About Us

The Climate Crisis Coalition was founded in 2004 to create awareness and convey a sense of urgency about the climate crisis and broaden the constituency of the climate action movement. Our mission was also to approach climate change from the holistic perspective that links issues of environmental, social and economic equity. In light of how quickly the movement is now growing, CCC believes that this linkage of issues is ever more important, especially during this 2008 election year.

Climate Policy
CCC backs sweeping legislative, policy initiatives on every level of government: local, state, regional and national. We also regard a strong post-Kyoto treaty as imperative. Industrialized countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% (from 1990) levels by 2050. Worldwide, this reduction must be at least 50%. And there must be a firm timetable. (For industrialized countries that would include a 25% reduction by 2020.) Arguably, even these goals are insufficient, but they represent a legitimate start. CCC believes that carbon taxes (progressive tax shifts) are preferable to cap-and-trade systems, which might be more politically expedient but would certainly be far more bureaucratic and harder to monitor and enforce. Furthermore, the roadmap should not involve a reliance on “clean coal” or nuclear energy. Those technologies might be more convenient for highly centralized infrastructures, but they also introduce a multitude of problems likely to exacerbate an already precarious situation. Decentralized power is preferable, both environmentally and from the perspective of social and economic equity.

Putting Technology to Work
Our ultimate goal -- to rewire the globe with clean energy -- will do far more than stave off the most disruptive impacts of global climate change. It will create millions of jobs all over the world. It will provide economic independence for developing countries. It will address the economic desperation that underlies anti-Western terrorism. It will liberate the U.S. from its destructive military and diplomatic entanglements in the Middle East. It will substantially expand the overall wealth and equity of the global economy. It will begin to put democratically-determined boundaries around multi-national corporations. And, it will mark a major step toward peace among people and peace between people and nature. This effort will clearly require a remarkable level of engagement between all levels of government, business interests and citizens around the world.

Personal Empowerment and Local Action
Even with the strongest imaginable climate policy on every level of government, together with the most aggressive possible international push toward green technology, the climate crisis will remain with us until we win over the hearts and minds of individual Earth citizens everywhere. We all must accept ownership of the problem as well as the solution. To help people make the needed changes in their own lives and in their local communities, we promote the concept of circles – of small groups meeting to exchange information, to identify specific action they can take, and to share feelings and experiences about trying to make a difference. With electronic information playing such a dominant role, we too often miss out on the personal interactions with neighbors, friends and associates that can help us come to terms with the daunting aspects of climate change and what we can do about it. To help fill this void, allies in the Boston area are working on a model, that we plan to promote, for structuring a circle. It is called Earth Circles that we think will be especially helpful and empowering. In our home base of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, we have been working on models for community action. We’ve been urging people to get their towns to pass resolutions and form “green teams” to lighten their community’s carbon footprint. So far seven towns in the county are on board. We’ve got 25 to go.

Coalition Building
CCC was founded on the premises that we would serve as a coalition of broad range groups and constituencies concerned about climate issues, especially those beyond the range of traditional environmental groups. Over the years, we have sponsored several meetings, forums and workshops around developing a common agenda among diverse constituencies, representing peace, social justice, civil rights, labor, business, civil liberties, farmers, students, academics, health professionals, people of color and people of faith – as well as the environmental movement. Three of the events have been co-hosted with SEIU 1199 in New York City. In this critical 2008 election year, we are particularly intent on using our role as a coalition to further an aggressive agenda that addresses the climate crisis from the perspective of environmental, social and economic justice. We are doing all we can to encourage people to get involved – in their communities and in the national elections.

Contributions
CCC relies almost exclusively on private contributions from supporters.

Check should be made out to the Climate Crisis Coalition. If you
would like a tax deduction, your contribution should be $50 or more
and made out to our fiscal sponsor, The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute. 

All contributions should be sent to:
Climate Crisis Coalition
P.O. Box 125
South Lee, MA 01260

You can also make a secure donation online at our website: www.climatecrisiscoalition.org.