From Ross Gelbspan
Summer, 2007
Dear Friend,
Three years ago a remarkable trio of activists approached me to help start the Climate Crisis Coalition. I had just completed my second book on climate change, Boiling Point, and I was hoping to take a break from a frenetic ten-year mission of trying to wake people up to the realities of the climate crisis. Organizing work was not what I had in mind.
But Father Paul Mayer, Connie Hogarth and Ted Glick were committed, dedicated and persistent. As veterans of many fights for social, economic and environmental justice, they understood the need to take the climate crusade beyond the confines of the environmental movement. In short, they concurred with my suggestion that we need an expanded climate movement that includes people working on a range of issues -- from social justice to human rights to corporate accountability to international relief and development -- to generate public awareness and broad-based political action.
After I joined the CCC steering committee, we developed a mission statement. In the intervening years CCC has been in the thick of an emerging climate movement. Now with much of the media, many state and local governments, and Congress talking about climate change, CCC's emphasis on a just transition to a renewable clean energy future is more timely than ever. CCC is at a critical point where it needs funds to fulfill its important mission:
Our ultimate goal -- to rewire the globe with clean energy -- will do far more than stave off the most disruptive impacts of global climate change. It will create millions of jobs all over the world. It will provide economic independence for developing countries. It will address the economic desperation that underlies anti-Western terrorism. It will liberate the U.S. from its destructive military and diplomatic entanglements in the Middle East. It will substantially expand the overall wealth and equity of the global economy. It will begin to put democratically-determined boundaries around multi-national corporations. It will mark a major step toward peace among people and peace between people and nature.
With growing news coverage of the startling rise of CO2 emissions, the public is finally paying attention, due to record temperatures, melting glaciers, swelling oceans, wild weather extremes and the spread of warming-driven diseases.
Business and political leaders have been jolted by startling international studies. The October 2006 Stern Report spelled out the projected overwhelming financial costs of climate inaction. The first 2007 U.N. IPCC report categorically states beyond a reasonable doubt that global warming is both anthropogenic and cataclysmic. The second IPCC report, to be unveiled April 6th, tells us that by 2080 we can expect as many as 3 billion people to be facing water shortages, another 600 million facing crop failures and about 100 million people flooded out of their homes -- each year.
Last week in Washington, three events highlighted the opening of new opportunities following the recent elections.
With these developments, people from around the country are peppering CCC with inquiries like:
CCC is working with diverse groups and constituencies, broadening contacts with climate activists, and expanding the reach of the highly acclaimed daily CCC Newsfeed. We've organized numerous events to draw attention to the climate crisis, including dozens of local actions we've facilitated for the past two annual International Days of Climate Action. And we've collected signatures from around the country for the Peoples Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.
Last year, in anticipation of the mid-term election, CCC hosted a national strategy meeting, circulated our ClimateUSA platform (which called for the transfer of fossil subsidies to renewable energy, the adoption of Kyoto, and support for the Safe Climate Act), distributed over a thousand copies of our DVD The Climate Crisis Coalition and the 2006 Elections, and disseminated over five hundred of copies of Boiling Point (through the generosity of a benefactor and his family).
A new CCC project, called Earth Circles, will soon be launched. It will involve small groups meeting to help people come to grips with the depressing realities of climate change, gain a sense of empowerment and identify specific action outlets. CCC steering committee member Judith Thompson has been developing this exciting program with a remarkable core group for six months.
To continue our work and to grow, CCC urgently needs contributions from our supporters. The CCC Daily Newsfeed alone is now budgeted for $60,000 a year. If each of our 3,000 subscribers were to contribute just $20, that would make the Newsfeed self-sustaining and free up our limited funding for our other work. Supporters who contribute $50, $100 or more will help cover our costs for the free Newsfeed service. If you are one of our Newsfeed readers who contributed last December, many thanks, again. We are eager to expand our subscription base. If you have not signed up for it yet, please do so at our website.
CCC now has two full-time and two part-time employees, several active volunteers, and a very engaged steering committee. We would like to be able to hire two additional staff people this year. We get enough inquiries each day that we could easily engage one person full-time just answering emails and phone calls. However without your help, we are now faced with the unfortunate prospect of having to cut back on the limited staff we now have. Please support us in this all-important transition period. Your contribution will significantly assist us as we shift gears and take on a more ambitious agenda. Our aim is to raise $20,000 in April and $50,000 by July 1st. We will keep you posted.
Please help us to continue this critical work. Checks should be made out to the Climate Crisis Coalition. If you would like a tax deduction, your contribution should be $50 or more and made out to our fiscal sponsor, The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute.
All contributions should be sent to:
Climate Crisis Coalition
P.O. Box 125
South Lee, MA 01260
You can also make a secure donation online or print out this form to mail in with your donation. Please feel free to contact CCC by return email or phone (413-243-5665) if you have any questions.
Again, many thanks for your interest and for your support.
Best regards,
Ross Gelbspan
CCC Steering Committee Member