Hope is vital when it comes to spurring action in any situation, including environmentalism. Without hope, there would be no incentive to take measures, as they would only feel pointless. And in a time where fossil fuel corporations, capitalism, the Trump administration, and climate change deniers seem to have a firm grip on policy, our efforts can feel futile.
I think it boils down to the question we briefly covered at the end of our last class: are Americans, particularly environmentalists, hopeful? Do we still believe that our future is bright? I believe the answer is yes. In fact, I believe one can argue that hope has become stronger after Trump was elected president. Just look at the American people’s response after Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the Paris Agreement. In the days after the statement, more than 1000 companies and institutions, including more than a dozen Fortune 500 businesses, over 200 cities and even states committed to the Paris Agreement. In fact, the most ironic moment for Trump following his speech that included the infamous quote “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris”, came when the mayor of Pittsburgh quickly retaliated, noting that Hillary Clinton received 80 % of the vote in the city, and Pittsburgh pledged to the Paris Agreement.
Protest in Chicago days after Trump announced the US would be pulling out from the Paris Agreement. Link: https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/chicago-climate-rally-trump-ap-img.jpg
This is only one of countless of examples showing that there is hope in our society. Social movements are still going strong, research in the field is still being conducted, and companies, institutions and grassroots groups are still exploring how to become greener, all of this despite the steps taken backwards by our current administration. And our persistence is because of hope; we believe we can make change even though the conditions are especially hard in today’s society, and we believe there is a future after Trump’s presidency that will present a greater opportunity.
