Welcome
Is This OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY AND THE PLANET?
IT'S NOT A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION. BOTH ARE AT STAKE .
The Statement: What's At Stake
In a word, everything. A potentially violent insurrectionist movement threatens to undo our democracy. Its leaders have repeatedly said so, and we have good reasons to believe them. But an even larger danger is on our doorstep: searing heat, massive storms, and floods, fire, and drought threaten to force tens of millions of Americans to permanently flee their homes.
Both the assault on democracy and climate chaos are on the ballot in 2024. They are converging crises that threaten to destroy our common future. If successful, the assault on the institutions of democracy would destroy much of the capacity and political will necessary to deal with a rapidly destabilizing global climate. Millions of climate refugees fleeing newly uninhabitable places will stress governments at all levels and trigger conflicts over water, food, resources, and land. Such conflicts will push already overstressed domestic and international institutions to the breaking point.
Whether and how we respond to the crisis of democracy will determine whether we can manage the long emergency of climate change. What needs to be done? Obviously, a lot, starting with the election of 2024.
Many people have given up on democracy, hoping that authoritarian leaders will prove tougher and more effective.
History shows, however, that authoritarian leaders maintain power by violence, corruption, and lies, not by solving complex long-term problems like climate change. The case for democracy, on the other hand, is anchored in the beliefs that “we the people” have an unalienable right to say how we are governed, by whom, and to what ends, and that no one can be trusted with unchecked power. The climate crisis adds another: without an engaged, competent, and supportive citizenry—that “mighty reservoir of experience, knowledge, beauty, love and deed”—no government can cope with the full effects of a destabilizing climate.
But time is short and “There is such a thing as being too late” as Martin Luther King warned. What’s at stake in 2024? Nothing less than the peoples’ right to imagine and create a just, decent, and democratic future on a habitable Earth.
Endorsed by:
1. Aru Shiney-Ajay, Sunrise Movement
2. Deborah Allerton, Grand Junction, CO
3. Gar Alperovitz, historian
4. Jim Antal, Special Adviser, UCC General Minister
5. James Aronson, Ecological Health Network
6. Vicki Assevero, Fellow, Berkeley College, Yale University
7. Richard Ayres, co-founder, Natural Resources Defense Council
8. Hans Baer,
9. David Barash, Emeritus University of Washington
10. Leslie Barclay
11. Rev. Dr. Andrew Barnett, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta
12. Roberta Baskin, journalist
13. Pamela Bathurst
14. Maddalena Bearzi, President, Ocean Conservation Society
15. William Becker, Presidential Climate Action Project
16. Frances Beinecke, President Emerita, NRDC
17. Chris Bentley, Pet Sustainability Coalition
18. Peter Bradford, former Commissioner U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
19. Harriette Brainard, Journalist
20. Margaret Breen, Hickory Lane Book Group
21. Jolie Brawner, Director, Coalition for a Regenerative Future
22. Marvin T. Brown, retired
23. Kenny Bruno, Cloud Mountain Foundation
24. Spike Buckley, Denver, CO
25. David R. Bryant, Go Green LaGrange
26. Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University
27. Cheryl Charles, Steering Committee, IUCN Commission on Education & Communication
28. Aimée Christensen, CEO Christensen Global
29. Chip Comins, President, American Renewable Energy Institute
30. Robert Corell, Director, Global Environment and Technology Foundation
31. Robert Costanza, Institute for Global Prosperity, University College, London
32. Stan Cox
33. Peter Coyote, actor, writer
34. Davida Foy Crabtree, Co-Chair, Third Act Connecticut
35. W. Bowman Cutter, economist, businessman
36. David Daley, journalist and author, Antidemocratic
37. Laurent A. Parks Daloz, SSAFE
38. Sharon Daloz Parks, SSAFE
39. Reid Detchon, Senior Advisor for Climate Solutions, United Nations Foundation
40. Rev. Carol Devine, EcoAmerica
41. Michael Dove, Yale University
42. Rev. Gerald Durley, Atlanta, GA, Chair Emeritus Interfaith Power & Light
43. Jon Erickson, Professor, University of Vermont
44. Jacqueline Fischer, Educator
45. Anthony Flaccavento, Executive Director, Rural Urban Bridge
46. Grazia Francescato, former member of Italian Parliament
47. Benno Friedman, Director, Cloud Mountain Foundation
48. Howard Frumkin, MD, Trust for Public Land
49. Gordon Geballe, Lecturer Emeritus, Yale School of the Environment
50. Michael Gerrard, Professor, Columbia Law School
51. Peter Gleick, Co-Founder, Senior Fellow Pacific Institute, Oakland, CA
52. Jeff Golden, Oregon State Senator
53. Jeff Goodell, journalist, author The Heat Will Kill You First
54. Michelle Goodwin, Executive Director, Senior Stewards Acting for the EnvironmentBio
55. Neva Goodwin, Co-Director, Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University
56. Doria Gordon, Biologist, University of Florida
57. Mary Gorham, Executive coach
58. John Grim, Yale Forum on Religio and Ecology
59. Peter Haas, Professor Emeritus, Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
60. Jacob Hacker, Political Science, Yale University
61. Thomas Hanley, Co-Chair, communications Third Act, CT
62. Bobbi Hapgood, President, Ryobi Foundation
63. Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator, Colorado
64. Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith
65. John Harte, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Berkeley
66. Denis Hayes, former President, Bullitt Foundation
67. Randy Hayes, Executive Director, Foundation Earth
68. Susan Joy Hassol, Climate Communication
69. David Hawkins, former Assistant Administrator, U.S. EPA
70. Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute
71. Allen Hershkowitz, Environmental Scientist
72. Susan Hess, (ret)
73. Thomas Hess, University of Idaho, (ret)
74. Kathy Wagner Hill, Center for Data Analytics, Johns Hopkins University
75. John P. Holdren, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
76. John Isham, Middlebury College
77. Bruce Jennings, Vanderbilt University, Senior Fellow, Humans and Nature
78. Elise Joshi, Executive Director, Gen-Z for Change
79. Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder
80. Margo King, Boulder, CO
81. David Korten, President, Living Economies Forum
82. Fran Korten, Contributor, Yes! Magazine
83. Skip Laitner, Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates, Tucson
84. Bill Landis, Sperryville, VA
85. Annie Leonard, author, The Story of Stuff
86. Daniel Lindvall, Uppsala University, SE
87. Richard Louv, author, Last Child in the Woods
88. Hunter Lovins, President, Natural Capital Solutions
89. Frank Loy, former Under Secretary of State and Head U.S. Climate Negotiator
90. Andrew Maguire, U.S. Congress, ret.
91. Joel Makower, Chairman and Co-founder GreenBiz Group
92. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor, University of Pennsylvania
93. Ben Manski, Director of Next System Studies, George Mason University
94. James May, Law School, Washburn University
95. Bill McKibben, Middlebury College
96. Charles McNeill, Senior Adviser, UNDP
97. Laurie Michaels, Partner, The 2030 Fund
98. Alan Miller, International Finance Corporation, ret.
99. Asher Miller, Post Carbon Institute
100. Tyson Miller, Executive Director, Earth Insight
101. Jamie Minden,
102. Wendell Mottley,
103. Frank Nemanich, Environmental Scientist, Colorado
104. Richard B. Norgaard, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
105. Michael Northrop, Program Director, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
106. Naomi Oreskes, Harvard University
107. David W. Orr, Professor of Practice, Arizona State University, Oberlin College, Emeritus
108. Clyde Owan, ret.
109. Pat Parenteau, Vermont Law School
110. Jane Pargitr, EcoFlight, Aspen, CO
111. David Pepper, Attorney, writer
112. Paul Pierson, Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
113. Zygmunt Plater, Boston College Law School, University of Maine School of Law
114. Rafe Pomerance, Woodwell Climate Research Center,
115. Jonathan Porritt, GreenFutures (UK)
116. Charlie Post, Grand Juntion, CO
117. John Powers, Alliance for Collective Action, Denver, Colorado
118. Peter Raven, President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden
119. Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, Professor University of California
120. Robert Rich, Yale University
121. Taylor Ricketts, Director Gund Institute, University of Vermont
122. Bill Ritter, Former Governor, Colorado
123. Kim Stanley Robinson, Writer.
124. Johan Rockström, climate scientist, Potsdam Institute
125. Jenny Rushlow, Vermont Law School
126. Udo Simonis, Economist
127. E. W. Stetson,
128. Heather L. Ross, Former Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
129. Juliet Schor, Boston College
130. Larry Schweiger, Chairman of the Climate Reality Action Fund
131. Rev. Dale Sewall, Seattle
132. Iveta Silova, Professor, Arizona State University
133. Udo Simonis,
134. Stephen Shafer, Columbia University (ret)
135. Karen Sjoberg, Citizens for Clean Air, Grand Junction, CO
136. Timothy Snyder, Historian, Yale University
137. Katherine Soper, Professor Emeritus, London Metropolitan University (UK)
138. Gus Speth, Yale University, retired
139. Fred Stanback, Salisbury, NC
140. John Steiner, Bridge Alliance Mediators Foundation
141. Wen Stephenson, journalist and author, contributing writer, The Nation
142. Edward L. Strohbehn, Jr. Attorney,
143. Joseph Sullivan, Co-chair, Uplift Democracy & Voting Team, Third Act, CT
144. Leeann Sullivan, Political scientist
145. Betsy Taylor, philanthropic adviser
146. Paul Teske, Dean, University of Colorado, Denver
147. Kevin Trenberth, Climate scientist
148. Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
149. John Vaillant, author Fire Weather
150. Peter Victor, Professor Emeritus, York University
151. Mathis Wackernagel, Founder, Global Footprint Network
152. Gernot Wagner, Columbia University Business School
153. Michael Wallace,
154. Stewart Wallis, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance
155. Daniel Wildcat, Haskell University
156. Chris Weible, University of Colorado, Denver
157. Ken Whitt, Pastor, American Baptist Churches, USA
158. Terry Tempest Williams, writer in residence, Harvard Divinity School
159. Hon. Timothy E. Wirth, U.S. Senate (Ret), Board the United Nations Foundation
160. Ms. Wren Wirth, The Winslow Foundation
161. Rev. Dr. Nancy Wright, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
162. Alison Bennett
163. John Thomas Smith
164. Joel B. Stronberg
165. Denny McGinn, U.S. Navy Retired
166. Robert Perkowitz, President, ecoAmerica
167. Dave Munk, Clean Energy Transition
168. Hunter Lovins, President, Natural Capital Solutions
169. Dr. Shirley Huang, pathologist
170. Scott Denman, Independent Council for Safe Energy Fund
171. Roger Hickey, Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future
172. VRev Jacob Lee Kulp, Archpriest, Orthodox Church in America
173. Tom Hirsch, Hirsch Group Architects
174. Jim Strahorn
175. Eban Goodstein, Bard College Graduate Programs in Sustainability
176. Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Scholar, National Center for Atmospheric Research
177. T. Destry Jarvis, Vice President, World Heritage USA
178. Rev. Dana Strande
179. Dr. Paul Shrivastava, Co-President, Club of Rome
180. David R. Bryant
181. Betsy Brandes
182. Peter Gleick, Co-Founder, Pacific Institute; Senior Fellow, Member, U.S. Academy of Sciences
183. Aimée Christensen, CEO, Christensen Global
184. Allen Hershkowitz, Founding Chairman, Sport and Sustainability Int'l
185. Barbara Reid, Professor Emerita, University of Minnesota
186. Nancy Brown, Member, Minnesota DFL
187. Dina Spigelski, Associate Director, L4E, UVM
188. Francis Guarascio, University of Vermont, PhD candidate, Rubenstein School of Natural Resources
189. Ursula Georgeoglou, CHCW, UVM
190. Bindu Panikkar, Associate Professor, UVM
191. John Petersen, Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, Oberlin College
192. Linda Jones, University of Florida
192. Alison Stocker, University of Florida (retired)
193. David W. Scholl, Retired Emeritus, US Geological Survey and University of Alaska-Fairbanks
194. Edward Derf Sylvia, concerned citizen
195. Marjorie Woodwell, educator and concerned citizen
196. Patrick Parenteau, Professor Emeritus, Vermont Law and Graduate School
197. Wendell Mottley, former World Wildlife Foundation board member
198. Ruth Colby, Public Health Nurse (retired)
199. Jennifer Dungan, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired)
200. Jonathan Gorham, President Emeritus, Massaro Community Farm
201. Justin Dempsey, University of Vermont
202. Vicki Assevero, Yale University
203. Larry Daloz, Contributing Editor, Senior Stewards Acting for the Environment (SAFE)
204, John Steiner & Margo King, Mediators Foundation
205. Dan Gray, Business Analyst
206. Larry Schweiger
207. Kathleen Gildred, Director, SCCED
208. Rev. David T. Hill, Pastor, The First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ
209. Gail Coleman
210. Beth Clevenger, Senior Editor, The MIT Press
211. Kathy Hill, Faculty, Center for Data Analytics, Policy, and Government, Johns Hopkins University
212. Nina Smolyar, University of Vermont, Gund Institute of Environment, Leadership for the Ecozoic
213. Stuart White, AIA (retired)
214. Kristina Becvar, Executive Director, Bridge Alliance
215. Michael Koller
216. Paula Gordon, Co-Founder, Public Intelligence Incorporated
217. Charlie Cray, Senior Strategist, Greenpeace USA
218. Richard Ottinger, Dean Emeritus, Pace University School of Law
219. Bill Russell, Public Intelligence Incorporated
220. Susan A. Lynch, SSAFE
