Activism

We Must Solve Global Warming This Decade, Says Climate Strategist Wilford Welch

After being the diplomat to China during the Nixon Administration, Wilford Welch has been working and teaching at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He has helped K-12 teachers teach climate change essentials to all subject areas and grades throughout the United States and wrote the book “In Our Hands” as the textbook. Welch has also been teaching Climate Potential and Climate Justice classes to students at the Bayside Martin Luther King Jr Academy in Marin City.

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2022

Oakland Post

“Global Warming,” Londres 2009 (street-art-avenue.com)

By Godfrey Lee

Wilford Welch, a climate change expert and author of the book “In Our Hands – A Handbook for Intergenerational Actions to Solve the Climate Crisis,” spoke at the Sausalito Council Chambers in Sausalito on Thursday, April 14.

Welch says that we must deal with global warming during this decade in order to avoid environmental and societal collapse.

Global warming is the problem, which results in climate change. We can’t do much about climate change after it happens, but we can do something about global warming before it affects us as climate change, Welch says.

After being the diplomat to China during the Nixon Administration, Welch has been working and teaching at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He has helped K-12 teachers teach climate change essentials to all subject areas and grades throughout the United States and wrote the book “In Our Hands” as the textbook. Welch has also been teaching Climate Potential and Climate Justice classes to students at the Bayside Martin Luther King Jr Academy in Marin City.

Welch, who is a resident of Sausalito, is also an appointed member of the Sea Level Rise Task Force in Sausalito.

Welch asks us to think about what you would do if a fire was coming down the hill toward your house. That is an analogy to our response to the threat of global warming, which we may not see or feel but which is still happening. Welch says that we, in the United States, had six decades to really deal with global warming. Yet our actions had been insufficient as we were too busy with our lives and concerned with other social and political issues.

Global warming, which results in climate change, is increasingly, damaging our environment. We must therefore act quickly in this decade to change our lifestyle to minimize the environmental damage in the second half of the century, Welch says.

“We have all the technology capabilities we need to deal with the climate emergency,” Welch wrote on page xv in his book. “The only thing we lack is the individual, collective and political will to address this crisis. It is unclear whether the human race, at its current level of evolvement, has the maturity and wisdom, individually and collectively to do what is needed – or in the time it is needed. Let’s change that starting right now. The future is ‘In Our Hands’”

We can act by focusing on the global warming problem, choose how we want to deal with global warming, and act on our decisions as well as we can. We can increase our awareness about global warming. We can use 100% renewable energy, and switch to LED lights, were among the suggestions Welch made.

Everyone can take more action now to fight global warming, so that we can have a better future for tomorrow.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Revised Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Lighting Moves Forward

Don't Miss

Military Vets Celebrate Bill That Would Exempt Their Pensions from Taxes

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.