We can’t keep doing this

 

When we heard about the hurricane barreling toward Louisiana on Sunday, our first thought was for the people, communities, and natural systems in its path. We hope they will be OK! Our second thought is a powerful sense of déjà vu. Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people and caused over $176 billion in damage, was exactly 16 years ago on Sunday. In the years since Katrina, climate change has only intensified. Severe and unstable weather is the new normal, and lives and property are at risk like never before. We can’t keep living like this. We can’t keep driving into the eye of the storm like we don’t know what’s coming. We can see *exactly* what’s coming! The question is, are we going to DO something about it? It’s time for the United States to back away from the brink and start saving our climate, our planet, and potentially our lives! Please support Greenpeace USA today with an emergency gift of $20.00 or more. Help support all our critical leadership on climate, renewable energy, and planet sustainability … including our work to push Congress to END fossil fuel subsidies! This time, they’re telling us New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are “better prepared” than they were 16 years ago. I hope they’re right — but it’s not just Louisiana that needs to be prepared. More frequent and larger hurricanes. Hotter and faster-moving wildfires. More severe and longer lasting droughts. And rising sea levels that may start swallowing up low-lying cities like Miami … and New Orleans. Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies have received over $15 billion in tax-payer funded subsidies every year — money that could have been invested in renewable energy infrastructure and climate adaptation. As a nation, we could be on the path to phasing out fossil fuel production by now. And if we’d worked with other countries around the world to solve the climate crisis, we might not be in the mess we’re in. It’s not too late to invest in solving this crisis. But it will be soon. Every day we waste is another day we place our cities, our people, and our future at risk. Please make your gift to Greenpeace NOW. Tropical storms, hurricanes, and other severe weather events aren’t anomalies. They are part of a dangerous pattern. Think about the terrifying megafires that are still burning out west, along with the wildfires now in Northern Minnesota. Think about the deadly flooding in Tennessee, which could find itself in the path of this new storm depending on which way it breaks. We don’t want more people to lose their lives. We don’t want more homes and communities to be destroyed. And we don’t want a million animal and plant species to be driven to extinction! But if we do nothing, that’s the reality. Only we can change it. What if, instead of only investing in rebuilding after disasters, our government invested NOW in building more wind, solar, and a resilient electricity system? What if, instead of giving the fossil fuel industry over $15 billion annually in subsidies, Congress tried spending that money on climate resiliency, or subsidizing the production of clean, green, sustainable energy? What if, THIS TIME, the U.S. got smart — for a change. As you hold your breath for the people of Louisiana and watch the weather reports, keep this in mind: We know how to solve this crisis. We know how to lower carbon emissions and begin restabilizing our planet. The question is, will we? Will you help lead the way? Sincerely, Janet Redman Climate Campaign Director, Greenpeace USA P.S. Sixteen years after Katrina, Louisiana could be back in the path of another powerful storm. We hope it will move out to sea, and lives will be spared! But until we solve this crisis it’s ALWAYS going to be a matter of time until the next big one hits. Is that the way we’re going to keep on living? Or are we going to take action? Please make your emergency gift to Greenpeace NOW so we can keep fighting — together — for a green and peaceful future for all. Greenpeace USA never takes a dime from corporations or governments. Everything we do is thanks to the generous support of people like you!