Why Even Go To Copenhagen...

...if this is the best we can come up with?

As a follow up to what I posted yesterday regarding global warming, here's a report from Greenpeace on the woeful inadequacies in the climate bills thrashing around in both houses of Congress. They're little more than industry friendly concoctions that are being handed over to corporate interests, particularly King Coal, on a silver platter. If the Prez accepts this, he may as well cancel his plans for the climate summit in December and simply announce to the rest of the world that no, the US government doesn't care to and isn't prepared to deal aggressively with climate change. If he goes to Copenhagen with this bill in hand, he's likely to get run out of town at the end of a sharp spear. And yes -- there is action at the end of the report that you can take asking -- nay, demanding -- that he push for legislation with some teeth. Mr. Obama, you can and must do so.

I sweat blood at times trying to find words. The right words. Strong words. Words that convey my feeling that we need to do whatever it takes to break away from our growth for growth's sake mentality, that we need to find a way to structure our societies in ways that fit nature's physical limits, and that those limits aren't negotiable. Well, I found some of those words, and no, they're not my own. They're much better. They're in an article by Chris Hedges about an interview he had with activist Derrick Jensen. Here's a brief snippet:

"We can join Bill McKibben on Oct. 24 in nationwide protests over rising carbon emissions. We can cut our consumption of fossil fuels. We can use less water. We can banish plastic bags. We can install compact fluorescent light bulbs. We can compost in our backyard. But unless we dismantle the corporate state, all those actions will be just as ineffective as the Ghost Dance shirts donned by native American warriors to protect themselves from the bullets of white soldiers at Wounded Knee."

Amen. You can read the rest right here.