A flower grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows
I believe for everyone that goes astray
Someone will come to show the way
I believe
I believe
Frankie Lane
A few days before my Faithful and Obedient Companion and I trekked back to Colorado (October of last year) I had lunch with two of my Stowe golfing buddies. They were guys I often enjoyed political or social discussions with while having a cigar and a Whistle Pig after a round of our Thursday Men's golf group. One was a "progressive" leaning gentlemen the other I could never quite figure out, as his opinions went all over the place. Both loved to engage in the seemingly endless issue of "Climate Change". Historically they both sided with the "scientific" consensus that Human induced climate change was a major issue for mankind.
My progressive friend was compelled to rant about Trump's pulling us out of the Paris climate accord while surprisingly the "all over the board guy" actually agreed with me that the Paris accord was a "bad deal" (albeit for different reasons than my overall skepticism about "climate changes" existential threat to mankind).
First let me show a graph about CO2 Emissions and let this help me to articulate the effect of the Paris Accords which exempted China and India (and other 3rd world countries) from many of the emission reduction goals (for good reason frankly-they are using cheap energy to bring billions out of poverty).
My point then and now, whatever your feeling/understanding/belief is about the science of global warming, the Paris accords does little to end actual carbon spewing in the atmosphere, but does require the US and Europe (but mostly the US) to cut emissions and more importantly pay poorer countries to help "solve the problem". Note how Europe is "beating us", also note the upheaval in France on the costs to the average "Jacques". Likewise Germany is grappling with an inability to provide enough energy from Wind and Solar. In general Europe's economy has suffered under the Paris Agreement.
Knowing that I would never get anywhere with an argument about the "science' (I think my past blog posts on the subject has shown my readers my perspective), the economics, or the politics. I simply conceded the point for this discussion by simply stating:
"Ok let's say it is a real threat to our future (12 years and counting): If so then why are we fooling around with half measures?"
I then made the following arguments that if you "believe":
1. We should immediately advocate for a huge expansion of nuclear power. It produces no greenhouse gases and it is actually proven to be safe despite the few accidents that have occured.
2. We should ban all but essential air travel, one of the greatest spewers of carbon. This ban would not depend on how much you can afford to travel but on government determined necessity so all members of society can get equal access. (hint both owned multiple homes and flew back and forth all the time, they also traveled the world over).
3. Speaking of multiple homes which wealthy people heat and air condition year round-they should be prohibited as harmful to our kids future. This would also allow the less privileged access (not just in America but in Africa and South America and Asia) to carbon fuels at an affordable cost needed for their survival.
Now I was not trying to advocate this as a means of attacking them personally but as a real flushing out of their belief that it is truly an existential threat to human kind that needs radical approaches.
Aside from an agreement that Nuclear Power should be expanded I got no takers on my solution. At the least it moved us on from an excuse to bash Trump since all else was just political posturing. Everything else is simply straw man versus straw man and not real " beliefs" in my opinion.
Little did I realize that a soon to be elected congresswoman from New York would advocate something very similar,to what I proposed to my two friends (except no Nuclear which in my mind proves it still is about politics). Quickly many progressive democrats climbed on board. Conversely of course those on the right immediately began to demonize such thinking.
Let me first to say that i am happy that "finally" someone who is a "believer" that the Climate Change issue is very serious is also willing to frame the debate the same way I tried too. Yes I am happy that "AOC' was elected. Seriously I do not demonize her on this at all. Her position is one that makes eminent sense if at your core you see the world ending in our lifetime because of Climate Change. In this sense if she is right then she is in fact an angel, not a demon.
Speaking of some people who genuinely believe that Climate Change is an existential threat here are some true believers from my beloved State of Vermont:
I made comments in appropriate spots I underlined (italics)
Vermonters begin 65 mile climate solutions march
MIDDLEBURY — Drivers heading along Halpin Road, a dirt road in Central Addison County, early Friday afternoon encountered an unusual site. Over 100 people of all ages were walking north roughly five abreast, carrying brightly colored banners and backpacks in sharp contrast to the brown April fields next to them.
The group, which was embarking on a five-day climate solutions march, Next Steps for Climate Justice, from Middlebury to Montpelier, was well-organized, with individuals clad in yellow vests (note the symbolic reference to French working class "Grumbling" to Macron's " energy programs" I mention above) shouting “car” as needed and a VW van (powered by biodiesel) stacked with food.
Beekeeper Ross Conrad almost didn’t join the climate march, in part because he was in the midst of his annual spring fast. And he generally prefers action — like serving on the Middlebury Energy Committee and living in an off-the-grid yurt — over activism. (yes at least he practices what he preaches a lifestyle he wants for all! read on....)
“But I was thinking about it and it seemed really symbolic that we all are going to have to start doing things that are going to be difficult and tough and we’re not sure we’re going to be able to do them,” said Conrad. “And that’s kind of why I’m here. I haven’t eaten for four days, but I think I can walk from Middlebury to Bristol.”
Sage Lalor, a senior at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester who is organizing an Earth Day Summit at her high school, has been interested in environmentalism since a young age. Lalor said she hopes to meet more climate activists closer to her age at the march.
“One problem I keep running into is, since I live in a very small place, I try to join environmental groups, but most of the people who join those groups are older people,” she laughed.
The aim of the 65 mile march is to build community among environmental activists from around the state and to push lawmakers to pass more aggressive climate change legislation, said Zac Rudge, communications manager for 350Vermont, the nonprofit that organized the march.
Maeve McBride, director of 350Vermont, said the march began at Middlebury’s Town Green to symbolize the “terminus” of Vermont Gas’ controversial 41-mile Addison County pipeline.
“We’re saying, ‘here and no further’ to fossil fuel infrastructure,”she said when the group broke for lunch in a front yard sprinkled with apple trees. (Side Note Colorado's recent election had a referendum to stop Oil and Gas Development which was defeated but undeterred the newly elected legislators have passed a a bill to do something similar over the objections of an "uneducated" public) .
When the group arrives in Montpelier next Tuesday, they will call on lawmakers to support two bills this session that would ban new fossil fuel infrastructure in Vermont, she said. Over 270 people have signed up to participate in at least some leg of the march.
Gail Schwartz, a writer who splits her time between St. Albans and Southern Quebec, said she was walking with her 9-year-old son to build on “personal solutions” her family has been starting, like going zero waste by 2020.
Schwartz said her family decided to forgo a vacation this year due to pollution associated with flying, (cannot disagree if you believe it is an existential threat) which many of her friends thought was crazy. But Schwartz said hearing about weather events like a recent storm in Mozambiquethat killed hundreds of people reinforced her feeling that “privileged people” need to start making sacrifices .(here here)
“I feel like ‘business as usual’ should stop and people should be in the streets 24/7,” she said.
Bill McKibben, Ripton resident and founder of global climate justice movement 350.org, has issued that cry for some time now. McKibben reminisced while walking about a climate march he had helped organize over Labor Day weekend in 2006 from Robert Frost’s cabin in Ripton to Burlington. Around 1,000 people ended up joining in, he said, noting that it was “a lot warmer” during that march.
Almost 13 years later, McKibben said he was disappointed that climate change had not made a list of top five priorities for the House Democrats this session.
“It feels crazy that so little has changed politically, even in places like Vermont,” he said.
The switch to lower emissions energy technologies — such as solar power and electric vehicles — is already happening, but not fast enough, McKibben said. A report released last fall from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that capping global warming at a 1.5 degrees C increase would require global carbon dioxide emissions to decline by 45% in the next 12 years. (without nuclear we will surely all be in Yurts-literally if we did this just look at my CO2 chart worldwide above)
“If you take 50 years to do it, you’re going to break the planet in the meantime,” he said.
On Saturday, marchers will stop in Geprags Park in Hinesburg at 10 a.m. for a “climate grieving” ceremony. Geprags Park was the site of heated protests when Vermont Gas constructed a stretch of the Addison County pipeline through the park.
The march will end with a rally at the Statehouse next Tuesday afternoon.
End of Article from Vt Digger.
One cannot argue that this Vermont Group doesn't practice what it preaches!
So readers 12 years and counting which side of the fence do you sit on? Politically time is running out to decide since our kids and grandkids future really does hang in the balance in my humble opinion.
I think My Faithful and Obedient companion and I may have to contemplate this as we fly off to Argentina for our vacation in a couple of weeks! It may be a once in our remaining lifetime opportunity!
Until next time
Adieu
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