Strange but true: Energy-efficient light bulbs and hybrid cars are hurting our nation's budding efforts to fight global warming.
More precisely, every time an activist or politician hectors the public to voluntarily reach for a new bulb or spend extra on a Prius, ExxonMobil heaves a big sigh of relief.
That was an excerpt of my most recent essay, "Consider Using the N-Word Less: Voluntary actions didn't get us civil rights, and they won't fix the climate," featured in Grist on September 4th.
It continues:
But what's the solution? Most media sidebars and web links quickly send us to that peppy and bright list we all know so well, one vaguely reminiscent of Better Homes and Gardens: "10 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet." Standard steps include: change three light bulbs. Consider a hybrid car for your next purchase. Tell the kids to turn out the lights. Even during the recent Al Gore-inspired Live Earth concerts, the phrase "planetary emergency" was followed by "wear more clothes indoors in winter" and "download your music at home to save on the shipping fuel for CDs."
Nice little gestures all, but are you kidding me? Does anyone think this is the answer?
I sure don't. Now don't get me wrong, I am not discounting the importance of individual action. I have solar panels on my roof, heat my house with a corn-burning stove, and wouldn't dream of buying anything other than a compact fluorescent light bulb. But is that the whole answer? Decidedly no.
That is why I am participating, along with at least 1,200 people in all fifty states and fourteen countries, in The Climate Emergency Fast.
The fast, organized by the U.S. Climate Emergency Council (of which I am the director), took place yesterday and, for many of us, continues today (I'm on my third day of fasting as I write this). Yesterday was Congress's first day back in session and we held a press conference on Capitol Hill to make sure they heard our message was heard loud and clear. What is that message? That climate change is a moral issue that transcends all political, religious, socioeconomic, and geographic boundaries. It is an issue that cannot be ignored any longer and over a thousand concerned citizens, from all over the world, all ages, and all walks of life, are willing to sacrifice food for at least one day because the time for action on global warming is now!
Over 1,000 people are fasting for one day but there are at least 125 people who are fasting for longer than that, some for weeks. Is this extreme? Some will think so, I'm sure. I truly believe, however, and I feel safe in assuming that others who are fasting do as well, that global warming is such a crisis, and we, as a country, are doing so little about it, that drastic action is required. USCEC Coordinator Ted Glick, who is fasting for at least 30 days, is keeping a daily blog of his experiences.
The problem at hand is so huge it requires a response like our national mobilization to fight -- and win -- World War II. To move our nation off of fossil fuels, we need inspired Churchillian leadership and sweeping statutes a la the Big War or the civil-rights movement.
My fast is a call for sweeping statutes, for climate legislation strong enough to truly address the crisis at hand. I hope you'll join me in standing up and demanding strong climate legislation now!