The Earth Pope

It's Just Greenwash

It's everywhere!  Eco-green is the new shade of marketing this season and almost every magazine, newspaper and TV talk show is jumping on the environmental bandwagon to demonstrate that they are serious about the issue of severe climate change and impending global upheaval that is predicted to result from the lack of any country doing much of anything serious about it.

Nowhere is this clarion call for action demonstrated to really be more of a gleeful cackle of corporate executives ringing up profits than in the latest Vanity Fair "2nd Annual Green Issue" sporting on its cover a striking pose of a Leonardo DiCaprio who is so hot the ice he is standing on is actually melting under his feet.  Next to him is the cute polar bear cub Knut, Berlin's rock star of endangered species, who is generating controversy on his own as Animal Rights activists call for his execution due to his being raised by humans instead of his mother.

What gives away the real agenda of the Vanity Fair senior honchos isn't the horde of sexually oriented advertisements selling the scents, clothes, jewelry and cars you will need to generate the animal magnetism necessary to attract men and women of the caliber of desirability shown in the layouts.  No, we all know that advertising revenue is the bread and butter of these magazines.  Without it we won't be able to have articles like Jungle Law, Global Citizens and Quiet Thunder in this edition. What really gives it away is the disgusting Diesel "Global Warming Ready" ads beginning on page 173.

In the first ad a sexy young woman drives a motorboat loaded with shopping bags away from a partially submerged London.  Her pouty lips and firm inner thighs convey a sense of consumer confidence that overcomes even the inconveniences of global warming.  In the next ad a man and woman share an intimate glass of water on a sun drenched roof with a submerged Manhattan skyline in the background.  In the final ad a man smears sunscreen on a woman embracing a palm tree on a beach while the eyes of Mount Rushmore presidents peer just above the waves.

How can Vanity Fair allow this kind of advertising in a "Green" issue?  Because the green is the shade of money and the editors at this magazine have no standards which prevent accepting advertising money from a company named Diesel of all things, that promotes "successful living" in the form of dressing in expensive denim, unbuttoned shirts and preparing to fornicate while the rest of the world slowly sinks below the raising water.

Remember, nothing says debauchery quite like Diesel!

Competing to the Death

It's official!  China is on their way to surpassing the U.S. in generating more greenhouse gases than any other country.  In their pursuit of growing their economy to emulate the American Way of Life, the Chinese will most likely not only choke their own people but will also smother the rest of us with coal fired pollution.

At the heart of all of this race to disaster is the fact that Chinese officials refuse to consider reducing greenhouse gas emissions until China is given a chance to "attain the West's standard of prosperity".  Ah yes, the West's standard of prosperity.  And what are the indicators of this lavish lifestyle?  Unprecedented levels of waste. Overconsumption of food and artificial food products to epidemic levels of obesity.  Polluting the environment with toxic chemicals.  Driving cars that have marginally better fuel efficiency than a Sherman tank.

But aren't Americans also responsible for the booming Chinese economy?  China is our largest trading partner and we are their biggest customer for everything our insatiable shopping appetites crave.  Everything we pick up at the store seems to be made in China and most of it are products that we can easily do without.

It appears that our Chinese friends have been stricken by the dreaded affluenza, a highly contagious and often fatal disease. In their haste to live like Americans they might just have stumbled on a cure for this vicious disease and it is the old "one from column A and one from column B" Chinese menu solution. 

Except this time all the columns are the coal fired smoke stake columns belching death around the world.

   

Glimmers of Change

Just before the New Year I was given a glimpse of the change that is occurring all around us and how powerful that change can be.  This experience brought a glimmer of encouragement to me as I struggled with the exhaustion I had accumulated from an entire year working to bring awareness to Americans afflicted with the debilitating dynamic of entitlement addiction and bliss suppression.

Here's what happened.  I was walking across a parking lot when I was summoned to conversation by my cheery insurance man.  I have been doing business with Chris for over a decade and he often engages me in friendly banter when we chance encounter on the street.  But this time Chris seemed especially exuberant.  I thought it must just be the season.

I must tell you that Chris has always been the kind of businessman who wanted you to know he was successful.  He always wore very expensive clothes and drove a nice Mercedes Benz.  To his credit his cars were used and he always stressed the good deals he got on them.  But this time something was very different about Chris and what he was talking about.

Instead of regaling me with highlights of his recent trip to Hawaii or recognition as insurance man of the month, Chris was discussing the benefits of his new car.  As he patted the roof I realized that the car he was standing next to, the Prius, was actually his!  Chris launched into how he got 50 miles to the gallon and how when he pulled away from the stop sign he wasn't using any gas at all, only electricity.  By his mannerisms I knew he was genuinely excited.

I was stunned!  Chris had awakened to the fact that the need to choose between economic security and environmental protection was an artificial conflict manufactured by closed-minded economists and neoconservative fearmongers.  He had discovered that in fact taking the environment into account by buying a Prius was a very wise investment, not only in terms of money but in terms of his children's future.

Then Chris paused and placed his hand on my shoulder.  "You know what has been the most amazing part of buying a Prius?" he asked. 

"No, what" I replied, as I thought about him telling me he now owns a Toyota dealership.

"People come up to me and say 'Thank You' and at first I didn't understand why.  I asked a friend of mine who has a Prius and he said it was people thanking me for protecting the environment and driving a Prius.  I was blown away!"

So was I.  Here was a glimmer of the change that is happening all across the country as more and more people wake up to the fact that we all need to take action now to protect the planet. And they are making changes that also make them more happy and content in life.  What a deal!

Thank you Chris.

Betting the Planet

Going into the New Year with optimism is a challenge of its own but the release of the Science and Engineering Indicators 2007 gives pause to even die hard optimists such as myself.  You see, within this report is a glimmer of the hurdles we face in getting the average American to make the corrections needed to move life in a sustainable direction.

As with any scientific study the facts are reported just as they are with no emotional interpretation provided.  As such these facts do not convey the sense of urgency needed to grab hold of the reins of this runaway death culture and veer it from the path of self destruction.  What the hell am I talking about?  Let me give you a peek at the results of their public survey of science attitudes.

First of all the report found that 29% believe that the sun revolves around the earth.  Yes, that's right!  Almost one in three people don't know basic science yet they are being allowed to buy pesticides at the local hardware store and use them in dense neighborhoods.  Talk about nightmares on Elm Street!

As if that weren't frightening enough the survey found that 91% of Americans believe that "science and technology are making our lives healthier, easier and more comfortable."  Ah yes, increased cancer rates, fresh water shortages and global climate change sure do make my life more comfortable.  Not to mention the technical opportunities my IPOD provides to tune out all natural sounds, all the time.  I mean because of technology I don't even have to interact with nature! 

But the finding that should strike fear into even the most ardent Earth activist is that 84% feel that the "benefits of scientific research outweigh the harmful results."  Yes indeed!  The development of high gloss lipstick and scented toilet bowl cleaners outweighs vivisection and animal testing.  Nuclear power generation to fire up a nation of 42 inch plasma TVs outweighs 10,000 years of radioactive waste.

These are the folks who cling desperately to the American Way of Death and as their bumper stickers remind us all, we will have to pry their cold dead fingers from their remote controls before they give up their home entertainment centers.

I hope instead that these representatives of American culture hit the pause button, step outside for a moment and watch a sunset.  I hope that they do this totally unplugged, without any technology at all.  If we can get them to do this there might still be a chance.  But once the people of this planet unplug from nature completely, all bets are off.

What are you betting on?

Valuing the Earth

More and more it appears that American culture has things exactly backwards.  This is true with the fines and penalties imposed for illegally harming the environment, or using nature to make a profit against the minimal laws in place to protect species we share the Earth with.

Take for example the case of Ryan Zeman, who was recently convicted of criminal copyright infringement for illegally copying 14 movie titles and distributing them for profit. Ryan received a sentence of three years probation, four months home confinement and four months community confinement.  He has also been required to make restitution in the amount of $120,000.

Contrast this with the plunder and pilfering that is going on along the North coast of California where the last vestiges of abalone are found.  While most sportsmen and sportswomen adhere to the rules and regulations regarding abalone harvesting, some people decide to use illegal scuba gear and harvest as many as they can.  With abalone going for $50 per pound on the black market the potential to make significant cash overshadows the penalty if caught.  The maximum is $40,000 in fines, loss of gear and substantial jail time.

What will happen when a renegade geneticist begins to illegally copy abalones and sell them on the black market?  What laws will this crime fall under?  Illegal copyright of natural organisms or illegal taking of a living species?  Will it even be a crime?

I say we immediately switch the fines and penalties for crimes against private property and crimes against the public commons.  Litterers should receive immediate jail time and heavy fines.  Take a nature walk on private property without permission and receive a warning. Shoot a hawk and go directly to jail.  Shoplift food to feed your children, receive a warning and food stamps.

Using Our Heads

Bicycling has to be one of my favorite activities.  It is fun, healthy and a great form of alternative transportation.  Getting out on a sunny summer day and riding along bicycle trails without the worry or threat of cars is a special treat and I indulged heavily this past weekend. It was during my Sunday ride that I had a epiphany on why environmental literacy is not taking root in American culture.

In the course of two hours on a twenty mile ride I passed seven families out on a ride with their children.  Each family had at least one child and one of the families had three kids riding along in single file.  All of the families had helmets on their children because the statistics show that wearing a helmet can prevent serious injury or death for children.  The problem was that not one adult had a helmet on their head. 

It occurred to me that this was a good analogy for what is wrong with the environmental literacy of the country.  This was hypocrisy on wheels and it represents one of the core problems with the American Way of Life.  How can we ever expect to have a legacy of environmental awareness if parents are going to be so blatant about not giving a damn?  How do we expect children to take things seriously when parents are so open about their falseness in something so critical as protecting your head from major injury?

Parents have to model appropriate behavior if they want their children to stay safe and healthy.  This is true of environmental literacy.  Parents who talk about taking care of the environment but don't recycle, who waste food and who use only cost as their primary criteria for buying products are instilling a disregard for the environment that will be difficult if not impossible to change.  This eco-illiteracy lasts a generation and we might not have that long to work on major issues such as global warming.

Hope still lies in the rebelliousness of adolescence.  Hopefully these young people will challenge their parents and other authority figures on their hypocrisy and point out the role that we all have in protecting the planet for the next generations.

It is never to late to change bad habits and discard practices that jeopardize our ability to live in balance with the natural systems.  All we have to do is use our heads before the tires slip out from under us and we get knocked out.  For good.    

Highend Waste

Let me share something with you.  Many of the confessions I hear or read come from business people who are realizing that their way of life is contributing to the demise of the planet.  It is not the business they are in necessarily, but instead they are becoming aware of the resources they personally consume and waste during a standard business trip.  Let me give you one example. 

One of the congregation, a man I’ll call Ryan, travels about 160 days per year.  He almost always flies and he always stays in nice hotels.  During his recent stay in a 5-star hotel in Chicago he happened to be having breakfast and reading the New York Times.  One of the headlines that day was a story about hunger and the effects it has on a country. 

Ryan suddenly found himself asking the waitress about what the hotel did with the food waste. The waitress said she didn’t know but introduced him to the hotel operations manager who was having breakfast two tables away.  The operations manager extended his hand to introduce himself.  “I’m Terry,” he stated, pulling out a chair next to him.  After introductions, Ryan put forward the question, “What do you do with all the food waste?”

Driving Us Crazy

I had to comment on this little gem from Corporate America.  It goes quite a long way into defining the misdirected focus on things that are killing the planet.  It is a story of an obviously retro company, Midas, desperately trying to keep the American dream of limitless driving alive by sponsoring a contest to give ten thousand dollars to the person with the longest commute.  The winner was David Givens of Mariposa, California who drives 372 miles every weekday commuting to his job at Cisco in San Jose.

Of course this contest does not mention that Mr. Givens might just be giving all of us an enormous amount of CO2 emissions (not to mention other pollutants) so he can enjoy his “outdoor lifestyle” where the air is fresh and a person can see forever.  For awhile at least.

Compare this to the recent Bicycle Friendly Communities campaign to award municipalities across the country for their efforts to create a bicycle friendly community.  As far as I can tell the communities receive recognition in the form of a platinum, gold, silver or bronze status award that is designated for two years.  Unfortunately, there is no money with this recognition to assist other municipalities implement the best ideas from the recognized communities.

I know!  I know!  No company that makes its money from the car culture is going to sponsor a bicycle friendly anything contest.  But if that is really the case, how do we transition to a sustainable culture?

The joke just might be on us!

American Eco Sin--A Way of Life

Four little words that cause so much global destruction—American Way of Life.  It is at the heart of many of the problems on the planet but as George Bush senior stated in 1992 at the Rio Summit: “The American Way of Life is not negotiable.”

The terrible truth is that the American Way of Life is causing Americans to be severely out of balance with the rest of the world when it comes to resource consumption.  To put it in perspective just consider that Americans account for only 5% of the global population but use 24% of the energy resources.

Consider what you are participating in when you go shopping and buy things that you don’t really need or worse yet, go shopping to make you feel better.  The resources you use are finite and the money you spend fuels an economy that is literally consuming the world.  The simple fact is the amount of money the 20% of the planet’s richest residents spend on items like cosmetics and dog food could literally feed the rest of the inhabitants.

But stop and think about it for a moment.  You have the power to make simple changes that could require corporations to change their behavior.  It is our money and right now we pay these corporations to provide us with unhealthy products; fuel inefficient transportation; toxic housing and an immoral healthcare system.

So where's the humor in this depressing post?  There is nothing funny about what is happening to the planet but there can be fun in building community, rethinking consumption and taking on the coporations. There are direct everyday actions to take and I will be sharing these actions with you in future postings.