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(Image courtesy of wan · der · lust @ flickr. Used under the Creative Commons license.)
Today is a new day. And with it has come a new voice.
Last night, in the decisive moment of an historic election, Barack Obama was confirmed as the President-Elect of the United States. When he took the stage to declare his victory, he delivered a speech of remarkable scope.
This was an election, he said, that proved that American is still a place where anything is possible. The proof was "spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled." It was not about states, not about constituencies, but about the United States in the singular sense of the word -- we are one nation, one people, who can, in moments that offer a sense of historical clarity, speak with one voice.
In listing those who told his story, Senator Obama forgot to name one people, one constituency, on whose behalf he spoke clearly: We, the Greens. We, the Environmentalists. We who tell a story of hope and of change.
That he did not name us does not mean he does not care about the mandate of climate change. Quite the opposite. To judge by the placement of the environment in his speech, it will form one of a few central narrative threads as his vision for the country unfolds.
Take the challenges that face us, the challenges he described as the "greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."
Or take what he cited as what we know: "There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair."
A planet in peril, provided with new energy to harness. It is a not yet a complete vision, but it is a sketch. And from that sketch one thing is clear: the next four years won't be like the last eight.
There is work to be done. The job of protecting and fighting for the environment is not yet complete. Obama does not amount to a de facto climate victory. Indeed, we are just getting started. But today is a new day. And today has a new voice.
As Obama said last night, "It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."
Where this voice will take the environment is not yet clear. But if asked if we can address the challenge of climate change, let us draw on a simple phrase from our new national chorus.
Yes. Yes we can.
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