From Karl's post:
"I would have more self-respect, and would be a lot more hopeful about the long term
results for our communities of this campaign if the movement were to mobilize equally
strongly around local policies to effectively power down our communities."
As I recall, powering down our community is what relocalization is all about. And it was, briefly, a goal of TCLocal's, then named TCRP (Tompkins County Relocalization _Plan_). But it quickly became obvious that "the plan" in TCRP, should it be written, wouldn't fly politically here in Tompkins County. Maybe it would now?
TCLocal ditched "the plan" and shied away from becoming a local political
activist group, as was being encouraged by the Post-Carbon Institute at the time, in
favor of educating the community through a series written articles.
And when Transition Towns arrived, olive branch in hand, at the Woman's Community Bldg a year or so
ago, the rep was told after her presentation, "Thanks, but we've already got that
covered." So do we? If not, why not? Would solidarity with other Transition Towns be of any
help in our own struggles? Is "global relocalization" really an oxymoron?
Maybe those who see the process underway here as morally corrupting will lead
the way? Fill in the activist gap. Forge the connection in the public mindset
between our collective and individual energy habits and the imperative we feel
as a community to keep Grendel outside the county limits...and beyond. Go for
it, guys!
Let's be upfront about how this community does not function as an island unto itself
politically, or with much internal homogeneity for that matter either. Idealist
"what ifs" and ethical posturing aside, we all know that Shaleshock, Toxics
Targeting and the coalition that's forming to demand a safe local environment, as
organizations, weren't meant to fix the big picture before Chesapeake and Halliburton
pull into Dodge next year.
Keeping the wolf from your own door is a very old human activity, maybe as old as exploiting the earth's resources and moving on. And sometimes it works - having a brick house is a real advantage here. Meanwhile, mass movements are glacial in the making, and more often than not, derailed when they go mainstream, as Copenhagen and the current US health care "reform" debacle so painfully illustrate. Your front door may be the only place where you can have an impact, which is why "market populism" is so appealing both to the essentially powerless and crushingly powerful alike.
It is a false choice to see the targeted activism underway here in Tompkins County as an either/or and misdirected, I think, to burden the discussion with "pious proclamations" or fraught with moral shortcomings.
Simon's earlier post, sums it up nicely:
"We need to address the gas drilling questions in lots of different ways:
1. Why does our society need this gas? Can we reduce that?
2. How much gas am I using personally? Can I reduce that?
3. Do I trust the companies extracting the gas to do so with minimal impact?
4. Do I trust the government (mostly NYS in this case) to regulate it to
ensure minimal impact?
5. What effect does burning the gas have compared to other options?
Addressing all five of those simultaneously, while it would be ideal, is not really
something most of us (any of us?) are equipped to do."
-- Katie Q-J
[email protected] wrote:
I am going to milk this debate a little longer, because I see the chance
to clarify issues that I believe are of extreme importance to understand,
because they pertain not only to gas drilling, but to every instance of
what is now pathologically excessive resource mining and use (and its
inevitable associated social and environmental damage) on the part of the
relatively affluent populations on the planet.
A typical response has been to point out the damage that frack drilling
will do. I am not contesting the horrific damage that is likely, and has
happened elsewhere. This is a straw man argument and a diversion from the
moral and political question I raised: Why is not the anti-fracking
movement organizing politically around a progressive ban on gas and all
other resource use that is damaging the planet? Moreover, why isn't that
mobilization happening with the same fervor, energy, and demands laid
before lawmakers, as the mobilization against drilling? Why the lack of
moral equivalence in the actions?
"So here we are at
one of those critical junctures along the way where we're being forced to
consider our options. One is to "pass on the gas", "leave the oil in the
soil" and "leave the coal in the hole." This means a serious revolution
in
"our way of life." Do we have enough votes for this?"
Of course it is a serious revolution. We might eventually have the votes
if we politically organize as seriously at a local level to end gas use
as the anti-fracking movement is doing politically at the NYS level with
the governor.
"Wouldn't it be grand if we were able to mobilize as
strong a reaction to our "excessive use of fossil fuels" to the extent
that
fracking has. But that's not the case yet (maybe never)."
My point is few in the anti-fracking movement or anywhere else are
attempting mobilization on that question. Because of the powerful
interests arrayed against a national campaign, there is currently little
chance of success at that level. But why is it considered so out of the
question at county level? Why not organize around a set of policy demands
to the county legislature that would begin a serious transition of the
local economy toward a lower resource use community?
The "(maybe never)" I find rather chilling. Powering down is our
planetary future anyway, and could happen with far less cost in suffering
if we got ahead of the curve with policies that brought about that
transition with all deliberate speed, than it will if we are eventually
dragged kicking and screaming down the energy descent. Why not organize
around policies to prevent otherwise inevitable collapse?
"There is nothing like an immediate threat to stimulate action. Some of
us
are old enough to remember that the draft was in no small way responsible
for catalyzing opposition to the Vietnam war."
No doubt. My point is how one-sided the political action is in this case.
"Becoming conscious of our lifestyle options came
even later unless we have family members who are Amish."
People ought to go spend some time with the Amish. They might see that
the simplicity in their lifestyle is not all that frightening.
"It seems the critics of the drilling protesters are making an assumption
that the protesters are not taking steps to switch to renewable energy
systems. But, over the course of this year I've observed the opposite."
Another typical response has been to talk about "individual actions" as
if they were a solution. Rarely have even the cumulative effect of
individual actions by themselves solved the fundamental problems we face,
or any fundamental social problems in history. At best they have an
indirect, educational effect. Charity has never eliminated poverty; it
has required the political muscle of a mass movement to enact and enforce
policies. The powers that be love and encourage "individual actions".
They call it market populism, democracy via the marketplace. Never mind
government, individual shopping choices (buy gas or don't buy gas) will
solve all our problems. It is a delusion they have taught us well, the
"campaign of
systematic misdirection" that Alison Fromme cited so appropriately in her
post. So I am not talking about mobilizing for 'green shopping', at
Ithaca Stoveworks or anywhere else. Because in the end that is not
enough. That is why the word "political" is prominent in all my
arguments.
Another typical response is to talk about "switching to renewables", as
if replacing fossil energy on any significant scale were a good thing, in
the sense of getting to the heart of the problem. Ultimately our present
type of civilization, the production it requires, the resources it
depletes, and the resultant damage to the planet, all requires a high
level of energy to keep going. Industrial civilization does not care what
kind of energy we feed it. It will keep on chewing up the planet just as
effectively on renewables as on fossil fuels. It is not the type of
energy that is the biggest problem, it is how much we use.
"What is the action that George or Karl would support? If everyone waits
until they've converted to renewables to protest the drilling, it will be
too late."
As a farmer I know the importance of water quality to the whole upstate
rural economy. I gritted my teeth in self-disgust and supported the
petitions to the governor and other actions of the anti-fracking
movement. But I would have more self-respect, and would be a lot more
hopeful about the long term results for our communities of this campaign
if the movement were to mobilize equally strongly around local policies
to effectively power down our communities.
Karl North
Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown, New York USA
www.geocities.com/northsheep/
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
"They only call it class warfare when we fight back" - Anon.
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visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
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