Thinking like Eisenstein

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein

Einstein’s worldview is key to the most important challenge in human history. We are interconnected, and communities are at a disadvantage. Only by coming together we will avoid extinction of life.

At a recent Post Carbon Institute webinar, Charles Eisenstein talked about Nature as a living being, what indigenous people in South America call Pachamama, and worshiped as Mother Earth by Native Americans. Mothers are nurturing and caring, they invented unconditional love. In this loving context, the rivers, land, sky, lakes, mountains, forests, soil and all life on Earth are her sacred sources. “We borrow the Earth from our children” says a Native American proverb.

Charles says we must frame the climate emergency in a wider context, not only moving from fossil fuels, but restoring biodiversity, forests and wetlands. We need a new way of caring for Mother Earth and each other, healing the clearcuts, mountaintops, and all the harm we have done. Please see “Climate: A New Story – Charles Eisenstein, 2018,” on YouTube.

After the floods

The Dogwood Alliance has a vivid article on the recent devastation. “We are writing from ground zero of Hurricane Florence. This was followed by Hurricane Michael. Thousands lost power, and many lost their homes and have nowhere to go. People have died. The flooding released toxic waste from hog farms and coal plants. The massive flooding from the new climate caused tremendous suffering.”

US Fire sale?

Ignoring the trillion-dollar budget deficit, Trump threatens to outspend Russia building nuclear weapons. Trump flies to political rallies non-stop, inciting violence and ignoring the massive costs and carbon footprints. Stopping imaginary invasions with troops on the border is burning a hole in the budget. Where are the revenues coming from to cover these unnecessary expenses? Higher taxes from the middle class and cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and other Social Security benefits? The Department of Energy sold 11 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to fund the federal government.

Last week, Trump approved burning forests. The Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy and Agriculture sent a joint letter to Congress to “encourage the use of biomass as an energy solution.” EPA said the move “will support good-paying jobs in rural communities, protect our nation’s air quality, and remove unnecessary regulatory burdens.” EPA pretends tree-fired power plants are carbon neutral. The American Forest and Paper Association cheered Trump’s letter.

Burning forests for energy is a deception to benefit loggers and paper mills. Converting coal-fired power plants to burn trees would take years and billions of dollars. Trump’s order, like his trade tariffs, is a deception to line the treasury’s pockets.

Money is easy to print, but we can’t print an ice cap, an ocean, a forest, or anything that matters.

Climate warriors and climate criminals

The Youth climate lawsuit, Juliana v. U.S., will be heard, stay tuned.

Americans have been abused in the last two years by corruption and greed. Ryan Zinke, head of the Bureau of Land Management is the latest official under investigation by the Department of Justice, on profits from Utah’s 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument “reduction” by 85 percent.

Who will lead the climate revolution?

A strong, honest, compassionate leader will rise to lead the global emergency. Vulnerable communities must be protected. The elite have no place to hide. We will prevail unless we choose to wait, closing our eyes like toddlers, pretending no one will find us. Keep your eyes open and enjoy the benefits of a low-carbon economy.

Dr. Luis Contreras