WE JUST HAD THE HOTTEST DAY IN WORLD HISTORY. WHY IS ALMOST NOBODY TALKING ABOUT IT?

The climate crisis is worse than ever. Don't be distracted by Washington's circus.

While many in the United States are focused on the political drama of recent weeks, our precious planet continues to burn up. We just recorded the hottest day ever recorded on earth in the 40 years such data has been collected.

The Guardian (07.24.24)

As much as the Biden Administration claims to be addressing the climate crisis, the cold hard truth is that oil and gas production right now in the United States is the highest ever in our country’s history. In fact, it now higher than any country in world history. Major oil and gas companies around the world are reporting record-breaking profits. Chevron is making so much money it could pay the full amount of its Ecuador pollution judgement ten times over in a single year. These mega-profits come at the expense of our ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of our planet.

The hard truth is that oil and gas companies simply have no incentive to slow down. Quite the contrary, with the money spigot flowing like never before, they are now going as hard as possible to lock in even more fossil fuel projects for decades longer. When they should slow down, they move faster. Excess profits are increasingly being spent to lobby and control governments and manipulate judicial systems to criminalize protestors.

It is clear that no government in the world — least of all the United States — has demonstrated the collective fortitude to slow down these perpetrators of planet destruction. Dozens of US cities this summer have broken temperature records while millions die each year around the world from drought and heat. The temperature even rose to 108 degrees (42 celsius) the other day in the northern US state of Idaho.

I could go on and on about this, but let’s focus on one relatively simple way to help deal with the crisis that our nation consistently ignores.

That involves our government creating a national plan for an orderly and just transition to clean energy. Why are we not screaming about the fact our government has never taken the necessary and obvious step to appoint a commission of experts to create such a plan? We know one of the two major political parties in the US denies climate change and is largely dominated by fossil fuel interests. Donald Trump has sold his soul to the industry, pledging to dismantle almost all environmental protections if elected. In the meantime, the Democratic party is greatly under the sway of the industry while demonstrating occasional flashes of independence.

That brings us to Kamala Harris.

In my view, Harris must as a central plank in her new campaign immediately call for the creation of a commission independent of industry to map out a just transition that would allow a total phase-out of fossil fuels by 2035. This commission must do its work in transparent fashion with the participation of citizens and activists including representatives from the youth climate movement. I also urge Harris to pledge to sign the critically important Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Modeled after the widely successful Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — which went into effect in 1970 and has been ratified by 190 countries — a similar treaty that bars new investments in fossil fuels already has won the support of several smaller countries, including Columbia. If the US got behind this, much of the world would follow.

While at it, Harris also should back my request for a pardon after I was arbitrarily detained at home and in prison for 993 days by Chevron in the nation's first corporate prosecution after helping Amazon communities in Ecuador win a landmark pollution case against the company. (See this article by Erin Brockovich for background on my situation.) Already, 50 climate and human rights groups have signed a letter demanding the President pardon me. A pardon will enable me to travel internationally (Chevron confiscated my passport), work as a lawyer, and have a bank account.

Chevron’s vicious attacks on me are part of a new corporate playbook targeting climate leaders to weaken the entire movement. It must be stopped immediately. For more on the pardon campaign and how you can help, see my campaign page here.

Let's connect the dots. As we work to protect democracy in the United States and human rights around the world, we must never take our eyes off the growing climate threat. It’s all connected. Onward.

- Steven