Below is the text of a speech given by Janis Bookout at the Austin People’s Climate March on Saturday, April 29th at the Texas State Capitol building. Janis is an organizer with 2020 or Bust and a mother of two. She is passionate about bringing an end to climate change to protect her children, as the children and people of the world.

Standing beside me are my boys, Evan and Ryan. Two years ago I looked them in the eyes and promised them to cause an end to the climate crisis before it’s too late. I knew a lot less then than i do now. All I knew is that they needed someone — they needed me — to be accountable for protecting their future. And so I answered that call and, with a team, co-created 2020 or Bust.*

2020 or Bust is a global campaign to end the climate crisis in time through actions that add up. We are tracking these through a mobile app — 2020 or Bust. Our mission is to mobilize 500 million people to reduce 8 billion tons of carbon by 2020.

Doing this work, there are realities you cannot un-know. I want to talk about those realities now.

Most of you know that we must not allow warming to go over 2°C. But you may not know that to make this possible requires an 8 billion ton reduction by 2020. This reduction is not accounted for in the Paris Agreement. If fully upheld, the Paris Agreement would get us about 3.5 or 4 degrees warming — a pathway that could mean the end of life as we know it. And without the agreement, which is most certainly threatened by the current administration, we face upwards of 6 degrees.

We have too long been operating under a haze of unreality. As though the impacts of climate change were generations away. As though the whole thing were just too abstract, too scary, or too complex for any individual to make a difference with.

Meanwhile, the water has been rising. The forests have been burning. Drought has ravaged our land and our peoples. The impacts of climate change are already happening. And every moment we pretend that anything but rapid, aligned action is not what is called for is a moment wasted.

We have seen extreme events right here in Central Texas.

• The Bastrop County Complex fire destroyed over 1600 homes
• Long periods of drought
• Repeated flooding – especially in Onion Creek
• This March was the hottest on record in Austin.

And you don’t have to look far to see that communities of color are the impacted worst.

• Whose homes are in the floodplains?
• Whose homes are less equipped with good air conditioning and working pipes?
• Whose communities are being moved to areas with fewer services – services that become increasingly important as patterns of extreme weather continues to intensify?
• And however we may feel about ourselves, historically, the liberal, white environmental agenda has neither been an inclusive** nor an equitable one.

How do we know? Because it is 2017, and and race is still the number one factor for the placement of toxic facilities in this country. It’s 2017 and as a nation, our word means nothing. We break treaties like they were disposable so we can put pipelines through sacred lands. We are all part of that reality.

It is time to stop lying to ourselves about who we have been – we have been asleep – comfortable in our lives. The shift in our culture that will end the climate crisis is the same shift that will end institutional discrimination. It is a matter of waking up.

Here in the west we are a population of sleepwalkers – moving like zombies as if our choices don’t matter. As if it doesn’t add up. But it does. The US has an emissions rate of 22 tons per household. By contrast, in Zimbabwe, a country deeply threatened by failing groundwater and worsening periods of drought, the average household is responsible for less than one ton per year.

Every time we buy new, buy imported, or buy more than we need. Every time we drive alone in our gas powered car. Every time we throw food in the trash — especially red meat. Every time we stay silent rather than pick up the phone to call our congresswoman or show up at a city council meeting. It all adds up.

And every time we ignore the nuances of a policy that will have negative impacts on our neighbors of color or LGBTQ communities, which are disproportionately impacted by homelessness. Every time we sit by while realtors leave notes on the doors of 80-year-old Eastside homeowners – that say “Move Out and Move On.” It all adds up.

Fortunately, the reverse is also true. Every awake action we take also adds up. Every time we take the bus and connect with our neighbors while reducing emissions. Every time we pick up the phone to call for the closing of a coal plant. Every time we get over our discomfort and ask to attend a meeting of a group that has a different experience than our own – so we can listen to what they have to say.  It all adds up.

Right now we are seeing the beginning of what Congressman Elijah Cummings calls a “broad multi-racial coalition of Americans who are determined to limit and reverse climate change.”

Renewables are booming and cities are making bold plans. But it’s not fast enough.

And being inspired is not enough. Only ACTION will make the difference. The climate crisis is a crisis of responsibility. There’s a saying — In a flood, no raindrop thinks it’s responsible. So who is responsible? I am – I am because I say so.

And no, I am not hopeful. When the house is burning down, I do not want hope, I want ACTION. And I will be the first one to pick up a hose.

Speaking of hoses — you may noticed that there is a name I have not said. I refuse to give more air-time to that destructive narrative. I say leadership is bigger than politics — and looking out into this crowd, I see thousands of leaders. Here in Austin, we are fortunate to have real climate leadership in our Mayor and City Council. They need our partnership, our loud voices, and our bold action now more than ever. What they do is in a dance with our demand.

The truth is, I am scared – every day – of the consequences humanity will face even if we accomplish our mission. But what set me free was realizing that the fear of failure I wake up into every day has nothing (literally nothing) to do with the actions I take.

Take a moment, right now, and look at the people around you. Look each other in the eyes. After the march, fear will try to put us all back to sleep. STAY AWAKE and Take Action. Do whatever you need to do right now to set yourself up for that.

There are many organizations doing unique work — all of it important. Go to the tables. Put your names on the lists. And, right now, please open your phone right now and email your name in the subject line to AustinPCM@gmail.com. You’ll get an email once every two weeks with actions you can take from all these organizations.

Today we march as a demonstration of our unwillingness to tolerate political behavior that is not only misrepresentative and irresponsible, but destructive to the future of life as we know it. But it is our actions after the march that will make all the difference. Thank you.

Important Corrections: 1) When Janis spoke, she said I “created” 2020 or Bust. This was a mistake she tried to fix by saying “in partnership.” It was co-created by a team of people led by Laughlin Artz. Janis took a lead role, but the project was not her singular creation. 2) Janis accidentally said “exclusive” instead of what is written, which is “inclusive.”

And for a view of Janis’ speech from the eyes of her own son, Ryan, be sure to check out the video below.