Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections on Navigating the Climate Crisis

by Joshua Kahn Russell, Hilary Moore

Organizing Cools The Planet weaves together stories, analysis, organizing tools, and provocative questions, to offer a snapshot of U.S. climate activism and provide pathways for readers to participate in it. Authors share hard lessons learned, reflect on strategy, and grapple with the challenges of their roles as organizers who do not come from “frontline” communities, but work to amplify and build a climate justice movement led by low-income people, communities of color, Indigenous, youth and other constituencies most directly impacted by the crisis. Rooted in the authors’ experiences organizing in local, national, and international arenas, this pamphlet grapples with the challenges and overwhelming odds young activists face today. Organizing Cools the Planet challenges readers to look at the scale of ecological collapse with open eyes, without falling prey to disempowering doomsday narratives. It asks key pressing questions for those who wish to take our generational challenge seriously. This pamphlet is for anyone who wants to build a movement with the resiliency to navigate one of the most rapid transitions in human history.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Emily]

Written by and for climate justice organizers, with an eye towards dialogue and relationship as the means towards effective and sustainable organizing.

[Camerin · Rating 5 out of 5]

need to revisit this a lot. it's very honest about it's own limitations, but is a perfect starting point for any organizer.

[Subliminal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat useful guidebook with a huge repository of resources. Incredibly vague in its writing (at least for me). I won't be able to hear the words "framework" and "accountability" for a while after reading this. For the dozens of conversations the authors claim to have had about the topics involved there is little concreteness here. Which is a weakness for a practical guide. 3,3 stars.

[André Habet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful tool book for folks interested in global warming organizing that works towards capacity building and foregrounding frontline communities. I particularly appreciated that it not only critiques existing fossil fuel systems and their intersections with other dominant capitalist narratives, but that it offers theory grounded in praxis; work intended to move folks towards more equitable systems among humans and for the more than human world. Available for free as a digital copy from publisher site

[Marc Lucke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This text, while containing some valuable pieces of advice, is frequently bogged down by its authors' over-reliance on dense jargon. It reads too much like a recycled graduate thesis and this keeps entire sections beyond the reach of the casual reader.