels very personal for me ... yet I can't even imagine what it's like for the people living — and dying — there. Bon courage to all those under siege, from those of us under threat of invasion.
I imagine you are Canadian, like me, and you have expressed much of what I'm feeling. I too have visited the Twin Cities and I lived in the U.S. for 20 of my 73 years of living. I care deeply.
The forces pulling us away from the climate space are real and everywhere. For me, your journalism pulls me back and makes me smarter. You’re a climate force-multiplier—thank you Emily.