" Those who say it can't be done need to stop interrupting those already doing it!"
Please stick with me through this convoluted essay. There are lots of points I will try to make briefly. Basically I am arguing that every one of us MUST take action (beyond voting) because we have an opportunity to spark a change in world history as monumental as the industrial revolution, and the cost of inaction is likely to be very dire indeed. We must use this grass roots enthusiasm for the November election and the widespread concern over the economy and national security to put pressure on our elected officials to take immediate and drastic action toward a future of green, clean, domestic energy. This will reduce our dependence on and financial support of the middle east, it will put our economy back on track driving innovation and creating jobs, and it will put us back as leaders in the world in addressing the most pressing global issue of our time; global climate change. To anyone who says we cannot afford to this we must say "we cannot afford not to".
(This blog was written and then I saw today's headline which said the economy may prevent either candidate from addressing global warming. This is the fallacy we need to expose! We just threw $700 billion to save wall street. What about saving the world? What if a country threatened to devastate an American city (Like New Orleans) we might launch a $3 trillion war (like Iraq) to prevent it. Well if we don't act we will have moreKatrinas , we will see war over water and food resources throughout the world, do you think terrorism in the world will be more of a threat in the world if this happens, of course. And we must remember that efficiency can go a long way towards fixing the problem with relatively little investment and will create jobs which will grow the economy. The more domestic energy production we have the more money we will keep circulating in our economy. Also green energy lends itself much more towards the creation of small companies than does say oil and of course small companies help our economy much more than do large international corporations. But I digress)
A few months ago I wrote a journal entry about what I see as the coming paradigm shift in humanity and how I am dedicated to doing my part in bringing it about. I will turn this into a blog in the nearish future but it basically was about a future of social and environmental justice, a future where economics, environmental stewardship, human rights, consumerism, energy, politics, international trade, national security, and other issues are thought of systemically and through a moral lens of cooperation, empathy, efficiency, and the right of all living things to exist unharmed by the actions of others.
Now I had envisioned this taking an unknown amount of time and my main niche for helping to cause this shift is through education of our younger generations to understand their sense of place in the world and how they can live as a contributing member to the world rather than a destructive force.
But since I wrote that the world has changed. There is a window of opportunity that has presented itself since then and many experts argue it could be the last chance we have. Two factors have opened this window and provided lubrication for us to slip through it. One is the financial crisis and failure of the "free market" and two is the election of a new president and new congress.
OF course we do not know at this point who the next president will be and if there will be a shift in the congress (to say a Democratic,fillabuster proof majority). Regardless of who wins we must attempt to do what I lay out below. I think Obama is much more likely than his opponent to actually take the steps needed and he will only have the power to do so if there is a majority in congress who will agree with him or push him in the right direction. Of course if Obama is elected there is no guarantee he will be thetransformative president we need. That is where we come in. If elected Obama and congress will have industry lobbyists and Washington nay sayers filling their ears with garbage. Trasformative presidents of the past acted because the groundswell of citizens pushing for change was too much to ignore. This is what we need again. This is the defining moment of our time, how we shapeObama's presidency in the first few months could change the course of the world and honestly if we fail the world's leading experts now agree the situation will be dire.
So the economic collapse is a double edged sword. On the bright side it has gotten usually apathetic Americans to wake up and pay attention to the issues and to want a solution. It has also exposed the deregulated free market as fundamentally flawed and forced even Republicans to take steps to "socialize" or "federalize" the banking industry. In other words they can no longer argue that there is no role for government to play in all this.
On the down side the crisis has drained even further our coffers. With 700 billion dollars thrown at the problem we are even further in debt and even less likely to be able to muster up large amounts of money to pay for programs that the people want and need. Cities, States, and Federal agencies are all slashing budgets at a time we need investment in our future.
Luckily doing the right thing is also good for business and can SAVE us money. For EFFICIENCY is gonna be one of the most important first steps. Efficiency alone can help us get off fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, drive innovation, and will save us money!! Just a small example. If we were to introduce basic energy efficiency to this country's public school system we could save $6 billion! That is enough to hire 30,000 new teachers. McCain is right, we do not necessarily need to throw more money at the problem to solve it. Imagine the savings to be had in the Military budget!!! Let's bring our troops home and employ them to make our nation's buildings energy efficient!
Now back to global climate change. There is a magic number that scientists said is the point at which we cannot avoid climate change that will greatly effect our world and its ability to provide food, water, and stable living conditions for those of us who live here. That number is 350 and it represents parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. (Go to 350.org to learn more and take action!) We are already PAST that number which means we need to take immediate and dramatic action to freeze and reverse the current trend. In 2009 the world community will gather to try and agree on a global plan to address this issue. (Leading experts warn this is most likely the world's last chance to address this problem effectively. We need, as "the leaders of the free world", in this country, to take a lead on the issue and we need our President to go to this meeting in '09 and be able to say, "here are the steps WE ARE TAKING, and we hope the rest of the world will join us". (again for the naysayers who say "what about China, India, etc. Well China right now is actually doing more than we are, they are not necessarily unwilling, in fact they are less entrenched in the old way of doing things than we are. And when developing nations realize it is actually cheaper and more sustainable to be green, clean, and efficient do think they will hesitate?
To elaborate on the cheaper part of it. In a time of abundance it is easy to be wasteful. Americans throw out 25 % of the food we buy. (During the depression do you think this was the case?) The standard light bulb wastes 95% of its energy producing heat. Our cars get half the miles per gallon than the cars in Europe. If we increased the fuel efficiency of cars we would not have to "drill baby drill" or even import oil from the middle east and it would cost less for Americans to get to work/school/etc. So as oil prices rise so do food prices and as the economy turns down people need to save money. Efficiency is the easiest first step and it happens to also be the best way to be an "environmentalist".
So back to politics. Our government is by the people for the people. So we the people need to be engaged. We need to be a voice that can be heard over the chatter of coal industry lobbyists. We need to say no to new coal and we need to say it loud. There is no such thing as "Clean Coal" - this is just a theory and the fact Obama talks about it shows us what we are up against. But I strongly believe that Obama has the intellect, foresight, and heart to grasp the problem and chose the right solutions. But we must let him and our representatives in congress know that this is important to us.
The take home message must be that we need to address global climate change and in doing so we will solve our economic and national security problems and without doing so any attempts to fix the latter two problems will fail! It needs to be done through efficiency and clean, renewable energies like solar and wind, we need to stop using coal and nuclear power, reduce our use of oil and natural gas, and end the wars which are draining our resources and destroying lives and the environment.
This sounds like a lot but it must be done, in fact it is already being done. For example through the efforts of nonprofits and foundations who came together to revolutionize how these two sectors work together, taking a systemic, cooperative approach, the RE-AMP initiative has made huge progress in the countries most unlikely region. RE-AMP is a seven-state network of nonprofits and foundations, striving for Midwest leadership in 21st century clean energy by reducing electricity sector global warming pollutants 80 percent by 2030. This group has been so successful that the governors from each of the states involved have signed on to the plan. And RE-AMP has done this with investment in the millions (pennies for the federal government).
And if you think industry won't like it then get them to talk with Ray Anderson. A dozen years ago he made the audacious goal of turning his $1 billion dollar carpet manufacturing company Interface, INC. , into one with a ZERO environmental footprint! He is now halfway to his goal and each and every step the company has boosted profits by more than he could have imagined. Green is good for business!
So what can each of us do? There are a few things we all can do, MUST do!
(before you think you do not have time, we all can admit that we have some time we could devote to saving the world. Turn off the TV, put down your magazine, and get to work!
1) The first small step is VOTE! And make sure EVERYONE you know is voting.
2) Join 1sky This is a very well organized group pushing politicians to fight global climate change through green jobs and green energy. At the least join them, better yet, get everyone you know to join, and even better still become a precinct captain to make sure we succeed in this mission.
4) Go to the Presidential Climate Action Project, learn about the Plan and sign your support.
5) Go to 350.org and invite Obama/McCain to the 2009 global summit on global climate change.
6) Call and write letters to your congressional representatives as well as key members of congress and federal government and tell them you think this is of utmost importance. To find out who to contact and how to do it go to USA.gov.
7) write letters to the editors of every newspaper and magazine you can think of!
8) spread the word to everyone you know!
thanks for taking the time to read this and even more thanks for passing it on and doing your part to be an engaged citizen of this country and world.
Peace and God Bless the World,
Danny
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