Hi football fans! Here in Oregon we’re known not only for our great football team but also for being the Green State. Let’s show everyone that Duck fans are not ducking the issue of global heating!
Fans, climate crisis is the playoff we just can’t lose. Our home turf is on the line. The clock is running. It’s third down and we have a lot of yards to go.
The world’s climate scientists have huddled and they’ve given us a game plan. We have to tackle carbon emissions. In two years we’ll need to cap those emissions and be on our own 10-yard line in 2010. Then we’ll keep pushing back those emissions over the decades. The goal is to bring down carbon 80 percent by 2050.
We will need to break right through that defensive line of deniers and delayers. We will need to run interference on the oil companies, and block new coal plants. We’ll have to rely on our receivers for some big plays – I’m talking about solar receivers!
We want touchdowns, not tipping points! We want stadiums filled with football fans, not hurricane refugees. It’s up to us.
But we need an umpire and referees on this field. We need rules to this game. Where is our government? Where are the officials? They’re presiding over the biggest barbeque in the history of humanity. We need to get them out of their fantasy league, onto the real field, now, before the clock runs out on us!
We’re handing off the ball now to every one of you. Take that ball and run with it. Don’t slow down. Make a pitch to others whenever you see an opening. Bring players in off the sidelines. Above all, keep your eyes on the goal.
We are all part of Team Humanity, and together we’re unbeatable, because we’re playing to win the biggest trophy of all – climate security for our families, our children, our communities.
So let’s all get behind the biggest kickoff in human history. Go Ducks! Let’s beat those Sun Devils!
Mary Wood
Law School Professor