Our projects may be at the point where we’re zoomed into the details, but the outcome of this election has forced us to zoom out. President Elect Trump has already announced that the Keystone XL Pipeline will be constructed, the rest of our coal reserves will be mined and burned, and all contributions from the United States to global climate mitigation will end. The outcome of Tuesday’s election resulted in the worst possible scenario for the environment. We face an unexpected and potentially catastrophic situation. Now, we must to reassess our roles and motivations as environmentalists as we craft our proposals for the end of the semester as well as our life plans for the end of next semester.

I have had three profound thoughts regarding this reassessment that I would like to share with you all:

1. Our role as avoiders of climate disaster has just shifted to adapters to climate disaster. If the Trump administration follows through with the aforementioned actions – a likely situation given the glaring red which now characterizes our federal government – fossil fuel emissions will increase rapidly. Climate change is happening and, during the next four years, will progress at a rate faster than “business as usual.” Think back to Lawrence’s Climate Change class. You know what this means – the worst case scenario. How will we make the market for renewable energies such that cheap gas and coal doesn’t dominate? How will we protect endangered species given altered seasons and rising sea levels? How will we house climate refugees from our coast, our deserts, and all over the world?  How will we ensure that our agriculture remains in enough intact to feed the increasing number of mouths? These are the questions that the world is counting on us to answer. They are daunting and numerous, but this is the reality of a Trump presidency.
2. Our fight must be constant and broad. Every four years is not nearly enough. Buying LED lights and going vegetarian is no longer enough. Donating a few dollars after a major oil spill or environmental disaster is not enough. We can no longer count on our federal government to do the heavy lifting. We must work tirelessly to create an infrastructure separate from our federal government that promotes renewables, energy conservation, greenhouse gas mitigation, conservation of species, etc. Work with your cities and states to adopt climate policy, incentivize renewable development and mandate energy conservation. Pressure your future employers to strive for carbon neutrality. Make donations to WWF or Conservation International in lieu of holiday gifts. Spend your free time volunteering with one of many environmental and social justice organizations. Our social norms and comfortable routines no longer take priority over this fight.
3. The fight for our earth cannot operate in isolation from other progressive fights. I hope that everyone understands this by now, but I emphasize it because this is more important now than ever. The right to a clean, safe, healthy environment is a human right. The right to marry whomever you love is a human right. The right to living through a police encounter is a human right. The right to feel as though you can leave your home without fearing assault, abuse, discrimination, or death is a human right. All of these rights, that should be characteristic of a civilized society, are currently at risk. The fights for these rights do not exist in vacuums. We cannot protect any of these rights without fighting to protect them all. I urge you to open lines of communication with activists fighting for all of these rights, especially on this campus, and connect our efforts.

This shit is difficult. We are all emotional. Know that I have immense faith in all of you guys despite the faith I’ve lost in this past 24 hours. We are in this fight together.