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Dear Friends,

The propensity of humans to pretend all is well when it’s not is hardly new. Look back 2,600 years, when Jeremiah warned Israel of impending doom at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, only to be ridiculed and ignored. Closer to home, look back 75 years, when millions of Americans resisted taking action against Hitler despite irrefutable evidence of the genocide of European Jews.

The human instinct to pretend all is right when it isn’t runs deep. With the announcement last week that July was Earth’s hottest month on record, now would be a great time for humanity to grapple with this instinct and move beyond the denial of climate change. Yet a passionate core of deniers remains vocal in its resistance despite the preponderance of evidence.

A sampling of comments on my Facebook page last week drives this point home:

Frank Allen writes: “BS that’s all this climate change is Its called weather you dweebs”

Steve Jensen writes: “Bahahahaha ! A true libtard. Straight from the public library – climate action news!”

Tim Henning writes: “Worry about something meaningful and knock off useless fear mongering about weather not being the way you want it. Dumb !!”

Kelly Harbeson writes: “Oh yeah! Who better to try to sell your climate alarmism the a pandering prostitute of a politician.”

All dudes, I might point out. It’s not just a so-called “pandering prostitute of a politician” these folks choose to ignore. It’s the US military. The insurance industry. Monsanto. Weather.com. Ninety-seven percent of all scientists. These are the Jeremiahs of the climate crisis. But instead of the tattered clothes of a Biblical prophet, they wear suits, uniforms and white lab coats. They are the establishment. They “get” climate change.

Still, the deniers persist.

But I take heart. What we’re seeing is the last flailing backlash of the Ostrich Society, of those who fear change and thus bury their heads deep in habits and ideologies that will soon be untenable as we struggle to adapt in the New Climate Era. Of course, we stand a better chance of adaptation – survival, even – if we get with the program sooner rather than later.

Time is not on our side. Action is needed – urgently, passionately, immediately.

This is why I walk – across America in 2014, across Iowa along the proposed pipeline route earlier this year, and from Normandy to Paris this coming November.

This is why it’s important to repeatedly, persistently, politely “bird-dog” presidential candidates, until they understand that they MUST take climate change seriously if they are to have our support.

That is why we Pledge to Mobilize, so that the moral and political force of hundreds of thousands of Americans signing their names to the Pledge makes it impossible for our elected officials NOT to take action.

This is why what happens in Paris at the U.N. Climate Summit later this year is critical. Never has such an assembly been so timely . . . and ironically, so ignored by the mainstream media in the U.S.

Finally, this is why, to paraphrase Gandhi, every little thing we do toward creating a better world is important, even though it may seem insignificant. Writing a letter to the editor, speaking publicly, talking with friends and family, helping a candidate for public office. In normal times, we do these things on issues we care about. In times of crisis, such as this, we must do them with a deep sense of urgency . . . because our future depends on it.

Ed Fallon

EVENTS

Now-December – Utilities Board deliberations pipeline (ND, SD, IA, IL)
In Iowa, for details on the evolving schedule, visit https://iub.iowa.gov/. For questions on how you can have your voice heard in the process, contact Ed Fallon at fallonforum@gmail.com or the Bakken Pipeline Resistance Facebook Page.

August 29 – Immigration and New American Forum (Storm Lake)
This is a nonpartisan forum moderated by Kyle Munson of the Des Moines Register, with 2016 candidates from both parties invited. Watch for more info including transportation options from several Iowa communities. At Buena Vista University. For more detail and to register: http://iowaimmigration.org/.

August 30 – Progress Iowa Corn Feed (Des Moines)
Join us for Iowa sweet corn and progressive ideas! Tom Harkin, Lincoln Chafee, Ben & Jerry, Dave Loebsack, and Joaquin Castro will all speak, along with every Democratic candidate for Congress and Senate across Iowa. At Simon Estes Amphitheater. For more detail and to buy tickets: http://progressiowa.org/cornfeed.

September – Just Faith Meetings (Des Moines metro)
The Center for Social Ministry regularly offers the Just Faith classes to anyone who is interested. It is an in-depth look at the call for social ministry, with both a Catholic and an ecumenical version:
– Mondays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at SS John & Paul Church, Altoona
– Tuesdays 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Episcopal, WDM
– Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal, 6th & High, DM
– Thursdays 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Catholic Pastoral Center, 6th & Locust
– Thursdays  6:00-8:00 p.m. at Friends House, 4211 Grand Ave, DM
– Sundays 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Windsor Heights Presbyterian Church
If you would like to register for a group, click here.  For more information about Just Faith, contact the Center for Social Ministry at (515) 782-3054 or centerforsocialministry@gmail.com.

September 17 – Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship
Do you know someone who works tirelessly in defense of their community against the oil and gas industry’s harms? Nominate them for the FracTracker and Halt the Harm Network Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship. Nominations open until August 17. To nominate someone visit: http://www.fractracker.org/get-involved/sentinel-award.

October 2-3 – Celebrate 40 Years with Iowa CCI (Des Moines)
Join Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement to celebrate 40 years of tackling tough issues and to lift up the People and Planet First agenda. There will be live music and dancing, food, and big-name doers and thinkers. For more information or to register, go to http://iowacci.org.

October 31 – ISIS & Waging Peace (Des Moines)
Methodist Federation for Social Action’s fall statewide gathering will be led by Jeffrey Weiss, Catholic Peace Ministry Peace Education Director. It’s at 10:00 a.m. in Fellowship Hall at First United Methodist Church, 1001 Pleasant Street.

November 11-28 – Walk to Paris for Climate Action (Normandy-Paris)
On 11 November (Veterans Day in the U.S.), Ed Fallon and Steve Martin (who last year walked across the U.S. for action on climate change) will set-out from the coast of Normandy, France, walking over 350 kilometers to arrive in Paris on November 28 for the start of the United Nations Climate Summit. Contact Evelyn Davis at evelyn@climatemarch.org.

November 30-December 11 – U.N. Climate Summit (Paris, France)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders from government, finance, business, and civil society to galvanize and catalyze climate action. He has asked these leaders to bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement. Visit http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/.