cast none out of my heart , a boat big enough for everyone .
My life changed , inside and out , when I discovered Citizens ’ Climate Lobby .
When I moved to Flagstaff in 2013 , I knew climate change was happening , but I didn ’ t think about it much . Recently married , settling into my routine as an ObGyn at a local clinic , I relished the fresh air , friendly people , and visceral joy of taking care of pregnant women and their babies . I might think of climate change when the unusually warm summer or declining snowpack came up in conversation , but seldom otherwise . I certainly wasn ’ t exploring how to listen to someone who doesn ’ t acknowledge climate change , or investigating practical solutions .
On Earth Day 2014 , Bill McKibben ’ s keynote talk at Northern Arizona University hammered home the implications of an unstable climate . In story after story , he explained how poor communities all over the world are already reeling under rising temperatures , rising seas , and unreliable weather patterns . My comfortable life , largely afforded me by fossil fuels previously and currently burned , allows me to ignore climate change in a way others can ’ t .
Recognizing that individual actions like changing light bulbs or biking to work aren ’ t powerful or fast enough to fix the problem , McKibben recommended global divestment from fossil fuel companies as the only adequate response to business models that are “ incompatible with life .” But I didn ’ t see how divestment translated into something I could act on , and I didn ’ t have much faith it would work . ( As you probably know , I was wrong .)
For the next six months I was in despair , fully aware of the reality , urgency , and injustice of climate change , but hopeless that anything I might do or say could possibly matter . It felt good , temporarily , to let anger at fossil fuel executives and climate deniers build up , but after a while this just fed into cynicism and disempowerment . My meditation practice included exercises to soften my heart , even to those I found difficult , and yet climate activism seemed to call for justified disdain , for self-righteous exclusion .
That fall , a brief line in the paper announced an introductory meeting to Citizens ’ Climate Lobby ( CCL ), advocating policy solutions to climate change . With low expectations , I spent a long evening learning about Carbon Fee and Dividend and CCL ’ s methodology of appreciation , respect and relationship-building . By the end of that workshop I knew I had found my home .
Susan Secord , a volunteer from Boulder , had driven to Flagstaff on her own dime to plant the seed of a chapter here . She explained the history of CCL , a national , nonpartisan , volunteer-run group founded by a concerned real estate mogul and his friends . We learned about CCL ’ s market-based proposal and practiced explaining it to each other : a fee is assessed on fossil fuels when they enter the economy , whether at the border , wellhead or mine , based on how much CO2 they ’ ll emit when burned . The net proceeds are returned to American households as a dividend ; we can spend the money how we like . The fee starts relatively low so that the economy isn ’ t shocked , rising predictably each year . This sends a clear market signal , allowing businesses and investors to plan for rising costs , and resulting in rapid divestment from fossil fuels , not because it ’ s the right thing to do , but because it makes economic sense . Government doesn ’ t grow , because all the revenue is returned to the American people ; the poor and middle class are protected from rising costs by the dividend landing in their pockets each month . A border adjustment protects manufacturers and keeps jobs in the US . An independent economic analysis of the proposal suggests GDP and jobs would
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