Climate Change - Environmental Racism

What issue has the most potential to unite people from around the world to fight against inequality? Climate Change. I encourage you to view this film, then plan to share it with youth and volunteers in your tutor/mentor programs.

While we all seek ways to inspire youth to learn, many realize we need to provide a reason to learn and engage with others. Building in a "climate change" study/activism group within a tutor/mentor program could offer many long term benefits to youth and volunteers, and to the larger community.

In this video  the speakers called the climate crisis "Environmental Racism" and said "climate disruptions are a social justice issue", saying that "who gets hurt the most are poor people who can't get out of the way."

The organizers of a 2013 climate march recognized that "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".

Thus, throughout this video you'll see efforts to reach out to minorities, the poor, and those who are  most disadvantaged.

This second video was created in 2009 and shows how movements in the 1960's lead to a wave of legislation in the 1970s. Can this be repeated in the 2020s?



This video describes the process of mobilizing people as a "swarm" and suggests that with the Internet it's possible to create an on line hub that could support the growth of the climate change movement.

As you look at the strategy that's proposed, visit this presentation, which shows the strategy I've been following since creating the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993, and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011.

Prior to 2016 I did not include much information about the climate crisis in my web library.  After viewing these videos I did some web searching to see if I could find some graphics that showed the growth of the climate change network, or showed the different organizations who they have been connecting with.

350 0rg seems to be one of the lead intermediaries in the climate change movement.  Below is a screen shot of a map that shows different organizations working on climate change throughout the world.

I have been using GIS maps since 1993 to show where tutor/mentor programs are needed, and to show participation in conferences I've hosted in Chicago and to show participation in on-line events, like the Connected Learning #clmooc.  Maps force you to look at all the places where a problem needs to be solved, or that need to be represented in movement-building. Without a map you could fill a stadium with people who are active in solving a problem, but still be missing most of the places where the problem needs a constant flow of ideas, talent, dollars, technology, etc. to be solved.

Over the past 20 years I've also become interested in process and strategy. How does a tutor/mentor program help a youth move through school and into a job? How do we make well organized, long-term programs available in more places? How do climate change organizers map their own process toward goal? How is this being done in other sectors?

How do we visualize this?

I started creating concept maps to show strategy and to show organization's I'm connecting with, via events I attend, people I meet on line, or links in the Tutor/Mentor web library.  In many of these maps I include links, pointing visitors directly to additional maps, and/or the web sites of other organizations.

The map below is a collection of maps that focus on building networks, and creating maps to show who I'm reaching out to, and who is in my web library.  See my entire cMap collection. 

In this map, which is a collection of several maps,  I'm trying to show that while supporting youth via non-school tutoring, mentoring and learning programs is my primary goal, it is not the primary goal of organizers who focus on different issues, such as climate change, public health, the environment, inequality, racism, jobs, etc..  Poverty, climate change and other environmental issues are only a few of the issues included in the United Nations Sustainability goals.

I use the pie chart to visualize leaders from many sectors focusing on each issue area, including the mission of my organization. I should be able to find blog articles, such as these that use systems thinking and concept maps to engage a network of stakeholders and show strategies for achieving long-term goals of climate change, public health, violence prevention, inequality, etc.   The hub and spoke design of the wheel shows that these issues are related to each other.  The climate march organizers in the first video recognized this, saying " "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".

My blog articles, strategy presentations, web library, concept maps, and GIS maps are examples that not only could be used by leaders who focus on  poverty and youth development throughout the world, but by leaders who understand that to solve their problem they also need to focus on inequalities in the world, and that they, too, could be using maps like I do to show their progress, their networks and how they are connecting people, organizations and resources.

I've started a sub-section in the Tutor/Mentor library, with links to climate change articles.  In addition, I've used this blog article (and my original climate change article posted in 2016), to add new links as I find them. 

As I write articles like this I seek three responses:

a) Are there people already writing articles and creating maps like this?  If you know them, post a link in the comment section of this blog

b) Are you a writer, illustrator, mapper, etc. who can communicate these ideas more effectively than I do? 

c) are you one of those who are contributing hundreds of million dollars to every election cycle and might want to devote a few million to fully developing the Tutor/Mentor Institute as a free standing organization, or on a college campus?

If you're any of the above,  I look forward to hearing from you.   

One organization that has been doing this well is the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals Project.  Visit the SDGs website and for each of the 17 goals, shown in this graphic, there is an extensive library of information, including maps.

additional reading about Climate Change

Note: 2/2/2017 update - here's an ESRI storymap showing impact of climate change on migration throughout the world. The is valuable resource both for understanding climate crisis, and for understanding uses of storymaps. 

4-2-2017 update - This article on the Resiliance.org web site shows that liberal approaches to climate change are just as much of a problem as is conservative denial. 

4-2-2017 update - are we facing a global extension of the human race - this writer has a series of blog articles that show this possible future.

4-15-2017 update - An Unprecedented Four Famines Threaten the Planet. - read article

4-17-2017 update - take to the streets during April 2017 and other actions you can take  - read article

6-19-2017 update - Atlantis Rising: Why Floating Cities are the Next Frontier - see video

6-26-17 update - Deadly Heat Waves Likely to Get Worse - read article talking about affect of extreme heat.

7-9-17 update - analysis of economic impact of climate change in the US - read article

7-10-17 update - This article, titled The Uninhabitable Earth, describes coming climate disasters facing the world.

7-17-17 update - The Climate-Smart Cities program at the Trust for Public Land is helping cities overcome challenges to successful climate action. Read article.

8-30-17 update - The Texas Floods following Hurricane Havey have generated several new articles worth reading.  1) Public Service Media Warned of Texas Catastrophe. Still time to learn (article). This points to a 2016 series titled "Hell and High Water" ;  2) How catastrophe affects most vulnerable people most. article; and 3) library of ESRI story maps showing flooding in Texas and around world. A second page showing ESRI story maps - click here

11-11-17 update - Here's a group that draws attention to climate change with music. It's called The Climate Music Project. click here

11-13-17 update - #Decarbonize #Decolonize  describes itself as "worlds largest synthesis of youth research, recommended policy and action on climate change". Is mobilizing youth from across the planet.

2-27-18 update - Welcome to the Age of Climate Migration - Rolling Stone article. As some areas become unlivable the wealthy will move to more climate friendly cities, causing prices to rise, driving out the poor. Those without the money to move will suffer greatly.

5-16-2018 update - The Shape of Water - Chicago Magazine article forecasting a future for Chicago and the Great Lakes water basin. click here

6-21-2018 update - How Tackling Climate Change Could Tackle Inequality - read article

7-9-2018 update - Nicola Avery, from UK, posted blog article today with a collection of climate change links. Add to your reading list. click here

9-3-2018 update - Planetary Health Alliance - article with many links to additional resources - click here

10-12-18 update - Interactive map shows projected changes in rainfall and snow by 2050 in communities across the world.

10-17-18 update - Popular Science magazine article titled "The most important science policy issue in every state" - click here

11-16-18 update - List of natural disasters in the USA since 2000 - on Wikipedia. What's important to understand is that people in past disasters are probably still trying to rebuild their lives, even after many years. 

3-6-19 update - Project Drawdown claims to be "the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming".  The site includes a list of 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change -   click here

3-6-19 update - WASH Funders by Candid - web resource focuses on water issues around world. Includes a funders map, too. click here

8-1-19 update - "Migration and the climate crisis: the UN’s search for solutions" - article 

10-25-19 update - Global Chaos Map Project - this project is building a map to help understand where in the world environmental and political stress is leading to violence.  Click here to read article.   Click here to the Chaos Map Project site. Click here to view the interactive map.

12-18-19 update - America After Climate Change Mapped - click here

2-3-2021 update - Now's the Time interactive map shows oil, natural gas, coal, wind and other energy production and distribution resources from around the world.  For those advocating for movement away from carbon based energies this site should be a useful tool.  This is website with overview. 

2-3-2021 update - Climate Justice Alliance - Here's description from website: "Climate Justice Alliance is amplifying the leadership of the original Our Power Communities while expanding to 70 communities in seven regions that are home to key grassroots groups. These groups organize to end the era of extreme energy and implement a Just Transition that promotes local control of resources (including energy, land, water, and food systems)." 

2-3-2021 update - Extinction Rebellion Chicago (XRC) - a growing group of activists formed in 2019 to demand, through creative and non-violent direct action, t hat the government act now to stop climate catastrophe.

2-4-2021 update - Mapping Environmental Justice in the Biden-Harris Administration - click here ;  Mentioned in the article is the CalEnviroScreen. This link points to a Disadvantaged Communities Map (California). 

2-24-2021 update - Is your house going to flood because of climate change? These maps will tell you. - read article 

3-6-2021 update - Mapping Project Explores Links Between Historic Redlining And Future Climate Vulnerability - click here

6-10-2021 update -  America After Climate Change - Mapped.  click here

10-18-21 update - two more resources Arm in Arm - https://arminarm.org/  and Red Black and Green New Deal - https://redblackgreennewdeal.org/

10-19-21 update - can authors of science fiction tell stories of climate crisis in ways that more people understand and respond.  Read this introduction to "Cli-Fi".  click here

1-18-21 update - Project Drawdown claims to be the world's leading resource for climate solutions.  Take a look. click here

6-14-22 update - States at Risk of climate change site has a page for each of 50 US states, showing risks associated with extreme heat, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding and inland flooding.  click here

6-15-22 update - LCV (League of Conservation Voters) website show state-by-state progress on climate and environmental issues.  click here

4-27-23  update - "How Colonialism Spawned and Continues to Exacerbate the Climate Crisis" - Article on State of the Planet page of Columbia Climate School. 

10-18-2022 update - Decarb My State - built by ChiHackNight - https://bit.ly/decarbonize-my-state

New Perspective on "Can't Drain the Swamp"

Can't drain swamp?

A few years ago I wrote this article talking about "I can't drain the swamp because I'm up to my neck in alligators".  I was talking about how leaders of other tutor/mentor programs were not able to join me in trying to solve problems we all face, such as consistent funding, when we were struggling to solve each of those problems in our own programs every day.

Today I saw a graphic on Facebook that made me think of this.  I've posted that graphic below, with some additions that expand on the original.

Climate change and nuclear war represent threats and challenges above all others.

In the original graphic issues like healthcare, immigration, guns, justice, etc. were shown as concerns of people living in different places. While these are important, they are overwhelmed by the looming threat of climate change disasters.   In the blue call-outs I've added some other issues, and at the top right I've inserted a graphic showing the threat of nuclear war, or nuclear terrorism.

What are all the things
that we need to do?

For the past 25 years I've spent time almost every day calling attention to the challenges kids living in high poverty face and the roles that organized volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs can play in helping them overcome those challenges as they move through school and into adult lives.

I point to a list of Chicago programs where people can volunteer time, talent and dollars and to a web library where anyone can learn more about the issues and ways to get involved.

Chicago Sun Times 1996

I have done this while there has been a constant flow of stories like the one at the left, showing the agony of violence in Chicago, and asking "When will this end?"  The story at the right was from the 1990s, so we still have not found an answer to that question.

I don't believe any single, short-term, action of a tutor/mentor program can make street violence stop, or make poverty suddenly disappear.  However, I do believe that the continuous on-going support of volunteers and staff in well organized programs can help kids who are part of those programs move more safely through school and into lives beyond the immediate grasps of violence that primarily affects high poverty neighborhoods.

12-20 years of support

I've used graphics like the one at the right to emphasize the need for providing long-term, birth-to-work support to kids in every high poverty neighborhood.  While this is not easy it's work that needs to be done.

However, it's not the only work that needs to be done.

Below are two concept maps from my collection showing this same graphic, but including also showing the many different issues kids and families living in high poverty areas face every day. Some of these are the same as those shown in the Facebook graphic at the top of this article.

Many are problems people who don't live in poverty also are facing. 

Here's one version

Reasons to engage - local global - click here

Here's another version

Open map at this link  View in this article

Each of these issues are important and need passionate people focusing on them every day. Yet we need to budget our time to also focus on the bigger threats of climate change and nuclear war/terrorism which by themselves can cause extinction of the human race and make all of the other issues irrelevant.

George C. Marshall

What I've been describing is a wicked, complex problem.  We need leaders who can visualize the entire problem and mobilize people and resources to work on the individual pieces, in step with everyone else, and for many years.

One of my heroes is George C. Marshall, who led US forces in World War II.  Without the power of today's computers he created a multi-year strategy that fought opponents in almost every part of the world.

Today I see some of this comprehensive thinking among those leading the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. 

Follow the links in this article and you'll see some ways they are drawing attention to all of the work that needs to be done to achieve the SDG goals.

follow links - cmap

So how do you get involved?

I've created a "civic engagement" cmap with links to parts of my web library with information readers can use to dig deeper into all of these issues.  In addition, at the top of the map I have links to web sites aggregating information about 2020 Presidential candidates.  I encourage you to look through their web sites to see if you can find any who think like George C Marshall and who visualize their thinking in ways the rest of us can understand.

Then, pick a cause, and get more informed and personally involved.

8-11-2020 update - since I wrote this post the world has become an even more dangerous place. We now face a world wide pandemic, with a much greater level of illness in the United States. We are reeling from an epidemic of police violence.  The climate crisis continues to grow. We also face a growing threat of how "big data" in the wrong hands can further concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few.   I've updated my graphic to reflect this. 

12-22/2021 update - since I last updated this graphic Covid19 has continued to spread and the January 6th attack on the US Capital, and lack of prosecution of instigators, causes even greater concern for the future. I updated my graphic to add new fears about the future of democracy in the United States.

If you find sites where people are doing a good job of visualizing the problems we face along with solution paths, please share the links in the comment section or on Twitter where you can find me @tutormentorteam

I've been ending my articles with a request for financial support of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. Click here if you'd like to help.

"Make the World A Better Place" - Jane Goodall

I spent about 25 minutes today listening to an interview with Jane Goodall, from last week's World Economic Forum. 

She's inspirational. I life well lived, and still going strong.

Take some time and view this yourself.  Share it with your students.

In the final 30 seconds she talks about a program called Roots & Shoot,  that seeks to inspire youth involvement, which she started many years ago. 

Roots & Shoots - visit site

I've written about annotation, and my connections to a #clmooc educator network.  The work of Jane Goodall, and Roots & Shoots, is the type of idea that should be spread through many networks.  The 23 minute interview is full of wisdom, which I'd mark up with a yellow highlighter if I were doing an annotation.

When I talk about mentor-rich k-12 tutor/mentor programs, I'm visualizing a safe place in a neighborhood where kids can connect with volunteers who open doors to a wide range of learning opportunities.  That's what the graphic below is intended to communicate.

See this graphic in this article

As a leader of a tutor/mentor program for more than 35 years I often had volunteers come to me and say "I have an idea for a  program. Can I start it?"  I almost always said "yes".  That's where our writing, arts, video, Spanish club, tech club, and college readiness coaching came from. 

I point to web sites of tutor/mentor programs in Chicago, and around the country, with the goal that these provide ideas that inspire work that could be done in many places. Many do a good job of sharing such information. Many others need help doing this.

Be like Jane.

Jane Goodal travels the globe raising awareness, and raising money, to support the work she does. I spend time every week, sharing ideas on this blog, and building a web library, for the same purpose.

She ended her video interview saying "when we start living for money, it all goes wrong"  but, "when we live for money to  help make the world a better place" that's when things get better.

The  Roots & Shoot program could be part of many schools, and non-school programs, along with many other forms of learning, if others will provide the talent and dollars to make it happen.

Can you look back on your life and see the same journey of helping others, and helping the planet, as Jane Goodall can?

Celebrating Earth Day. Do the Climate Crisis Homework

Around the world people are doing many things to celebrate Earth Day.

My goal is that people look to the roots of a problem. What does it take to build a strong healthy tree, or a strong, healthy adult?

I posted an article in October 2016 under the headline "Climate Crisis - Environmental Racism".  Since then I've added updates with links to additional articles that I encourage you to read.

It takes many years for a healthy tree to grow, just as it takes 25-30 years for a child to grow from birth to the beginning of their mature adult years. 

In my October 2016 article I included this 350.0rg map, showing places all over the world where people are working to address the climate crisis.  I've  used similar maps to show places all over Chicago and throughout the US where kids live in poverty and need help for many years to grow into adults who can raise their own kids free of the challenges of extreme poverty.

Whatever you do today to celebrate Earth Day, I hope you'll spend some time in web libraries like mine, building a deeper understanding of the problems and of potential solutions.

Climate Crisis - Environmental Racism

I've been watching the Weather Channel videos showing the progress of Hurricane Matthew through the Caribbean up through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. While there will be millions of dollars of property loss in the US, few lives will be lost. In Haiti the death toll already is over 800.

As I watched these Friday morning, I thought of past tragedies, going back to 9/11, and of how these natural and man-made disasters have had a negative impact on the Tutor/Mentor Connection's ability to build a system of support for inner-city kids.

I've written articles in the past, where I've shown how such events make it difficult to consistently build a strong organization, or a strong movement consisting of many organizations that focus on a common problem.  This graphic shows that progress is not steady growth. There are many dips in the road. Such negative impact is probably felt by thousands of organizations in the US and around the world ever time a tsunami, earthquake, flood, or hurricane strikes.  

I recalled a couple of videos I had seen that did a great job of showing the growth of the climate change movement, and the issues it focuses on, so I am repeating two of those here.  This first video was included in an article I wrote in 2014. You can view the video in this article.

It was in this video that speakers called the climate crisis "Environmental Racism" and said "climate disruptions are a social justice issue", saying that "who gets hurt the most are poor people who can't get out of the way."

The organizers of the 2013 climate march recognized that "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".

Thus, throughout this video you'll see efforts to reach out to minorities, the poor, and those who are  most disadvantaged.

This second video was created in 2009 and shows how movements in the 1960's lead to a wave of legislation in the 1970s. I included it in this article.



This video describes the process of mobilizing people as a "swarm" and suggests that with the Internet it's possible to create an on line hub that could support the growth of the climate change movement.

As you look at the strategy that's proposed, visit this presentation, which shows the strategy I've been following since creating the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993, and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011.

I did some web searching on Friday to see if I could find some graphics that showed the growth of the climate change network, or showed the different organizations who they have been connecting with.

350 0rg seems to be one of the lead intermediaries in the climate change movement.  Below is a screen shot of a map that shows different organizations working on climate change throughout the world.

I have been using GIS maps since 1993 to show where tutor/mentor programs are needed, and to show participation in conferences I've hosted in Chicago and to show participation in on-line events, like the Connected Learning #clmooc.  Maps force you to look at all the places where a problem needs to be solved, or that need to be represented in movement-building. Without a map you could fill a stadium with people who are active in solving a problem, but still be missing most of the places where the problem needs a constant flow of ideas, talent, dollars, technology, etc. to be solved.

Over the past 20 years I've also become interested in process and strategy. How does a tutor/mentor program help a youth move through school and into a job? How do we make well organized, long-term programs available in more places? How do climate change organizers map their own process toward goal? How is this being done in other sectors?

How do we visualize this?

I started creating concept maps to show strategy and to show organization's I'm connecting with, via events I attend, people I meet on line, or links in the Tutor/Mentor web library.  In many of these maps I include links, pointing visitors directly to additional maps, and/or the web sites of other organizations.

The map below is a collection of maps that focus on building networks, and creating maps to show who I'm reaching out to, and who is in my web library. 

In this map, which is a collection of several maps,  I'm trying to show that while supporting youth via non-school tutoring, mentoring and learning programs is my primary goal, it is not the primary goal of organizers who focus on different issues, such as climate change, public health, the environment, inequality, jobs, etc..  Poverty, climate change and other environmental issues are only a few of the issues included in the United Nations Sustainability goals.

I use the pie chart to visualize leaders from many sectors focusing on each issue area, including the mission of my organization. I should be able to find blog articles, such as these that use systems thinking and concept maps to engage a network of stakeholders and show strategies for achieving long-term goals of climate change, public health, violence prevention, inequality, etc.   The hub and spoke design of the wheel shows that these issues are related to each other.  The climate march organizers in the first video recognized this, saying " "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".

My blog articles, strategy presentations, web library, concept maps, and GIS maps are examples that not only could be used by leaders who focus on  poverty and youth development throughout the world, but by leaders who understand that to solve their problem they also need to focus on inequalities in the world, and that they, too, could be using maps like I do to show their progress, their networks and how they are connecting people, organizations and resources.

As I write articles like this I seek three responses:

a) Are there people already writing articles and creating maps like this?  If you know them, post a link in the comment section of this blog

b) Are you a writer, illustrator, mapper, etc. who can communicate these ideas more effectively than I do? 

c) are you one of those who are contributing hundreds of million dollars to every election cycle and might want to devote a few million to fully developing the Tutor/Mentor Institute as a free standing organization, or on a college campus?

If you're any of the above,  I look forward to hearing from you.  

additional reading

Note: 2/2/2017 update - here's an ESRI storymap showing impact of climate change on migration throughout the world. The is valuable resource both for understanding climate crisis, and for understanding uses of storymaps. 

4-2-2017 update - This article on the Resiliance.org web site shows that liberal approaches to climate change are just as much of a problem as is conservative denial. 

4-2-2017 update - are we facing a global extension of the human race - this writer has a series of blog articles that show this possible future.

4-15-2017 update - An Unprecedented Four Famines Threaten the Planet. - read article

4-17-2017 update - take to the streets during April 2017 and other actions you can take  - read article

6-19-2017 update - Atlantis Rising: Why Floating Cities are the Next Frontier - see video

6-26-17 update - Deadly Heat Waves Likely to Get Worse - read article talking about affect of extreme heat.

7-9-17 update - analysis of economic impact of climate change in the US - read article

7-10-17 update - This article, titled The Uninhabitable Earth, describes coming climate disasters facing the world.

7-17-17 update - The Climate-Smart Cities program at the Trust for Public Land is helping cities overcome challenges to successful climate action. Read article.

8-30-17 update - The Texas Floods following Hurricane Havey have generated several new articles worth reading.  1) Public Service Media Warned of Texas Catastrophe. Still time to learn (article). This points to a 2016 series titled "Hell and High Water" ;  2) How catastrophe affects most vulnerable people most. article; and 3) library of ESRI story maps showing flooding in Texas and around world. A second page showing ESRI story maps - click here

11-11-17 update - Here's a group that draws attention to climate change with music. It's called The Climate Music Project. click here

11-13-17 update - #Decarbonize #Decolonize  describes itself as "worlds largest synthesis of youth research, recommended policy and action on climate change". Is mobilizing youth from across the planet.

2-27-18 update - Welcome to the Age of Climate Migration - Rolling Stone article. As some areas become unlivable the wealthy will move to more climate friendly cities, causing prices to rise, driving out the poor. Those without the money to move will suffer greatly.

5-16-2018 update - The Shape of Water - Chicago Magazine article forecasting a future for Chicago and the Great Lakes water basin. click here

6-21-2018 update - How Tackling Climate Change Could Tackle Inequality - read article

7-9-2018 update - Nicola Avery, from UK, posted blog article today with a collection of climate change links. Add to your reading list. click here

9-3-2018 update - Planetary Health Alliance - article with many links to additional resources - click here

10-12-18 update - Interactive map shows projected changes in rainfall and snow by 2050 in communities across the world.

10-17-18 update - Popular Science magazine article titled "The most important science policy issue in every state" - click here

11-16-18 update - List of natural disasters in the USA since 2000 - on Wikipedia. What's important to understand is that people in past disasters are probably still trying to rebuild their lives, even after many years. 

3-6-19 update - Project Drawdown claims to be "the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming".  The site includes a list of 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change -   click here

3-6-19 update - WASH Funders by Candid - web resource focuses on water issues around world. Includes a funders map, too. click here

8-1-19 update - "Migration and the climate crisis: the UN’s search for solutions" - article 

10-25-19 update - Global Chaos Map Project - this project is building a map to help understand where in the world environmental and political stress is leading to violence.  Click here to read article.   Click here to the Chaos Map Project site. Click here to view the interactive map.

12-18-19 update - America After Climate Change Mapped - click here

2-3-2021 update - Now's the Time interactive map shows oil, natural gas, coal, wind and other energy production and distribution resources from around the world.  For those advocating for movement away from carbon based energies this site should be a useful tool.  This is website with overview. 

2-3-2021 update - Climate Justice Alliance - Here's description from website: "Climate Justice Alliance is amplifying the leadership of the original Our Power Communities while expanding to 70 communities in seven regions that are home to key grassroots groups. These groups organize to end the era of extreme energy and implement a Just Transition that promotes local control of resources (including energy, land, water, and food systems)." 

2-3-2021 update - Extinction Rebellion Chicago (XRC) - a growing group of activists formed in 2019 to demand, through creative and non-violent direct action, t hat the government act now to stop climate catastrophe.

2-4-2021 update - Mapping Environmental Justice in the Biden-Harris Administration - click here ;  Mentioned in the article is the CalEnviroScreen. This link points to a Disadvantaged Communities Map (California). 

2-24-2021 update - Is your house going to flood because of climate change? These maps will tell you. - read article 

3-6-2021 update - Mapping Project Explores Links Between Historic Redlining And Future Climate Vulnerability - click here

Climate Change March, Sept. 21, 2014

What issue has the most potential to unite people from around the world to fight against inequality? Climate Change. I encourage you to view this film, then plan to share it with youth and volunteers in your tutor/mentor programs. While we all seek ways to inspire youth to learn, many realize we need to provide a reason to learn and engage with others. Building in a "climate change" study/activism group within a tutor/mentor program could offer many longterm benefits to youth and volunteers, and to the larger community.



What I like about this video is how it shows that climate change is an issue that unites many different movements, such as income inequity, social justice, poverty reduction, jobs creation, political inequity, health disparities, etc. It also reflects a long-term vision and understands how difficult it is to recruit and retain deep involvement of millions of people, over many decades of work. I understand this from my own efforts to engage people who don't live in poverty, including my own family, college classmates, and hometown friends, in my own efforts to help build systems of support for inner city youth.

I host a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference every six months. The next is November 7, 2014 in Chicago. I invite someone involved with the climate change movement to organize a workshop sharing ideas for ways the ideas in this video could become organized activities within many tutor/mentor and non-school learning programs in Chicago and other cities. To present a workshop, fill out the form on this page.

Learn more about the Climate Change March, and this movement at PeoplesClimate.org