Ch 10
1. Why was the engagement of Bella Bella's students in opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline a "big deal"?
2. What do extractive industries like Arch Coal not "get"?
3. How much water does it take to produce a barrel of tar sands oil?
4. Why do Chinese environmentalists "thank smog"?
5. What movement has the Sierra Club belatedly joined?
6. What are Transition Towns?
DQ
- Would it be futile or constructive to push for fossil fuel divestiture at MTSU? Would it be worthwhile to invite President McPhee to speak with us again about joining the Universtiy Presidents' climate initiative, ACUPCC, in support of a green campus?
- What are some local actions that might help in "expanding public spaces and nurturing civic involvement" in middle Tennessee?
- What did you hear in the first "debate" that encourages or discourages you?
 | Climate Reality (@ClimateReality) |
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Iowa’s huge new wind farm is expected to power about 800,000 homes! read.bi/2cpiLtt pic.twitter.com/oxtKBpTbTL
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 | TED Talks (@TEDTalks) |
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"With the right design, sustainability is nothing but the rigorous use of common sense." t.ted.com/PoQDp4C
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 | Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) |
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Given the new math, from now on anyone proposing a new pipeline, coal mine, oil well is effectively a climate deniernewrepublic.com/article/
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- .@LesterHoltNBC, tonight's debate should-of course-include questions on the climate crisis, the greatest threat we face as a nation & world.
- Exciting news: the #ParisAgreement has now been ratified by 60 nations. Another step closer to our sustainable future!
Al Gore My Vote
Come November, I will be casting my eighteenth ballot in a Presidential election. And it will be the most important one of my lifetime... BY ROGER ANGELL New Yorker (continues)==
Patagonia's Philosopher-King
...When Clinton mentioned the value of compromise, he said, rolling his eyes, “It’s the work of the Devil.” He and Patagonia have fiercely opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “I’m on Obama’s shit list,” he said. “I’ve become an isolationist, actually. Anything of any seriousness that happens has to happen on a local level. I think we’re seeing the end of empire, the end of globalism. It can’t hold. People will revert: protecting your family, protecting your village. Like the Dark Ages. I honestly believe that.” He added, “Drumpf is the perfect person to take us to the apocalypse.
“That was her environmental message?” Chouinard said. “Oh, God.”
...The company laid off twenty per cent of its workforce, which no longer consisted mainly of friends and friends of friends. “It was hard,” Chouinard said. “I realized we were just growing for the sake of growing, which is bullshit.”
...As Chouinard steered us through the sublime vistas of Montana, enumerating extinctions and threats, one felt not depressed—or even, as one often is, in the presence of ecological jeremiads, exasperated—but, rather, almost inexplicably exhilarated. Maybe it was the trench humor, the dark comedy of the climber in dire straits. Whenever Chouinard says, “We’re fucked,” he laughs.
“He’s one of the most pessimistic people I’ve ever known,” McGuane said. “And yet one of the most fun people to do things with.”
The optimism, when it comes, is in his accounts of tiny victories, rare as they may be, and his belief in the effort, if not the outcome. “We stopped a dam the other day,” he said, at one point, as we drove along the Madison. “In Alaska, on the Susitna River. We gave a grant of twenty-five thousand dollars to a filmmaker who was making a film called ‘Supersalmon.’ The film comes out, the guy shows it around, and the governor, just like that, he kills the dam. You don’t get many clear-cut victories like that. But sometimes all it takes is one person.”
...Patagonia helped launch something called the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a consortium of big retailers, like Walmart, Macy’s, and the Gap, which, among other things, is now devising a system to give a sustainability grade to every purchasable product. “But I’ve become cynical about whether we can have any influence,” Chouinard said. “Everyone’s just greenwashing. The revolution isn’t going to happen with corporations. The elephant in the room is growth. Growth is the culprit.”
...As Chouinard steered us through the sublime vistas of Montana, enumerating extinctions and threats, one felt not depressed—or even, as one often is, in the presence of ecological jeremiads, exasperated—but, rather, almost inexplicably exhilarated. Maybe it was the trench humor, the dark comedy of the climber in dire straits. Whenever Chouinard says, “We’re fucked,” he laughs.
“He’s one of the most pessimistic people I’ve ever known,” McGuane said. “And yet one of the most fun people to do things with.”
The optimism, when it comes, is in his accounts of tiny victories, rare as they may be, and his belief in the effort, if not the outcome. “We stopped a dam the other day,” he said, at one point, as we drove along the Madison. “In Alaska, on the Susitna River. We gave a grant of twenty-five thousand dollars to a filmmaker who was making a film called ‘Supersalmon.’ The film comes out, the guy shows it around, and the governor, just like that, he kills the dam. You don’t get many clear-cut victories like that. But sometimes all it takes is one person.”
In regards to the question concerning a green movement on campus, I don't think it would be completely futile. It's true that though we have opportunities to improve environmental problems by something as simple as recycling, we mostly choose not to simply because of the matter of convenience. In spite of that, I think with a bit more effort and awareness, and with higher authority assistance, we could potentially lower mtsu emissions by using alternative energy means, even if the difference is slight.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I heard during the debate last night was something that both encouraged and discouraged me at the same time. Climate change was mentioned a little bit in the beginning, which, encourages me because it was actually brought up in the first place as well as some things Clinton had to say about renewable energies and most surprisingly to me at least that she mentioned not only a new electric grid but also that she drew the connection that this would be a win win by helping curb climate change and give clean energy but also by creating countless jobs across the country and in communities everywhere. But, it discouraged me because it was glossed over so quickly to me that it somewhat diminished the point of it being brought up in the first place as well as the fact that we all know, well, Trump and most of his party deny the issue in the first place and fail to see the painfully obvious truth that it is real,fighting it will save money in the long run, and it will create jobs and a better society. It discouraged me also because in the end it all comes down to action, and on the biggest stage so far, the one candidate on the stage that actually believes in climate change seemed more inclined to hurry and answer quickly (although efficiently) and move on to the next topic rather than to take a definitive stance, a sort of putting her foot down if you will and going in to a little more detail and benefits all around that would come, rather than the broad strokes she used and the lack of calling Trump out on his denial of lack of understanding of the potential(although almost certain) economic and social benefits that would come of renewable energies, better,quicker, more efficient transportation, improved electric grids, etc .
ReplyDeleteWould it be futile or constructive to push for fossil fuel divestiture at MTSU?
ReplyDeleteI would say it would be worth it Simply because your voice is being heard and that better than not voicing it and sooner or later the voices will become so loud and numerous that the issue will be forced to be addressed.