Have you had a chance to read Rebecca Solnit’s book, A Paradise Built in Hell? I’ve been thinking back on it as we approach the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in Southern Mississippi. In it, she looks at the social response in the aftermath of five disasters—Katrina was one of them—and finds that in our darkest moments we humans come together in beautiful ways to help one another and rebuild. To call it a balm is anemic: it’s testimony to what we’re made of in the face of terrible hardship.
Third Actors are at work on all fronts right now. Many of us have been hit by the fires, floods, heat domes, and droughts that have signaled the very beginning of this new El Niño season. And many of us have been picking up shovels, volunteering to staff cooling stations, and checking in on our neighbors. These are profound acts of solidarity, and we’re going to need to strengthen our communities in this warmed world while working to fend off an even warmer future.
If you’re in need of some inspiration, read on: you’ll find some of the folks at the heart of stopping projects that would lock us in to more warming; videos, blogs, and articles to fill up your heart and mind; and tangible ways to plug in and get to work. My hope is that you find resolve to join in and put yourself at the center of this beautiful project of (re)building the future.
On we go!
Vanessa Arcara
President, Third Act
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Our team is growing and we are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated, tech-savvy Campaigns Associate to join our fully remote team on a full-time basis.
September 17, 2023 | 1:00–4:00 PM EDT | New York City
Third Act Working Groups are calling Third Actors near to New York to demand that Wall Street and Washington take bold action to End Fossil Fuels. This march is part of Climate Week NYC, where thousands of government officials, business leaders, and civil society will be gathering. There will be an Elders Hub in collaboration with Elders Climate Action to back-up the youth organizers leading the charge.
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Tell Congress to co-sponsor the Fossil Free Finance Act
The impacts from devastating floods, wildfires, and some of the hottest temperatures on record are only getting worse as investments to fossil fuel companies continue. When Big Banks keep funding fossil fuel companies, their risky bets threaten our economy and our very lives. We’ve asked the banks politely to change. We’ve disrupted the banks via our actions. And yet the banks are not voluntarily taking the action we need. Tell Congress it’s time to stop Big Banks from making risky fossil fuel investments, and ask your representatives to cosponsor the Fossil Free Finance Act.
Third Actors Bob Muehlenkamp, co-facilitator of Third Act Retired Union Members, and Kate Sugerman from the DC area, joined Climate Defiance (a new youth-led climate group) in an action at the ATP tennis tournament sponsored by Citi and Mubadala, a Saudi-based investment company, to raise awareness among tennis fans about Citi’s continued financing of dirty fossil fuel expansion. They unfurled banners that read “Stop Funding Fossil Fuels,” chanted, and tossed oversized tennis balls with painted flames onto the court, stopping the tennis match.
After the hottest summer on record and horrific fires around the world, climate activists are frustrated with conventional routes for change. “Citi burns our planet and then sports greenwash. We called them on this double fault,” said Muehlenkamp.
Sign the petition by Stop The Money Pipeline to tell tennis to drop Citi.
From Our Partners
Office Hours to Help Move Your Money
Need help getting a greener credit card or moving your money away from Big Dirty Banks? Third Act partner This! Is What We Did is offering free office hours with volunteer peer facilitators to support you in the process.
Book a 30-minute session with one of four volunteer peer facilitators at the link below. Appointments are first come, first served. If calendar appointments are full for a month, use the arrows on the calendar to check the following months.
This is a new offering! If we’re blown away by demand, we may need to work on expanding the program, so we ask for your grace if we need to take on a wait-list.
This past month, we held a remarkable cross-generation event moderated by Third Act’s Lead Advisor, Akaya Windwood. The fourth event of this series held a deeper conversation about money, culture, and affection, featuring
Leena Barakat of Women Donors Network (WDN), Marlena Sonn of Solidaire, and Bill McKibben of Third Act. You can re-watch the call and learn more about our speakers by heading to the link below.
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