WeCAN is rooted in deep democracy, personal and collective empowerment, and a faith in the continuing emergence of a shared global community. We confront the climate challenge by rejecting the traditional frame of avoiding blame, change and instead affirming our shared responsibility, the need for transformative solutions driven from within, and the massive opportunities to improve our economies, societies, and lifestyles that climate solutions provide.

WeCAN means people power. We do not expect, nor do we accept, external governmental or corporate entities assuming responsibility in our stead and enforcing changes upon us. As integral builders of a climate-conscious society, we do not simply ask for changes, we build them. We recognize that all individuals, institutions, and governments have both stake and responsibility in the climate challenge and thus approach all, regardless of scale, background, or focus from the perspective of partnership in the great work we share. We have no opponents: we re-envision our action by viewing our targets as key partners and recognizing opposition as simply a failure to understand or trust the vision. Remembering this partnership, we value everyone’s contribution and expertise, and ensure that important voices, including our own, are not ignored: we speak with our own authority. We rely on our diversity – on the many backgrounds, ideas, and opinions we hold – to develop constructive solutions that work for everyone. We advance a new future for everyone, not a special interest.

WeCAN means transformation. Global warming threatens our economy, prosperity, health, security, peace, regional infrastructure, local culture, and daily lifestyle. Recognizing the inadequacy of purely technical quick-fixes and the urgency of the problem, we affirm the need to fundamentally transform the way our society works. We own and become this transformation, changing from recipients limited by the structure of society to creative actors driving the changes we wish to see. Our empowerment – re-envisioning our lives, redefining our abilities, and expanding the scope of our ‘community’ and ‘citizenship’ – is an expression of the transition as much as a means to achieve it. No one is an expert at building a sustainable world, but we create it by affirming the key role we each play. We will not be stopped by inexperience: we learn by doing and teach each other. Together we figure it out. We redesign our communities, rebuild local economies, source our energy in new and better ways, and start adapting our lives to the creative potential of the ecosystems in which we live. Our solutions are locally-appropriate, driven by the people they will affect, and integrated through collaboration across society. The places we go, people we meet, and ideas we wrestle with hold ever more possibilities to inspire. In doing so, we transform our communities, industries, governments, media, institutions, workplaces, neighbors and even ourselves from contributors to the problem to participants in the solution.

WeCAN means abundant opportunities. The climate challenge, despite the threat, offers us incredible opportunities for a fair, healthy, safe, and prosperous society. We recognize that global warming interlocks with and unites our dependency on fossil fuels, the entrenchment of economic and political injustice, the fragmentation of our communities and culture, the loss of our natural heritage, the escalation of global conflict and civil unrest, escalating health threats, poverty and much more. Moreover, building a society that avoids the worst impacts of global warming will require reforming the systems that perpetuate these related threats. We actively pursue the benefits of increased community, self-determination, strong local economies, cleaner land, air and water, reduced cultural fragmentation, alienation, and unsatisfying materialism, individual and cultural empowerment, meaningful economic interaction, and direct profit for everyday people that we can gain by acting. A climate-conscious society will be a fundamentally better, and while the process will take massive investment of our time, energy, ingenuity, and resources, we will reap massive returns. We focus on solutions that work now, that save us money, improve our quality of life, give us meaning, affirm our interdependence and freedom, and help those around us. We’re not here for self-sacrifice, we’re here because we share in the benefits of our progress. We are the change we wish to see in the world.

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