Commonweal Institute Blog

People still buy real estate that will be underwater in a few decades. Think about that.

The reason we don't take global warming seriously in America is because ExxonMobil has been spending millions and millions of dollars funding a PR campaign designed to shift our attention away from the problem. This has been very good for business for them, but it has caused each and every one of us to behave in ways that are counter to our OWN - and society's - interests.

One day this will change. One day the consequences of global warming will become too serious to ignore. One day ExxonMobil will stop paying the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Center for Defense of Free Enterprise and Citizens for a Sound Economy and the American Enterprise Institute and the Frontiers of Freedom Institute and the Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institution and the National Center for Policy Analysis and the hundreds of other right-wing "think tanks" they pay to tell us global warming is a hoax (read the report), and then the fog will start to lift and we will start to see the world as it is -- the "reality-based" world we live in rather than the one we see on TV.

Think about what will happen to real estate prices in coastal areas when we do start taking global warming seriously. How much will people pay for real estate that is going to be under water in a few decades?

It's a real shame that Gov. Schwarzenegger of California, who has been acting pretty moderate during the past year and is clearly proud of the state's strong stand on global warming, has decided to shelve the prospect of investing in an ultrafast "bullet train" connection between the northern and southern urban centers of the state (San Francisco, San Jose, & Sacramento to Los Angeles & San Diego). Air travel is a significant contributor to global warming, and north-south travel in California is a major means of travel in this long, skinny state..

There has been ongoing interest in the bullet train for years among a small cadre of far-sighted people. It's time for responsible business folks to step up to the plate. Creative alternatives should be explored, such as investment in the bullet train as constituting a "carbon offset", or creation of a nonprofit "bullet train trust" (analogous to a land trust). Dealing with global warming is going to require thinking outside our life-as-usual boxes.

I’ve been thinking about the power of narrative—a story that weaves together where we have been, where we want to go, and why we want to get there—and how one progressive narrative can be used to tie together progressive values, recent new research findings, opinion pieces from other sources, and an unrelated book about protecting the commons.

The progressive narrative of a society in which all can have opportunity and thrive serves as a vehicle for bringing together our values, our past, and our dreams for the future. Conscious use of this same narrative in multiple contexts will reinforce it in the public mind, increasing its power and making it more likely to become our reality.

American Enterprise Institute, one of the Right's "belief tanks", apparently believes that reputable scientists and economists will help them obfuscate the reality of global warming if they're paid enough. It's time for all honorable professionals to renew their personal pledges of membership in the reality-based community. How could anyone sell out their intellectual integrity and the future of the world for a suitcaseful of ExxonMobil cash?

In the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore says that we are "entering a period of consequences." And the world is beginning to understand the consequences of global warming. From today's news story, Global warming story hits critical mass,

"The next section of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, focusing on global warming impacts, is due to be released at a meeting in Belgium next month. A draft version of the report says that, within a few decades, hundreds of millions of people will face water shortages, while tens of millions will be flooded out of their homes. Tropical diseases like malaria will spread, pests like fire ants will thrive and by 2050, polar bears will mostly be found in zoos. By 2080, hundreds of millions of people could face starvation, according to the IPCC draft report."

What am I getting at? One solution to the crisis is for people to stop having so many babies. We're already using up the fisheries. The cattle being raised to feed so many meat-eaters is as big a problem as the cars we're all driving.

There is plenty of time between now and 2080 to dramatically cut the population of the world by simply limiting how many babies we're all having. If there are fewer people around then fewer people face starvation, disease, dislocation and the rest of the consequences.

Naomi Klein's new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, promises to become a major tool in the fight against rampant privatization and conservative decimation of the public sphere--but only if enough people read it and talk about its ideas. Those interested in progressive social change should consider the possibility that natural shocks or social disruptions might also provide opportunities to rectify system dysfunctions and inequities, and move communities or countries in directions that may be more positive for their well-being in the long term.

Blogging from Netroots Nation (NN) in Austin, sitting at a table in the first row waiting for speakers Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore to show up. Gore is going to be the mystery, unannounced guest, . Looks like just about all the seats in this cavernous hall are occupied and there’s a big rack of media folks toward the back with their cameras. There are a handful of costumed demonstrators, but mostly the bloggers are looking like themselves, casually dressed, but intensely engaged mentally despite the early hour and more than a few hangovers following the parties last night.