The Election

thumbnail photograph by Susan Levinson

While I am still on sabbatical, this is too important.

For many of us, both those of us on the “left” or “right” who care deeply about environmental issues, the election of 11/4/24 is devastating. I will leave it to others to figure out how and why this happened; while I have my opinions, I am not an expert.

Please take care of yourself and if you have the strength, take care of others. Get the help and support you need, friends, family, spiritual or mental health counseling and treatment. Whatever it takes to reset and cope. 

That includes backing off from engagement to recharge.

But despair and fear are not a viable long-term options. They aren’t going to help and they aren’t good for you. That’s what the bad guys want. They want you small and powerless. And yes, they hold the keys to the federal kingdom, but we still have agency and a voice.

What can you do as the new administration takes steps that will be terrible for the environment?

Personal actions are empowering. See our page on lifestyle changes.  They won’t come close to making up for the damage that will be done with the “drill baby drill” philosophy, but they aren’t nothing. We want a robust industry in electric vehicles (my personal bias: I won’t ever buy a Tesla, i.e., a “dark maga mobile,” whether or not Elon cares. There are alternatives.), home solar power etc. These larger personal lifetyle actions may not fit into your budget. Smaller actions can be meaningful to you and yours. For example, volunteer to clean up or weed green spaces or help in a community garden. It is good for you and your community and is a way to help the environment.

Bigger picture: if you have the resources donate to environmental groups.  Many have plans to fight and even to cooperate internationally to keep working for positive change.  I especially like those with legal strategies to fight in the courts. Yes, the courts are loaded against us, but we need to get the truth out there and sometimes even conservative courts come through.

Support politicians, at least with letters and calls, who are fighting the good fight. I suspect bipartisan efforts will be rare, but let’s look for them. Let’s hope for a glimmer of sanity. Remember that a lot gets done at the local level by laws, funding and regulations determined by city, county, and state governments!

It will be tough. There is pain ahead. We are going to lose precious time. We need to be as brave and strong as we can be.

First, take time for self-care, then do what you can when you can.