Most progressives understand the problem (dependence on cheap, dirty energy, and the economic interests and wasteful consumption habits tied to it) and we know what needs to be achieved in a policy sense to avert climate catastrophe (legislation from Congress and an international agreement out of Copenhagen that swiftly and fairly reduce emissions and address climate impacts at home and globally). But the U.S. political leadership — including President Obama and congressional leaders — has so far failed to act with anywhere near the urgency that is required to tackle this huge issue. Our challenge -- the challenge of our generation -- is to make politically possible what science shows is necessary and what justice demands. The inadequate climate bill passed by the House in June demonstrates that we still have a lot of organizing and educating to do — both within and outside of progressive circles. The House bill -- which gives hundreds of billions to polluting industries and won’t reduce emissions enough to avoid catastrophic climate destabilization — should be a wake-up call for environmental advocates. Friends of the Earth is working with a coalition of more than 300 groups to push Senate leaders to craft a better bill (without relying on offset loopholes and rolling back our flagship environmental laws). As I was lobbying on the climate bill in the House, I recall several conversations with congressional offices that wanted to take a stronger stand, but were reluctant. With large portions of the progressive community supporting the legislation, there was little political cover for members of Congress to be more aggressive. We need to remember that we are not just presidential or congressional advisers. We have an important role to play by always demanding what’s needed, not simply what’s politically convenient. Organizing progressive groups is only the first step. We need a clean energy progressive block that will fight for real, aggressive solutions, and oppose proposals that fail to go far enough. To get there we need a bigger grassroots movement like the one that’s coalesced around a public option on health care. We need more than a handful of courageous members of the House voting against bad legislation from the left. A strong collective progressive message will provide cover and credence to allies in the administration and Congress who recognize the need to set the bar higher for U.S. legislation and for the negotiations in Copenhagen. A higher bar is urgently needed. The impacts of climate change are already being felt by people around the world. Most troubling is the real impact global warming is having on many of the most vulnerable communities in developing countries. These communities have contributed the least to global warming and have the fewest resources to adapt to its impacts, but they are already feeling the real brunt of global inaction. Friends of the Earth U.S. is part of an international network of grassroots groups in 77 countries pushing for the U.S. and other developed countries to take the lead in delivering ambitious emissions cuts and substantial public financing for adaptation and clean energy deployment in developing countries. To maintain a strong voice and credibility in the global environmental movement, progressives from the U.S. need to take more than a domestic view. It is important to talk about a new green economy and green jobs at home, but we also need to act on our collective responsibility to finance green development in developing nations. Bluntly, this means ending the xenophobic protectionism that currently prevents a rational political debate about China and India. We need to recognize that developing countries, including India and China, are dealing with far higher levels of poverty and are still creating far lower levels of pollution per person than we are. The U.S. has consumed more than its fair share of global natural resources, including the atmosphere. We need to both do our part at home and give back to developing countries. Of course, if you really want to effect legislative outcomes, you need to effect electoral ones. That’s why under my leadership, Friends of the Earth Action will set its sights on members of Congress who have shown in the climate debate that they’re beholden to polluting special interests — this applies to Republicans and Democrats alike. Senior Democrats like coal crony Rick Boucher and agribusiness buddy Colin Peterson should be primaried and taken out. And even if they can’t be defeated in primaries, while Democrats are generally better than Republicans on environmental issues, the environment, the country, and even the Democratic Party would be better off if these two congressmen were replaced by Republicans. Along the same lines of the AccountabilityNow PAC, we won’t hesitate to challenge Democratic lawmakers who put corporate interests in the status quo before the public interest in a clean energy transformation. This is the sort of hard-nosed advocacy that’s needed if we’re actually going to start winning some legislative victories on climate change. Preparing for my new role at Friends of the Earth, I read John McPhee’s excellent 1971 book about David Brower, Encounters with the Archdruid. A quote from Russell Train, then-chairman of President Nixon’s Council on Environmental Quality, stuck out as especially pertinent to the struggles we face today in the environmental and progressive movements: "Thank God for Dave Brower. He makes it so easy for the rest of us to be reasonable. Somebody has to be a little extreme. Dave is a little hairy at times, but you do need somebody riding out there in front." That’s the role we ought to be playing right now, and it’s what you can expect to see more of from Friends of the Earth. If the environmental and progressive movements aren’t willing to speak the truth about the sort of sweeping change that’s needed, how can we believe our political leaders will ever get us there? As we fight global warming, we must keep “riding out in front” and fighting like hell for every bit of genuine progress we can get. We might get knocked off the saddle occasionally, but if we don’t get back up and keep pushing forward, we’ll never reach our destination. Now I’ve got to get to work. I hope you’ll join me. |
