Lessons learned from a decade in climate advocacy
Rochester Business Journal by Abigail McHugh-Grifa
February 13, 2024
Almost exactly 10 years ago, I decided to become a climate activist. I had absolutely no experience with advocacy or environmental work, but I had just given birth to my first child, which served as the kick in the pants I needed to commit to tackling the climate crisis. Since I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, and initially didn’t have anyone to guide me, the learning journey was very, very steep (and at times quite painful). Ideally, the process of becoming an effective climate advocate/activist/organizer/supporter should be quick and easy. So with that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past ten years, with the aim of simplifying your learning journey:
Climate change is a threat AND an opportunity for our region: For some places in our country and around the world, climate change is 100% bad news (because they will become uninhabitable due to sea level rise and/or extreme weather). For our region, climate change is not good news, but if we are smart/strategic about how we deal with it, we could improve our health, safety, economic prosperity, social fabric, and quality of life in significant ways, allowing us all to thrive well into the future. To mitigate the threatening aspects of this crisis and fully leverage the potential opportunities, we need to rapidly and equitably eliminate carbon pollution from our primary local emissions sources (viz., transportation, buildings, agriculture, and electricity generation). Concrete steps for how to do this are clearly laid out in the Genesee-FLX Climate Action Strategy.
Focus on systems and embrace nuance and complexity: I had never heard of systems thinking, systems-level change, or systems of power and oppression when I started this work ten years ago, but now I see almost everything in terms of systems. At this point, I know enough about climate change to know that I will never fully understand it (and neither will anyone else). This issue is just too complex, largely because it’s related to myriad other issues, and of course the history of how we got into this mess goes way, way back. At times this feels overwhelming, but overall I find it liberating because it reminds me to focus on the big picture (e.g., aligning laws and regulations with our community’s climate goals) and not sweat the small stuff (e.g., when I forget to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store). This complexity and intersectionality of issues also provides a fantastic opportunity for our community to prioritize climate solutions that address other local concerns (e.g., housing affordability, chronic health conditions, access to jobs and services, etc.), using a “multisolving” approach.
Don’t expect perfection: Sadly, there are no perfect climate solutions. Though some energy sources are clearly much better than others (e.g., wind vs. coal), there are always going to be trade offs and costs associated with the transition to clean energy (e.g., it’s true that wind turbines occasionally kill birds, though house cats and climate change are both responsible for far more bird deaths). Instead of looking for silver bullets, we need to implement a wide range of boring but effective solutions that are available to us right now (e.g., insulating our buildings, installing heat pumps and other existing clean energy technologies, eating less meat, etc.). Of course innovation and new technologies will always be welcome and important, but we have to reduce emissions NOW and can’t wait for potential solutions to be invented or become commercially viable.
Accept responsibility and avoid shame/blame: Humans are also imperfect, and that’s okay. We don’t need to be eco-saints, we just need to be much better on average. The hard truth is that we have all contributed to creating this problem, and most of us (including me) are continuing to contribute to the problem, so it just doesn’t make sense to point fingers or play the shame/blame game. We should hold ourselves and each other accountable for our respective misdeeds, but let’s do it in kind, humble, respectful ways.
Together we thrive; divided we fall: This was the focus of my column last month, so I won’t rehash the details, but in a nutshell, we are interdependent and therefore MUST prioritize collaboration, relationship building, and equitable processes (if we want a safe and prosperous future). This is super important, because as I mentioned above, no one can fully understand or solve this problem alone, so we will not be successful unless we pool our knowledge/resources, understand each other’s perspectives, and respect each other’s expertise. To do this successfully, most of us (myself included) will need to (1) improve our communication and collaboration skills, and (2) strive to overcome the biases, prejudices, and irrational fears that make it difficult for humans to work together. We also need much better methods for preventing the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
Let’s co-create a clear, inspiring vision for the future and figure out the details as we go. I whole-heartedly believe that a better future is possible, but in order to collaboratively create that future, we need a shared vision to guide our path. If we know what we’re aiming for and have appropriate guardrails and systems of accountability in place to keep us moving in the right direction, I think it’s okay if we don’t have all the specifics figured out in advance. In my experience, that’s what makes this work an exciting adventure!
The structure of our economy is a primary root cause of the climate crisis and many related problems. This is a very important topic that can’t be adequately summed up in a paragraph, but the basic gist is that our current economy is overshooting the boundaries of what our planet can provide AND failing to (equitably) meet human needs. We are using up the Earth’s resources at an alarming rate and then throwing most of those resources in the trash. This is clearly unsustainable, so we need to collectively divest our resources from the extractive economy and reinvest in the burgeoning regenerative economy. The cost of failing to do so will be far greater than the cost of taking action. Making money isn’t a bad thing, but prioritizing profit and short-term financial goals over everything else (including human health, safety, and wellbeing) is super dumb. If we had a carbon tax or some similar pollution pricing mechanism (to incorporate the “social cost of carbon” into the price of using fossil fuels), that would definitely help.
We need to learn a lot more about the natural systems on which our lives depend, because it’s nearly impossible to take good care of the Earth when you don’t understand it. Children and youth especially need this education.
We need to heal our relationships (with the Earth, with each other, and with ourselves). There’s a lot of pain and suffering in the world right now and plenty of valid reasons for people to feel depressed, anxious, angry, overwhelmed, etc. After all, (1) we’re largely disconnected from each other and from the natural environment, (2) real self-care is hard to come by, and (3) we’ve been socialized to believe that resources are scarce and other humans are selfish, greedy, dangerous, etc. So I just don’t see how we can successfully work together to address the climate crisis and other major challenges we face, unless we also invest a great deal of time and energy in repairing harm and healing our relationships (including our non-human relationships). I’m currently trying to figure out what this means for me and am sure it’ll keep me busy for the rest of my life, but I’m already seeing the fruits of that labor and look forward to sharing more about it in a future column.
Keep love at the center: I don’t remember his exact words, but several years ago, Simeon Banister (President & CEO of the Rochester Area Community Foundation) said something to me about how his love of people and of our community fuels his work. At the time, his use of the word love really caught me off guard, because I was largely driven by fear, anger, and frustration, but I think I’m starting to get what he was talking about. If we want to create a better future, we need to lead with genuine love, kindness, and compassion. That doesn’t mean we’ll be sunshine and rainbows all the time, but tapping into a deeper source makes it possible to “be the change we wish to see in the world.” I now realize that love doesn’t have to be a scarce resource. In fact, I think love is quite clearly a renewable, or possibly even infinitely regenerative resource. As we experience love, more and more love is created. Fun, joy, pleasure, and rest are essential too, though since time and attention are finite, balance and moderation are also necessary.
Diversity and equity are critically important: Even though this point is woven into many of the previous points on this list, I think it’s worth calling extra attention to. A healthy ecosystem = a diverse ecosystem. A healthy community = a diverse community. Monocultures are ecological and cultural dead zones. Segregation is toxic. Difference is usually a good thing, or at least a perfectly fine thing. And as for equity, it’s pretty clear that living in an inequitable world is miserable, so let’s give equity a real try for a change! The transition to clean energy is well underway and is almost certainly unstoppable at this point, but I’m not yet confident that it will be an equitable transition, so we need to keep our attention on that.
Be open to transformational change. As you probably noticed, many of the items on this list aren’t directly about climate or clean energy, which is kind of the point. Of course I’ve learned a ton about climate issues over the past ten years, but more importantly, I’ve learned how to be a kinder, more compassionate human. I still act like a jerk sometimes (just ask my husband), but I think it’s fair to say that I’ve dramatically transformed, for the better. My daily activities are mostly aligned with my values, and as a result, I’m happier and more comfortable in my own skin. Basically, I’ve grown up and woken up (at least partially), and I would never want to go back to being the immature, ignorant woman I once was (even though her life was much easier). Individually and collectively, we clearly need to change, and based on my experience, that’s a wonderful thing!
So I hope this list is at least a little bit helpful for at least a few people. I have to admit that I feel sheepish about sharing it publicly, because I fear that people will think I’m weird and sappy. But I don’t want to live in a world where “professionals” can’t talk freely about love and kindness and equity, so I’m just going to go with it and hope it creates space for others to express their authentically warm and fuzzy feelings too!