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Follow The Green Spotlight on Social Media

Each day, we post one or two morsels of illuminating information or inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. If you have a Facebook account, we hope you’ll Like or Follow our page, and also Share the page or some of its posts with friends sometimes. To make sure that Facebook will continue to show you our posts on your FB homepage/newsfeed, visit our page regularly and interact with (e.g., Like or comment on) a couple of your favorite posts. Otherwise, FB is unlikely to show you most of our posts, due to their unfortunate algorithm.

We also have a Bluesky page, and we welcome you to join us there.

(We no longer have a Twitter page.)

Thank you for being a part of our online communities!

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September 27, 2024
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Vital Information to Share Before the Election

Photo by M. Landman (eagle wave cloud)Please share some of the links and info. below, e.g., on your social media pages, or by emailing or texting them to friends and family. At the end of this post, we also list some quotations (and graphics) that are relevant to voting; you also might want to share a few of those.

Sections:

  • The candidates’ climate/environmental records;
  • DT’s statements, deeds, and character;
  • JD Vance’s statements and character (and lack of experience);
  • GOP’s Project 2025 agenda;
  • GOP’s election interference and subversion plans;
  • Third-party spoiler candidates;
  • Pertinent quotations

The Candidates’ Climate/Environmental Records

Trump’s Statements, Deeds, and Character

Many people seem to have already forgotten about so many of the outrageous and heinous things that DT has said and done over the years (and how awful it was to live through the onslaught of his first term), and many people are too busy to pay much attention to what he’s saying and doing now. There are still so many daily outrages, it’s hard to keep up with all of them or to remember even a fraction of the past outrages. Most of us could use some periodic reminders:

To summarize, DT is a:
1. Convicted felon (34 counts) awaiting sentencing, with 3 other criminal indictments pending trial (91 charges total)
2. Insurrection leader and inciter (traitor)
3. Adjudicated rapist and serial sexual abuser (>27 allegations)
4. Malignant narcissist and sociopath w/ cognitive impairment (per thousands of mental health professionals)
5. Pathological liar and conman
6. Authoritarian and a wannabe dictator who is subservient to Putin (and who regularly praises and expresses admiration for Putin, Kim, and other murderous dictators)
7. National security threat who stole many classified documents (likely including nuclear secrets)
8. Hate-monger and racist, who has praised and is supported by violent hate groups and white supremacists (and has publicly said hateful and insulting things about: veterans, prisoners of war, immigrants, Haitians, Latinos, people of color, Muslims, Jews, gay and trans people, people with disabilities, Native Americans, women, elections officials, disaster responders, peaceful protestors, and many other groups)
9. Failed businessman, a fraud and grifter (company convicted, fraud settlements for fake “charity” and “university,” 6 bankruptcies)

J.D. Vance’s Statements and Character (and lack of experience)

GOP’s Project 2025 Agenda

GOP’s Election Interference & Subversion Plans

Third-party (Spoiler) Candidates

In the U.S. system (unlike some European, proportional-representation systems), third-party candidates are never viable at the national level. So a third-party vote is not only a wasted vote but, because of our undemocratic Electoral College system, a third-party vote (particularly in swing states) quite often serves as a “spoiler” vote that enables the worst of the two viable candidates to win. The small margin of votes for third-party (e.g., Green Party) candidates in the past (e.g., Jill Stein and Ralph Nader) contributed to Trump and Bush winning one of each of their elections (despite the fact that both of them lost the overall/popular vote to the Democratic candidate in those elections). If most of those 3rd party voters had instead voted for Hillary Clinton and Al Gore, those candidates would have won (and our country and world would be in a very different place now, especially the make-up of Supreme Court and their life-altering rulings). This is why the GOP and Russian bots have been actively promoting third-party candidates in this election:

Also see our recent post: Election 2024: Ways to Support Voters and Protect Democracy

An important reminder for everyone:

 

 

And many young people don’t have a photo ID! Everyone should check their state’s official Elections site to find out what their state’s current voter ID requirements are (18 states have passed more stringent ID requirements since 2020!). Or go to VoteRiders.org, or call/text their hotline: 866-432-8683, for info on or assistance with getting voter ID before the election.

 

 

Pertinent Quotations

Voting and politics are not a game, and our decisions about candidates and issues on our ballots are not something to take lightly. Politics and elections (at federal, state, and local levels) matter a lot, because the resulting government policies affect all of our lives, every single day, in countless ways. Therefore, politics is personal, and the personal is unavoidably political.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“People often say, with pride, ‘I’m not interested in politics.’ They might as well say, ‘I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future or any future.’ …If we mean to keep any control over our world and lives, we must be interested in politics.”
– Martha Gellhorn

 “All progress is precarious.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Voting isn’t a valentine. It’s a chess move.”
– Rebecca Solnit

“Our job is not to elect a savior. Our job is to elect someone we can effectively pressure.”
– Bill McKibben

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
– Voltaire

“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it matters most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”

– Haile Selassie

“Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.”
– John Lewis

 

Companion posts to read and share:

To find some good groups to volunteer with or donate to, see:

Election 2024: Ways to Support Voters and Protect Democracy

To find out about your state’s voter registration deadlines, mail/absentee voting options, voter ID requirements, and early voting options in your county, see:

State by State Voting Information and Links

For additional election and voting-related links, see:

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September 5, 2024
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Climate Organizations and Resources: A Directory

The climate movement has been growing much larger and building power in recent years. The vast majority of people in the U.S. and in the world are concerned about the climate and want to see more climate action. And there’s no shortage of climate-focused organizations. But we do need more people who’ve been sitting on the sidelines to join the existing efforts and turn their climate concern into action, so we can reach a critical mass. There is strength in numbers and in collective action.

strength in numbers

You don’t have to identify as an “activist” to amplify, support, or participate in the work of climate organizations, and you don’t need to wait for an invitation to join or to get involved—but if you’d like one, consider this your cordial, official invitation! All of us in the climate movement welcome you!

If you aren’t already familiar with a bunch of climate organizations, check out the list below. I recommend following at least a few of these (or other) climate organizations online (e.g., on social media) to get to know what they’re about and to get a sense of which ones have an approach or a tone that resonates with you the most. Then sign up to join—or get on the mailing list of—one or more of them. And start sharing their posts and actions with others in your social network.

This list of climate organizations is fairly comprehensive but it is not exhaustive. Most of the following groups are based in the U.S. and have a national or international scope, and most are non-profits. Many of these groups have regional or local chapters. (As I learn about other national/international groups over time, I will be adding more to this list.) Many other climate organizations exist, including local, grassroots groups and projects, all over the world. If you can’t find a local group, chapter, or committee in your town, you could start an informal climate group or project in your community, neighborhood, workplace, school, or religious congregation.

Note: In this first list, below, the organizations that are in bold type are the groups that I am most familiar with and feel most comfortable recommending, but all of these organizations have an important role to play. Are you familiar with some of these?

These are organizations for people in particular professions or demographics:

There are also a number of faith-based (religious) climate groups.

Also, many broad-based environmental organizations include climate issues among the spectrum of environmental issues they work on. After all, climate change affects and is affected by every other environmental (and social) issue.

And many other types of environmental organizations with a specific focus (e.g., environmental justice, youth/young people, health, land/forest conservation, animal/species protection, etc.) often also recognize and address climate impacts in their work.

If you would like assistance with identifying a few organizations that are the best fit for your particular interests or your preferred organizational strategies/approaches (e.g., legal, legislative/lobbying, direct action, education/awareness building, etc.), I’m a climate advisor and I can assist you with that.

If you would like to recommend a climate organization that isn’t on this list, please mention it in the Comments!

 

Climate Resources

The following are information sources—including some media/news sites—that provide science-based, fact-based information on the climate crisis and climate solutions. Most of these are based in the U.S.  These sites can help you get more informed or help you educate others about climate issues:

For other environmental and general news sources, see our post on Reputable and Fact-Based News and Information Sources.

For other types of climate resources, also see our post on Books, Films and TV, and TED Talks.

Other relevant posts:

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February 27, 2024
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On Current, Converging Crises

The past 10 years or so, it’s felt like new, large-scale crises emerge almost every day. It’s hard to focus on or prioritize any one issue, as so many issues are of dire importance.

I wish we could live in a world without any traumatic crises or catastrophes. But given that that isn’t a realistic option: I wish we could focus almost all of our attention and efforts on climate action and environmental protection right now, since climate breakdown (and biodiversity loss) is an urgent and worsening crisis (with new climate-related disasters occurring around the world every week) and it requires a bold and immediate response. But this crisis keeps getting overshadowed and crowded out by other real crises and interconnected, existential threats: from the ongoing and ever-morphing COVID-19 pandemic, to the ongoing struggle between democracy/human rights vs. authoritarianism, extremism, and political violence (abroad and at home), to increasing attacks on women’s rights, civil rights, and voting rights in the United States, to war and violence—and all of its attendant issues, including senseless death, destruction, brutality, trauma, and suffering; war crimes, humanitarian crises, mass migration of refugees, nuclear security/safety risks (from threats of nuclear strikes to potentially catastrophic damage to active and inactive nuclear reactors/radioactive waste), environmental contamination (crimes against humanity and nature) and animal suffering, oil and gas supply/dependence, food supply risks, and the resulting economic effects. And this, of course, is only a partial list of significant current issues, the vast majority of which are human-caused.

None of us gets to choose which era we’re born into or what types of historical events and cataclysms we have to live through. But we should all try to rise to the moment we’re in and push for shifts in a more positive direction.

We all have so many personal responsibilities and daily struggles and stressors of our own that it can be very hard to take in what’s going on in other people’s lives and in other parts of the world. Many people turn away because they are already overwhelmed and are in survival mode, and simply can’t cope with or absorb any more sad or scary news or more problems that seem intractable; we all go through certain periods of our lives, or parts of our days, when our own problems (or our families’) are all (or more than) we can handle. Taking on the weight of the world can be crushing. Almost none of us are unscathed or truly OK these days, as most of us are facing numerous challenges at societal and individual levels. It’s important to “put your own oxygen mask on first, before helping others with theirs” because you can’t help others unless you are alive, relatively sane and healthy, and able to function. But whenever we do have the capacity, we should strive to be compassionate, stay aware of what is going on outside of our immediate lives and circumstances, and try to make a difference whenever and wherever we can, however small our efforts may seem, on whatever specific issue(s) we feel we can make an impact on. Helping others (and humanity at large) also gives our own lives a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale

To get updates, information, and expert insights on some of the important issues of our time, you may want to visit (and follow) a couple of my curated lists of Twitter accounts. Note: I created a few of these lists recently, and I regularly add new accounts to each list:

And these are some of The Green Spotlight’s blog posts that are related to current issues:

Posts Related to Democracy and Social Change 

Climate and Energy-Related Solutions, Tips, and Resources

COVID and Long COVID: Important Facts and New Findings [NEW]

COVID Response and Relief

Tips for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response

Wildfire Prevention and Risk Reduction

Resilience: Disaster-Resistant and Adaptive Design and Planning

Animal Protection, Rescue, and Advocacy

Wisdom from Hope in the Dark

Great Quotations on Action, Activism, and Change

There are countless organizations doing important and noble work to address many of the issues mentioned above. It’s not easy for me to narrow down a list of only a few to highlight. But I will try. The following are just a few groups that address big, cross-cutting issues; I will be adding more to this list soon. Because so many of humanity’s issues and crises intersect and spring from the same or similar causes or contributors, it’s helpful to use systems thinking to see the big picture, connect the dots, and synthesize messages and actions; doing so can enable us to address multiple problems at once. (While the following are national and international organizations that have a broad scope, more local/regional, decentralized, grassroots groups and efforts are also extremely important and necessary, and big groups should partner up with small and local groups. There are just way too many grassroots groups in every area of the world to attempt to list them here.)

As for Russia’s war on Ukraine (and the many terrible consequences of it), here are a few things you can do to help or to show solidarity with Ukraine (as well as greater Europe, other countries facing conflicts, and our entire, interconnected world):

  1. Support Global Giving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, other humanitarian aid and disaster response groups, refugee assistance groups, the Clean Futures Fund, or other organizations in the region.
  2. Reduce your use of oil and gas, e.g. by flying less (or not at all), driving less, getting an electric or non-gas-guzzling car (or electric bicycle), supporting renewable energy (via your utility, city, and state), using solar power, switching from gas to electric furnaces and electric/induction stoves (and electric leaf blowers and mowers), getting a heat pump, not heating or cooling your home as much, etc.
  3. Lobby/educate against the use (and development) of nuclear power and nuclear weapons, locally, nationally, and globally. Support: the immediate decommissioning of existing nuclear plants and neutralization of nuclear materials, no-first-use nuke policies, nuclear disarmament and arms reduction policies, uranium mining bans, etc.
  4. Reduce your consumption of wheat/grain-based products, and never waste food. (Ukraine is an agricultural “bread basket” of the world, and its ability to grow grains and other foods will be severely impacted by the war, affecting the food supply and food prices everywhere.) If you have a little space and a little time, grow some food plants on your land/yard/windowsills—ideally enough that you can share some with others. Support local organic farmers and small farms, as well food banks/pantries, gleaning groups, and food security and hunger organizations, locally and globally.
  5. Support and amplify pro-democracy, anti-authoritarian groups and efforts, as well as pro-peace, anti-war groups and efforts.
  6. Plant some sunflowers this spring or summer.
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March 31, 2022
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The Green Spotlight’s Social Media Pages

Each day, we post one or two morsels of illuminating information or inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. If you have a Facebook account, we hope you’ll click on the page’s Like button (if you haven’t already “Liked” or “Followed” the page) and also Share the page or some of its posts with some friends.

Please visit the Page to get a sense of the various topics that it covers. To make sure that Facebook will continue to show you our posts on your Facebook homepage/newsfeed, visit our page regularly and give a thumbs-up to (“Like”) your favorite posts.

We also have a Twitter page, and these topic-specific Twitter lists, which you can follow. Thanks for being a part of our online communities!

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January 27, 2022
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Visit Our Facebook Page

Each day, we post 1 or 2 morsels of illuminating information or inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. If you have a Facebook account, we hope you’ll click on the page’s Like button (if you haven’t already “Liked” or “Followed” the page) and Share the page with some friends.

Please visit the Page to get a sense of the various topics that it covers. We hope you’ll share some of our links. To make sure that Facebook will continue to show you our posts on your Facebook homepage/newsfeed, visit our page regularly and give a thumbs-up to (“Like”) your favorite posts.

 

Here’s a sampling of some topics that we’ve highlighted on the page over the last month or so, including both good news and bad:

  • The cost of renewables has plummeted, making renewable energy the cheapest to produce
  • Tips for keeping your house/building cool and saving energy (and money) on hot days
  • State of New York passes bill with most ambitious climate targets in the country
  • Heat waves and droughts are killing people and other animals (and causing widespread misery) in India and other parts of the world
  • China, the U.S., and Russia spend the most on fossil fuel industry subsidies (the U.S. spends more on these subsidies than on the Pentagon budget, and 10 times more than it spends on education)
  • Three former Republican EPA chiefs say the current Administration and Agency are undermining science, an approach that will have “catastrophic” results
  • People are ingesting 50,000-70,000 microplastics each year (a credit card’s worth of plastic each week), as our plastic garbage has broken down into tiny pieces and entered the food chain
  • Large cruise lines’ major pollution and illegal dumping of waste into the ocean (e.g., Carnival’s cruise ships pollute more than all of Europe’s cars combined)
  • Air pollution can cause dementia and neurological problems and can damage every organ in the body
  • Videos, photos, quotations, etc.

 

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June 26, 2019
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Reputable, Fact-Based News and Information Sources

The protection of our democracy and the livability of our planet and its climate are dependent on having a more well-informed populace. It is increasingly important for people to be able to identify and combat disinformation, propaganda, smears, lies, dogma, unfounded conspiracy theories, and “fake news” from unreliable sources, in an era when online bots and “trolls” are being weaponized from outside and inside our country to spread misinformation by infiltrating social media groups and political campaigns, to wage personal attacks on candidates and sow discord, division, doubt, paranoia, hatred, chaos, and even violence. Many well-intentioned people have been unwittingly spreading lies because they were duped by cleverly concealed information warfare campaigns (often started by their adversaries or hostile regimes).

“Falsehood will fly from Maine to Georgia, while truth is pulling her boots on.”
– C.H. Spurgeon

To be well informed, you need to feed yourself a healthy, balanced diet of nutritious, fact-based, high-quality information. Avoid ingesting (or sharing) junk. Avoid all tabloids and sensationalist, entertainment-focused media; also avoid watching most cable news (especially FOX “News,” which has essentially become a fact-free outrage machine and propaganda arm of the GOP), panels of shouting pundits, and all Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned news stations. Avoid sharing articles that may not be accurate, or information that comes from highly biased or hyper-partisan publications/sources or from unknown or potentially illegitimate sources. If you’re in doubt about the accuracy of a claim, look it up on the key fact-checking sites (e.g., Factcheck.org, Politifact.com) and do a Google search to see what several reliable sources say about it.

Most importantly, seek out (and share) news from the most truth-seeking, investigative, and reputable media outlets. Of course, some journalists and reports are better than others, and even strong publications will have flawed pieces or flawed fact-checking sometimes. Readers still need to be able to engage in critical thinking, and to be able to distinguish between factual news reporting and opinion pieces (or PR pieces) from commentators, columnists, or pundits. Educators should help teach students these essential skills.

Here are a few media outlets that have regularly produced sound, informative reporting and are widely considered to be reliable, fair, trusted sources of news (though of course no publication, journalist, or human can or will ever be 100% bias-free or mistake-free):

Some additional publications that are also well-regarded and often feature informative articles (but that have sometimes been prone to more criticism or may require a more skeptical eye on certain pieces) include:

The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Mother Jones, The New York Times, The Economist, Slate, The New Republic, Salon, Bloomberg, Politico, and The Nation.

Note: This is, of course, not an exhaustive or even comprehensive list of media worth paying attention to. If there are other trusted publications that you regularly read, feel free to mention them in the Comments.

Also be sure to check out the following:

Environment, Climate, Energy, and Science Media

Also see: End Climate Silence  (Twitter page)

Fact-checking Sites

Media Integrity/Watchdog Groups

Press Freedom Advocates

 

Please follow our Twitter list that includes the media and organizations listed above.

It’s important that those of us who can pay something for real journalism actually do so, so that real news outlets (including local/regional newspapers and local public radio stations) can survive and not be entirely driven out by profit- and ratings-driven, sensationalist media (and lie-spreading, non-journalistic websites). Choose at least one reputable news source to subscribe to as a paid subscriber—ideally at least one local and one national or international publication—to be informed, to show your support, and to help keep them afloat. We can’t expect competent, professional journalists and writers to work for free, and we don’t want news media to be reliant solely on their major advertisers, who might expect them to alter (or censor) their content to serve the advertisers’ special interests.

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March 28, 2019
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Check Out Our Facebook Page

We post daily morsels of illuminating information and inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. If you have a Facebook account, we hope you’ll click on the page’s Like button (if you haven’t already “Liked” or “Followed” the page) and Share the page with your friends.

Please visit the Page to get a sense of the various topics that it covers. We hope you’ll share some of our links. To make sure that Facebook will continue to show you our posts on your Facebook homepage/newsfeed, visit our page regularly and give a thumbs-up to (“Like”) your favorite posts.

Here’s a sampling of some topics that we’ve highlighted on the page over the last month or so, including both good news and bad:

  • Ireland is completely divesting from fossil fuels (and has also banned fracking)
  • TransMountain pipeline approvals revoked by court
  • Protect the Protest: a new alliance of environmental and civil liberties groups
  • In 40 states, electricity from renewable sources is cheaper than the existing power supply
  • Air pollution causes lower IQ and other neurological deficits and diseases
  • Climate grief and depression
  • Traverse City, Michigan and Denver, Colorado set 100% renewable energy goals
  • Mexican President plans to ban fracking
  • Monsanto ordered to pay $289 million as jury rules Roundup caused man’s cancer
  • Poisonous red tides and toxic algae blooms worse than ever in Florida this summer
  • Teenagers’ climate lawsuit moves forward
  • Administration proposes weakening the Endangered Species Act
  • PFAS contamination in Michigan
  • Wildfires and heat waves around the world, including at the Arctic Circle
  • Quotations, photos, videos, cartoons, etc.

 

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August 31, 2018
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Join our Facebook Page for a daily dose of good green news

You can find fresh, daily morsels of information and inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. Anyone can view the page, even if you don’t have a Facebook account. But if you do have an account, we hope you’ll click on the Like button (if you haven’t already “Liked” the page).

Please visit the Page to get a sense of the wide variety of topics that it covers, and you are welcome to comment on the posts and share your own recommended links. We’d like to get your feedback on the information we’re providing.

Here’s a sampling of topics that we’ve spotlighted on the page over the last month or so:

  • The Human Experiment film, narrated by Sean Penn
  • Union of Concerned Scientists’ paid internships
  • Sungevity’s zero-down solar leases
  • Climate Progress
  • Energy-saving tips
  • Wangari Maathai
  • “Ecocide is a Crime” campaign
  • Keystone XL and tar sands protests
  • Non-GMO Shopping Guide app
  • Americans Against Fracking
  • World Solar Challenge solar-powered cars
  • Dr. Vandana Shiva, and her organization Navdanya
  • Great quotations, graphics, photos, and cartoons
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September 30, 2013
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