How the “Code Red” Summer of 2021 Led Me to Dedicate Myself to Climate Change Activism

It was April 26, 2021. The cover of the new issue of Time Magazine was titled “Climate Is Everything.” In his lead article, Justin Worland wrote, “The course of climatization—the process by which climate change will transform society—will play out in the coming years in every corner of society. Whether it leads to a more resilient world or exacerbates the worst elements of our society depends on whether we adjust or just stumble through.”

Cover photo by John McColgan, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Worland described how climate change is touching everything, from healthcare and education to a surge in climate migration, a spike in crime, and reduced productivity in the workplace.

As I looked at the magazine cover and reflected on my own life, it became increasingly clear to me that my life was going to change. At that time, I was writing a series of columns on climate change and coproducing the Climate>Duluth series for PACT-TV, but I wanted to do more to help organize various projects and initiatives in Duluth and possibly around the country.

Over the spring and summer of 2021, I continued building a platform for Climate>Duluth on social media to share information and news about climate change with people in the city. A group of us also organized a creative arts exhibit in downtown Duluth, highlighting the work of artists and writers addressing the environment and climate change through their creative work. Additionally, I made time to speak to high school and college students about climate anxiety and their fears for the future.

I was particularly concerned about how many people struggled to acknowledge or accept the reality of climate change. On several occasions, I found myself listening to others who refused to discuss or resisted even considering the existence of climate change.

Several books and essays caught my attention during this time. In his book Good Thinking, David Robert Grimes discussed why many people deny climate change, suggesting it stems from a tendency to believe what aligns with their ideological biases while filtering out conflicting information. Grimes argued that to address climate change and change minds, we must engage not only on a cognitive level but also on an emotional one.

“All the facts, arguments, and logic in the world are for nothing if we cannot connect on an emotional level,” Grimes stated.

In an essay titled “Education Is a Space to Change Your Mind,” from the book Radical Humility: Essays on Ordinary Acts, poet and philosopher Troy Jollimore wrote:
“The thing about the pursuit of wisdom, though, is that it requires that you believe that you are not already wise, or at least that you could become wiser. It requires that we work toward developing a sense of the world as a vast and complex place that we can, and ought to, continue to learn about for the rest of our lives without ever coming to master.”

At the age of 66, I decided to dedicate the rest of my time and energy to writing about and organizing initiatives to address climate change.

In a piece for The Reader in late June titled “Living in This Climate-Change World,” I reflected on June 23, 1988, when James Hansen, a NASA scientist, testified at a Senate hearing in Washington, DC. As documented in Nathaniel Rich’s book Losing Earth: A Recent History, that day was reportedly the hottest June 23rd in the capital’s history, during the hottest and driest summer in the country’s history. Dozens of fires raged in the West, with nearly a million acres of Yellowstone National Park burned, and sections of the Mississippi River flowing at less than one-fifth of their normal capacity.

Hansen told senators that the warming trend could be detected with 99 percent confidence.

On July 10, 2021, The New York Times reported that June was the hottest June on record in North America. Between June 24 and June 30, 1,238 daytime temperature records were broken, with another 1,503 nighttime records shattered across the U.S. In fact, nights were warming faster than days throughout the country.

On Monday, August 9, I learned about the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dubbed a “code red for humanity,” the IPCC warned that greenhouse gas emissions were pushing us toward a “fiery future.” The report noted that heat waves and heavy rains causing flooding were becoming more frequent and severe. Droughts had become regular events, and hurricanes and typhoons were increasing in number since the 1970s. Many scientists involved in the report expressed concern that we might not stay below the 1.5-degree Celsius target set by the Paris Agreement.

A week after this report, a group of us organized the “Code Red: Duluth” gathering outside City Hall. Speakers included representatives from the Sierra Club, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, Honor the Earth, and State Senator Jennifer McEwen. Each speaker emphasized the narrow timeframe we have to address this climate emergency, sharing concerns for the futures of their children and grandchildren.

Following the City Hall gathering, I wrote an article for the upcoming Loaves and Fishes newsletter on the theme of belonging. I referenced the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, in which the main character—a gorilla named Ishmael—distinguishes between two types of people in the world: Takers and Leavers. Ishmael challenges us to choose one of two beliefs: that the world belongs to you or that you belong to the world.

I have chosen to believe that I belong to this climate-change world.