ED MARKEY, DEMOCRACY AND THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT

Sometimes, a rousing speech doesn’t even have to be about the climate to inspire us in the climate movement. On a cold, rainy Saturday at the end of March, Senator Ed Markey spoke at an anti-administration standout in Newton. He never mentioned “climate” or “warming” or “GHGs,” but what he said resonated deeply for me as a member of 350 Mass, and it offered a spur to action for our organization. (All the quoted words are the senator’s, but they’ve been edited for clarity.)

“Beginning with the drafting of the Constitution, after we successfully rid our nation of King George, we have systematically continued to advance the umbrella of who is given the full protections of the United States Constitution. And it's a never-ending battle to make sure that we continue to expand those rights, those protections for everyone.” 

What I draw from this is: In these savagely drill-baby-drill times, our mission now becomes even more of a pitched battle to help protect the environment for everyone.

Senator Markey speaks to Newton advocates on a rainy Saturday

“From my perspective, democracy is on the line. Our job is to make sure that we have a resistance. People are rising up. People are angry. People are organizing. People are resisting. And what you're doing here in Newton [the standout] is the perfect example of what we are going to try to inspire across the country.” 

My inference: Even if we’re not sure what form our resistance should take, let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing (like standouts). But let’s up the ante, like Resistance fighters have done at other points in history.

“You are the people who are the leaders. We need to see you now. We need to see you next week. We need to just keep lifting up this movement. We must continue to rise up and have the energy, the strength to continue to fight every single day. So are you ready to fight? Are you ready to stand up against Donald Trump and his dictatorial administration? Let's go make sure that we change this country.” 

My conclusion: More of us should recognize ourselves as leaders by stepping forward — climbing the ladder of engagement — to keep up with the increased threat. We truly have to change the spirit of this country, where only 37% of registered voters say that global warming is a very important voting issue to them. 

Again, our senator spoke not a word about the climate. But his speech still spotlighted what we need to do individually, and collectively as members of 350 Mass.

To watch a clip from the speech, click here.