Pat Taub
I gaze at my beautiful grandchildren, Jane and Max, taking in their vitality, humor, and intelligence. My loving admiration turns to grief when I consider the future that awaits them: an overheated planet, storms of Biblical proportions, polluted drinking waters, deadly viruses and more.
As I sit with my grief for the world Jane and Max will inherit, my mood turns to anger at our so-called leaders. Their undying allegiance to big oil and the weapons industry is the path to ecocide and possibly nuclear war—hardly a safe and healthy future for our grandchildren.
The California wild fires were horrific in 2019. a consequence of climate change
How can Nancy Pelosi, President Biden, Chuck Schumer, and other elected officials, who are grandparents, spend time with their own grandchildren and not feel guilty for the future they are handing them? What stories do they tell themselves to justify their inaction?
Nancy Pelosi with a granddaughter. How will Pelosi answer, if a grandchild asks her what she’s doing to address climate change?
Do our callous leaders think family wealth will insulate their future generations? Do they think the chosen few of future generations will be saved once outer space is colonized?
I know lots of older adults, who are deeply concerned over our dying planet and the social problems Jane and Max are inheriting. Many of these good people feel overwhelmed and helpless. They don’t see a way out for future generations, so they shrug off their inheritance. In short, they fall into the “Don’t Look Up” category.
All is not lost. The list of activist organizations boasting grandparents is mushrooming. British elders, like Steve Russell, 66, (pictured below) are joining climate extinction protests. When arrested during a London protest, Russell told a reporter, “I’d rather be a crusty than extinct.”
Michael Frayn, 86, with his grandchildren, Eliza and Jack, protesting outside Buckingham Palace
In 2018 Bill McKibben started “Third Act” to engage activists over 60. Third Act doesn’t limit their agenda to climate change. They have taken on other hot-burner social issues, like voter suppression and universal health care.
Grandmothers in Delaware, Biden’s home state, staged a 2019 action for climate justice by sitting in rocking chairs to block the entrance to Chase Bank, the number one financier of fossil fuels in our country.
A group of women elders in Iowa have formed the group, “100 Grannies,” dedicated to ensuring a healthy planet for future generations. They recently published, the children’s book, “Granny Green’s Friendly Yard.”
A robust group of Berkeley grandmothers founded the group, “1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations,” dedicated to climate justice through “collective nonviolent action, community building and kindness.” These grandmothers regularly march with younger activists. Holly Near champions them in her song, “1000 Grandmothers:”
Send in a thousand grandmothers
They will surely volunteer
With their ancient wisdom flowing
They will lend a loving ear x2
In cities across the US and Europe, more and more grandparents are overcoming health and psychological concerns to join protests. A British grandmother, who identifies as an introvert, overcame her fears of crowds to march. Other elder protesters can be spotted with canes and sometimes in wheelchairs.
What will your response be if your grandkids ask you, “What did you do to protest climate change?” Will you embrace the closing stanza of “1000 Grandmothers?”
Will you please come volunteer
No longer tucked deep out of sight
Will you bring your power here?
Decades ago, I interviewed Maggie Kuhn, who founded the Gray Panthers, to take on ageism. After our interview she presented me with a Gray Panther coffee mug with a giraffe logo. When I asked about the meaning of the giraffe, she answered, “It’s a reminder to elders to stick their necks out.” I’m calling on my “inner Maggie” to stick my neck out. Will you join me?
Sue Donaldson, a retired Boston psychotherapist, said boomers who’ve led comfortable lives as the planet warmed, have an obligation now to change it’s course.
