Why We Need a Green Tea Party

You’ve heard of the Boston Tea Party, right? As the story goes, Boston colonists in 1773, upset with a British tax on tea, decided to protest the “taxation without representation” by throwing the tea into the harbor. There’s much more to the story than this, but the event has served as a model for anti-tax, anti-government protests ever since.

Today we have the Tea Party movement, which took force in early 2009. People are expressing their anger with President Obama and Congress for spending “the people’s” money on things “the people” don’t like – taxes in general, health care, the stimulus bill, banking and auto bailouts, etc. Things they value include fiscal responsibility, free markets, limited government, upholding the Constitution and, as former Rep. Tom Tancredo said in his opening remarks at this month’s Tea Party Convention in Nashville – “... a commitment to passing on our [emphasis mine] culture – and we do have one you know! It is based on Judeo Christian principles whether people like it or they don't! That's who we are! And if you don't like it, don't come here! And if you're here and don't like it go home! Go someplace else!” Which "home" is he suggesting Americans who disagree with him should go to?

This populist movement is infused with “astroturfing,” – that is, well-financed entities, such as the Freedom Forum, are helping to frame the debate by creating fake grassroots movements (see Paul Krugman, NYT, April 12, 2009). And, sadly, there’s a strain of racism among some in the movement – people who picture Obama as a witch doctor, who label him as a modern-day Hitler, who still do not believe he was born in the U.S., who believe that those who voted for him are illiterate, and so on. But that's another story.

The Tea Party movement has been very effective in rallying a group of people with strong beliefs and in getting their message before the media and elected officials. But they are pushing more than just information and persuasion; they are making things happen, too. For example, members of the Tea Party have claimed credit for Republican Scott Brown winning former Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts. We can learn a lesson or two from this group.

It’s time we established a Green Tea Party, a grassroots group dedicated to making elected officials act responsibly by supporting clean energy, creating green jobs, promoting energy conservation, and addressing climate change as the real, human-caused phenomenon it is.

We need to repeat our messages through a variety of media and repeat them often.: We must care for our world, care for our environment, invest in our children’s future, be wise stewards, create green jobs, grow the economy responsibly, and so on. We need to let our elected officials know “We’re angry as heck, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”

A Green Tea Party has already started to take form. On Feb. 13 at more than a dozen locations across Florida, people gathered for “Hands Across the Sand” events to protest planned drilling off Florida’s coasts. “Think, baby, think” was the chant – a counterpoint to Sarah Palin’s rallying cry of “Drill, baby, drill.” On Oct. 24, 2009, as part of “International Day of Climate Action," I organized “Tallahassee 350,” which was one of more than 5,200 similar events in 181 countries. This worldwide effort drew attention to the fact that scientists say the earth can sustain 350 ppm of carbon dioxide and maintain human life as we know it. Sadly, we’re at 390 ppm and rising. People around the world are getting the message and spreading the word.

I’m on the mailing list for at least a dozen organizations – such as the Southern Energy Network, the Natural Resources Defense Council, 1Sky, Repower America, Citizens Climate Lobby – that are seeking to educate the public and our elected officials on the urgency of addressing climate change. Communities across the country – indeed, across the world – are taking action.
Malcolm Gladwell in his seminal book “The Tipping Point” argues that small changes can bring about a social epidemic. We’re already facing an environmental tipping point (think about the unusual weather patterns this past year and the rapidly melting Arctic ice shield). We need to create a social epidemic – a Green Tea Party – to mobilize the political will of the masses to address this most-important issue facing humankind: climate change.

Won’t you join me?