As massive political and economic crises come into focus a must-solve climate issue looms
After nearly four years of madness emanating from the White House, now, even as the world reels from a pandemic that has yet to show signs of abating, another issue is still to come back into the center of our consciousness, and soon. If and when the vaccines and immune system strengths among survivors increases, other serious issues will come to the forefront, if not sooner.
Along with another great recent documentary on how to solve the climate crisis, “Kiss the Ground“, this documentary is inspired by the book by Naomi Klein and is called ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’. It is unique in that it exposes the deep and obvious ties between failed capitalist systems and the climate crisis. Since we are already facing, as 2021 rapidly approaches, a twin if not triple group of crises, with the economic devastation potentially even worse, in the coming years, than either the pandemic or the climate crisis, the message of this film is more urgent than ever.
The premise that the climate crisis actually presents an opportunity to change the entire world economic system for the better has been made even more pertinent and cogent by the events of 2020, both by the political disaster brought about by Trump, particularly his anti-environmental crusades, and the pandemic, which brought economic hardship upon millions worldwide.
The future is, in some ways, clearer than ever before
The positive side of this debate, what ‘could be‘ rather than the devastating and depressing reality of what already is, has a great potential to become a growing and expanding movement in 2021 and beyond. Ultimately, the climate crisis, as an extinction level threat, is, without a doubt, a wake-up call for the entire human race and almost certainly the last one that will be coming.
In other words, we all need to wake up to what might be the only solutions to this threat, or else we simply won’t be around to try any alternative solutions.
“OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE” COURTESY OF FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE / FF LOS ANGELES
Celebrating Earth Day’s 50th must mark a New Beginning for the Next 50
April 22nd, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the original Earth Day. While Earth Day is not technically a national holiday, many people in power recognize the occasion, and its momentum over the past half-century has evoked real environmental change.
Earth Day was first conceptualized in late 1969, when U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson hired Harvard grad student Denis Hayes to organize the inaugural event for the following spring. At first, the senator and student imagined the day as a nationwide teach-in to celebrate the natural world, educate about the environment, and push for activism.
According to Hayes in a recent New York Times article reflecting on the 1970 event, the first Earth Day “was not an anti-litter campaign… it was talking about fundamental changes in the nature of the American economy.” The occasion drew over 20 million people to rally in city streets across the country.
The event was a serious push for dire political and economic transformation that eventually proved immensely effective. In the months following Earth Day, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and progressive amendments were added to the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. It also launched America’s environmental movement into full throttle.
Taking Action and Raising Awareness is Still the Most important Focus for Earth Day
Earth Day’s original incarnation occurred during a far from tranquil period in American history. The Vietnam War was at a tumultuous height, civilian protests were ubiquitous, the Civil Rights movement was ongoing, and the Cold War was far from over. Still, with passion and perseverance, the event turned out being a success and managed to evoke positive change in an unlikely time.
Now, fifty years later, America is on the brink of multiple crisis points at once. Politicians and constituents are ideologically polarized, the 2020 presidential election is starting to boil, and most pressingly, the entire world is working to combat and understand COVID-19.
Just like the first Earth Day, ED-2020 comes at a deeply turbulent time.
Climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss as a result of human activity will not stop in the face of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Neither will the political responses to it—Trump, for example, cut fuel efficiency standards right around the same time that the stateside coronavirus shutdowns began.
Simultaneously, Earth Day 2020 has the potential for inspiring a path toward great opportunities.The recent oil crash signifies the possible end for the hegemonic, dangerous and corrupt fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency suggests that investing in green energy right now might be the economy’s best chance at recovery from the COVID-19 stock plummets.
The issues may have changed over the past fifty years. The world certainly has. Nevertheless, Earth Day still fights for the same overall goals that it did back in 1970: an environmentally sound and equitable planet for everyone sharing it.
Although social distancing orders may be hindering Earth Day’s regular festivities this year, its supporters still celebrate with virtual activities accessible from home.
Honors pale compared to the task that lies ahead, but the Accolades are well Deserved
Greta Thunberg, the hugely influential sixteen-year-old climate activist from Sweden, was recently named Time magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year. Just a teenager, Thunberg holds the honor of being the youngest recipient of the title in history.
The Time magazine Person of the Year is a tradition that dates all the way back to 1927, when Charles Lindberg earned the prestigious title for being the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. Over the past ninety-two years, the honor has been given to influential people such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. On a more controversial side of history, the award has also gone to infamous people such as Hitler in 1938, Stalin in 1939 and 1942, and Donald Trump in 2016.
Thunberg, however, is given the honor for her work in influencing others to take on earth’s greatest challenge. Ever since dropping out of school in 2018, she has traveled the world, spreading messages of action and determination regarding climate change. Her dedication to making the world a sustainable place is unparalleled and she has inspired many people with her unapologetic and honest way of addressing the issue head on.
Greta’s accomplishments are all the more impressive given her age, gender, and conditions. A teenaged girl with Aspergers Syndrome, anautism spectrum disorder is not typically the kind of person that Time magazine selects for Person of the Year. Before Thunberg, the youngest Person of the Year was twenty-five years old, and before the turn of the millennium, only four women had ever received the honor. Nevertheless, Greta earned the title on merit, and her recognition is further inspiration for more young women to stand up against tyranny and aspire to great things.
Coinciding with COP 25 Greta Continued on only paused Briefly to Acknowledge the Award
In typical Greta Thunberg fashion, though, she did not gloat or really even celebrate the honor. Steadfast on overlooking symbolic recognition and focusing on tangible change, Thunberg spent the week addressing the UN Climate Conference in Madrid.
As Greta does when meeting with world leaders, she spoke to the UN with the uncompromising sincerity, calling out politicians for considering money over the environment and creating egregious loopholes in order to surpass climate accountability. She called the current pledges in place “misleading,” and deemed that good intentions are not enough; it takes long-term and persistent commitment to save the planet.
Coincidentally, shortly after Thunberg finished her moving speech, over two-hundred activists were removed from the conference. Loudly chanting their beliefs and frustrations for several minutes, the protestors were eventually forced out of the building by security.
I hear many say “2019 was the year when the public woke up to the climate crisis”. This is a misconception. A small but rapidly growing number of people have started to wake up to the climate crisis. This has only just begun. We’re still only scratching the surface.
Many of the protestors came from the organization Greenpeace, which Thunberg has worked with in the past. Among those removed from the building was Greenpeace leader Jennifer Morgan, who commented on the stark divide between what is going on inside the conference and what is going on outside, implying that the politician’s have a severe detachment from the citizens’ world.
Morgan’s insight is not a good sign, especially considering that the UN Climate Conference is dependent on unity and understanding across borders. However, if there is already a border separating the conference from the rest of the world, then it puts the entire meeting in jeopardy.
Spending the final weeks of a tumultuous year at home in Sweden, there is no doubt that in 2020 she will once again be in the headlines continuing her quest to raise awareness and help us all to face our greatest challenge head on, with open eyes and, hopefully, open minds.
Trump Imagines Eagles Attacked by Windmills – Collage – Lynxotic
In a weekend speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, close to his winter retreat at Mar-a-Lago where he is spending the holidays, Trump, rambling and nearly incoherent, outlined his lack of “understanding” for “windmills” and how “They kill the birds”.
“I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They’re noisy. They kill the birds.
Trump at speech to young conservatives
In a recent New York Times article some real facts behind Trump’s true attitude toward birds and the environment in general were detailed. Of course, by now it is well known and standard practice for his speeches to veer off into wild and reckless lies and untruths, but this recurrent theme of a concern for the danger that “windmills” pose for birds is particularly bizarre when compared with the real facts.
His administration’s new interpretation for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act means that companies that literally destroy birds, even by the millions, no longer have to pay fines or even report the destruction. This contrasts his nonsensical and false allegations that “windmills” are killing birds with actual examples such as when BP paid $100 million in fines as a result of having killed or injured at least one million birds during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Quoted in the Times, Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity stated that the Trump administration has engineered “a fundamental shift” in policy that “lets industrial companies, utilities and others completely off the hook.”
“Even a disaster like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, which killed or injured about a million birds, would not expose a company to prosecution or fines.”
So, while he is out whining about deaths of birds due to wind power turbines, completely imagined and for which there is no proof, his administration is quietly sanctioning companies to commit what nearly amounts to bird genocide with impunity. It doesn’t take much to see that we are talking something about far more dangerous than a lying clown or entertainer. There is a clear pattern of protecting big oil and other corrupt environmentally destructive entities while at the same time attacking all sustainable energy solutions or pollution reducing projects or policies.
Trump Tilting at Windmills Tweaks Twitter, acting as Buffoon: the Subject is no longer Humorous
Above and below are some samples of recent tweets, of course there was parody and jokes at Trump’s expense, but also others more on point. The real motivation is exposed behind what appears to be clowning, as Trump attempts to insert imaginary faults to anything that challenges the hegemony of the fossil fuel industrial complex.
#windmills The time for standing up to the fools and the corrupt that support the fossil fuel industry is now@GretaThunberg is right – this is just the beginning
2019 will undoubtedly go down as one of the hottest years on record. However, in the final weeks of the decade, the planet has surpassed yet another sweltering milestone, this time happening Down Under as Australia witnesses its hottest day ever. On Tuesday, December 17th, the Oceanic country experienced average temperatures of 40.9C (105.6F). This is .6 degrees higher than the previous national record of 40.3C, which took place on January 7th, 2013.
Being in the southern hemisphere, Australia experiences summer between December and February. Therefore, it is not a complete anomaly to see such frighteningly high temperatures this time of year. Nevertheless, these figures are unprecedented and potentially dangerous, and their causes, effects and meaning transcend the immediate sphere.
The foremost culprit for Australia’s recent heat waves is the Indian Ocean Dipole, an effect where the surface seawater is warmer in the western half of the ocean than it is in the east. Because Australia lies on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean, it is engulfed in cold water. The air, however, compensates for this cold surface water with less precipitation, leading to droughts and intense heat. Meanwhile, land along the western Indian Ocean is experiencing a surplus of rainfall and treacherous floods linked to thermal expansion.
To call the Indian Ocean Dipole a natural occurrence is misleading. It is largely an effect of manmade climate change taking its tolls on the sea and atmosphere. When carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, it traps the heat, creating dangerous conditions on land and jeopardizing ecosystems on all levels.
A Large Fossil Fuel Producer and Carbon Burning System
Australia is, although it seems rarely mentioned, one of the most fossil fuel dependent countries on the globe. With over twenty-four million people in just under 3 million square miles, the nation emits more carbon pollution per capita than most. It is also the world’s largest exporter of coal, and the third largest exporter of all fossil fuels worldwide, trailing behind Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Consequentially, Australia is feeling the effects of climate change firsthand. As a result of its scorching temperatures, seemingly the entire country has found itself ablaze in bushfires. Around the time of the hottest day on record, Australia endured over one hundred wildfires nationwide—an inextricable result of the heat waves and dry climate.
Bafflingly, the Australian government has been basically silent on these issues. Prime Minister Scott Morrison refuses to answer questions about climate change, and has hardly even addressed the heat waves’ relation to global warming. In the wake of the fires, he even fled the country to Hawaii, causing Australians to attack him on social media for his absence.
Likewise, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, the Australian government’s second in command, is a climate denier. A member of the country’s conservative National Party, he openly calls the climate crisis a leftist hoax, and claims that its links to the current fires are ungrounded.
Sadly so often the Case, Politics Continue to Lag Behind Science
Such lackluster political representation made Australia far from a progressive member at the recent UN Climate Conference in Madrid. This is ironic given the fact that the country is experiencing such extreme conditions. The nation has reportedly warmed more than 1 degrees Celsius in the last hundred years, making the droughts, fires, and heat more frequent. Based on the shortage of governmental response, we can assume that the Australian federal buildings are well air-conditioned.
Nevertheless, many Australian citizens have expressed outrage that their leaders are failing to take action against these environmental disasters. Heat waves are Australia’s deadliest natural phenomena. They have killed more people than the brush fires by a wide margin. When more people are dying from the heat in places that were temperate just decades ago, it is clear that the causes need to be addressed. If the government can’t or won’t respond, perhaps the people will start to act, and as in many countries currently, rebel against the prospect of going extinct, slowly and inexorably, fire by fire and drought by drought.
While leaders from around the globe were coming together to seek climate consensus at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid, the European Union is making its own efforts in Belgium. On Tuesday, December 11th, the EU met in Brussels and introduced what it is calling the “Green Deal,” an outline of policies for the bloc to implement in the fight against climate change.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Green Deal at the EU meeting. It is her first major proposal (and a bold one at that) since she first took office on December 1st. The plan is part of an overarching ambition for the EU to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Green Deal aims to achieve this ambition through fifty policy measures. Among them are a $110-Billion fund to help transition away from coal, updated production standards to eliminate waste, and a carbon border tax for imports. There would also be more money set aside to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the level of trade dependency on air travel.
When von der Leyen introduced the Deal, she called it “Europe’s ‘man on the moon’ moment,” likely alluding to United States President John F. Kennedy’s famous “We Choose To Go To The Moon Speech” that kicked off the Space Race in 1962. Like Kennedy’s declaration to put a man on the moon, the Green Deal is unprecedentedly daring. It consciously sets out to challenge the nations involved and bring out the best in their politicians and citizens alike. If all goes well, then the end result could be beyond anything mankind has achieved in the past.
The irony in von der Leyen referencing JFK in her remarks, however, is that part of the Green Deal states that the EU will no longer engage in trade agreements with nations not participating in the Paris Climate Accords—that means to United States. Thanks to President Trump’s recent withdrawal from the global agreements set upon during the Obama Administration, the Green Deal could leave the U.S. without a few vital trading partners in Europe.
Man on The Moon is an Understatement: Resistance is a Factor
With any luck, maybe this economic incentive will convince the United States to hop back on board the Paris Accord. After all, one of the Green Deal’s primary aims is to inspire other places around the world to politically prioritize the climate crisis and lower carbon emissions. While certain governments have already made progress in these areas, the Green Deal marks the first time that a multi-nation bloc this big is directly attacking the issue on such a wide, in depth scale.
That being said, not everyone is a fan of the Deal. Although it won the support of the conservative European People’s Party (the most prevalent party in Parliament), the Green Deal has its cynics on both sides of the political spectrum. The far-right wingers fear the Deal’s potential effect on extractive industries and the economy. Meanwhile, far-left parties like the Green Party and the European United Left, are weary that the plan is not enough and that it needs to offer more solutions to additional issues.
Still, all but three of the 28 countries in the EU have agreed to the Green Deal’s 2050 carbon neutral goal. The outliers are Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, three Eastern European nations that rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels.
Understandably, the Green Deal will not get adopted and accepted overnight. There are a lot of countries that have a say in its guidelines and not all of them see eye-to-eye. Nevertheless, the fact that an entity as large and influential as the EU is proposing such a plan—and that it is getting received relatively well—is a big step for environmental progress. Soon enough, maybe the rest of the world will fall in line too, realize the dangers at hand, and compromise for the betterment of the entire planet.
While leaders from around the globe are coming together to seek climate consensus at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid, the European Union is making its own efforts in Belgium. On Tuesday, December 11th, the EU met in Brussels and introduced what it is calling the “Green Deal,” an outline of policies for the bloc to implement in the fight against climate change.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Green Deal at the EU meeting. It is her first major proposal (and a bold one at that) since she first took office on December 1st. The plan is part of an overarching ambition for the EU to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Green Deal aims to achieve this ambition through fifty policy measures. Among them are a $110-Billion fund to help transition away from coal, updated production standards to eliminate waste, and a carbon border tax for imports. There would also be more money set aside to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the level of trade dependency on air travel.
When von der Leyen introduced the Deal, she called it “Europe’s ‘man on the moon’ moment,” likely alluding to United States President John F. Kennedy’s famous “We Choose To Go To The Moon Speech” that kicked off the Space Race in 1962. Like Kennedy’s declaration to put a man on the moon, the Green Deal is unprecedentedly daring. It consciously sets out to challenge the nations involved and bring out the best in their politicians and citizens alike. If all goes well, then the end result could be beyond anything mankind has achieved in the past.
Potential Huge Impact of New Front in Trade Wars?
The irony in von der Leyen referencing JFK in her remarks, however, is that part of the Green Deal states that the EU will no longer engage in trade agreements with nations not participating in the Paris Climate Accords—that means to United States. Thanks to President Trump’s recent withdrawal from the global agreements set upon during the Obama Administration, the Green Deal could leave the U.S. without a few vital trading partners in Europe.
With any luck, maybe this economic incentive will convince the United States to hop back on board the Paris Accord. After all, one of the Green Deal’s primary aims is to inspire other places around the world to politically prioritize the climate crisis and lower carbon emissions. While certain governments have already made progress in these areas, the Green Deal marks the first time that a multi-nation bloc this big is directly attacking the issue on such a wide, in depth scale.
That being said, not everyone is a fan of the Deal. Although it won the support of the conservative European People’s Party (the most prevalent party in Parliament), the Green Deal has its cynics on both sides of the political spectrum. The far-right wingers fear the Deal’s potential effect on extractive industries and the economy. Meanwhile, far-left parties like the Green Party and the European United Left, are weary that the plan is not enough and that it needs to offer more solutions to additional issues.
Still, all but three of the 28 countries in the EU have agreed to the Green Deal’s 2050 carbon neutral goal. The outliers are Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, three Eastern European nations that rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels.
Understandably, the Green Deal will not get adopted and accepted overnight. There are a lot of countries that have a say in its guidelines and not all of them see eye-to-eye. Nevertheless, the fact that an entity as large and influential as the EU is proposing such a plan—and that it is getting received relatively well—is a big step for environmental progress. Soon enough, maybe the rest of the world will fall in line too, realize the dangers at hand, and compromise for the betterment of the entire planet.
Ford Announcement is Harbinger of Avalanche of New EV Models are on the Horizon from virtually every Major Automaker
With today’s scheduled announcement of a new Ford Mustang EV and a slew of other companies rushing into the fray, the transition into more sustainable automotive transportation has gone into hyperdrive.
Since it’s founding in 2003, Tesla has been about two things: all electric zero emission electric cars and making them fun, fast and sexy.
The genius of this cannot be overstated. In retrospect, it can even be said that the auto industry intentionally tried to make EV’s, to the extent that they were developed at all, an experience like eating broccoli while everyone else at the table feasted on a cornucopia of delights. The idea appeared to be to intentionally fail and thereby take away the need for EV’s to be produced at all (and ICE vehicle production to continue uninterrupted)
Elon Musk and Tesla put a stop to all that. Facing incredible resistance and negative press bordering on sabotage, nevertheless the company persisted and stuck to the concept: EVs must be not only have a long range and be powerful but also be fast and fun like hell to drive.
Also, could it be that all the boring, staid productions and designs were built specifically to fail? That the fossil fuel industrial complex wanted to perpetuate itself (automakers included) and stop or at least slow down the transition to EVs?
For years, there was not much more than a trickle of projects at other manufacturers trying to follow suit. No more. Not only are there huge and growing numbers of new models either in production or soon to be produced, but longer term commitments and infrastructure investments, particularly by the top German automakers are being announced virtually by the day.
Theses commitments follow not only close attention to the sales numbers and successes of Tesla’s Roadster, Model 3, S and X, but, with a high likelihood, huge companies are seeing that the tide is turning in awareness of the need for sustainable energy infrastructure among the general public.
Although there is plenty of debate as to whether battery based individual cars can be powered by primarily sustainable energy sources (Solar, wind, etc), it is clear that reducing CO2 emissions by phasing out, and eventually eliminating, ICE vehicles is a positive step forward.
Photo / Tesla
The Future can’t wait, and thankfully, Elon and Tesla Survived and Brought us All to this Moment
But the genius and power, seldom singled out for praise of any kind (even among Tesla fanatics), in finding “sexy” ways to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and of waging war against the capitalist world that itself created the problem of Global Warming, is mind-bendingly fantastic.
While this sounds almost insane at first blush, Elon Musk and Tesla are proving that, by focusing on making products that are not only environmentally progressive but also attractive to consumers, (using a marketing style straight out of Apple and Steve Jobs playbook) the “free market” can bring extreme pressure to bear on polluting fossil fuel behemoths and force them to change.
The brilliance of this is deep and formidable. In the end, it is “the people” that must stand up and act to change the ways that we travel and use transportation. It has been clear for half a century that a “top-down” approach where a kind of energy austerity is forced on the public is not possible and would bring great hardship. And voluntary change by the power structure went virtually nowhere in the last 50 years.
Why not find ways to make sustainable energy solutions and products that improve the transportation systems into aspirational objects of desire and status? Why not make green more than just politically correct but also cutting edge and satisfying to the lifestyles of the affluent and mobile in the G7 member countries?
Tesla Store in Hamburg, Germany
One Step Forward is better than Excuses not to Act, which has been the Stance of Government and Industry until now
And so what if battery factories are not yet able to run on 100% sustainable energy sources? Isn’t it better to start now and accelerate the transition to a better way? Tesla is also a solar company and a battery manufacturing company and is doing everything possible to upgrade all available technology to make its entire operation more completely sustainable and “green”.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the rest of the auto industry (and indeed other industries and companies) to follow this path of prioritizing sustainable energy production and use?
Now, today, we see that a miracle has happened. Using great technology and product designs and marketing them with emphasis on the driving pleasure, speed and sexy fun, just as much as the environmental benefits Tesla has pulled and prodded the rest of the auto industry toward the future, and forced them to abandon all efforts to delay or impede the transition to sustainable energy in automotive transport.
In a war with a single company / entity against almost literally the entire world infrastructure, the war was won by the underdog, hands down.
Perhaps this is a lesson for the future: that winning the hearts, minds and the wallets of the general public, by creating products people love, can be an even better catalyst for positive change, than preaching suffering and guilt while clinging to the obsolete structures of the past.
You can watch the live unveiling of the Mustang Mach-E at 5:15 PM (PST) Nov. 17, 2019 below:
