Peaceful Uprising at the Capitol Climate Action - Using Direct Action to Shut Down Congress's Coal-Fired Power Plant

We pulled some of the best excerpts from a fantastic interview of columnist Johann Hari on Democracy Now! Johann explains how corporate funding from some of the world’s largest polluters has corrupted many of the largest environmental organizations from the inside out, including Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and even the Sierra Club. This has manifested itself in a multitude of non-solutions being proposed as the only “politically feasible” ways of addressing the climate crisis. While the science clearly calls for a 40% cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2040, many of these organizations are lobbying for woefully inadequate cuts of less than 10%.

Johann argues that instead of relying on corrupt governments and corporations to solve the climate crisis, the people must take the matter into their own hands and demand change through direct action. For example, he explains how the UK’s Climate Camp has united people to put themselves on the line and directly block the construction of new coal power plants and airports, and have successfully shown how the power of the people can drastically change the definition of what is “politically feasible.”

You can view the full interview on democracynow.org

Warning: This animation presents imagery of climate chaos that some may find disturbing. Nevertheless, the risks it presents are very real, and it is our responsibility as mature adults to understand those risks and take action to minimize the chances of worst-case scenarios occurring.

Wake Up, Freak Out is an essential step in developing a deeper understanding of climate change and the risks it presents to humanity. When managing risks, you have to consider both probability and severity. While there are many uncertainties regarding the probability of climate tipping points, the severity of reaching them could be catastrophic. It’s like buying fire insurance for your house–even though there may be a small chance of it happening, you still take action and buy insurance because the consequences are extremely severe. Therefore, even though we don’t know exactly how likely climate tipping points are, we know the consequences are severe, and should do everything we can to prevent it from happening.

The script of this video is accompanied by extensive peer-reviewed references and additional information and links. It’s a great resource for anyone wanting to take their awareness to the next level, and is available at wakeupfreakout.org.

Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.