The Broke, the Brown, and the Broken

• Help find the funds!  One reason often given for not providing services, access, supports fould bor low income folks is (especially in these economic times) is lack of money.  Make this irrelevant.  Decide to tithe (as my faith tradition calls it), a certain amount of money to helping deal with the effects of climate for disenfranchised folks.
• Rewrite the laws.  As far I’m concerned, if there is a national emergency, you should be able to evacuate for free on mass transit weather you can pay or not.  The transit agency should be able to seek reimbursement from the government as needed.  Secondly, 4 years after Katrina, the effected are still often in shambles.  Democrat John Edwards, as he was running for President, purposed the creation of Gulf Coast cabinet position.  Someone would report to him every week until the problem was fixed.  Good idea!  Obama needs to implament it!   
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• Be the organizers I know you can be.  Organize around issue like economic injustice, disability rights, and racial justice.   It may not all relate to climate change, but you’ll get to know your  more targeted neighbors.  Are those the people who most need protecting in this newfound wacky, weather world?  Open up the phone book.  Make calls.  Ask “What can I do?”  As they say in Jobs with Justice, “Be there for someone else’s struggle.”  Once you gained credit with your newfound organizer friends, of course, be sure to mention their community’s predicament in terms of  climate change.  Odds are, they’ve been too busy to think about anymore than your city planners. 

Here are 3 action steps you can take when you get home.  Support disabled people in their ongoing fight to live at home.  Tell your Congress people to support the Community Choice Act.  HR 1670 and Senate bill 683.  The more disabled people we have walking/rolling the streets, the less likely emergency planners are to forget us in their planning.  Check out ADAPT.org for more information.

1. If you’re interested in participating in direcrect action to bring about community choice d about 500 other activists (who are mostly mobility impaired) and me in Atlanta October 10-15th.  Let me know.  I have the hotel room, already.  You merely need to bring a sleeping bag, a figure out how to get yourself there, and bring food money  (you can survive on about $15 a day in Atlanta).  I don’t care if I have a dozen folks in my room, for justice I will do that, but I get the bed due to back problems.
2. Support the Shishmaref Native Community in the struggle to relocate  Go to (http://www.shishmarefrelocation.com/ for more information.  To quote the website, “the community of Shishmaref has determined that the threat to life and property from reoccurring beach front erosion requires immediate action. The community has taken the first step by establishing an erosion and relocation coalition.”
3. Support community based economics.  The idea that communities can create and determine their own destinies and needs.  Shop locally.  Avoid big box shopping  Challenge capitalism and copyright,  Dedicate yourself to taking care of your neighbors, especially as the good book says, “The least of these.”