2020 or Bust is an environmentalist project of the organization “So You Want To Change The World, Inc.” that uses a mobile game application to track users’ “carbon footprint” by logging travel, food, and physical activities.

Laughlin Artz, a “queer eco-radical performance artist”¹ and the founder of Context News, is the president and founder of “2020 or Bust.”

Mobile App

The app, “2020 or Bust, The Game of the Century” was launched in 2016, described as “easy, pop-culture, actionable (and) fun.” ²

As described in the mobile app game, “Game of the Century” will “literally help reduce global emissions, the key to the world’s winning the game.” The mobile game app also provides real-time progress of users’ activities across the world on a website dashboard. According to 2020 or Bust, the dashboard is used to show users’ activities in reducing the estimated 8 gigatons of carbon dioxide needed to stop climate change. ³

Skateboarding Across the Desert

Laughlin Artz, the president of 2020 or Bust, traveled from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2018 by skateboard to highlight the issue of climate change. Artz used a skateboard to cross nearly 400 miles between the cities. During his trip, Artz had a team of 3 personnel that rode alongside him with a support van. ⁴

Other Activities

In 2013, Laughlin Artz, president of 2020 or Bust claimed that if 500 million people did not change their way of life, the Earth will inevitably be unable to reverse the effects of the changing climate. ⁵

In 2017, 2020 or Bust, joined with Rainforest Partnership to recognize the “World Rainforest Day” on June 22, 2017. The event highlighted the Paris Climate Agreement and the withdrawal of the United States from that agreement. ⁶

In 2019, 2020 or Bust held a Global Youth Climate Action Summit. A banner at the event read, “Don’t let the planet get hotter than you.” ⁷

People

Laughlin Artz, described as a “queer eco-radical performance artist” in an advertisement for a promotional event for 2020 or Bust’s involvement at a United Nations environmentalist conference in Marrakech, Morocco,⁸ founded and leads 2020 or Bust. Artz has described President Donald Trump as “very, very bad. People make the comparison: this is like a textbook case of Fascism.” ⁹

Artz is the author of the book Extinction Is Not Our Worst Alternative in which he describes the climate change situation as “probably already too late and if not, a quickly shrinking window.” ¹⁰

Janis Bookout, a co-founder of 2020 or Bust, is also the founder of the Austin Texas-based advocacy groupAustin Climate Alliance. ¹¹

1. “The Road to Marrakech: Off-Off-Broadway: Reviews, Cast and Info.” TheaterMania, October 30, 2016. https://www.theatermania.com/shows/new-york-city-theater/off-off-broadway/the-road-to-marrakech_317299.
2. Artz, Laughlin. “2020 Or Bust – Global Launch of ‘2020 or Bust.’” United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, The United Nations, 17 Nov. 2016, https://unfccc.int/files/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/application/pdf/2020orbust_adv_en.pdf.
3. “Earth Week Champion Spotlight: 2020orBust.” Compassion Games International, April 28, 2017. http://compassiongames.org/earth-week-champion-spotlight-2020orbust/.
4. Shoup, Mikayla, and Mikayla Shoup. “62-Year-Old Skateboarding from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas to Mobilize People to Fight Climate Change.” St George News, December 19, 2018. https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/12/19/mks-62-year-old-skateboarding-from-salt-lake-city-to-las-vegas-to-mobilize-people-to-fight-climate-change/#.XZVMKKeZOfU.
5. “Laughlin Artz and 2020 or Bust Take an Innovative Approach to Addressing Climate Crisis.” Landmark Forum News, October 19, 2016. https://www.landmarkforumnews.com/laughlin-artz-and-2020-or-bust-take-an-innovative-approach-to-addressing-climate-crisis/.
6. Kristen Gill. “World Rainforest Day: Because the World Can’t Wait.” Kristen Gill, June 23, 2017.
7. Kim, Lauren. “How Teen Activist Respond To The Worlds Existential Crisis of Climate Change.” The Mercury News. MediaNews Group, Inc. , June 20, 2019. https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/20/how-teen-activists-respond-to-the-worlds-largest-existential-crisis-climate-change/.
8. “The Road to Marrakech: Off-Off-Broadway: Reviews, Cast and Info.” TheaterMania, October 30, 2016. https://www.theatermania.com/shows/new-york-city-theater/off-off-broadway/the-road-to-marrakech_317299.
9. Sun, Jennie. “HUMANS OF COP 22 – LAUGHLIN ARTZ.” Emory Climate Organization, November 12, 2016. https://climate.emorydomains.org/cop22/humans-of-cop-22-laughlin-artz/.
10. Artz, Laughlin. Extinction Is Not Our Worst Alternative (Kindle Edition). Amazon Digital Service, LLC, n.d.
11. Zein, Rachel. “Activists Protest Global Warming Denial on Trump’s 100th Day in Office.” The Daily Texan, Texas Student Media, 30 Apr. 2017, https://www.dailytexanonline.com/2017/04/30/activists-protest-global-warming-denial-on-trumps-100th-day-in-office.