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Old Green, New
Green
The motto of EarthWorks Expo
is “Join the evolution.” This is meant to convey the idea that human
societies, at their best, seek to evolve toward a more perfect
embodiment of humankind’s shared aspirations for peace, freedom,
justice, prosperity, personal and collective wellbeing. Today, and
for the foreseeable future, that list also includes sustainability:
living within the natural  carrying capacity of our planet, in order to
preserve and protect the wellbeing of Earth’s biosphere upon which
all living things depend for
survival. Over many centuries, human societies have devolved away
from sustainability. It is high time to evolve back.
The
values that we now call “green” are relatively new in the
context of Western
civilization. It is certainly true that indigenous peoples the world
over have understood for millennia the whys and hows of living
in balance with their natural surroundings. Those understandings,
however, were eclipsed in Western thinking by the discovery of
technologies that seemed able to overpower the constraints of
nature. Today, that same preference for technological enhancements
of human power, wealth and comfort characterize “developed” and
“developing” nations everywhere in the world. Only lately has it
become widely apparent that human activity threatens not only the
natural world but humankind’s own future.
More than 100 years ago, the
Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius declared that the human burning
of fossil fuels would lead to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere and
cause global warming. His thinking on this subject was mostly
ignored until decades after his death. Similarly, naturalists such
as John Muir became powerful advocates for the protection of
wilderness areas from encroachment by miners, loggers and
dam-builders long before such ideas gained wide traction. Muir
co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892 and directly influenced President
Theodore Roosevelt to protect the Yosemite Valley as a national
park.
But it was not until the 1960s
that a robust environmental movement took shape. This period saw a
rapid evolution of social awareness around air and water pollution,
natural habitat loss, species extinction and other issues. In the
U.S., this groundswell resulted in such federal legislation as the
Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1970; clean water measures in 1972 and
1977; and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
During this same period, many
individuals began modifying their own lifestyles toward voluntary
simplicity and environmental sensitivity, reflected in the first
Earth Day celebrations in 1970. The oil price shocks of the
mid-1970s gave a strong boost to green early-adopters. But the
Reagan era saw both a return of cheap oil and a broad decline in
public concern for the environment. “Green” became marginalized as a
“life-style choice,” viewed as quaint or quirky by mainstream
society.
In general, this first major
phase of green social evolution in America, what is here called “old
green,” was characterized mainly by efforts to mitigate
environmental damage done to specific locales or communities by
large industrial players – water pollution from chemical run-off or
illegal dumping; lakes and forests threatened by acid rain from
power plant emissions; urban air pollution from gas-guzzling cars
without catalytic converters. The “bad guys” usually had corporate
nameplates; the accusations were focused accordingly. This lent an
“us against them” quality to much environmental activism, not
infrequently resulting in mainstream backlash against green
finger-pointing viewed as “holier than thou,” anti-business, even
anti-American.
Fast forward. Even during the
Reagan era, diligent scientists were working, mostly without public
notice, on a set of problems that could potentially threaten the
entire globe. The first of these threats to capture the public
imagination was the disintegrating ozone layer. Remarkably, when
this discovery was brought to light, international action was swift
and decisive, resulting in the Montreal Protocol of 1987 to
eliminate ozone-depleting chemicals. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
later hailed this as “perhaps the single most successful
international agreement to date.”
But ozone was just a warm-up.
In recent years, thousands of scientists and research groups have
reached broad consensus that human activity is changing the global
climate. This threat, if unchecked, could eventually result in such
negative effects as inundation of populated coastal regions,
disastrous crop losses, unprecedented species extinctions, massive
storms and more.
Climate change is emblematic
of global challenges that call for a “new green” era of social
evolution. A similarly broad threat is rapid depletion of key
resources including topsoil and fresh water. Such threats
potentially touch everyone, everywhere, reminding us that in the
natural world, “everything is connected to everything.”
“New green” not only
acknowledges that these globe-spanning challenges affect everyone,
but also that everyone is potentially part of the problem, and also
part of the solution. No longer is it possible to say that “they”
are to blame, while “we” are not. “We” are the problem, as surely as
anyone. Here in the U.S., the average citizen’s consumption, if
replicated across the entire world, would require over four “Earths”
to sustain. Even citizens who are making a diligent effort to embody
green values almost always fall short of a “one-Earth” footprint.
With few exceptions, any U.S. resident who drives a conventional
vehicle or has grid-tied electricity and hot running water is likely
to be living unsustainably.
“New green”, then, recognizes
that all of us are implicated in such monumental challenges as
climate change; and each of us can be part of the solution, starting
with a sober critique of how we really live, right now. Chances are,
every one of us can find new ways to consume less, conserve more,
and reduce our footprint upon the Earth, without feeling grossly
deprived. We can become examples of green values in action,
inspiring others without pointing fingers or casting
blame.
Of course, “bad guys” are
still out there, in industry and government, here and abroad; and
our personal examples alone will not convert them all. But living
our values at home first will make a huge and empowering difference,
and might even open doors to unexpected social
transformation.
If ever there was a time for
the people to lead, that time is now. Join the
evolution!
EarthWorks Expo Date
Changed to Aug 22-23, 2009
After announcing the date for EarthWorks
Expo 2009, we learned that several other Denver-area events had
selected the same weekend. Therefore, to avoid a schedule conflict,
particularly with the Colorado
Renewable Energy Society (CRES) annual conference, we have
rescheduled our 3rd annual EarthWorks Expo for the weekend of August
22-23, 2009, one week earlier than previously announced. The event
takes place at the Denver Merchandise Mart. Please make a note of
it!
Obama’s Energy Pick Strong on Renewables, Climate
But Chu Also Gives Nod to Nuclear and Clean
Coal
Found in the San
Francisco Chronicle, Jan 14, 2009
Steven Chu, President-elect
Obama's choice for Energy Secretary, said during confirmation
hearings on Jan 13 that he would commit to an aggressive
clean-energy program to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce U.S.
dependence on foreign oil imports. He also emphasized the need to
improve energy efficiency, calling this “the one big factor that can
most help us decrease our dependency on foreign oil.” However, in an
obvious move to sooth Republican lawmakers, Chu also said that he
would support expanding nuclear power and developing clean coal
technology, two areas that are worrying to environmentalists. For
the whole story, GO
HERE.
Electric Cars Making Big Comeback
Pure electric and
extended-range (plug-in) hybrid vehicles were prominently featured
at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week.
America’s struggling Big Three automakers all showed electric cars
that could come to market within the next two to four years. GM says
its much-anticipated Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid, will go on sale
in 2010. Toyota is pushing its third generation Prius, a new luxury
hybrid Lexus HS 250, and an all-electric, the FT-EV, due by 2012.
Honda has a completely redesigned Insight hybrid. Meanwhile, China's
BYD Company says it will bring a plug-in hybrid vehicle to the U.S.
market by 2011; while Daimler is teaming with Tesla Motors of
Silicon Valley to create an all-electric version of the tiny Smart
Fortwo. For the whole story, GO
HERE and HERE.
For related discussion of batteries for electric cars, GO
HERE.
Global Warming Could Bring
Global Food Crisis
Found in San Jose
Mercury-News, Jan 10, 2009
A new study
published in the journal Science on Jan 9, 2009 says that threats to
global food production loom as one of “the foremost reasons” for
concern over climate change. Scientists from Stanford University and
the University of Washington found that the worst heat waves of
recent times could become the summer norm by the end of this
century. The study made the conservative assumption that CO2 buildup
would level off by mid-century, then begin declining. It also
ignored the projection of some climate models that reduced rainfall
would accompany rising temperature in many parts of the world. Even
so, the researchers found that yields of staple crops such as rice
and corn could drop by 20 to 40 percent during this century,
potentially putting billions of people at risk. For the whole story,
GO
HERE.
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