Building Connection and Empowering Our Inner Climate Protector

The Climate Protector Ride’s crew arriving at the Climate & Clean Energy Expo at Caras Park on Sept. 17, 2022

Connecting in community is central to Families for a Livable Climate’s theory of change.

We believe in the power of connecting over common values, building authentic relationships, and speaking up about the future we want for ourselves and our families.

When we are silent and isolated from each other, it is easy to get overwhelmed about the climate crisis. We’ve written about this before - that isolation and despair are the tools and messages of oppression, and that connecting with community allows us to reject these messages and transform from a lonely rain droplet into a powerful and forceful wave. 

Recent research corroborates this assertion. Sparkman, Geiger, and Weber (2022) have found that most Americans “experience a false social reality” when it comes to climate change: “roughly 80–90% of Americans underestimate the true level of concern for climate change as well as support for transformative climate policies.” In reality, 66-80% of Americans support climate policies, but we perceive this number to be roughly half (37-43%). This tells us that most of us are lacking connection and conversation around climate change - and that this disparity is promoting a narrative of hopelessness.

That there is actually much more support for climate action than we assume becomes clear when we rally together at events like our Climate Protector Ride this past weekend. When we are able to get together and see just how many of us there are, we are emboldened, empowered, and refreshed in this work to build a livable future for all.

The Climate Protector Ride, held this year on September 17, is an annual community bike ride to the Climate & Clean Energy Expo in Missoula. It is an opportunity to connect with fellow climate protectors, promote biking as a climate solution, publicly display our support for climate action, and proclaim our collective commitment toward building a livable future - all while having fun! Nothing puts us in a good mood like a nice bike ride with friends and some family-friendly climate action.

We were delightfully surprised to see over 50 folks of all ages join us for the ride this year. And we know this is just a small portion of the Montanans who support climate justice.

After seeing and connecting with our community, we feel inspired, refreshed, and renewed. Thank you to all who showed up, to our partners and sponsors (Missoula County Sustainability, Free Cycles, Soil Cycle, Good Food Store, and Big Dipper), and to everyone supporting us along the way.

For anyone who missed the ride, there are many upcoming opportunities to connect in community over climate action, including our virtual Climate Conversations Book Discussion with climate scientist and expert communicator Dr. Katharine Hayhoe on September 27. The discussion will focus on navigating climate conversations across political, social, and cultural differences, giving you the tools and skills to build authentic relationships and talk about climate change with confidence.

Keep up-to-date on events and opportunities like these by joining our mailing list or connecting with us directly.

We look forward to continuing with making connections, breaking climate silence, and empowering each other to advocate for a livable future for all.