The world is experiencing many crises linked to increased climate change.

Drax is a biomass corporation that intends to build 20 new facilities in the United States. Georgia Power announced approvals for more biomass facilities in GA. Also, there are now reports of a Biolabs building in Georgia putting chlorine gas in the air. This will have dangerous impacts on health, safety, and the environment. Drax and Georgia Power are driving us towards dependence on biomass technology. Drax promises to capture their carbon emissions. But this false climate solution doesn’t fool impacted communities.

Companies like Drax don’t want to take accountability. They greenwash their business practices. It can be hard to fight their lies. But if they keep it up, we’ll continue to witness devastating climate events.

These industries are selling us harmful technologies and making excuses about their actions. This doesn’t help us make a sustainable and caring world a reality.

What Can We Do?

We can’t become overwhelmed and lose our will to resist. We must come together to fight climate change. Only together can we tackle these systemic problems.

3 Ways to Engage on a Local Level

1. Don’t fight alone. Our culture encourages us to only think about ourselves. But we must remember that our strength actually comes from each other. This means we have to focus on community. Together, we can create spaces to heal and organize resistance. We’re stronger together than when we are alone.
2. Power mapping. Power mapping is a visual or tactile way to determine where power lies. To understand relationships, influence, and how to leverage them. This helps us decide what strategies will work best to create change. Diplomacy may be the most effective approach. But maybe it’s boycotts or protests. Power mapping can give us direction and clear goals for solving a systemic problem.
3. One change at a time. We must lean into our values and take accountability. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Maybe that’s using less plastic or composting at home. It could be taking public transportation instead of driving. There are plenty of alternative ways to live a conscious life. These actions and commitments build a community of positive change. This doesn’t have to happen all at once! Bit by bit, we can help each other find ways to be safe, healthy, and interconnected. When we join with others, we can change the world.

3 Ways to Engage on a Regional Level

1. 1. Find coalitions and grassroots organizations. There may be no local organizations dedicated to the issues you care about most. But there are always state and regional organizations. From them, you can get support, direction, and opportunities. They can help you connect to broader movements.
   2. Think through policy. You can learn the local, state, and federal policies about your issue. This includes access to funding, regulatory practices, and limitations on political mechanisms. But you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There’s a good chance that other organizing spaces have developed helpful resources. But if there aren’t any, you can still work with partners. You can learn together and develop your own resources. Then you can be a resource for others who care about your issue.
   3. Consider intersectional approaches. Environmental, cultural, and economic issues exist together. This means that we also can interlink movements. For example, climate activists care about the ever deadlier climate events. They may target the industries that degrade environments. But what are the extreme weather impacts on the people in those environments? What happens to the communities whose wetlands are drained or forests clearcut? This intersection is how we build climate justice spaces. What do these communities think is the best solution for them? What types of support exist to ensure that people stay healthy and safe? These are important questions as we grow beyond the one-issue thinking.

3 Ways to Engage on a National Level

1. Allyship beyond the nation-state. Relationality is the glue that lets us organize and wield our power. It’s what helps us make change and build accountability. Conversations at the national level include various communities. Movements must remain accessible for allyship. This means we must remember the needs of different people. We must include and take guidance from communities in creating plans and solutions.
2. Think big and start small. Coalitions don’t disappear once we reach a national-level. They just include more people and places. We can grow our movements with national webinars, marches, and direct actions. Even as we move to a larger stage, we can’t forget the local level. The local community is always important to our movements.
3. Where does the money go? We must confront wealth that tries to diminish and dehumanize people. Power mapping on a national level can highlight the flow of funds. Funds both for and against our movements. Understanding how much money you, your organization, and your opposition need is helpful. This shows the strengths, weaknesses, and obstacles to achieving our vision. Yet, we can’t let financial factors consume us. It’s important, but money isn’t everything. We must also consider each person’s time, energy, and skills. This expands access to opportunities and allyship. It gives us a better understanding of where we can go – together.

All these strategies can help break down barriers in our minds. It can be overwhelming to think about how to engage with big and complex issues. Things like climate, environmental, and racial justice can be larger than life. Yet, people are still caring and passionate about building a better world. We can shed our fears and reach for that hope together.

Take Action: Demand that forests and justice be included in federal conservation plans