We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Worlds Collide at Cancun Climate Talks

by Laura Carlsen from Foreign Policy in Focus.
...two worlds will collide in Cancun. The first is a world in denial where profits come before people and the planet, and the most threatening environmental crisis in history is viewed as a business opportunity. This world will be heavily represented by most developed country leaders and representatives of corporations hawking green projects as they continue to trash the environment and pursue unfettered access to ever-scarcer natural resources.

The second is a world of small farmers, indigenous peoples, poor urban communities, and islanders that are suffering unprecedented droughts, water scarcity, and storms. Thousands of people from organizations throughout the world will travel to Cancun to make their voices heard. They are far from being just victims. The citizens of this second world are closely tied to local ecosystems, and in many cases their stewardship has guaranteed the conservation of the planet’s remaining forests (redefined by climate-change conservatives as “carbon sinks”), biodiversity, and watersheds.
Learn about the mobilization of working people to oppose the false and dangerous solutions that are likely to be proposed by the ruling elites at this upcoming conference.
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