r.

Yes, because the Washington state government activated like a sleeper-cell and ruthlessly, systematically hunted them down and annihilated them.

“Y2K came to nothing amirite?”

Yes because an army of software engineers working around the clock, losing sleep, and busting ass till the last minute prevented it from happening.

“Remember the hole in the ozone layer?”

You mean the one that was fixed through rigorous world wide government action?

One of the root problems of our society is a refusal or inability by media to articulate that all those “it’s gonna be an apocalypse” disasters were not disasters because we collectively did something about them.

The good news is this is actually quite correctable. I maintain my firm belief that we as humans are capable of solving almost all of our problems, when we decide to do so.

And I still think that’s going to happen. I don’t know when or how, but I do know that abandoning hope won’t help bring it about.

I like the laugh lines I’m getting. I don’t want to stress about the shape of my body. I’m wearing graphics of comic book characters. I sit on the floor while brushing my teeth. Who cares what the “normal” way is? Why are they the authority on how I go about my life? I don’t care if this pattern is garish. I don’t care if high waisted, straight leg jeans are unfashionable now; I like them and I’m not going back to the hell that was only knowing about low rise pants while growing up. I’m sewing up the holes in my shirts’ armpits. I’m wearing a mask despite social pressures. I’m wearing the same running sneakers every day because they’re the least painful option. My lobe piercings are empty except for during special occasions, when I confuse people with masculine clothes and dangly earrings. I’m making that patch jacket with my own aesthetic instead of the standard punk/metal band and social justice black patches and white stitching. I read books meant for kids alongside novels made for adults. My hair is in desperate need of a haircut. I browse skirts while standing there flat-chested and in a crisp button-down. I’m fumbling through embroidering patches and I will love their flaws. Fuck gender stereotypes. I’m happily single and refuse to be ashamed of it. I tell strangers how I don’t work and I live with my parents because of disability. My socks aren’t no-show. They have patterns that make me happy. I wear swim trunks without covering up any of the rest of myself. My sunglasses are brightly my favorite color

Live in the US?

Need to call your representative or senator, but nervous about making the phone call?

Do it at 2 am!

I'm not kidding. It will go to voice mail and you don't have to talk to a human person, and your call still counts!

Signed, someone with major phone anxiety who has pushed through it to do this several times now.

If you have questions about Indigenous people's relationship to the Land, about our traditions, about appropriation, how to approach Indigenous peoples respectfully or how to avoid hurting closed practices, ask people from those closed practices and cultures. We're right here!!! You asking the white person like we don't exist, or worse, only taking your answers from other white people, is not as woke as you think it is. It's the opposite of the work you should be doing.

Oh, and no matter how "educated" someone seems, it's still nowhere near accurate from our perspective. White people don't speak for us and they cannot lead these movements, they shouldn't and cannot represent us because these movements exist to de-center and de-platform whiteness. Not to mention, they're still outsiders and they still get things wrong. They're learning and looking in through a window as much as any other white person is. And you're taking all your guidance from them without knowing that, without having any way to tell when they're wrong or misguided, because you're also an outsider. It's literally the blind leading the blind.

There is no way that collective action takes place without individuals making changes in their own lives. Yes, the rich are more responsible than the poor and yes, what we need is systematic change. However, there absolutely are things we can and should be doing to reduce our own impact and put pressure on polluting industries through direct action and boycott.

These include stopping or reducing flying, eliminating or drastically reducing our consumption of meat and dairy, buying second hand where possible, repairing, recycling and supporting environmental action and rewilding efforts. None of this in isolation will mend the world but its a hell of a lot better than passing the buck while refusing to make any changes in our own lives.

I know that the idea that climate change is caused by someone else; somewhere else, and that it’s up to them to change instead of us is seductive rhetoric, but it’s also extremely dangerous. It encourages the kind of apathy that plays directly into the hands of corporations who want us to feel powerless and to continue to consume as we do now.

“In the original press release accompanying the report, CDP said: “100 active fossil fuel producers including ExxonMobil, Shell, BHP Billiton and Gazprom are linked to 71% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions since 1988.”

“This means that the total estimated cumulative greenhouse gas emissions released by human activity (excluding carbon dioxide from land use, land use change and forestry, and agricultural methane) between 1988 and 2015, 71% of those emissions originated from 100 fossil fuel producers. This includes the emissions from producing fossil fuels (like oil, coal and gas), and the subsequent use of the fossil fuels they sell to other companies. Therefore, it might not come as such a surprise that these 100 entities are linked to 71% of human activity-related greenhouse gas emissions, since all 100 are fossil fuel producers.”