We Hold These Truths to be Self-evident…
The phrase, “we hold these truths to be self-evident…” suggests that some matters do not require a heavy burden of proof. The men who wrote this phrase were not talking about a climate crisis. If they were alive today, I am sure that they would agree that the weather is very extreme. We are witnessing the near extinction of certain plant, animal and water species, and an increase in chronic illness among humans. You may disagree on the causes for extreme weather conditions, but there is no denying the occurrences. Floods are happening in unlikely places like Vermont and Pennsylvania. The wildfires in Canada are still burning and affecting the air quality in the U.S. The first week of July set a global record for the highest temperatures ever recorded. A category 4 hurricane, Hilary, just hit Southern California, parts of Arizona and Nevada, causing major flooding. Excessive heat, fires, droughts, and frequent and powerful storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are apparent, but there is still reluctance to act or to admit culpability for the crisis we find ourselves in.
The cause of the climate crisis
It is my opinion that the causes of the climate crisis are not the actions of burning and extracting fossil fuels or big agriculture’s farming techniques or the clearing of essential forests and wetlands. These activities are symptoms of an unsustainable fixed mindset. It is the mindset that tells us that we are separate from the Earth, each other, and every species we share the planet with. It is the mindset of entitlement and greed that says the planet’s resources belong to the person or company that can afford to extract them, transform them, and then sell them for consumption. It is the same mindset that supports going to war, convinced that there will be a winner. It is the same mindset that says people are property and can be taken from another continent to build an economy and industry in a newly founded developing nation. It is the same mindset that says the extermination of indigenous people and attempts to extinguish their culture for the benefit of the colonizing force is necessary. It is the same mindset that says it is okay to exterminate people for being “different.” This psychopathy is responsible for climate crisis.
There is a gross misunderstanding of what it means to live in harmony. We have lost sight of the fact that we are not separate from one another or the other life forms on this planet. We have embraced the religion of a fast-growing economy, at any cost, without realizing that one day we will need to be accountable for the limitations of that belief. The definition of profit is very narrow and focused on financial gain, leading us to where we are now. Not all profit is monetary. Clean air and water and stable weather patterns are also signs of profit.These extreme weather events are a wake-up call, to draw our attention to the reality that a “fast- growing economy” has little meaning if you can’t survive on the planet that fuels that economy.
Fast-growing economy
We are sacrificing the planet for what reason? Many don’t share in the benefits from this sacrifice financially or physically. Nearly 70% of Americans today don’t know what a good economy is because they live in constant anxiety about their ability to make ends meet if something should interrupt their ability to earn wages. They live paycheck to paycheck. They don’t have the savings to get them through a $500.00 emergency. Many are sacked under the weight of student debt. There is no guaranteed health care, family leave or affordable childcare. Rents are steadily rising and home ownership is a very distant dream for most Americans. The average American is not benefiting from the fast-growing economy.
Two steps forward, two steps back
To reverse what we have put into motion it is necessary to invest in our future. Denying that Rome is burning is not helpful. So far, our policies seem to be taking two steps forward and two steps back. President Biden included many tax incentives and rebates for building the green economy in his Inflation Reduction Act. At the same time he has granted more public land drilling to the fossil fuel industry than Donald Trump. He also approved the Willow Project for ConocoPhillips to drill for oil in Alaska. The project could generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year–equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads. In addition to the Willow Project the Biden administration has green lit a $38.7 billion, 807-mile liquefied natural gas pipeline through the untouched Alaskan wilderness with a bigger carbon footprint than the Willow Project. I believe he is trying to be moderate in his approach to the climate crisis, but I also believe that the time for moderation has passed.
Not only is this duplicitous approach to the climate crisis going on at the White House, but also before Congress. The Guardian reported that the fossil fuel companies and environmental organizations, including non-profits, universities, and tech corporations are using the same lobbyists. These are not good optics. The strategies of the non-profit sector could easily be shared with the fossil fuel industry. Both the fossil fuel organizations and the non-profits use the same lobbyists because they claim that there is a better chance of gaining access to congressional leaders when the lobbyists already have their ear. That may be true, but it does not sound like a winning strategy against the climate crisis. Again, two steps forward and two steps back.
We do need to seriously curb carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy. However, there must be a shift in our understanding of our relationship with the planet too. There must be a tipping point reached in our realization that the climate is in crisis. We are not the lords and ladies of the manor. The planet does not belong to any one of us. We must share. The climate crisis is a problem for all of us, not just those who cannot escape the Earth on rocket ships built by billionaires.
A shift in our consciousness can help us to create the social and political systems that may allow us to live together on the Earth in a more sustainable manner that benefits all of us.