“The most important thing you can do about climate change is talk about it.” That’s the advice climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe gave during a TED Talk that has now been viewed over 4 million times.
You might find that advice surprising, coming from a scientist. But talking about climate change really is the first critical step to stopping it. When we don’t talk about it, people around us assume it must not be that big of a problem. That means they don’t talk about it either. As a result, our lawmakers don’t hear much about it, and they don’t work on solutions as much as they could.
But it is a big problem, and we do need Congress focused on fixing it. 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 is likely to beat it. In addition to rising global temperatures, we’re seeing all sorts of other negative impacts, like more frequent and extreme droughts, wildfires, floods and storms that put our families in danger.
So, we need to talk about climate change more – with our friends and family, of course, but also with acquaintances in our daily lives. Just one conversation can interrupt that cycle of silence. And lots of conversations can bring more attention to the issue and make solutions more likely.
I remember a climate conversation that actually helped me get active as a volunteer with a national climate advocacy group. Back in 2014, I sat in on a Citizens’ Climate Lobby meeting in Los Altos. In addition to hearing about the above negative consequences, I learned that our health and our country’s national security were also being threatened. Anxious to learn more about all of this, I decided to join CCL.
Since then, I have had so many interesting, positive conversations about climate change with people in our community. And this month, as part of an initiative with CCL, regular folks like me are trying to hold 25,000 climate conversations across the entire country. In our area, we have spoken with people at tabling events, at the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, at the CCL California Conference at Menlo-Atherton High School and on hikes with friends.
Here’s a bit of what we’ve heard:
At the CCL conference, a man expressed his concern that we may not have any chocolate in the future due to climate change impacting cacao bean production. Another chimed in, “What about wine?!? That industry is seriously being affected also!”
At the Liberty Forum, this conversation took place:
“Do you believe humans are causing climate change?”
“Yes, I do. But I’m really here to discover where we can find common ground around the hope and promise of 100% clean energy.”
“That is just what I wanted to hear. All I get from environmentalists is ‘climate catastrophe’.”
A friend told me that her home in Healdsburg had its insurance dropped due to climate change risks.
I feel encouraged that these conversations are taking place locally. I hope that our lawmakers in Congress hear these concerns from our community and take them seriously.
To leave a healthy, stable world for future generations, we need to act now. That’s what we’re talking about in our area, and we hope Congress is talking about it on Capitol Hill.
Paula Danz of Los Altos is a volunteer with the Silicon Valley North chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Mark Reynolds is the executive director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
