Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Catastrophic Weather Events Are Becoming the New Normal

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, February 3, 2011

Catastrophic Weather Events Are Becoming the New Normal

by Bill McKibben from AlterNet.

We use fossil fuel because it's cheap, and it's cheap because Exxon Mobil and Peabody Coal get to use the atmosphere as open sewer to dump their waste for free. And today you can see the results of that particular business model from outer space.

Extreme weather is now considered the new normal by ruling class media. They rarely mention it in the same breath with greenhouse gases and catastrophic climate change. So, get use to it people--just suck it up! Nothing must get in the way of the ruling class from feeding its profits addiction.

McKibben is a fine environmentalist, but he fails as a political-economic scientist. He never takes issue with the predatory system of capitalism which fosters the exploitation of workers and the environment for the enrichment of a few. This may be a result of his having spent so many years in academia where indoctrination accompanies skill training. Only those who do not ask any serious questions about the system are allowed to pass through.