Aren't you Glad a Teenager is Leading our Climate Justice Movement?
Greta Thunberg is 21, but you know what I mean.
That's what my partner, Michael, said about Greta Thunberg. Don't get me wrong, she's great. Love her. She’s not a teenager anymore, that’s for sure. But in terms of “moving the needle,” she has always stuck out as someone who is creating influence and momentum, which is exactly what the climate justice movement needs.
This piece is not about Greta Thunberg. That was just my hook to get you reading. Glad you’re here now. Keep reading.
Politicians claimed power over our bodies and minds in exchange for the promise of cheaper eggs. We aren’t going to get cheaper eggs anytime soon, trust me. In fact, the agricultural industry is in a crisis, and adding more regulatory burden and policy on whatever agenda RFK has in mind could create even more burden and cause a lot of farms to shut down because of financial stressors. But that’s not how the politicians win you over, they win you over with promises. Like a bad Tinder date turned situationship turned toxic relationship. Girl, dump them.
But I don’t want to insinuate why or convince you of the mechanics of why all this is of political consequence because plenty of journalists have already done that. That’s not the purpose of this newsletter.
I’m writing this newsletter because I trust humanity. I believe abuse of power is an addiction, and capitalism is the product of a system created by a few who knew how to say the right things to gain power. Power is a substance; it distorts one’s perceptions and reality. Those elite few know the system isn’t working for the public, that’s the whole idea.
I trust humanity because there is a hell of a lot more of us than there are of those few men sitting up on Capital Hill. Nothing is a surprise to me anymore. I grew up in a generation of “unprecedented events.” I have privilege, no doubt. I’m writing this from the comfort of my couch on a Thursday afternoon from a home that I rent from family, with whom I have positive relationships (most of the time). I have benefited from higher education with minimal debt and as a white, cis-gendered woman living in the United States. I go to therapy. I will continue to name my privilege because it’s necessary as it shapes my perspective, thus informing you, dear reader, if I’m to be trusted. I’ll let you decide for yourself.
I have seen in my 32 years of living pretty lousy economic events which may justify my views on capitalism. But most importantly, I believe that capitalism and climate justice aren’t compatible. I’d like to live in a world where that isn’t true.
The appointment of Chris Wright to the Energy Department under the Trump administration is just one example of why. There is not a chance in the 7th dimension of hell that someone who chooses to deny the evidence-backed studies of climate scientists, someone who states the climate change movement is “collapsing on itself,” whose loyalties lie with fossil fuel advocates, will ever try to slow down the effects of climate change.
We live in a world where people see the dollar as having inherent value over the earth that they walk on. The earth that we have seemingly no choice but to actively desecrate. We’ve built a society that claims that to be the inherent truth of how we exist. We criminalize homelessness and poverty and have been trained to ignore the fact that we are in an active class and climate war, labeling instead as a culture war. Michael Mann, author of The New Climate War, wrote that campaigns of climate misinformation are designed to benefit fossil fuel profiteers.
I go back to the fact that I trust humanity. We do have the ability to stop those people. There are more of us than there are of them. A thought experiment: What would happen if the dollar no longer had meaning or purpose? I choose to think of these profiteers and billionaires in this light. Without financial wealth, they are left only with a power addiction and jonesing for something to fill that inequitable sense of purpose. It’s my belief that no one is better than anyone else, not at the core. We all deserve our basic human rights- and that is not a moving target or definition.
What I am reading:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
I have dreams of living off the food my family grows and eating exclusively local. We are getting closer to that dream being a reality. Growing your own food is the best way to combat systems of power and lessen the demand of food production. Stop listening to the TikTok videos that say it’s expensive to garden. It doesn’t have to be. Did you know the average food item travels 1,500 miles? Kingsolver lives on 100 acres in Appalachia, and this book was written in 2007, so its a bit outdated.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
It’s a looong and difficult to get into, but the nuanced perspective on the entirety of humanity has been inspiring, and I can see why this is labeled by many as the Greatest Book of All Time.