Let's be ecologically responsible.

 I want to live on this planet for several more decades. I assume my friends and their kids and my kids when I have them, and their kids, and all those other kids on the other side of the world do too. I'd appreciate it if our elected officials didn't vote against my and your own self interest when it comes to creating a biosphere that allows us to breathe, and eat and drink clean water. Those other animals and trees some people say they don't care about pollinate your food, keep diseases in check, make people happier when they see them, combat anxiety, protect against flooding and storm surges, provide shelter, inspiration, and filter water. And without these things, you can't have the energy that powers your home, the bricks or lumber that built your house or the textiles that clothe you. Don't act like you don't care. If you don't care about those things, you can't survive.

400 ppm (from My Blogger Blog)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

400 ppm

This week, the Mauna Loa Observatory reported an incredibly terrifying measurement; we are now living at a time where the carbon dioxide levels have reached 400 ppm.  This means of course that we are failing at curving or addressing climate change.  Our world has not experienced this level of CO2 concentration in a very long time. 

Of course, if you were to look outside, life seems ok in America. People are blissfully going about their day. Where I am today, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Most people didn't pay attention to this noteworthy piece of news.  And yet, I am personally dismayed and confused.  I want to quit my job and do something directly related to inspiring climate action, and simultaneously push to start a climate adaptation company, because i'm losing faith in our ability to get anything big done without a lot of people having to significantly adjust their lifestyles due to the coming consequences.  AND get everyone else on the planet to do so too. 

Every second that we spend not working on climate action is another second wasted. But, I don't know what to do: the rest of the world depends on money.  I have to pay my rent. I have to pay my student loans. I have to pay my credit cards. I can't just quit and leave.  I'm sure other people are in the same situation, and many have it worse. 

Maybe the problem is too big?  Maybe the words we've been using are inaccessible to most people?  Climate change is so polarized now that people shut off as soon as they realize they are talking about it.  and, what's worse, we haven't successfully and collectively succeeded in getting just one ask, or breaking it into pieces to get one ask for all the several different elements that are linked into a climate system. 

I know a lot of people have put a great deal of thought into how we can get the most people to participate without getting everyone on the planet to participate.  I really do think Amory Lovin's book Reinventing Fire is one roadmap that we could follow.  Sandalow also put some thought into a wedge technology theory many years ago.

we need action and we need it now, or a lot of people will be more than just "inconvenienced" - a lot of people are going to become sick, ill, impoverished, or displaced, or worse.*  There's no one to blame for this situation but ourselves.  I'm willing to take my share of the blame.  Are you?




(*This is what I mean: sick when disease vectors change and bugs carrying diseases start to flourish in new areas, ill when heat waves last for days and not enough water is available due to the drought, impoverished when they can't pay the insurance they'll need on their homes because they are in flood plains or near large brush fires, displaced when they can't drink the water on their islands, and then have to go live in an entirely new country which is the reality for those in lowlying islands and spaces, like the Maldives, the Mariana Islands, Manhattan, the Netherlands, worse when natural disasters strike and many casualties are lost due to the increase in intensity of storms)

How will we mend our pain?

I am still rattled by the events of the last week. I am concerned for the safety of family and friends. To say that I am dismayed by the future president's decision to settle white supremacist idealogues into the White House would be an understatement. But I can't help but wonder what turns people into these unempathizing monsters? Is there hate in all of their hearts? Is it possible that we can somehow get through to them? Is that a completely lost cause?

It's true that society sets the tone for what is acceptable, and for years, our pop culture icons have become more crass, as it becomes harder and harder to shock the American people. So, in some ways, it's no wonder that some people recognized themselves in Donald Trump. What's so discouraging is that so many people who, for a very long time, had been appropriately silenced in America have reawakened, like cicadas hiding beneath our feet.

I firmly believe that Donald Trump's supporters are not, in fact, all racists, bigots. But they have done nothing to silence those voices, and are therefore complicit. Meanwhile, we can't tell who is a true KKK-touting or alt-right racist bigot from someone who is not. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt; let's assume fewer fall into this camp, but let's prepare as if all of them are. Meanwhile, instead of completely condemnation of my fellow misguided Americans, I'm genuinely curious what aspects appealed to them? I don't want to normalize this approach to politics. I'm disgusted by it, but it is important that we not retreat to our corners. How can we heal the country? We obviously are in a lot of pain and fear on all sides. It would appear that we at least have that in common. How do we rebuild trust in an era when trust is built on shaky ground lacking fact and contempt of experience, ethics and good judgement? 

How will we dig deep to find the empathy required to love our fellow Americans? Research has shown that high performing teams result from the creation of safe psychological spaces, something that Trump has currently robbed of the American people. We need to find our way back, and we will emerge stronger and fiercer than ever before.

Are we really open for business?

Here's a different perspective to consider: everyone who claims that they won't serve a customer because of a personal religious belief that does not threaten the actual every day life of the business owner is also telling the world that they are bad at business. Why? Because they don't want to make money. People of all backgrounds have money, and if they want to spend it, it behooves the small, medium and large companies and organizations to be open to doing business with them. Saudis and Israelis do business together. I bet you didn't know that. Wanna know why? It's about money. People are willing to set aside their differences if they can find a way to bring home the proverbial bacon. 

Every time a new bill passes in a state that discriminates or gives permission to discriminate also signals that the state does not want money in the form of taxes from smart businesses who will grow with the global economy. Every bathroom bill says we don't want to make money. Every denial of women's equal pay says we don't want to make money. Every ban on bans of plastic bags says we don't want to make money. Every bill that says men will get to abuse women, or deny women birth control, or decide how to manage their wombs also says loud and clear to the majority of the country: we are closed to business. We don't want to make money. Who would want to move there? Who would want to open a business in such a place? So maybe, just maybe, when we're messaging and calling our reps, we drop in a little bit of this perspective.

THIS is fundamentally the most frustrating element that I have experienced over the last several years defending my home state and working with Michiganders. Truly fantastic, wonderfully inventive projects are starting daily in Detroit. Detroit wants to be open for business. Detroit has its eyes set on the future; Lansing however is staring into the black nothingness of 50 years ago. They claim they want to solve the brain drain. They don't. They claim they want to protect the health of their citizens. They ignore Flint and create doublespeak environmental bans and refuse to fund public transportation projects. Therefore, they don't. They claim they want to be open for new businesses in Michigan. With every new law laying the ground for discrimination they send the very bright signal that they are NOT open for business. They would like to stay in their own status quo; not moving forward, simply preventing progress. They have let the DeVos' damage the education system in Michigan; mixed the state and church; and have been attacking the unions that literally put Detroit and Michigan on the map. And like other states fighting the future, they have gerrymandered the districts, and tried to restrict voting rights in Southeast Michigan. It's hard to want to root for the future, when you know the leadership of our nation is stacking the deck even higher against you, and every one of the people who voted for DJT. The only difference is, the White Nationalists in the White House will distract some of the populace by luring them into a false belief that they will benefit from screaming profanities at their fellow citizens, or worse, dehumanizing us all. They won't.

Conversely, every time California or New York or Washington or Massachusetts passes a new bill pushing for climate legislation, planning for a renewable energy future, investing in health care, expanding maternity and paternity leave, providing free access to education, supporting LGBT... it sends a VERY clear and bright signal "We are OPEN for business." These states also have strong economies. So, the next time someone says these issues are not connected to the economy, remind them: the places with the highest quality of life coincide with strong social net, and support of diversity in life and in the workplace. Scapegoating only leads to fear, and fear only leads to weakness. Ironically, the only solution to fight is to move to these places, run for office, support progressive candidates through groups like Detroit XPAC, Emily's List, Wellstone Action, and change the politics. 

Diversity of experience and thought bring about higher quality products; people of all races, creeds, ages, genders, etc... because being welcomed to the table leads to better solutions to solve the world's most challenging problems. Problems like crumbling infrastructure, changing disease vectors, which could bring yellow fever and dengue to the US, increased acidification and plastification of the oceans which will cripple the fishing and tourism industries, air and water quality issues around the world, determining what role we want AI to play in the job market, traffic congestion and death tolls from automobile accidents, toddlers shooting themselves and adults accidentally, human rights abuses outsourced or in this country, increased intensity of natural disasters which we need to prepare to survive, refugees pushed out of their homes, people unable to deal with their emotions so they lash out in desperation with suicides, terrorist attacks and more. We have plenty of really pressing issues to occupy our time, we don't need to invent barriers with our allies because it only steals our focus away from the real goal: creating a world where quality of life improves for all people.