Naomi Klein and Move to Amend

Naomi Klein is a journalist and author with a global following. When I heard about her new book, This Changes Everything, I pretty much knew that her progressive worldview would be supportive of Move to Amend, the national initiative on which I am now focusing much of my attention.

Naomi Klein

I purchased This Changes Everything the day after it hit the bookstores in late September of this year. The book makes the case that climate change is the monster, earth scale issue that will either bring us all together to force an energy transition away from polluting, fossil forms of energy like coal and oil, or it will be the undoing of human civilization as we know it.  Making the change away from dirty energy to clean renewable forms like wind and solar requires that society push aside the big energy players that have dominated our political system for so long. Naomi Klein says as much in This Changes Everything.

Just after buying the book, I happened to look at the website for This Change Everything.   I discovered that Naomi was scheduled to appear for a book signing at Powell's Bookstore in Beaverton, Oregon, about two miles from my home, on October 1, 2014.  

Of course, I wanted to get my copies of The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything signed while Naomi was here.  Then, it occurred to me that something much more could be accomplished.  I have been producing outreach videos  for Move to Amend since early this year. Why not try to get Naomi Klein on the record in support of Move to Amend's  initiative for a 28th Constitutional Amendment that says 'Corporations are not People' and 'Money is not Speech'.   

Having read Naomi's books, I believed that she would support Move to Amend, even though I could not find any public statement to that effect in a search of the net.  Anyway,  I tracked down her publicist in New York. I sent an email requesting the opportunity interview Naomi during her Portland book tour stopover.

Two days before the scheduled visit, I heard from Naomi's publicist.  We were given ten minutes for an interview with her just before the start of her appearance at Powell's Bookstore.

With the assistance of my colleagues Ryan Rittenhouse and Roger Bates, we got it done.

The following video is the result..https://vimeo.com/108026210

 

This Changes Everything

About two weeks ago, best-selling author, Naomi Klein's new book, This Change Everything was released by Simon and Schuster.  It debuted at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

I've been a fan of Naomi Klein for a long time. I read her first book, No Logo, when it came out about 20 years ago.  Then, her book The Shock Doctrine was released in 2007.  In a nutshell, it focused on the predatory, morally bankrupt nature of neoconservative economics; the brand of capitalism that's dominated since the days of Ronald Reagan.   I wrote a review of that book about two years ago. The link is http://ecstatictruthpdx.blogspot.com/2012/04/shock-doctrine.html  

I just finished reading This Changes Everything.  In it, Naomi Klein makes a powerful case that we are at the end of our rope with climate change.  If we continue, business as usual, running our world on oil, coal, and natural gas, the catastrophic consequences will be unprecedented in all of human history.

Klein shows that big coal and oil and the banks that underwrite them are the most lucrative businesses in all of history. Moreover, the billions in profits these corporate giants generate have allowed them to control the media  and manipulate our political system to get the tax and regulatory policy they want, no matter the consequences.

The primary cause of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels    That pollution has caused a warming of the Earth's atmosphere that is already driving profound changes to our environment, including the melting of Earth's icecaps and glaciers, rising sea levels, and a large increase in highly destructive weather extremes.  In order to achieve anything close to a soft landing for humanity, scientists say that atmospheric temperature rise must be limited to two degrees Celsius. To do that,  we need to limit the additional carbon air pollution to 500 gigatons.  The problem is, as Klein points out,  fossil energy producers claim to have nearly 3,000 gigatons of  carbon in found, yet to be extracted, reserves of coal, oil, and gas.  That amounts to trillions of dollars in potential profits to energy companies that are only interested in generating income for their stakeholders. As Klein puts it, "...they're determined to burn five times more fossil fuel than the planet's atmosphere can begin to absorb.'

Here's another very unsettling nugget from Klein..."In 2013, in the United States alone, the oil and gas industry spent just under $400,000 a day lobbying Congress and government officials."

So, it's clear, big fossil energy is not about to back down and forgo trillions in profit. It's also clear, if they are allowed to have their way and burn all the dirty energy they claim to have, waiting and ready to dig up, the consequences for life on Earth will be disastrous to the extreme.

As Klein points out, we have the technologies to end our dependence on fossil forms of energy and revitalize human society with a transition to a whole range of proven, clean energy technologies. To some extent,  it's already happening.  

Wall Street and the big energy players are not about to let their largess of carbon to become stranded assets. They are using their money and influence to aggressively resist any threat to their political dominance and their obscene profits.

Blunting the power of corporations requires a fundamental change to our economic system, and to do that we must first remake our political system to remove the undue money and influence.  That's a tall order.  Klein believes only an unprecedented grassroots effort can prevail.  She presents ample evidence that just such an effort is possible, though the window for massive action is closing.

Naomi Klein's worldview is entirely compatible with my own. I think she is one of the most important voices for reason and positive change in public life.

I bought This Changes Everything at Powell's Bookstore in Beaverton the day after it was released. I then learned that on Wednesday, October 1st,  Naomi Klein was scheduled to appear at that same bookstore.   Of course, I was determined to get my copies of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine signed.  Then, I had an inspiration and what happened subsequently was much more than just getting the author's autograph.  Stayed tuned, for my follow-up blog entry on Naomi Klein and This Changes Everything.

Oh, and for the record, This Changes Everything gets my highest recommendation. 

John Cleese talks Fox News

Here is a wonderful short video of Monty Python alum, John Cleese eviscerating Fox News.  Cleese's theory is that in order to recognize that you are stupid, you have to be at least intelligent enough to be aware of your stupidity. 

John Cleese

Cleese thinks the Fox news people aren't even smart enough to recognize that the things they broadcast are very often lies, deception, or  drivel.  I think Cleese is partially right.  But it's more than that. The odor coming from Fox News is at least as much about sociopathy, intellectual dishonesty,   and a profound lack of compassion.

Anyway, here is John Cleese applying his whimsical logic to Fox News... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvVPdyYeaQU

Wild Animal Populations Collapsing Worldwide

Alarming could not be more of an understatement.  A 52 percent decline in wildlife populations in just the last 40 years.  That is the conclusion of an intense study of animal numbers by the World Wildlife Fund.   Why? A look in the mirror will give you the answer.  Human numbers have doubled to 7.3 billion in the same period, and demographers are now saying there is a 70% chance that the growth of the human population will hit nearly 11 billion before it stops.  That is an astonishing number.  It's no wonder the populations of other animal species are collapsing.

We humans are mindlessly shredding the fabric of our biosphere.  We are behaving like parasites... the kind of parasite that ultimately kills its host. 

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Taken from the Huffington Post   9/30/14

GENEVA (AP) — About 3,000 species of wildlife around the world have seen their numbers plummet far worse than previously thought, according to a new study by one of the world's biggest environmental groups.

The study Tuesday from the Swiss-based WWF largely blamed human threats to nature for a 52 percent decline in wildlife populations between 1970 and 2010.
It says improved methods of measuring populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles explain the huge difference from the 28-percent decline between 1970 and 2008 that the group reported in 2012.

Most of the new losses were found in tropical regions, particularly Latin America.

WWF describes the study it has carried out every two years since 1998 as a barometer of the state of the planet.

"There is no room for complacency," said WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini, calling for a greater focus on sustainable solutions to the impact people are inflicting on nature, particularly through the release of greenhouse gases.

The latest "Living Planet" study analyzed data from about 10,000 populations of 3,038 vertebrate species from a database maintained by the Zoological Society of London. It is meant to provide a representative sampling of the overall wildlife population in the world, said WWF's Richard McLellan, editor-in-chief of the study.

It reflects populations since 1970, the first year the London-based society had comprehensive data. Each study is based on data from at least four years earlier.

Much of the world's wildlife has disappeared in what have been called five mass extinctions, which were often associated with giant meteor strikes. About 90 percent of the world's species were wiped out around 252 million years ago. One such extinction about 66 million years ago killed off the dinosaurs and three out of four species on Earth.

In the new WWF study, hunting and fishing along with continued losses and deterioration of natural habitats are identified as the chief threats to wildlife populations around the world. Other primary factors are global warming, invasive species, pollution and disease.

"This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of the way we choose to live," said Ken Norris, science director at the London society. "There is still hope. Protecting nature needs focused conservation action, political will and support from industry."

 

 

Sparks- A Bit of Cinema Magic

I have been a fan for Cirq du Soleil almost since it's beginning. We went to one of the tent shows in Los Angeles.  It was unique and beautifully realized. Terrific performers in stunning costumes that defy description. The music is also very appealing.  

Cirq du Soliel is now an international brand, with dozens of different live circus shows touring the world. They even have several permanent shows in Las Vegas.

I just came across a video titled Sparks.  It's a Cirq du Soliel video freely available on the internet.  It uses cutting edge technology to deliver some wonderful moments of entertainment.  

Sparks is fun. If you appreciate performance art,  Sparks is worth a look.

Here is the link to Sparks...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C8OJsHfmpI

Here is a link to  a video about how they did it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YqUocVcyrE

Oregon's Whale Wars Veteran

I am a big fan of the Sea Shepard Society, a group of volunteers, who ply the world's oceans battling  Japanese industrial whalers, the people who club harp seal pups in the Canadian Arctic, illegal tuna fishing, etc., etc.  

You have to admire people who are willing put their lives at risk to get between whales and the humans that want to kill them.  The Animal Planet TV show, Whale Wars, is about the Sea Shepard crews operating their own vessels, going to the very treacherous Southern Pacific ocean to confront Japanese whalers.   It makes for great TV.   I find it very satisfying to watch the Sea Shepard crews protecting whales from the exploding harpoons the Japanese use to kill them.

I work with a lot of good people these days on videos designed to reach the public with Move to Amend's  very ambitious and very much needed Constitutional agenda.

One of the Move to Amend supporters  I've gotten to know these past few months is a young man named Ryan Rittenhouse.  Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Ryan's background is in theater and video production. He's now working as an organizer for a non-profit called, Friends of the Columbia Gorge [FOCG].  Ryan is heavily engaged in the current fight to restrict hazardous, oil train traffic through the gorge.

Ryan in the Galapagos Islands

I asked Ryan to work with me on a video that would tie the oil train controversy to the larger Constitutional agenda championed by Move to Amend. Ryan recruited his boss Kevin Gorman, Executive Director of FOCG, to do that outreach video for Move to Amend. Ryan is co-producing that video with me. It was shot this past week and is currently being edited. I will be posting a blog entry about it as soon as it's finished.

I was having lunch with Ryan after we shot the video, when he told me that he had been a Sea Shepard crew member aboard the Farley Mowat, an old ship named after a well-known Canadian naturalist. Of all of the things I have learned about Ryan, that is the most impressive.

 

 

Ryan was quartermaster, and ship's videographer for two seasons in the Southern Pacific Ocean aboard the Farley Mowat.  He also was a Sea Shepard zodiac driver,  often putting himself and his crewmates between defenseless whales and the harpoons of the Japanese whalers. 

When it comes to life, so many people take the path of least resistance, avoiding controversy or anything that even implies some sort of personal risk. That's a big part of why it is so hard to affect positive change on a cultural scale.  Way too many people are self-absorbed and are unwilling to ' stand up'  for anything that involves any kind of assertiveness and substantive commitment.

That's not the way of Sea Shepard, whose crew members volunteer to work without pay. They are people of great courage, conviction, and commitment to Earth stewardship. They travel to the far reaches of the world's ocean's to confront the worst kind of human hubris.

Ryan Rittenhouse put his ass on the line many times over as a Sea Shepard provocateur. He is a person of character and substance. These days, he sports a bushy red beard. He likes the distinct look it gives him.   It's his style, and he has earned the right to express it, unlike so many people who are all about style, with little or no substance behind it.

Here is a link to the Sea Shepard Society...  http://www.seashepherd.org/

Here is a link to Ryan's current employer, the Friends of the Columbia Gorge...  http://www.gorgefriends.org/

Prague

I have had the good fortune of spending time in some of the world's most interesting cities.  The city I most want to visit that I have not been to is Prague in the Czech Republic.

Prague is one of the few great European cities that was not bombed during the second world war.  The buildings in central Prague are pretty much as they have been for at least a century or more. Many of the streets are still covered with cobblestone. 

Prague

I just ran across this video of Prague, shot from a small camera drone.  It showcases the beauty of this great city. A visit to Prague is very near the top of my personal bucket list.

Here is a link to the aerial majesty of Prague...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfo2gvt2OlI