Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert”, recently wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled: How I (Almost) Saved the Earth. As I type, it is making the rounds on social networks, emails, and probably being talked about around the water coolers that Adams portrays in his iconic comic strip. Why is the article so popular? Does it speak some truth that needed a voice? Does it introduce a concept that furthers the discussion on environmentalism? No. It strikes a chord because it tells people what they want to hear.

by Scott Adams

At first read, Adams’ piece seems to be just another cute reflection of an average Joe’s attempt to “go green.” But there’s more to it than that. A certain paragraph in the middle epitomises the sentiment that I consider to be the greatest threat to the climate (us) since the industrial revolution. (Yeah, I know. Stay with me.) Here it is:

“I prefer a more pragmatic definition of green. I think of it as living the life you want, with as much Earth-wise efficiency as your time and budget reasonably allow. Now back to our story.”

That, my friends, is what denial looks like.

This idea, and subsequently the entire article, is a case against activism. It serves as a reassuring pat-on-the-back for those who have a lingering notion that recycling and bicycling isn’t enough, but cannot bear to internalize the severity of the climate crisis.

Forget the climate deniers and the FOX news pundits. They shout into an armed echo chamber made of steel. It isn’t worth it to try to break in and bring them around with things as ignorable as “facts.” We need the people whose minds aren’t closed, who realize what needs to be done, to jump in and do it. They are the same people who are passing Adams’ article around right now.

Most of them have heard the truth again and again, from experts like Bill McKibben and James Hansen and theAmerican Academy of Science, that nothing but immediate, gigantic shifts away from coal to clean methods of making electricity will spare us and future generations from economical/ecological collapse and world-wide human suffering. Yet it is the false but comforting idea that “it is enough just to change a few of our consumption habits” that gains traction. We are in a race against time, and articles like this shoot the winning horse right before it crosses the finish line. Denial and those who articulate it kill the climate movement.

I don’t think Scott Adams is trying to do that. He just isn’t thinking clearly about what it actually means to act upon his desire to, as he describes it, “love the earth”.

Not only does this article say that you shouldn’t try very hard to be green, but by leaving out other options creates the impression that changing your personal habits is the ONLY way to make a difference. There is no activism in that. No pushing the government to change, no holding our leaders’ feet to the fire, no resistance, no stopping the coal-trains in their tracks, no refusal to participate in the system that is directly responsible for this looming disaster. It implies that meaningful, practical actions such as these are waay out there, when in reality,hard-hitting activism must be part of any “green” lifestyle.

I am not arguing that personal consumption changes are meaningless. I am saying that they will not mean squat if they aren’t accompanied by a willingness to make real sacrifices.

The climate crisis is like a cruise ship, with no lifeboats, that is headed straight for a huge iceberg. We can’t run to the gift shop and buy our way out of our predicament, even though they are selling things in there that make us feel like we are helping. Rich people can buy what they are told by Con Artist, Inc. to be plugs for the imminent hole in the boat. Middle-class passengers can purchase “Green House” brand earplugs, to block out the screaming. And the poor people? They are the ones trapped on the lower decks making all the noise. They are screaming, “Storm the captain’s deck you fools!! Seize the wheel!!”

But that, your friends tell you, is unthinkable.

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – Veteran climate activist Ted Glick discusses his new book, Love Refuses to Quit: Climate Change and Social Change in the 21st Century. Glick was recently sentenced to one year probation and a $1,100 fine for hanging two banners that read “Green Jobs Now” at the Hart Senate Building. We discuss his life and activism. www.tedglick.com. © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – Once considered heresy amongst the scientific community, geo-engineering is now being seriously considered to alleviate the worst conditions of climate change. So-called “planet hacking” includes radical new ways to manipulate the earth’s temperature, include spraying sun-reflective pollution over the Middle East and growing carbon absorbing algae blooms in the ocean. Credible science or crazy science fiction? Journalist Eli Kintish’s new book, Hack the Planet, explores how once outlandish ideas are now being taken seriously by those hoping to avert climate chaos.
www.hacktheplanetbook.com © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – Ashley welcomes Brad Parkin from Hoogle Zoo to update us on the condition of the 280 birds that were rescued after the Chevron spill. Mayor Ralph Becker updates us on the latest clean-up effort. And in our last segment, local resident Jenna Helf joins us to share her decade long court battle against Chevron. As an employee, she was permanently disabled through exposure to their toxic chemicals. She explains her struggle to obtain justice and hold Chevron accountable for causing her injury. Her story is recounted in The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report; www.truecostofchevron.com © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – An estimated 33,000 gallons of crude oil were released into Utah waterways this past weekend. Ashley welcomes local resident and biologist Peter Hayes, Chevron representative Dan Johnson, retired biologist Ty Harrison and Lynn De Freitas from Friends of the Great Salt Lake to discuss the human and ecological impact of the disaster. In the latter part of the show, we welcome Antonia Juhasz, author of The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report. Juhasz argues that the Salt Lake spill is not unusual given Chevron’s global track record.

www.truecostofchevron.com © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – Ashley welcomes left-leaning populist Tim DeChristopher and right-leaning blogger Frank Staheli to discuss ways to transcend the divisiveness of contemporary politics. The three discuss taxes, climate change, Glenn Beck and the Tea Party, and find they actually have much in common. DeChristopher is the founder of the environmental group Peaceful Uprising and Staheli runs the blog Simple Utah Mormon Politics.

© Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (KRCL) - What will it take to create genuine change in the world? Patrick Reinsborough, the co-founder of SmartMeme, believes that creating stories with meaning is the key for activists to make progress on major issues threatening our planet. Reinsborugh has been involved in campaigns for peace, the environment, and social justice for nearly twenty years. www.smartmeme.org. © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – As the BP oil spill inches closer to shore, activists are preparing for the worst. In the first half of the show, Ashley talks with marine biologist Rikki Ott, who worked to protect her fellow Alaskans from the political manuerving of Exxon after thier spill. She hopes what was learned from the Valdeez disaster will help residents of the Gulf Coast prepare to deal with BP. In the second half, Brinkley Hutchins, a Alabama native and Greenpeace Student Network Leader describes her flights over the spill and the organized efforts of local residents.

www.rikkiott.com
www.itsgettinghotinhere.org © Copyright 2010, krcl

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT (krcl) – How much economic power should corporations have over our political system? David Cobb argues that the health of our democracy requires that we abolish corporate personhood. His efforts at www.movetoamend.org are working to “firmly establish that money is not speech, and that only human beings–not corporations–are persons entitled to constitutional rights.” © Copyright 2010, krcl

On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, and are thus entitled by the U.S. Constitution to fund campaigns without limit and, consequently, co-op our government. This decision surrenders many of the individual rights of Americans to Corporations.

The Campaign to Legalize Democracy is a coalition of grassroots organizations that are working to fundamentally shift American culture from the current state of corporate rule to one where the people rule. They are working from the bottom up–from communities to cities to states and then finally to the national level–to pass a constitutional amendment abolishing corporate personhood, removing the stranglehold corporations have on our democracy and allowing the people to take power once more.

If you haven’t already done so, please add your name to the 77,000+ who have already signed the Motion to Amend.