Climate Leadership Training Day 3: Moms Weathering the Storm

Originally written on August 7, 2013  

The third and final day of Climate Reality's Climate Leadership Training the sessions focused on how to reach out to our communities about climate change. It is the most critical issue of our time. Without the predictable, hospitable climate that humanity has enjoyed for about 10,000 years, our society cannot exist. Climate change is also unique because it requires global cooperation. To some this is an overwhelming and frightening thought. Despite this, Al Gore, and other climate leaders see it as an opportunity. As a way to cooperate and shape a new, better future. My husband is watching Star Trek Deep Space 9 reruns on Netflix as I type this, and it occurred to me that if we can solve the climate crisis as a species, the world depicted in Star Trek doesn't seem quite so far off. Maybe we can finally work together as humanoids and catapult ourselves into a higher existence. But I digress.

Back to reaching out to our communities.... There were breakout sessions on the final day of the training. The session I attended was called Moms Weathering the Storm. Three panelists spoke about how they, as mothers have amplified their voices for a cause by reaching out to other mothers, and to other women.

One panelist was Harriet Shugarman who attended a Climate Leadership Training in 2007 and found her passion: climate change education, awareness and action. Like me, becoming a mother made her feel like she had to do something to make the world a better place. Her answer was starting the blog Climate Mama. Turns out she was not the only one, there is also a blog called Climate Mom, founded by Mary DeMocker, a mom who went "from worrier to warrior." Rather than being upset that these woman beat me to great blog names, I am so happy that there are other moms who are concerned about the same issue as me. Strength in numbers!

A second panelist was Emily McKhann, founder of The Motherhood, an online community of mothers wanting to make a difference. Emily shared her recent post called 9 Ways to Use Social Media to Support Your Causes and Charities. You can read her blog yourself, but it was inspiring to know that mothers can, and are already, using social media to amplify their voices for positive change.

A third panelist was Vanessa Lopes-Janik, a representative from the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). The particular story she shared is of their work with AFREA that seeks to include women in energy projects. The program helped women in sub-Saharan African countries access and use efficient cooking stoves that reduced the amount of fuel required to cook a meal. It also taught women how to turn dead branches into charcoal, which burns more efficiently than wood. In turn, women saved time cooking, and saved money because they didn't have to buy as much fuel for their fires. That extra money is being reallocated to buy more food to feed their families, and medicine when their families get sick. Women were also included in energy businesses such as turning dead tree branches into coal that they could sell. Thus reducing deforestation, reducing energy use, and providing income to families. Triple win.

One final story that wasn't part of the breakout session, but is worth telling, is the story of Kim Wasserman.  She is sometimes called "the new Erin Brockovich" because as a young mother she fought for both the environment and social justice in Little Village-- a predominantly Latino neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest side in the shadow of two of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants. She went door to door asking people about their neighborhood and realized that they were suffering from asthma but didn't know why. After 15 years of listening, researching, and community organizing she and her organization Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) got the coal-fired power plants shut down--a victory for the residents of Little Village, not to mention a victory for the fight against climate change.

The overarching point of this post is to emphasize that mothers have a long history of rallying around important causes and getting things done. One of the most famous modern examples is probably Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and one of my personal favorites is Moms Clean Air Force, but there are countless others. We, as mothers, have a unique role in society: raising the next generation. We can connect to other mothers because we see the future in our children, and know we have to fight for a better future on their behalf. Mothers (and fathers and grandparents!) can rally around climate change too. We are just one subset of the population fighting for climate justice whether directly through climate education and action, or indirectly by shutting down power plants that blight the community, or bringing better fuel and fuel efficiency and economic opportunity to mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change is an issue that touches every facet of life. There are many small, sometimes seemingly unconnected, actions happening everywhere that help get us closer to the goal. We need to reach out to each other, celebrate our wins, and keep on working. This blog is my humble way to try and start doing just that.

Read more about the conference using these links:
Day 1 of Climate Leadership Training
Day 2 of Climate Leadership Training
Day 3 of Climate Leadership Training

Like what you read? Visit and 'Like' Mama of Ma'at on Facebook