This text emerges out of the experience of organizing against climate catastrophe over the years, in a variety of forms but often focusing on direct action—e.g. blockades and other forms of direct intervention in, and disruption of, the economic machine that is killing everything. Initially, it is presented as a response to debates about an ostensible conflict between organizing actions that are symbolically meaningful and broadly accessible vs. organizing actions that are maximally disruptive, and therefore sometimes both more difficult and more secretive. 

Clergy from many traditions in Boston blocking construction of fracked gas pipeline: American Baptist, Buddhist, Episcopal, Hindu, Jewish, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Unitarian Universalist. 

This morning 16 interfaith Clergy sat down on the edge of the trench being dug by Spectra Energy in West Roxbury, Massachusetts and halted construction on the lateral fracked gas pipeline being constructed in the city of Boston. This action kicks off a new project - ClergyClimateAction.org - which is being supported by the Climate Disobedience Center.

This is the first in a series of posts to dig deeper in to the underlying principles of the Climate Disobedience Center. We invite you to join the conversation in the comments!

The Climate Disobedience Center is a strange organization in some ways. Marla, Ken, Tim and I have come together finding ourselves less driven by clarity about where we are going, but quite clear in our shared philosophy and principles that inform our worldview and underlay our approach to taking action. I think this is a natural place to be given the circumstances: humanity hasn’t faced a problem like this before, and we don’t know exactly what magic sauce is going to ultimately build a powerful enough movement to make the changes we need, but we do have some grounded understanding of what the attributes of our work must be in order to get there. Hence, we start from these principles as we experiment with new ways of action and movement building to make sure we’re on track.

I want to start this series off focusing on our third principle, which cuts to the core of who we are.

3. Engage individuals who see no alternative but to use our bodies in a final effort to avoid the abyss, who approach the task of re-centering society imbued with the hope, joy and serenity which only flow from living in the truth.