France: No More Oil and Gas Exploration

We Americans are so wrapped up in resisting the Trump administration’s relentless attack on the environment and social/economic justice that it’s easy for us to forget that, elsewhere around the globe, many good things are happening.  

Take France’s ban of oil and gas exploration for instance.  Yes, it doesn’t kick in until 2040, and yes, it’s largely symbolic, since France imports almost all the oil gas it consumes.

Yet, while most people conflate “symbolic” with “useless,” nothing could be further from the truth.  French President Emmanuel Macron uses the hashtag #MakeThePlanetGreatAgain, again, a symbol–but what fabulous meaning it has.  Unlike the U.S., France is not thumbing its nose at the impending devastation that all citizens of Earth face. This move by France is an encouragement to all countries everywhere (even the U.S.) to follow their lead, and a statement that someone somewhere actually cares about the fate of our civilization.