#Occupy and the #Climate Movement

How are the #occupy movement and climate change connected?

• Fossil fuels enable the current economic system to continue because it is global and requires a lot of fossil fuels for production and transportation. Multi-national corporations won't do well if we stop burning fossil fuels.
• Failure to act will result in catastrophic and runaway climate change that will dramatically undermine the systems that make earth livable.  Therefore the reality of the climate science and the call for climate justice are critical filters through which all concerns for the economy, education, healthcare and democracy should be considered.
• We shouldn't build the revolution on a dirty energy economy. Those who are concerned about the economy and jobs today, shouldn't settle for short term economies based on fossil fuels which will undermine both the planet and economic opportunities and health for future generations.

#Occupy is a Process

The occupations all over the world are bigger then a single issue, or a single campaign. Rather than a set of demands or a specific objective, it is a process the empowers communities to formulate and develop their own decisions. An occupation is space for all issues to be raised, discussed and put into action through a direct and consensus based process. An occupation turns a space into a forum for discussion and participatory democracy. By occupying a space, the physical structure of the camp reflects the goals of the people gathered – to discuss and develop new participatory processes for democracy. Those of us with in-depth knowledge on more specific subjects (like tar sands, healthcare, or climate justice) can help draw the important connections between our specific issues and the larger societal problems they embody.

Watch this beautiful film about the concensus decision making process:

"What climate change means is that we have to do this on a deadline. This time our movement cannot get distracted, divided, burned out or swept away by events. This time we have to succeed."

– Naomi Klein

"Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactics to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants. This #occupy movement empowers real people to create real change from the bottom up. We want to see a general assembly in every backyard, on every street corner." —occupywallst.org

Resources

Websites

• Occupy Wall St – Occupy Wall Street Site
• Occupy Together – Hub and list of occupations worldwide
• We Are the 99% – Personal Stories from the 99%
• OccupyDesign – Design site with readymade signs

Articles

• "Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now" – Naomi Klein in The Nation
• "Climate Activism Stands With Occupy Wall Street Movement" – Grist.org
• "Letter to a Dead Man About the Occupation of Hope" – Rebecca Solnit
• A Modest Call to Action on this September 17th – Original Callout from OccupyWallSt