What do Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan,
Turkey, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the USA have in
common?

These are all countries where organizing is taking place
toward actions on November 4th or, in Africa, on the 11th as
part of worldwide International Days of Climate Action. This
campaign is building upon successful actions held last year
on Dec. 3rd, the first International Day of Climate Action,
in about 20 countries. 80,000 participated last year; many
more are expected this year. To find out more go to
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org.

The November actions will be taking place at the same time
that a major United Nations Climate Change conference is
happening in Nairobi, Kenya from Nov. 6-17. By our united
actions we will be speaking with one loud voice to demand
that the governments of the world accelerate and deepen
their commitment to take action to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.

For those of us who understand the urgency of the climate
crisis, this is very good news. It is a much-needed
development, given the disturbing news that keeps emerging
of how far advanced global heating really is. Just
yesterday, Reuters reported that “Arctic perennial sea
ice — the kind that stays frozen year-round — declined by
14 percent between 2004 and 2005, climate scientists said on
Wednesday.” 14% in one year!!

For those of us in the United States, November 4th presents
both challenges and an opportunity.
One challenge is for us to step up to the plate and do our
part as residents of the country which leads the world in
the spewing out of greenhouse gases, 23% of the worldwide
total. To make matters worse, the USA, under the
mis-leadership of Bush/Cheney, is THE country doing the most
to obstruct and frustrate the efforts of other countries to
deal with this serious crisis.

We cannot allow ExxonMobil and other oil companies to keep
setting energy policy for our country and too much of the
world!

But there is also a specific challenge having to do with the
November 4th date: it is only three days before a very
important national election in the USA. Many activists, in
different ways, will be working over the coming weeks to
have an impact on those elections, to get a different
Congress that is more likely to stand up to Bush/Cheney on
energy policy, the war and a whole host of issues.

This will only happen, of course, if we continue to build a
grassroots-based progressive movement that brings
issue-oriented pressure to bear on whoever is elected.

Which is why those of us who have begun working toward
actions on November 4th think that this challenge of
closeness to the elections can become an opportunity.

What if, on November 4th, all over the country, in scores of
neighborhoods, towns and cities, many thousands of people
gathered early in the day to rally in support of the federal
government passing legislation to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 80%, the amount scientists say is needed to
stabilize our climate? Such legislation was introduced this
summer in both the House and the Senate:
http://www.house.gov/waxman/safeclimate/index.htm and
http://jeffords.senate.gov/~jeffords/press/06/07/072006climatebill.html .

What if the local organizers of these rallies figured out a
creative approach for them, or lined up people to speak who
had name recognition in the area, such that when they did
systematic outreach to local media they got a positive
response? Then, a few days before the election, millions of
voters would be hearing about a national movement, one
connected internationally, that is urging voters to only
vote for candidates who have good positions on climate
issues.

What if after those rallies people went to shopping areas,
door to door or busy street corners with literature
providing information on the positions of local candidates
on climate issues and websites where people could get more
information?

And what if this work was continued up until Tuesday,
November 7th, such that huge numbers of voters went to the
polls with this information fresh in their mind?

Let’s not underestimate our power: we could have a
significant impact, short- and longer-term.
Recent polling has shown that huge majorities of U.S.
Americans-around 70%– are concerned about global warming
and want government to take action on it. The fields are
fertile for the organizers willing to go out and do the
work. Don’t mourn, organize!

You can find out more about how to endorse and organize for
November 4th actions, as well as about climate issues, at
http://www.climatecrisiscoalition.org or http://www.climateemergency.org
or by contacting Ted Glick at usajointheworld@igc.org,
973-338-5398.