#78: Climate is a team sport

On finding your community

Jul 24, 2023

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!

Let’s get something straight – I know nothing about football. I Googled ‘how many players are on a soccer team’ for this article and only just learned who Sam Kerr is. Yet armed as I am with only a rough grasp of the rules and the basic premise (ball into goal, right?) I have become absolutely hooked on the Women’s World Cup!

Maybe it’s got something to do with the separation from the lager-soaked lad culture of its all-male counterpart. But I have a hunch that it’s more to do with the impeccable, precise teamwork displayed by these athletes. I’m addicted to watching the ball bounce seemingly effortlessly between players, each one backing the other up and appearing in the right place just when they are needed.

The many hands of the US womens football team reaching up towards the world cup trophy. — Lone wolves do not a goal make – and, lazy sports metaphor or not, I think it’s true of our goal *(source).*

The climate crisis is not a game, but I suspect teams are going to be just as important to our success. In my own experience and from seeing those around me, climate change has a tendency to pull us inwards – our pain, panic, and determination are often very private. This isn’t helped by the media narrative about personal responsibility and the politically charged nature of many climate conversations. However, the result often is a lot of lone wolves trying to do what they can, but being increasingly overwhelmed by the scale of the problem.

Lone wolves do not a goal make – and, lazy sports metaphor or not, I think it’s true of our goal. Working against the climate crisis is a huge load. Whether you’re a seasoned activist or someone watching horrified at the news, you simply can’t carry it alone. Teams and communities are a way to pull us out of ourselves into something more powerful for sure, but also healthier. Being part of a team gives us a chance to take a break, regroup and gain perspective. It also gives us a reason to keep going without falling into despair.

Remember online communities are also teams. Together we are the Climate Club team – over 2000 of us. Every week, our actions progress the work of other teammates on the front lines of policy or protest. Maybe you don’t feel like you are scoring a goal every week, but collectively as a community we are making sure the ball is moving in the right direction.

If you’d like to join another, perhaps local in-person climate group, we’d love to help. Reply to this email with your areas of interest, skills, and volunteering availability (hours per week), and we’ll try to match you up with a local climate group.

What can we do today?

The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was the link to sign Bike Auckland’s open letter to Waka Kotahi NZTA as part of the Liberate the Lane campaign.

🐝 If you have 5 minutes: A new Golden Triangle train is the right angle

Have you heard of “the Golden Triangle” of Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga? And yet we’re going backwards on serving this area that holds the majority of our population and growth.
Action: Sign the petition to get the Te Huia (Hamilton-Auckland) train back into Central Auckland
350 Ōtepoti are calling for Dunedin City Council to support energy which is 100% clean, renewable and locally generated. Their three key demands support energy sovereignty, and enable communities to be part of the solution.
Action: Add your name to the open letter here
Cost of living is heavily impacted by extreme weather. A basic income payment is a concrete step to tackle poverty by ensuring kiwis are fed and sheltered as climate change continues.
Action: Sign the petition to support a Basic Income payment for everyone

🐇 If you have 15 minutes: Here comes the future

Auckland’s draft Future Development Strategy does a good job of recognising that urban sprawl is making it hard to reduce emissions, but it’s getting a lot of opposition from the housing sector and right-wing organisations. We need to stress that an effective climate approach puts development money towards better regulations to ensure we have perimeter block housing (not just backyard infill), and buses & safe cycle lanes in all parts of the city (not just the wealthy areas).
Action, due 31 July: Submit on Auckland’s Future Development Strategy, emphasising your support for closer communities and limiting urban sprawl, using this submission guide or this article for pointers.

💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Ferry me home

350 have created a short film that features Community Energy Projects in Aotearoa and their benefits for people and the planet.
Action: Meet other people in your community by attending a screening for 350’s documentary on community energy projects in Aotearoa (FB events here)
Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland: Auckland Transport has just released their Regional Public Transport Plan 2023-2031! It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style submission, so you can plough through the whole document (120 pages) or just choose the themes that you want to comment on.
Action: Give feedback on the Regional Public Transport Plan 2023-2031
Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland: Overjoyed with the reliability and affordability of the Waiheke ferry? Nope, neither is anyone else. The recent 19% price hike makes the Waiheke ferry one of the most expensive in the world per km ($59 for a return ticket to Waiheke Island). Affordable public transport is essential to combating the climate and cost of living crisis.
Action, Sat 30 July: Join mana whenua, community members & business owners to protest for fair fares on the Waiheke ferry

Wins!

Emissions have fallen in Aotearoa for 3 years straight! Hopefully we can make 2019 our peak emission year and stay on the right track.

That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this really interesting article about Europe’s guerilla rewilders taking the health of their lands into their own hands.

See you next week,

Cathy & the Climate Club team

Climate Club