photo by Ira Shorr
Everyone who knows me understands that I am passionate about climate change. I truly believe it is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced. And we must deal with it for the sake of all we hold dear–our children and grandchildren, all the other species with whom we share our earth, even for the sake of civilization itself.
This month’s posting is different from what I normally post, in that I am asking for your help. In a few days I will dunk myself in the Mediterranean Sea at Tel Aviv, Israel! And I will be doing so to raise needed funds for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN).
Every January, CCAN gathers dozens of crazy, committed climate activists at National Harbor, outside Washington, DC, for a plunge into the cold, cold Potomac River. All of the ‘plungers’ raise money for CCAN’s climate change-fighting work by inviting friends and family to sponsor their plunge with a donation to CCAN.
I have participated in CCAN’s Polar Bear Plunge five times before and have been able to raise well over $10,000 to fund CCAN’s work throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
But this year my husband and I will be in Israel on the day of CCAN’s Plunge, so I assumed I would have to miss out. And while I didn’t exactly mind missing a dip in numbingly cold water, I did mind foregoing a chance to raise money for the organization called by international climate leader Bill McKibben “the most effective regional climate action group in the world.“
Then it occurred to me that I could still participate! I’ll just jump into a different body of water on a different continent! The CCAN staff is up for my participating at a distance, so I am planning to take my plunge into the–I hope–warmer waters of the Mediterranean.
I can honestly think of no better way to address climate change than to raise money for CCAN. With Trump poised to undo the progress we’ve made on climate at the federal level, many climate activists believe we must redouble our efforts at the state and regional levels. I agree.
And even for people who do not live in the mid-Atlantic region, a donation to CCAN makes sense. CCAN has helped expand renewable energy, has stood up to those who want to build fracked-gas pipelines, and has educated many, many people throughout the region. Besides, given the global nature of climate change, effective action anywhere benefits all of us everywhere.
So. I earnestly invite you to sponsor my upcoming march into the Mediterranean! Please help make CCAN’s work even more effective. If you click on my fundraising page below, you can donate to CCAN, easily and quickly.
https://www.crowdrise.com/aprilmoore-CCANPolarPlunge2017/fundraiser/aprilmoore
And I promise to send photos from Israel to all who sponsor my plunge. Thanks!–April Moore