Major online communities are becoming a huge force in making Global Warming a political priority. While there has been a lot of ink spilled about how online communities are changing the face of politics, the fact is that they really raise the profile of ordinary people’s concerns. Well, people are concerned about Global Warming, because as Carlos showed us in Climate Tipping Points Get Scarier … there are only about 10 years left to get a handle on the problem and the political leadership in the United States and around the world will be hugely influential in whether we fix the problem and see us united for a more just and sustainable world or we scramble to adapt to a hugely changing world through adaptation efforts like billion-dollar levees and conflict over increasingly scarce resources.
Well, I am happy to say that I have never seen so many efforts by online communities to raise the prevalence of global warming!
MoveOn has taken on Global Warming, sending out emails in support of Step It Up! and following up their Town Hall on Iraq with a Town Hall on Climate. Their members voted to address Global Warming and energy as key priorities and they have followed up in a big way. In collaboration with LiveEarth, they hosted house parties across the country to hear the presidential candidates’ positions.
Now that YouTube co-hosted a presidential debate, the candidates had to respond to questions across the country from young people submitting videos, despite the poor choice of videos by the moderators. Avaaz has taken on the climate challenge from an international angle, with a petition of over 400,000 people calling for action from world leaders. Go sign it! They have big plans for upcoming events, such as the Bali climate negotiations. Care2 has 7 million members that are taking on global poverty, climate change, to cruelty against animals.
The Youth Climate Movement has built It’s Getting Hot in Here and the Campus Climate Challenge has an incredible social networking and resource website that everybody should check out. But we will need to build more online communities and fast to stay relevant and maintain a youth climate voice. Check out some of the new projects in development, such as WeCAN or the Youth Climate Pledge, and tell us if you have any ideas, because this is an exciting time!
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I completely agree. The online community has become a major tool for movements. We organize online; we express our thoughts online; we network online; we look people’s information online; we work with the media online. Online organizing should be a priority for trainings. New people who enter this movement need to learn how to use the internet to fullest. It’s something we should think about when we give people resources for organizing.
I’m encouraging my fellow students to decommission their cars and take a pledge of not owning one again till they are sustainable; if that ever happens! I stuccoed my car and painted it black as part of the Black Car Project. Now I am looking for fellow activists to inspire change by making a commitment that counts and resonnates with others! Check out the website and leave a comment! http://autovoid.blogspot.com