Between the sacred and the profane.
The Manifesto for an Ecosocial Energy Transition from the Peoples of the South, is an important new call from the Global South for a real, clean, and equitable transformation away from fossil fuels, the trashing of nature, and the disproportionate consumption patterns of the wealthiest countries. The manifesto can be read and individuals and organizations can add their signature here.
As a building energy use professional and ecologist, I have been appalled at the invention and use of the term ‘net-zero’. Here is an article which lays out the problem with it. Read and be informed!
Touring Bolivia giving lectures about localization expressed as ‘ecopueblos’ as a response to climate chaos in an effort to cease migration to the cities. Working with UNDP, the private sector, government, academia and civil society groups. We all need to be on the same page in this effort! #climatechange #environment #climate #climateemergency #globalwarming #climatechaosmitigation #climatechaosadaptation #climatechaosresilience
Future historians will look back at our species and these times as being not only parasitic (killing our host), but infinitely (and fatally) distracted by our amusements. That in our cleverness, we separated ourselves so completely from nature that we were incapable of responding to the warning signs that were all around us telling us that we were literally killing the earth’s life support systems.
As this film clip proves, as early as 1958 scientists speculated on the impact upon climate of human activities altering the earth’s atmosphere. Do you think the oil companies knew about this risk? Of course they did. Not only did they hide the fact, they undertook a campaign of obfuscation to mislead and confuse consumers.
On this Earth Day I am posting a link to an online event that was recorded on April 17th as in my opinion it speaks to what this day is supposed to be all about. While some people may have differences with the event sponsoring organization, when it comes to the other than human natural world, I admire their truth telling, as disturbing as it is, and that is why I am sharing it here.
We’re living in a perfect storm today when it comes to misinformation, disinformation, and downright ignorance, all of which is accelerating societal collapse. Put the internet together with the effects of neoliberalism upon our educational system, and you have today’s civilization, which is rushing to the precipice.
I recently read an article in the New Yorker about nuclear power, energy supply and use. About how nuclear power is being embraced by so-called environmentalists as a non-polluting energy source. One problem I recognized immediately was the article completely omitted any mention of conservation or efficiency, both of which can offset energy supply. Worse yet, the author made only cursory mention of the nuclear waste storage problem, i.e. failing to talk about the persistence of human-caused radiation and its impacts upon the biological world, much less the ethics around dumping toxic contamination on a future world whose inhabitants have no say. The author, armed with information she no doubt gathered on the internet, decided she knew enough to pen an article on nuclear power. This is frighteningly naive. Actually its worse than that, its downright reckless and irresponsible.
The internet is both a wonderful and horrible resource. I can type in a search term and bring up a breathtaking amount of information. In our fast food, instant gratification society, people are under the impression that by using the internet, you can learn all you need to know in order to make informed decisions. This is a dangerous fallacy. People don’t know what they don’t know. This is especially true when it comes to technology, the pace of which requires ever deepening expertise to grasp and keep up with.
Now more than ever people must question sources of information. Does the author or speaker know what they’re talking about? What are their credentials? Do their arguments make sense? Are they on the payroll of industry or government?
Can ignorance be innocent? Yes. But that is no excuse to not challenge it.