Rule of Thumb for 2017: If You and I Care About It, It’s a Political Non-Starter
Since its inception coming up on eight years ago, 2GreenEnergy has attempted to sort out the issues that affect our civilization’s replacement of fossil fuels with renewables, and this, as we made clear at the start, encompasses the interactivity between the technological, the economical, and the political aspects of this transition.
Yet this has been anything but a static discussion; there has been significant change in our focus over the years, in particular, in the direction of the political. But exactly why is this?
It’s because the evolution of the technology surrounding solar, wind, geothermal, hydrokinetics and biomass and the slow but steady improvement in the affordability of these five characters is fairly well understood. No one who has seriously studied the matter doubts that our society could accelerate the adoption of the various flavors of clean energy (and the peripheral fields: energy storage, smart grid, electric transportation, etc.) if we so desired. It all comes down to political will–and that is a much more interesting and dynamic arena.
Needless to say, however, the political situation has darkened over the past few years, as seen in the world’s trends away from democracy and in the direction of fascism and the repression of the ideals of the people of the world, outside of the ruling elite. For Americans, the most obvious manifestation of this is the Trump presidency, with its wanton disregard for the will of the common American. What’s the popular support for a wall along the Mexican border? For slashing the EPA? For the promotion of the interests of the fossil fuel industry? For taking 23 million people off the healthcare roles? For the destruction of our public school system, support for the arts, and Planned Parenthood? For squashing attempts at sensible gun control laws? For Citizen’s United (granting corporations the right to manipulate our elections with unlimited spending)? For cranking up the criminal penalties associated with non-violent drug offenses and the use of medical marijuana? For rounding up and deporting all undocumented aliens regardless of how law-abiding and productive they are? If you take a moment and Google any of these, you’ll see instantly that it’s very, very slim.
But then, look around the world and try to find governments that are becoming more receptive to the will of the people. Look hard, because, if there are any, there are precious few.
Ten young Egyptian men are going to be executed for terrorism, possibly as early as Wednesday, when it was clear to the entire world that their confessions were given under torture. So what’s so special about Egypt? Nothing really. Sure, it ranks #3 (behind Turkey and China) on the list of countries with the most imprisoned journalists, which probably isn’t a bad metric for gauging how repressive a particular regime might be. But this means absolutely nothing about the way it’s regarded by the world’s super-power. The U.S. adores the place. As Trump told Egyptian president Sisi the other day, “We agree on so many things….We are very much behind Egypt……You have a great friend and ally in the United States and in me.”
Our embracing of the world’s most notorious butchers has become par for the course. We love Erdogan in Turkey, Duterte in the Philippines, Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. (No need to discuss our affection for Putin in Russia.)
Our friends around the world routinely arrest and imprison pro-reform activists and peaceful dissidents. The tyrants in power have our support in consolidating their power by oppressing their people with sham criminal convictions, extra-judicial executions, and the use of torture.
The net of all this is that the people of the world are very clearly not getting what they want, and that’s just as true in the rest of the world as it is here in the U.S. Given that, is it any surprise that the people’s push for environmental health, climate change mitigation, and sustainability more generally is on the back burner?
The only solution, if it exists at all, is activism and resistance. Repression feeds on silence and the presumption of ignorance and apathy; it flees in terror when it sees light shined upon it. Let’s keep those searchlights burning.
Craig,
I believe in your heart your intentions are good. You mean well, and your opinions are sincere.
Unfortunately, you start with an assumption then pose a question which you then answer. The problem is immediately obvious, since the structure of the assumption will always determine the answer.
You also tend to use one set of circumstances to justify conclusions for totally unrelated situations.
All Presidents are political by nature and even the greatest find civil rights irksome when they clash with policy. Even Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus, later used to allow trials and executions of civilians by military tribunals, not juries. (Mary Surratt was executed by Presidential order striking down a write of Habeas Corpus issued by the court).
The current President has criticized Duarte, but either through sentiment or political commitment revoked the thaw on Cuba.
Erdogan is a difficult problem for the US and Europe. Obviously a more secular, more liberal, more democratic Turkey is desirable to the west, but not necessarily to the people of Turkey. The Turkish people see themselves trapped between external chaos and internal corruption.
Egypt is chaotic and in danger of sliding deeper into uncontrollable poverty and civil war. Extremism has embedded itself into a once stable and reliably Western thinking nation.
The problem for any US President is difficult. The so called “Arab Spring” naively praised and supported by Pres Obama has produced a chaotic quagmire of violence and extremism. US involvement in the middle East since the time of President Carter has been one of monumental failure. Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Libya etc, all produced disastrous results.
The US policy of uncritical support for Israel and endless self serving or naive interference in Middle Eastern affairs resulted legacy of hate and mistrust in the region.
President Trump inherited a situation beyond the control of any US President. Is it any wonder he’s trying to preserve the few remaining friends the US has left?
When you speak of “the will of the people” you really mean those people who agree with you. The people of Turkey elected Erdogan, and just re-elected Erdogan with increased powers.
Nor are you very honest when you frame assumtion about the “will of the people”. Instead of using the correct term “Illegal migrant”, you describe them as “undocumented” as if this was some fault some errant official’s paperwork.
You blame the current US government for ” For rounding up and deporting all undocumented aliens regardless of how law-abiding and productive they are?”
That’s the law and penalty for illegal migrants and has been for more than 50 years ! Illegal migrants can’t be “law abiding”, each day they remain, they break the law!
The current administration doesn’t “squash attempts at sensible gun control laws? ” Over the years, the American people have consistently refused to revise that section of the US constitution.
Craig, you also have a alarming tendency to include all sort of totally disparate causes and grievances together, regardless of relevance or level of gravity.
You also attribute every grievance, no matter how many decades in existence, as the responsibility of an administration less than six months in existence.
Like many on the left, you always claim to represent and receive the support of the common people. In reality you have little in common with the “common people’ and certainly don’t represent or have their support.
What you do have, is the support of people like yourself.
Clean technology will continue to evolve and become increasingly adopted. Adoption will come because it provides economic benefits and consumer convenience. Far from assisting, ideological dogma and political confusion hinders adoption.
A wise general chooses battles carefully, and one at a time.
Leaping on your horse and charging off in all directions at once, will only ensure exhaustion and defeat.
I enjoy and appreciate these insights into your thinking and concerns, but I worry how much these distract from focusing on more practical issues ?
I appreciate your concern re: the way I use my time. I don’t have a problem with it. 🙂