Several years ago, a dear (white) friend told me that he was exploring his own racist thoughts, beliefs and actions. I waved him away—‘that’s great, not really my cause, so glad you’re doing it.’ I used the word Cause, as though human beings were some kind of project to be assembled or a banner to be waved.
The Shape of Climate Grief
In the midst of my climate despair, my sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When she died three months later something inside me cracked. I was all grief. I couldn’t take another climate step.
The Weight of Hope
I wanted to wrap that young girl in my arms, hold her tight against so much uncertainty and destruction. But there was nothing I could think to say to soothe her soul, nothing that wasn’t a lie.
I Almost Blew It*
The little voice in my head returned, snarky and filled with accusation. ‘Step aside. Give someone else a chance. You’ve had your time.’ It was true—how delicious would it be to watch a twenty-something step up to the plate!
Power of the Word
The political strategist Frank Luntz, wrote a confidential memo to the Republican Party in 2003 and advised them to replace the phrase “global warming” with the less threatening, more benign expression, “climate change.”