Total Mass & The Green Divide

What is the endless fascination we have with giving over our own personal power to others? Why do we choose not to hook up with others in ways beyond commercial and manufactured interests? And what is the price for this collective choice?

Some think that the recent activity around global warming is the wake up call we've been waiting for, that as the cause of causes, we are now mobilizing to action. But if it's true that power concedes nothing without a fight, then this will be the super bowl of fights. How can it not, when Exxon-Mobil posted record profits for any corporation in history?

So if it's the "green movement" being led by celebrities, politicians and pundits, that's one thing. But all of the hoopla around the tech revolution hasn't filtered down to the vast majority of mud peeps in the world, creating the digital divide.

And so to the green divide.

I'm pretty dialed in to the so-called "green movement," and none of the celebrities, politicians, academicians, and least of all, the so-called "experts" address the green divide in any way. At most we have pockets of movement (1), and one notable exception.(2)

It's not a critical mass issue, and there are no shades of grey here. Here's a major point; none of this green activity means anything without total mass.

Don't believe me? Think of it this way; what good does it do if there's critical mass but the Exxon Valdez's of the world are running amok? (Yes, over ten years later, Prince William Sound is still jacked up)

60,000 plastic bags, by Chris Jordan


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1. Frisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is a good guy. The city recently banned plastic bags. If you think that's too tree huggerish, run the numbers: 60k bags are deployed every five seconds in America; about 2% (or less) of those bags are recycled.

Then there's Majora Carter, a bad sista who returned to the South Bronx to create Sustainable South Bronx. With great common sense she's linking the green struggle to poverty and addressing both in the process. With Van Jones they've further created Green for All which takes the themes of inequality and jobs by advocating for green collar jobs. Talk about good vision meeting great strategy.

2. Australia mandated all light bulbs be CFLs by, I believe, 2010, sparing the expulsion of millions of tons of C02, helping wean off of the insanity of oil and/or coal while easing pressure on their grid. Not to mention saving money.

It's not easy being green, but they sure can flap their yaps about it.

I forgot to mention I went to this thing. Kucinich, Hilary and John Edwards showed up out of all the candidates on both sides of the aisle. I think you can watch it online here.

My thoughts:

-Does anyone seriously think that solving the massive damage on the scale of "global warming" lies in the hands of a president? If so, holy ghost help us all.

-Assuming that it's at least important what the candidates think about global warming, given the fed's track record with handling disasters in light of the Katrina fiasco, what possible action plan can we even reasonably believe makes sense and is do-able when addressing such an imposing topic?

-Kucinich came on first. Says some okay things. (particularly about impeaching Cheney, but that's outside of this forum) He doesn't stand a chance.

-Hilary was next. It was weird, because as someone who is a native Angeleno, I don't get starstruck. Two exceptions were when I met Scorsese and Magic Johnson. And this isn't leading to being starstruck by Hilary, no way. But before her entrance the intensity level rose at least two levels, and it was palpable, like waiting for the band to come out. The Wadsworth Theater is a stately, intimate theater that holds a few thousand, and when Kucinich was talking the aisles were empty. With Hilary, the aisles filled; pr flacks, aides de camp, assorted indie reporters (mainstream ones got seats, of course), and the rest of the assorted plebes.

-Hilary, chugging along, then had the misfortune to have a heckler stand up and begin a tirade that went on until they bounced him on his ass. What was interesting was to watch her and her escalating reactions; 1) She just kept talking! No shit, as the crazy heckler was shouting away with all eyes on him, she just kept right on going. 2) Then, she got her hard-ass on. Leaning an elbow on the podium, she stared this dude down. This of course made every male in the audience grab his balls while images of Bubba, cowering on his knees in front of her danced through the air. 3) Finally, she blurted out, "Were you invited to speak today?"

-John Edwards - a decided letdown, came on and proceeded to put his hands in his jacket pockets while he spoke. Weird move, that. But the weirder thing is that the dude was frumpy. I mean, for all the dough he has, you'd think he'd have duds that are hand tailored. Oh yeah, a lot of peeps left after Hilary.

Basically, it was mildly entertaining, but for anyone at all interested in global warming, yer better off reading a book.

I also think that this is a critical time in our history, not just because of the environmental challenge, but because of whatever response we put up. Because part of the reason we're in the mess we're in - and I mean everything, not just the environment - is because we place the potential power we have in synergy into leaders. To be fair, part of that equation is by default, because the powers that be have rigged a really hard game to unravel.

It's gonna take strategic, hard work, something that scares both left and right alike.

You reminded us that new worlds do not come delivered on silver platters. New worlds, new ways of living do require getting the hands dirty. New worlds require more than lip-service and appearances.
-Essex Hemphill, to Audre Lorde