Subject: A Note before the New Year… (From Th!rd Act/Bill McKibben)

Received this email from Bill McKibben to all ThirdAct members mailing list I suppose, in any event I would like to share it with you.

As 2022 draws to a close, so does year one of Third Act. It’s been a momentous one—thanks to your good work, we’ve managed to accomplish big things.

Just a few examples: the Heat Pumps for Peace and Freedom campaign got a $250 million commitment from the Defense Production Act. And when CNN covered the pivotal Senate election in Nevada, they gave credit for the narrow Senate win to two groups: the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas and the Third Actors who streamed into Reno to knock on doors.

We have working groups up and running across the country, and they are doing remarkable work already; I think we’ve fully vindicated the idea that there are lots of older Americans who want to leave this democracy and this planet in good working order and are willing to do what they can to make that happen!

So two big asks of you before the year is out:

Spread the word to more of your friends and neighbors. PBS Newshour provided us with an excellent tool to do just that, in the form of this lovely four-minute video they put on their newscast earlier this month. Please share it.

And if you’ve got some money you can spare, send it our way. Most of us (me, for instance) are volunteers, but we need staff to organize all that energy. Ours is small and working super hard; they need more bodies and minds to help us grow.

2023 is going to be better yet. First up is our big Day of Action on banks and the climate—which got an enormous boost this week with news that Europe’s largest bank had agreed to stop funding new oil and gas fields. That means it’s not impossible to imagine the big four American banks doing the same.

But to make it happen, we need to push. Which means finding more people and finding enough money. We’re counting on you for both!

p.s.—Someone was interviewing me the other day and asked what song I listened to when I wanted to feel peaceful and hopeful. I thought about it and picked this. It’s not a holiday tune, but it does seem right for this season of peace. Enjoy.