Local sustainability groups say collective political action is key to battling climate crisis

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David Teeghman is the political chair of the Sierra Club Chicago, a branch of the national environmental organization. His work does not end at the office.

Teeghman contributes to environmentalism with small individual actions, by riding his bike and eating less red meat. Teeghman said solely contributing to environmentalism by these “atomized” actions does not make a concerted impact relating to the climate crisis, although these actions may make people feel better. Teeghman, alongside sustainability and environmental groups in Chicago and Northwestern University, said the solution is collective political action. 

“All the actions that we need to take as a society - to address climate change demand collective solutions,” Teeghman said. “Where are we going to come to those collective solutions? It's through policy. It's through politics.” 

Dahlia Rockowitz, the policy director at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, said individual action has some benefits, such as making the individual feel empowered for making a difference, but  individualism is “just not going to cut it.”

That doesn’t mean individual actions are meaningless. Isobel Duncan, hub coordinator for the youth-led environmental organization Sunrise Movement Chicago, said those who have the economic ability to create a sustainable lifestyle should “absolutely do it.”

Cats Who Compost, for example, is a student initiative at Northwestern Hillel that allows students to reduce their own waste by placing food scraps at the 24-hour drop-off compost bin locations behind Hillel and the Sheil Catholic Center.

 The Springboard social justice fellow at Hillel, Madeline Amonick, said Cats Who Compost emphasizes teaching students individual sustainability practices, which Amonick said will leverage students’ capabilities to address the larger issue of climate change. 

 But Duncan said “sustainability” is different from “individualism.”

“That (individualism) can actually be pretty harmful and not helpful, and was created by corporations to put the blame on the people when really the corporations are the problem,” Duncan said.

According to 2019 data from the Minderoo Foundation, an Australian philanthropic organization, just 100 companies are responsible for 90% of the single-use plastic waste generated globally. ExxonMobil alone contributed 5.9 million metric tons in global single-use plastic waste in 2019, according to the Minderoo Foundation.

These statistics are why Amonick said she thinks some personal sustainability actions are a “drop in the bucket” compared with polluting companies. According to Amonick, electoral politics is the connection between individual sustainable responsibility efforts and climate change.

First-year Northwestern student Mia Houseworth mentioned how the younger generation can make a collective impact through electoral politics.  

“I've heard the term ‘climate anxiety’ quite often, especially amongst young people, just because they often feel helpless in this situation,” Houseworth said. “But I definitely think young people have a really big voice in the climate crisis and they are the voters that are gonna be coming out and really stressing it.”

With midterm elections approaching, the Sierra Club and the Sunrise Movement have been working on promoting environment-focused candidates.  

Duncan said the Chicago Sunrise Movement is endorsing total candidates in Illinois for The U.S. Congress: Kina Collins, Delia Ramirez and Marie Newman. 

Teeghman mentioned how the Sierra Club has historically focused on gubernatorial candidates, but said he is “committed” to also focusing on city council elections. He also urged people to get involved because the climate crisis goes beyond just the environment.

“Climate change is going to doom us all in the end, but there are certain communities that are bearing the brunt of this right now more than others,” Teeghman said.

Aidan Ocampo, a second-year earth and planetary sciences major at Northwestern and member of the Northwestern Associated Student Government environmental committee, said environmental legislation they produce does not just affect Northwestern.

“Environmental issues will disproportionately impact people of color, and people of lower socioeconomic status,” Ocampo said.  “Northwestern isn't isolated, our actions will also impact the local community.” 

Teeghman said to be wary of any organization that focuses on individual actions to address systemic issues. 

Because of this, Teeghman said getting involved in collective political organizations is important. “If your environmentalism doesn’t involve politics, you need to fix that.”