Kingsnorth, Thunberg, Berry, Jensen, and Evehema vs "the Machine"

Thanks to Oregon naturalist and writer Tim Fox for emailing me this great Kingsnorth essay "Life versus the Machine" from Orion (winter 2018). Orion noted on their Facebook page it "has become one of our most-read articles this year."  I read each word slowly with interest. The details and themes are powerful as usual for him. I especially like his end about how words are not working, and I respect his commitment to nonviolence. His YouTube The battle against climate change (65,385 views as of today) was voted by my spring term English 205 Critical Thinking students as one of their favorite presentations.

However, I also like the May 4, 2019 comment below "Life versus the Machine" by John Gabriel Otvos, and his reposting of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg "who said this at the Davos gathering in Switzerland": Thunberg:“We are facing [an] existential crisis, the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced [. . .] If everyone is guilty, then no one is to blame, and someone is to blame… Some people, some companies, some decision makers in particular know exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money, and I think many of you here today belong to that group of people.”
https://qz.com/1533904/greta-thunberg-blames-davos-delegates-for-climate-change/ 

I respect Kingsnorth's clarity and vision, and I respect Thunberg's brutal honesty and request for accountability. Kingsnorth's main points do not conflict with Thunberg's main point.  Kingsnorth is wise enough to acknowledge the dominant culture was born into this death machine, most of us have some responsibility for continuing to support it, and on one level power in the human realm is based on money and political influence (oil companies), and at a higher level Nature, which either has trumped, or will soon trump, human money and political influence depending on where one lives on the globe, and access to resources.

Thomas Berry wrote in The Dream of the Earth "The art of communion with the earth we can relearn from the Indian. Thus a reverse dependence is established. Survival in the future will likely depend more on our learning from the Indian than the Indian’s learning from us. In some ultimate sense we need their mythic capacity for relating to this continent more than they need our capacity for mechanistic exploitation of the continent.”

Derrick Jensen wrote in "Playing for Keeps" also published in Orion like the Kingsnorth essay, "Only the most arrogant and ignorant among us would say something that implies that all humans are destructive, and that the dominant (white) culture is the most destructive simply because somehow indigenous peoples around the world were too stupid to invent backhoes and chainsaws, too backward to dominate their human and nonhuman neighbors with the efficiency and viciousness of the dominant culture. They might even try to argue that the Tolowa [of the ancient Redwood Forest of Northern California] weren’t actually living sustainably, even though they lived here for at least 12,500 years. But when 12,500 years of living in place won’t convince them, it becomes pretty clear that evidence is secondary, and that there are, rather, ideological reasons the person cannot accept that humans have ever lived sustainably. One of these ideological reasons is very clear: if you can convince yourself that humans are inherently destructive, then you allow yourself the most convenient of all excuses not to work to stop this culture from destroying the planet: it’s simply in our nature to destroy, and you can’t fight biology, so let’s not fuss about all these little extinctions, and could someone please pass the TV remote? It’s an odious position, but a lot of people take it."

In my book Industrial Oz, I received permission to quote Hopi elder Dan Evehema from a man who sat with him: "The degree of violence will be determined by the degree of inequity caused among the peoples of the world and in the balance of nature. In this crisis rich and poor will be forced to struggle as equals in order to survive."

In other words, as Kingsnorth, Berry, Jensen, and Evehema note, lack of human respect for Nature means Nature at some point takes over, and humans are humbled beyond what most can imagine.

Below are gems from the Kingsnorth essay.

"It is estimated that the internet will consume a fifth of the world’s electricity by 2025."

"Microsoft computer scientist and author Jarod Lanier has estimated that if everyone in the world deleted all their social media accounts, it would make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Internet data storage facilities currently emit roughly the same amount as the entire global aviation industry."

"The effects of regular smartphone use on the human brain include the regular triggering of physiological stress and fear responses originally designed to help us evade predators; dopamine addiction; depression; a reduction in analytical thinking capacity; and the malfunctioning of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which can lead to unpredictable and sometimes dangerous behavior."

"A thing is right, runs Leopold’s Land Ethic, when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

"For a number of years, I believed that this second category was made up of people who, if they knew the truth about the human massacre of nonhuman life, would demand significant changes to society, and be prepared to make sacrifices accordingly. [par break] I was an idiot. [par break] Now I think that humans like ease, material comfort, entertainment, and conformity, and they do not like anyone who threatens to take these things away. I think that even the people who say these things should be taken away in order to prevent the collapse of life on Earth do not really mean it."

"All of our promises of change have come to nothing. We have only stopped our rampage when things have gone wrong."

"And we are not the gods we thought we would be. We are Loki, killing the beautiful for fun. We are Saturn, devouring our children. We are Moloch: come, feed your newborn into our fires."

"Pay attention. Give love. Give shelter."

Fishin' for the Halibut

I fished for halibut June 20 out of Newport, Oregon. About 35 years ago I ran halibut, salmon, rockfish, and mermaid charters for Tradewinds just north of here in Depoe Bay. Above is a 76-pounder I caught on one of my days off fishing with Minor Meador snd Frankie Hargitt. Delicious fish. Great people. Good times.

Universities, Colleges, and Schools at All Levels Must Focus on Climate Literacy and Action

June 19, 2019 Update: I recall one sad evening when my partner of 6 years, the artist Shura Young, died unexpectedly from stroke.  Breakfast and laughter followed by hospital nightmare. "There are no words," I told my artist mother.  "There are words," my mother replied.  I feel that sadness looking at Sam Panthaky's photo of an "An Indian migrant shepherd kneel[ing] down among his dead sheep at a field in Ranagadh village, Surendranagar district" -- his present, and our future for many of us.  My words are "look and feel, act and pray."  The article notes "Hundreds of Indian villages ['thousands' of people] have been evacuated as a historic drought forces families to abandon their homes in search of water. [. . .] Sick and elderly left to fend for themselves with no end in sight to water crisis [. . . .]  In Rajasthan, the city of Churu recently experienced highs of 50.8C,  [123.44 Fahrenheit] making it the hottest place on the planet. [. . . .] Usha Jadhav who lives in nearby Shivajinagar, said her family does not use the toilet any more as it has become an unaffordable luxury, and that women wait for the darkness of night to defecate in the open. 'We cannot use 5-10 litres of water for flushing as we have to purchase water,' she said."  This reality is completely off the radar screen for most North Americans, and may affect the American Southwest sooner than most think.  It is the job of artists and poets (and the world's children) to remind us of realities many tune out. Regarding the heat/drought situation in India, I added my poem "$450" below from my new book Carbonfish Blues.

June 18, 2019, Update: CBS News reported in a story "Greenland experiences severe ice melting" that "Nearly half of Greenland's ice sheet began melting this week after an unprecedented warm spell hit the Arctic region. Temperatures climbed more than 40 degrees [Fahrenheit] above average, causing an estimated 2 billion tons of ice loss. Ted Scambos, senior research scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Earth Science Observation Center, joined CBSN to discuss."  

I recall Jason Box was far ahead of many scientists in his accurate warnings about Greenland. Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone contributing editor and author of The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, wrote in Rolling Stone July 25, 2013, "In 2009, [Box] announced the Petermann glacier, one of the largest in Greenland, would break up that summer – a potent sign of how fast the Arctic was warming. Most glaciologists thought he was nuts – especially after the summer passed and nothing happened. In 2010, however, Petermann began to calve; two years later, it was shedding icebergs twice the size of Manhattan. Another example: In early 2012, Box predicted there would be surface melting across the entirety of Greenland within a decade. Again, many scientists dismissed this as alarmist claptrap. If anything, Box was too conservative – it happened a few months later." 

I met Box at PLAYA in July 2016 and found him honest and informed.

Thank you to Michael Clemens at Olympic Climate Action for sending "Time to Up Our Game" (on climate literacy and action) from Susan S. Silbey, Chair of the Faculty at MIT regarding refocusing curriculum that must soon happen at all educational levels.

In a related matter, thanks to Vivian Hansen, a poet and creative writing instructor at University of Calgary, for her review of my book Hawk on Wire in the Spring 2019 issue of The Goose:  A Journal of Arts, Environment, and Culture in Canada which has a theme of the role of art in environmental activism.  In this issue of The Goose, I greatly enjoyed the poems "Forest Protest Against Kinder Morgan Pipeline" by Andrea L. Nicki, and "Silence" by Memona Hossain.

$450
is the price, according to Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan,
“per person per year in the top one billion people” to save over
3 billion people that may otherwise die from exposure
to 130 degree plus heat
35 years from now if humans fail to convert energy sources
from coal and fossil fuels
to “solar, wind, hydro, and possibly nuclear.”

$450 is less than half the price of new iPhone X,
or about one fifth the cost of Superbowl Ticket,
or one 13.3333333 billionth projected cost of Iraq War counting interest.
Imagine one eight pound girl baking because it was more important
for you to surf Internet, be there for kickoff, silence yourself on war.

You, by the numbers, Mr. and Mrs. Average North American,
will consume 1,820 chickens, 70 turkeys, 7 cows, 35 hogs,
will watch 127, 750 hours of TV, burn 35,000 gallons of gas,
spend 114,975 hours on computer,

and what, for all you have taken, being 5% world population
producing half the world’s garbage, using 24% of her energy,
and being the largest carbon-emitting nation in history,
will you give back
to this blue gem you call home?*

* Statistics found using google.com

--Scott T. Starbuck

Slow Fishin'

This morning at 3:45 a.m. I heard a growl behind me, and rocks fell as I sat alone by the Oregon river under stars. I thought it was local guys I know playing a trick, but when they arrived an hour later they said no, and no other cars were above but they saw two deer running scared. Anyway, I opened my 3-inch blade imagining Mr. Mountain Lion's fangs and claws. I recalled the fight scene between Butch and Logan, and wondered how hard it would be to kick the crotch of an attacking mountain lion at high speed, then decided my chances were slim to none. You just don't get that kind of thrill in city life.

Suz said I can't go home until I catch 5 salmon. Do you think she'll notice the barcodes?

Columbia River Thoughts

Update:

Oliver Milman has a great article in The Guardian "US schools accused of censoring climate crisis message in graduation speeches" which includes San Diego student Jessica Lopez of Health Sciences High and Middle College. It is the responsibility of US citizens to think globally. Now is a good time to repost the video Odyssey 2050, APE and Coldplay Team Up.

Recently I was driving down the Columbia River thinking about the June 4 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon hearing arguments regarding if the case Juliana v. USA (Children's Trust Climate Lawsuit) can proceed. I was on my way to give poetry readings at Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA, and Clatsop Community College in Astoria, OR, along with other poets.

It was interesting Julia Rosen at the Los Angeles Times reported June 3 in a story about the case “Plaintiffs’ alleged fundamental right to a ‘livable climate’ finds no basis in this nation’s history or tradition and is not even close to any other fundamental right recognized by the Supreme Court,' Justice Department lawyers wrote in a brief this year." That is how out of touch the Justice Department is with reality. Gratefully, the USA Military is more in touch than the Justice Department. NPR's radio broadcast at revealnews.org reported June 1 "climate change is threatening [far north] radars, imposing new risks to the national security of the United States. [. . . .] In March, [Ray] Mabus and 58 former high ranking military and national security leaders wrote a letter to President Trump. Admirals, Generals, Secretaries of State and Defense all signed the letter. It includes the line, 'Climate change is real, it's happening now, it's driven by humans and it is accelerating.' The group was responding to news that the President had created a new team to review military intelligence documents and questioned any instance where climate change was mentioned as a threat to national security."

I am grateful to Salal Magazine for publishing my poem "What the Salmon Said," for the colored pencil drawing DROWNING by Alex Rushmer, and for an audio performance of my poem by LCC Honors and Theater student / Samoan fisherman Tise Afuola.

Live Streamed 18-36082 Kelsey Rose Juliana v. USA Today at 2 p.m. (Children's Trust Climate Lawsuit Permission to Proceed to Trial Against USA to be Heard by Case Panel: MURGUIA, HURWITZ, STATON)

“Exercising my ‘reasoned judgment,’ I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.”

- U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken

June 23 Update: 60 Minutes posted the longer version of the story The climate change lawsuit that could stop the U.S. government from supporting fossil fuels. In a related matter, according to forbes.com, "James Anderson, a Harvard University professor of atmospheric chemistry best known for establishing that chlorofluorocarbons were damaging the Ozone Layer [ . . . .noted] people have the misapprehension that we can recover from this state just by reducing carbon emissions [ . . . . but] within the next five years [. . . .] recovery is all but impossible [ . . .] without a World War II-style transformation of industry—an acceleration of the effort to halt carbon pollution and remove it from the atmosphere, and a new effort to reflect sunlight away from the earth's poles."

June 15 Update: Bill McKibben's twitter page provided this link to Carolyn Kormann's article in The New Yorker: "The Right to a Stable Climate Is the Constitutional Question of the Twenty-first Century." The article notes "The judges will take a few weeks to issue their decision." Kormann wrote, "Judge Hurwitz told Olson [. . ] “You present compelling evidence that we have inaction by the other two branches of government. It may even rise to the level of criminal neglect.” 

Today, June 4, 2019, at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon, will hear arguments to decide if 21 brave children and young adults have legal right to try to force-by-trial the worst-offending carbon-emitting nation in Earth's history (USA) to immediately slow the death train of "climate disruption" as Dahr Jamail calls it. I hope the 70 plus countries visiting this blog in the right frame will listen to this live stream in support of this case. For your convenience, background has been reposted below:

March 3, 2019 Update: 60 Minutes show "Lawsuit could put U.S. government's role in climate change on trial"

January 2, 2019 Update: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Finds in Favor of Trump Administration Against Children's Trust Climate Lawsuit "in certifying the case for interlocutory appeal, noting that it did 'not make this decision lightly.'"  The Juliana v. United States No. 18-80176 filing continues, "FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judge, dissenting: 'I think the district court’s statements prevent us from permitting this appeal.'"

There is an excellent article in [. . .] The Guardian about 15-year-old Greta Thunberg's solo school strike in Sweden joined by "20,000 students around the world [and spreading] to at least 270 towns and cities in countries [ . . . ] including Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the US and Japan."  The article quotes her "I will not beg the world leaders to care for our future. I will instead let them know change is coming whether they like it or not.”

Thunberg continued, "Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago. We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with. We have to make our voices heard.”

The article notes Thunberg is a descendant "of Svante Arrhenius, the Nobel-prize-winning scientist who in 1896 first calculated the greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide emissions." World leaders at the The UN climate change summit meeting for two weeks in Katowice, Poland, would be wise to listen.

According to The Guardian, Thunberg, who met [. . .] with UN Secretary General António Guterres, had her words complemented by presenter Sir David Attenborough:“the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”

Attenborough told "delegates of almost 200 nations," "Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change."

In a related matter, many around the globe are waiting to hear if the Children’s Trust Climate Lawsuit,  Juliana v. US, that was set to begin in Eugene, Oregon, October 29, 2018, will be allowed to proceed.  As a reminder, in July the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Juliana v. US going forward. In October, 10 days before the trial, "Chief Justice John Roberts signed an order freezing the trial." In November, Robert Barnes and Brady Dennis reported in The Washingon Post "the Supreme Court on Friday night refused to halt [the . . .] lawsuit." However, the Supreme Court decision did not block a lower court from considering the U. S. government's request to stop the trial. Sophie Yeo of the Pacific Standard reported on November 27, 2018, "Although a permanent stay was subsequently denied, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit then granted another stay, in response to another government request, and, as of November 21st, was deciding whether the case would go to trial."

The U. S. Supreme Court sounds like a confused child while 15-year-old Thunberg sounds clear and confident.

Thanks to visitors this week from United States, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Portugal, Bangladesh, Canada, and South Korea, and recent visitors from Colombia, Cambodia, Austria, Brazil, and Australia.

May 29, 2019 Climate Update from Dahr Jamail on Thom Hartmann Program (3 C Minimum?)

"In the face of our overwhelming climate and political crises, that grief is transformed into a new clarity of vision, and a depth of passion for action that was previously inaccessible." -- Dahr Jamail, June 3, 2019, TRUTHOUT