DIA: Three Earth Hours - Part 1

How did you celebrate the Earth Hour on Saturday? Were you lucky enough to be living in one of the participating cities? Did you enjoy the outdoors and get a chance to see the stars that made an appearance due to dark skies? Of course, my question assumes that you are not a skeptic who thinks that the global warming issue is a trivial one, or a vast conspiracy - even as another nail gets hammered in that coffin. Additionally, you believe in the power of symbolic gestures. Even google joined the party.

I spent the Earth Hour at a friend's birthday party, enjoying yummy Indian food in candle light with some friendly guests. But it's the afternoon where three hours of community activity related to global warming happened, in what I consider democracy in action. Though, growing up in India, many involuntary earth hours happened on a daily basis, as electricity cut was a norm. I even remember studying for exams in candle light the evening/night before on more than one occasion.

JP Forum, in conjunction with the Boston chapter of MassCAN, organized a Global Warming Café where about 50 concerned citizens (including two teenagers - one of them organizing a petition for Massachusetts governor Patrick to take more steps on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions) gathered on a sunny Saturday to exchange ideas and come up with some concrete and practical steps that would reduce their carbon footprints, while our elected officials play catch up or indulge in petty politics. The event was held at the First Church (Unitarian Universalist) in Jamaica Plain and was led by Viki and Loie - two inspiring people who were conducting this workshop for the first time.

The café/workshop was primarily (intentionally or unintentionally) targeted at homeowners, as I discovered that many of the steps outlined are much more difficult to implement as a tenant, but not entirely impossible if one is able to convince the landlord, or if he is already on board. The format of the workshop was to sit at tables in groups of four and converse with complete strangers (we all had name tags), and at the end of one session, get up and move to another table to exchange ideas with others. There were blank sheets on the table with pens, where each of us could write down our ideas. I personally enjoyed this format as it gave me an opportunity to meet more people and hear different (and might I add, quite interesting) viewpoints regarding causes of the problem, which ranged from patriarchy, trade with China, not buying locally produced products, large unsustainable population, consumerist society and one's own habits. All these came up during the first question that we were asked to ponder:

"As global warming's impact makes itself felt, what are your fears for yourself, your family, your community, and the planet's future inhabitants?"

I personally prefer the word "concern" over "fear" as there is no end to the nightmarish scenarios the latter would unfold, and that kind of negative thinking can lead many people to adopt a defeatist attitude and give up without even trying. And I honestly didn't feel any fear, though if I were a resident of one of the Pacific islands faced with the prospect of marine life swimming in my living room, maybe I'd have felt differently.

Two concerns I wrote down were food (and water) insecurity, and ecological refugees. Others came up with social chaos, loss of species, more wars etc. Chaos and uncertainty seemed to be a common theme across the tables. One of the speakers, quoting Barbara Kingsolver, mentioned climate change as a form of child abuse, referring to the lack of disregard for our future generations and the negative impact our actions will probably have on them.

The second question for contemplation, with new friends at another table, was:

"What signs of hope do you see or can you imagine that make you feel that maybe we can successfully address global warming?"

The answers to this question were overwhelmingly along the lines of "it's already too late, and the best we can do is mitigate the effects"; though matched by "people showing up for this café" as a sign of hope. I guess there is some value to connecting with neighbors and having a real conversation with them, instead of listening to inane and stupid commentary on TV by "experts" on talk shows by oneself. Some people also mentioned their kids as a motivating factor that spurred them to do something.

Now I have been following the coverage of environmental issues in MSM for more than a decade, and some of the signs that I personally find hopeful are:

• Talk of peak oil in conservative publications like The Economist and WSJ.
  
• Whole Foods doing away with plastic bags.
• The appearance of Green Living section in the Boston Globe (this is after a separate "Environment" section that made an appearance many years ago was eliminated, or merged with Science/Nature in some newspapers).
• Green Collar Jobs.
  
• Unprecedented scrutiny received by the Farm Bill in 2007.
• Many issues related to food that you'd find discussed in vegetarian or animal rights journals many years ago, finally making an appearance in MSM, though the angle is energy consumption.
• Carbon Footprint becoming chic.

This is not to paint a rosy picture by any means and it is a long road of education and action with uncertain results, but i believe in looking at the positives and doing the best I can. The following lines written by Cornel West in his book Race Matters (in the context of race issues in the US, but applicable here) come to mind, though I do not consider myself a radical democrat by any means:

As a radical democrat, I believe it is late - but maybe not too late - to confront and overcome the poverty and paranoia, the despair and distrust that haunts us. Since democracy is, as the great Reinhold Niebuhr noted, a proximate solution to insoluble problems, I envision neither a social utopia nor a political paradise. My goal is to be as bold and defiant in my criticism of any form of xenophobia, as honest and candid about the need for civil responsibility and social accountability of each one of us, and as charitable and compassionate toward any political perspective from which we can gain insight and wisdom to empower us.

(To be concluded.)
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