Friday Quote
And...
“Speculation about Sarah Palin’s tanking as Alaska’s governor can’t be overshadowed by her retrograde thinking on climate change -- she doesn't think humans are responsible for global warming. Moreover, she doesn’t believe in protecting and preserving the natural world because she sees the end of days will soon be upon us. Palin loves this wacko place.”
“…sustainability is not just a matter of resource management and smart grids and retrofitting to so-called greener technology and products. It’s more than cradle-to-cradle action. More than biomimicry. It’s more than Transition Cities popping up here and there. And more than media and psychological spin. Corporations, institutions, and governments need to take that Natural Step into eco-community thinking. We need leaders to enlist cultural experts, artists, writers, planners, strategic thinkers, rabble rousers, performance artists, educators, and myriad of other social science and soft science experts, as well as the cadre of software wonks and technologists and design engineers.”
Both above quotes are excerpts from Paul K. Haeder’s first post HERE on the PacificCAD’s Sustainability Blog. Titled “Spin, Flat-Earth Thinking, Marketing - How Do We Frame Climate Change So Everyone Gets It,” it’s more unfiltered (yes, as a blog should be) than his insightful commentary over at The Inlander. That’s a very good thing. It’s a brilliantly bizarre introduction, filled with Haeder’s usual intensity and razor-sharp perspective. Your head might hurt from absorbing multiple points but you’ll come away with a better grasp of the societal understanding of climate change.
This first post is overflowing with information. He covers media bias---think back to the George F. Will controversy and lack of retraction---and offers solutions: “Fundamentally, it’s clear that humans have to have a major shift in how we view nature – we are part of it, not separate from it. This has been talked about by Rachel Carson, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and countless others in the sustainability and deep ecology movements.”
And how’s this for skepticism: “The [Gallup] Poll results show that 41 percent of Americans believe the media are over exaggerating the facts and problems associated with climate change. This is a high number, and it’s the highest percentage of skepticism in a decade. Look at this one year change – Republicans moved from 59% to 66% total who are skeptical about the media’s coverage of climate change; independents moved from 33% to 44%; the rate among Democrats remained close to 20%.”
That’s not highly encouraging, especially as the Waxman-Markey bill is met with a collective yawn, and even our own little Sustainability Action Plan ends up a forgotten civic footnote. Another point, counterpoint debate. All the more reason to read his post, and push the discussion forward in terms of our community and humanity at large.
