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Dear Reader,
Far too often, environmentalists and laborers find themselves on opposite sides of a battle. As Global Citizen co-founder Michael Sheldrick recently explained when he guest edited Katherine Hayhoe’s newsletter, “For years, tensions ran high between coal workers and environmental activists. Unions fought to protect jobs. Activists protested outside power stations. Both sides saw the other as part of the problem.” Michael was talking about the town of Collie, in Western Australia, where tensions had simmered, with environmentalists pushing to eliminate coal and union workers fighting for their jobs. But one day, one of the union leaders got the idea to talk about the future with those who were “obsessed with it” — environmentalists. It was for many, Michael said, the first time each side had talked to the other. And what they discovered was that their goals weren’t in opposition to each other. They all wanted a sustainable future. And through respectful conversations, they co-created a future that worked for all of them. With Western Australia moving toward renewables, the workers realized that their skills made them valuable when it came to new systems like battery storage.
There are similar stories playing out around the world, including in West Virginia, where Bluedot contributor Teresa Bergen told us about coal workers turned tour guides. And our reporter Diane Selkirk shared the story of a town in British Columbia who put this type of respectful conversation to work building consensus for clean energy.
That’s exactly the approach encouraged by U.S.-based Climate Changemakers, which organizes “hours of action” for everyday people — many with no background in climate or politics — to spark conversations with neighbors, coworkers, or friends about what change could look like in their own communities.
These sorts of alliances are crucial in our fight against climate change and Dot salutes the union workers and environmentalists who found common ground. Climate Champ kudos for all of them.
Cooperatively,
Dot
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