[Sustain] Obama's Absurd Statement To Governors' Climate Conference

[David Fairley]

It's going to be hard to fake global warming progress.  Figures on  
consumption of fossil fuels are widely available and the calculation of  
CO2-equivalent emissions is straightforward.  Establishment politicians  
 from Feinstein to Obama to Arnold have promised to achieve specific  
reduction targets by specific dates. (Obama was a return to 1990 emissions  
by 2020?) At some point the failure to achieve necessary progress I think  
will help jar people's awareness that more radical policies need to be  
adopted.

Unlike the healthcare crisis, which isn't a crisis for the rich, global  
warming is something that's affecting everyone.  So, I'm hoping that,  
unlike healthcare, where the abject failure of the "free market" to  
provide decent healthcare for all Americans hasn't caused the wealthy (who  
can afford Rolls-Royce care) to do more than yawn, a failure to achieve  
global warming goals will mean that real alternatives are adopted,  
especially if activists in progressive communities have already pushed  
through these alternatives locally and they're shown to work.

David

On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:57:24 -0800, Eric Brooks <brookse32 at aim.com> wrote:

> The fact that Obama's lead statement was that he will engage a 'cap and
> trade' system is the key signal that corporations will rule his
> administration on energy. European carbon trading has been the key
> factor that has perpetuated the current planetary climate disaster,
> letting corporations totally game the law, while providing the extremely
> dangerous illusion that there is progress being made. And Obama's
> statements about safe clean nuclear and 'clean coal' are absurd beyond
> belief...
>
> As we have both said, it is up to local communities to take charge and
> end the climate crisis.
>
> David Fairley wrote:
>> I agree with your conclusion, but the spin I got was different.
>> President Obama may not lead the way, but he seems to be signalling
>> that, at least, he won't block the way and Bush has tried with some
>> success to do. Obama is acknowledging the problem and also praising
>> various governors who have taken the initiative.
>>
>> I have more hope that we will actually deal effectively with global
>> warming than I do with some of our other problems. As I see it, the US
>> ruling class generally favors practical action and eventually the real
>> solutions will get sorted out from the bogus ones. This is where we
>> come in. We need to push first and foremost for energy conservation
>> and, more generally, a less consumptive way of life. This is something
>> totally missing from Obama's speech. We need to aim to eliminate the
>> use of fossil fuels and not to replace them with nuclear white
>> elephants. We need to increase local self-reliance so that we grow
>> more of our own food and produce more of our own goods locally.
>>
>> Obama said during his Demo acceptance speech: "... the change we need
>> doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change
>> happens because the American people demand it." It sounds to me like
>> he's saying that behind the doors in Washington, it will be business
>> as usual. But at least this time we're being invited to knock.
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:20:33 -0800, Eric Brooks <brookse32 at aim.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Just watch this bullshit (link below) and you'll see why we cannot
>>> depend on the federal government to do anything real to combat the
>>> global climate crisis.
>>>
>>> It is vital that we continue our work to independently get San  
>>> Francisco
>>> to 100% renewable energy as rapidly as possible so that the world will
>>> have a model of climate leadership that counters Washington D.C.'s
>>> complete idiocy.
>>> Please keep up to date on efforts to move the Community Choice energy
>>> project forward, and be ready to help. (See
>>> http://our-city.org/campaigns/communitychoice.html and
>>> http://communitychoiceenergy.org/ for details.)
>>>
>>> Here is the video of Obama's statement to the global Governor's Climate
>>> Conference:
>>>
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvG2XptIEJk
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>



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