Dear friends, 

The COP 26 Climate Summit demonstrated that the human race is not yet up to the task of saving itself from fossil fuel induced global warming and the potential collapse of the human race this century. While progress was made, it was not nearly enough – and we are running out of time. 

Governments demonstrated that they are driven far more by short term domestic political concerns than the eventual collapse of their societies when today’s elected officials, who failed to take the courageous actions needed today, are out of office.

The fossil fuel industry demonstrated that they are far more interested in preserving their profitability than preserving our common home. There were more delegates associated with the fossil fuel industry at the Glasgow summit than from any single country.  Exxon, Chevron and Saudi Aramco in particular deserve our ire. They will milk their assets as long as we let them get away with it. 

Conversely, the young activists who spoke truth to power deserve our support.

This decade is humanity’s last chance to effectively deal with this crisis, as suggested by this graph from the 2021 edition of In Our Hands.

Now that we are experiencing the pain, suffering and financial costs associated with the increase of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, imagine the pain, suffering and financial costs that will be caused by another 3 degree increase above today by 2050, and 7 degrees by 2100. A 7 degree increase would wipe out much of the human race in a mere eighty years.

The last thing I wrote in the 2021 edition of In Our Hands before sending it off to Barnes & Noble and Amazon a few weeks ago was this sentence in the Key Takeaways page (XV):

It is unclear whether the human race, at its current level of development, has the maturity and wisdom, individually and collectively, to do what is needed – or in the time it is needed.

Most people I speak to about this quote feel that we may indeed not be up to the task in a mere ten years. But instead of going into despair, I propose that we use this awareness to galvanize us into action. We need to mobilize on a local, national and global scale now.

The following are some of the actions I am taking, which I invite you to join me in:

    1.    Download, read and pass on the 2021 edition of In Our Hands

Download your copy of In Our Hands using the links that follow immediately here in blue: PDF, Kindle and iBook. I am giving these to all my friends and asking you to read it, commit to take action, and send the book electronically to everyone on your email lists (or you can simply forward this email you received to your friends and networks without having to attach any PDF files, as that might be simplest for you). Doing this will help lead to greater awareness, urgency and action than exists now, and to the mass mobilization that is desperately needed. 

Actions you can take: In addition to reading and passing on the e-book links from the prior paragraph (or just forwarding this email), there are many actions you can choose from that will reduce the severity of the climate crisis, help usher in a better future for your children and grandchildren and give you great satisfaction. Chapter 4 is filled with specific actions you can choose from.

     2.    Climate Essentials course for K-12 teachers nationwide

I have co-created with the Presidio Graduate School a “Climate Essentials” virtual nine week program for K-12 teachers throughout the U.S. (https://k12.presidio.edu/climate/) A new course starts every month.

Actions you can take: Please send the link above to any K-12 school superintendents and teachers you know. It is a terrific program and is being very well received, in part because superintendents and teachers have become increasingly aware of the importance of educating the younger generation about the future they face and what they can do to prepare for it. 

    3.    Awakening corporations to the risks and opportunities the climate emergency poses for them

Corporations have no desire to do harm, and they are far more nimble than national governments in responding to risks and opportunities. And, they have more power than most other groups to pivot away from being a major part of the climate problem to playing a major role in the solution.   

A colleague and I have just developed a presentation for corporations which essentially says that the climate emergency poses major risks to their bottom line if they do not develop strategies to deal with the physical risks to their infrastructure and supply chains. It also poses risks to their brand if their customers, employees and investors turn on them if they suspect that a company is “greenwashing”. Please use your considerable power as consumers, employees and investors to pressure them to stop doing things that add to global warming and shift to practices that will help address the crisis.  Here is the short video we have just produced:   ‪Reinventing Business in the Age of Climate Change.mov.

Actions you can take: I encourage you to call out any corporations you feel are generating significant fossil fuel emissions, or are greenwashing. They may not like what you have to say, but they know that you are the customers they need if they are to grow and prosper. If you are an employee they want to retain, or an investor, they will be sensitive to your calling them out and receptive to well thought out recommendations for how they can help address the climate crisis.

There is much we must all do together if the world is going to truly mobilize and "do what is needed, and in the time it is needed."  After 300,000 years of human development, this is the human species’ first and probably last “all hands on deck” moment, and to date we are showing we are not yet up to the task of digging ourselves out of the hole we have dug ourselves into. We are brilliant at technological innovation, as demonstrated by the industrial and petroleum revolutions, the internet and AI revolutions and nuclear fission, but we are adolescents in terms of our ability to deal with the unintended negative consequences of such technological advances.

We have everything we need to solve this crisis – except the individual, collective and political will to do so. We must change that, starting now. Please join me in taking action. Your and your children’s future is literally “In Our Hands”. 

Be well, 

– Wilford
Adjunct Faculty, Presidio Graduate School
https://k12.presidio.edu/climate/

In Our Hands 

A Handbook to for Intergenerational Actions to  Solve the Climate Crisis

A Guide

The “Key Takeaways” on page XV and the “Overview” chapter on pages 1-20 give an assessment of the challenges and opportunities we face. 

Chapters 2 and 3, The Possible Future – How we saved ourselves and who made it happen, starts from the year 2050 and looks back over the three decades from today to see what policies and practices we put in place that solved the climate emergency before it was too late. 

Chapter 4, What Specific Actions are you Going to Take? Highlights actions every individual can take, many that will save them money. 

Chapter 5, The Road to Ruin, should be read by those who need to understand where climate denial and the politics of fear could easily lead us in a mere thirty years. Granted, it is a worst case scenario, but I believe it is realistic as well as sobering. 

Chapter 6, Resources for Learning and Action, contains 150 carefully selected research papers, books and documentary films on all the topics covered in the book, such as the most recent climate projections, the coming water wars and the emerging and massive global refugee crisis that will dwarf the current refugee crisis we now have to deal with. 

Wilford@WilfordWelch.com

1 East Pier, Sausalito, CA 94965 – (415) 378-5493 

Wilford@WilfordWelch.com

www.WilfordWelch.com
Mobile: (415) 378-5493
Wilford@WilfordWelch.com
Author: 2021 edition of In Our Hands

Take any action you choose to reduce global warming, for action leads to hope, and hope leads to action.