The thing we dare not speak of - revolution

James Hansen.

Civil disobedience has been discussed Beneath the Wisteria, but never revolution.

But now, it seems, any response that is going to have an impact will be just that, a revolution.

The profit and growth machinery of the rather brutish capitalistic machinery is such that it seems it will only ever be slowed by something equally brutal, a revolution.

James Hansen, who voluntarily ended his career with NASA to allow him unimpeded freedom of thought and action to concentrate on climate change advocacy, is contemplating a legal challenge to the U.S. Government for failing to act on climate change on behalf of younger generations.

In a story headed: “The only way to stop climate change now may be revolution”, Quartz said discussed a paper presented at the American Geophysical Union that called for: “Environmental direct action, resistance taken from outside the dominant culture, as in protests, blockades and sabotage by indigenous peoples, workers, anarchists and other activist groups”.

Mitigation hostage to profit and growth

Mitigation of the world’s CO2 emissions is hostage to the capitalist profit and growth scenario.

Evidence of that can be seen today in a Melbourne Age today by environment reporter, Tom Arup, headed “Australian coal mining threatens CO2 target”.

Arup talked with the chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Mitch Hooke, who pointed out, and probably correctly, that the proposal to stop Australia’s coal exports wouldn’t stop global coal use.

He said such a move, “Will just send Australian jobs offshore and deprive state and federal governments of billions in revenue.”

Hooke is correct, but someone, somewhere has to illustrate the courage and clarity of thinking to make decisions and take action to begin to end the pollution of our atmosphere.

Many would argue: “Why us?” and a reasonable response is “Why not?”

Undoubtedly the advocates of the continued mining, sale and use of coal could easily produce and array of catastrophic figures illustrating how and end to Australia’s coal exports would mean an end to modern Australia.

Equally those who advocate societal changes aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change could equally easily illustrate that the maintenance of a pattern that was simply business as usual will decimate Australian society,

The argument of the coal lobby is based on rude, brute figures that enforce costs against the commons while those attempting to mitigate climate change use science, reason and logic to illustrate their argument.

Science, reason and logic trump profit and growth.

At some stage, someone must ”draw first” – someone, somewhere has to decide that the welfare of our planet, and by implication the life that depends upon it, are more important than profit and growth.

 

Society's inabilities and unwillingness tells its own story

Writing in “The Collapse of Complex Societies” Joseph A. Tainter, a U.S. anthropologist and historian, said in discussing resource depletion:

Joseph A. Tainter

“As it becomes apparent to the member or administrators of a complex society that a resource base is deteriorating, it seems most reasonable to assume that some rational steps are taken to assume that some rational steps would be taken toward a resolution. The alternative assumption – of idleness in the face of disaster – requires a leap of faith at which we might rightly hesitate. If the former assumption be admitted, then few variables whose mere existence indicates that the resource depletion argument is inadequate.”

Tainter studied anthropology at the University of California and Northwestern University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1975.

He is currently a professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University. His previous positions include Project Leader of Cultural Heritage Research, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico and professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico.

The resource depletion argument is not, interestingly, in itself inadequate, rather it is society’s inability or unwillingness to confront socially disturbing facts, which if allowed to reach their natural conclusion unattended, will uproot existing lifestyles and force humanity down a whole new, and unchartered, path of existence.

Resource depletion is unquestionably real and is illustrated by an endless array of anecdotal evidence, but should you want the hard and brutish facts, then turn to the shelves of any library or bookshop and there you will find a vast selection of literature from some of the world’s sharpest minds explaining the world’s resource inadequacies, particularly if the aim is the provide for seven billion people.

In a world addicted to the idea of profit and growth, almost exclusively at the expense of humanity’s happiness and contentment.