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🔊 Listen to This Story

Sometimes major changes happen unexpectedly overnight. This is a work of fiction, but also a real possibility.

When the Berlin Wall fell. When gay marriage became legal. When COVID appeared. When insane fascists took over the GOP.

And when the climate army came to the rescue.

But what the climate army really makes me think about is prohibition. America was a hard drinking country and a small band of activists succeeded in getting an amendment making alcohol production, distribution and sales illegal.

By swinging a tiny minority of perhaps 3% of American voters — making them single issue voters. People opposed to alcohol. Just a few percent more.

Well, morally there’s no equivalency between banning spirits and banning oil. The latter is a deadly poison that was literally destroying the habitability of the Earth. And alcohol is, for most people, a relatively harmless beverage.

 Changes Big and Small

But making big changes through making small changes in a tiny fraction of the population was the common ground between these two very different events. Although the plan for banning alcohol was something that was planned and carried out openly and slowly over many years. But the climate army snuck up on us. It was invisible until it wasn’t.

Like most important events, it started with small groups of people and an idea. The idea was that authorities were a total failure and would never act decisively the stabilize the climate. This idea was promoted by some, but really spread organically. Various climate tragedies could not be ignored and excuses for doing nothing rang hollow. For governments, businesses and media, climate was still just another story like inflation and elections.

But for more and more people, the climate became everything. It was the obvious underlying cause of their increasing struggles, their frustrations and their justified fears. People everywhere began to meet in small groups, to discuss what they were facing, to work together and to strategize. Some meetings were in person, and others were virtual.

The situation was clear because, even though the dangers were soft-peddled, the facts themselves were not. The planet on the verge of climate collapse. Political and business leaders were working together to preserve their oil-fueled positions of power and wealth. If nobody stopped them, they would ultimately kill all of our children.

 It Gets Real

This was no longer an abstraction. As Mother Nature struck back with increasing fury and frequency at the species who abused Her, everyone but the most slow-witted could see and understand.
The Earth’s climate could be stabilized, but WE would have to take power and lead. Parents, sane people, those who were not intoxicated by power or ideology or religion. People who love their children and the Earth. People who want to live, to share and work together with others — not people who only want just to take.

The climate groups became a huge social phenomenon. Enough that they were written about in feature stories. They were social groups, but of a different nature. They were like book groups except they were dedicated to rescuing the planet.

All kinds of activities were sparked by these small groups. Words and short films were projected onto famous buildings. Phrases like “Climate Failures Must Resign. Now.” Silent cartoons making fun of authorities who, essentially, fiddle while the planet burns. All kinds of creative content — posters, websites, public art — appeared everywhere.

Whatever nonsense was spouting in the papers and on television and across the Internet was drowned out. The climate became THE THING. There was a new worldwide culture.

And then the day came. People massed in front of the government buildings in the capital cities of the world. They were, in fact, only a few percent of the populations of those countries. But this wasn’t an election. This was a velvet revolution. The demand was clear and non-negotiable: Declare a climate emergency and do what the emergency requires. Or step down and we will put young climate activists in charge of the planet. WE will empower scientists and engineers to slash C02 emissions and do whatever else is needed. WE will ensure that young people have the opportunity to save their own planet.

Not a shot was fired. And the sane people won.

The old leaders? What sane population would allow old failed leaders to destroy their children’s planet? Not us.

Our leaders have no vision for the future. This is true worldwide. This is true even of “good” leaders because the systems they are in charge of worldwide are fueled by gas and oil and coal. This is true of elected governments and this is true of dictatorships. Any and every force that’s destroying the planet must be defied and removed from power.

Why Us?

WE can do it because every successful revolution was sparked by tiny determined groups of people. And no group has ever been so strongly motivated because the stakes are the survival and well-being of our own children and of future generations.

Sometimes major changes happen unexpectedly overnight.

When the Berlin Wall fell. When gay marriage became legal. When COVID appeared. When insane fascists took over the GOP.

And when the climate army came to the rescue.

But what the climate army really makes me think about is prohibition. America was a hard drinking country and a small band of activists succeeded in getting an amendment making alcohol production, distribution and sales illegal.

By swinging a tiny minority of perhaps 3% of American voters — making them single issue voters. People opposed to alcohol. Just a few percent more.

Well, morally there’s no equivalency between banning spirits and banning oil. The latter is a deadly poison that was literally destroying the habitability of the Earth. And alcohol is, for most people, a relatively harmless beverage.

But making big changes through making small changes in a tiny fraction of the population was the common ground between these two very different events. Although the plan for banning alcohol was something that was planned and carried out openly and slowly over many years. But the climate army snuck up on us. It was invisible until it wasn’t.

Like most important events, it started with small groups of people and an idea. The idea was that authorities were a total failure and would never act decisively the stabilize the climate. This idea was promoted by some, but really spread organically. Various climate tragedies could not be ignored and excuses for doing nothing rang hollow. For governments, businesses and media, climate was still just another story like inflation and elections.

But for more and more people, the climate became everything. It was the obvious underlying cause of their increasing struggles, their frustrations and their justified fears. People everywhere began to meet in small groups, to discuss what they were facing, to work together and to strategize. Some meetings were in person, and others were virtual.

The situation was clear because, even though the dangers were soft-peddled, the facts themselves were not. The planet on the verge of climate collapse. Political and business leaders were working together to preserve their oil-fueled positions of power and wealth. If nobody stopped them, they would ultimately kill all of our children.

This was no longer an abstraction. As Mother Nature struck back with increasing fury and frequency at the species who abused Her, everyone but the most slow-witted could see and understand.
The Earth’s climate could be stabilized, but WE would have to take power and lead. Parents, sane people, those who were not intoxicated by power or ideology or religion. People who love their children and the Earth. People who want to live, to share and work together with others — not people who only want just to take.

The climate groups became a huge social phenomenon. Enough that they were written about in feature stories. They were social groups, but of a different nature. They were like book groups except they were dedicated to rescuing the planet.

All kinds of activities were sparked by these small groups. Words and short films were projected onto famous buildings. Phrases like “Climate Failures Must Resign. Now.” Silent cartoons making fun of authorities who, essentially, fiddle while the planet burns. All kinds of creative content — posters, websites, public art — appeared everywhere.

Whatever nonsense was spouting in the papers and on television and across the Internet was drowned out. The climate became THE THING. There was a new worldwide culture.

And then the day came. People massed in front of the government buildings in the capital cities of the world. They were, in fact, only a few percent of the populations of those countries. But this wasn’t an election. This was a velvet revolution. The demand was clear and non-negotiable: Declare a climate emergency and do what the emergency requires. Or step down and we will put young climate activists in charge of the planet. WE will empower scientists and engineers to slash C02 emissions and do whatever else is needed. WE will ensure that young people have the opportunity to save their own planet.

Not a shot was fired. And the sane people won.

The old leaders? What sane population would allow old failed leaders to destroy their children’s planet? Not us.

Our leaders have no vision for the future. This is true worldwide. This is true even of “good” leaders because the systems they are in charge of worldwide are fueled by gas and oil and coal. This is true of elected governments and this is true of dictatorships. Any and every force that’s destroying the planet must be defied and removed from power.

WE can do it because every successful revolution was sparked by tiny determined groups of people. And no group has ever been so strongly motivated because the stakes are the survival and well-being of our own children and of future generations.