Victory Speakers For Climate Crisis

A Public Lecture By University of Oregon Law Professor Mary Wood

The fact we must face is that no one on this planet is going to be unaffected by climate change as time goes on. Our collective future hinges on our response today. As individuals, we can choose one of two paths. We can either put our heads in the sand and pretend nothing is happening, or we can find our role in this crisis. Unfortunately, the sheer scope and horror of global warming makes the problem so daunting that many simply choose the former path, living life day to day as if nothing is looming in their future. The purpose of this talk is to bring climate crisis to a conceptual level that ordinary citizens can act on. It is often said that throughout history “ordinary people have considered it their responsibility to do something extraordinary.” At the end of this talk, I’m going to ask you to do something extraordinary – to serve your country in the biggest defense effort Humanity has ever undertaken.

I would like to start by describing the urgency we face, as well as our government’s colossal failure to address carbon pollution. I will then turn to a legal principle that I hope can catalyze the kind of paradigm shift needed to confront this crisis. I will leave you with a call to citizenship that I hope you will take out of this room and deliver to your families, your workplaces, churches and schools.

You can find the entire text of this compelling speech here.