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

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Climate Changes, Washington Freezes

Click here to access article by Dave Lindorff from WhoWhatWhy.

There are indications that our ruling class is accepting the reality of climate change, but they seem to be focusing on the wrong implications if the discussions at a recent conference are representative.
Organizer and panel moderator Heather Conley...acknowledged in an interview...the absence of any discussion at the event about what was causing the polar region to heat up so dramatically, or what might be done to slow the pace of melting, which is likely to render the Arctic Ocean ice-free in summer months as soon as 2016.
So what did they talk about?