Kill It Before It Gets Loose

So the Waxman-Markey bill is still flopping around in Congress like a foul-smelling fish after much debate and haggling. Good. Let it flop. And then let it die so we can come up with something that will do some good. Somebody has to show the balls to confront the challenges and changes needed for that to happen though. It's not likely to come from DC. Change like what is necessary might only come from massive action from an enraged citizenry. I'm not sure we have the balls or the vision or the will to do that either. We're too busy being 'the consumer', too frightened by change, to be effectively enraged. That may change though.

Waxman-Markey is little more than pissing in the wind. It's been diluted down by so much industry money that it's about as effective as putting a Spongebob band-aid on a severed artery. The fossil fuel industry has sunk millions into weakening it to the point of uselessness, and stands to walk away with the spoils. Again. Meanwhile the bill, as it now stands, does virtually nothing to combat the effects of climate change. From a statement by GreenpeaceUSA director Phil Radford:

“Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill has fallen prey to political infighting and industry pressure. We cannot support this bill in its current state. We call on President Obama and leaders in Congress to get back to work and produce a bill, based on science, which presents a clear road map for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transforms our economy with clean, renewable energy technology, generates new green jobs and shows real leadership internationally.”

It's being lauded by some as good first steps. As the beginning of incremental change, but so-called incremental change usually goes nowhere. It's like trying to walk out of quicksand -- it looks like you're moving, but you're not getting anywhere.

This isn't the time for baby steps on climate action. Time may be running out on us. Climate change isn't necessarily a gradual warming of the planet. The climate reaches certain tipping points where changes come suddenly and drastically. Political change happens the same way. We're at a tipping point now. Pressure, sudden and drastic, needs to be put on our decision-makers to take bold and decisive action. Now. Relying on the same old business as usual policies of the past isn't going to cut it anymore. We need to use all of the direct-action citizen-powered tools available to put that pressure on before it's too late.