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As the demand for climate action grows:
Build a working class movement against climate change!
(From Seattle Workers' Voice, vol. 3, #2, April 13, 2019)
As was predicted would happen decades ago, global warming is now giving rise
to increasingly devastating floods, droughts and wildfires, cyclones, polar
vortexes
and other climatic changes, and climate refugees. And as was known decades
ago, burning fossil fuels is the main cause of this warming, with
deforestation,
agricultural and other land-use practices that destroy natural "sinks" that
absorb
carbon dioxide making it worse. But greenhouse gas emissions reached record
highs in 2017 and in 2018.
How can this disastrous situation be happening?
Rather than attempting to plan and directly regulate industry, agriculture and
transportation, in the 1990s a large number of "environmentally aware"
governments embarked on the path of trying to use market measures--setting up
a market in carbon-emission certificates ("cap and trade)" and/or imposing
carbon
taxes--to rein in green house gas emissions. Other countries, such as the
United
States, didn't even do that much. Furthermore, establishment environmentalism,
as represented by Al Gore and the leaders of the mainstream environmental
groups, did their utmost to divert the environmentalists into becoming
champions
of these market solutions that have so miserably failed.
At root of this debacle is that the polluting and otherwise earth-destroying
corporations and their financiers are bitterly driven to oppose any serious
environmental measures because those will infringe on their profits. Thus, to
save these profits the IMF and World Bank, plus ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and other
oil companies have thrown their support behind carbon pricing and the carbon
tax. (1) Trump and the Republicans obviously serve them with human-caused
climate change denialism: "what problem??" But the Democrats also serve them
by foot-dragging when it comes to taking sufficient measures to curb climate
change, including Gov. Inslee's pushing the carbon tax.
So the struggle to stop and mitigate climate change is at heart a class
struggle,
but a class struggle that the polluting corporations and their political
servants
have been winning at the peril of the huge majority of humanity. The only
conclusion is that a trend of working-class environmentalism must be built up
in
order to fight and overcome them. Such a trend that has no interest in
preserving
the profits of those destroying the earth and every interest in preserving and
replenishing it. Further, such a trend must struggle against the sold out
AFL-CIO
and other union bureaucrats who fight for business-as-usual pollution, even if
means the planet becomes uninhabitable.
Recent developments show that the potential for building a working-class
environmental movement exists everywhere.
For example, the French working people are just as concerned about climate
change as everyone else, but beginning in November millions of them rose in the
powerful "yellow vest" movement that forced the government to abandon another
fuel tax increase. This was because the workers and poor were fed up with being
economically squeezed in the name of environmentalism. Indeed, in opposition
to that many raised slogans demanding that the rich should be made to pay,
while
people all over the country also pointed out that they couldn't give up
traveling in
cars because there was no mass transit where they lived. Their mass rebellion
demonstrated to the entire world that environmentalism has to make a choice.
Either side with the struggle of the masses for a decent life or side with the
corporations and the measures that they prefer, such as the carbon tax.
The potential also exists among the tens and tens of thousands of Belgium
environmental demonstrators who forced an environment minister to quit in
February, and who continue to mount protests of many thousands. Also in recent
months, new environmental groups have been organized around the world that
are demanding that governments take serious climate action now. On March 15
they helped mobilize some 1.2 million young people into streets around the
world
for a "Youth Climate Strike," including many hundreds in Seattle. On April 15
there will be another international protest called by one of these newer
groups,
Extinction Rebellion (see end for Seattle information).
And the potential exists among the millions of people who are excited by the
idea
of a Green New Deal and the concept of linking environmentalism with the
livelihood of the masses of people. This shows an important shift in mass mood.
But Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's talk about a Green New Deal lacks specifics. It only
has
promises, and the assurance that directed public investment will solve
everything.
This covers up the deep and profound changes in the economy and the increase
of government regulation and control that will be needed to really achieve
environmental goals, as well as to ensure livelihood for all. It covers up the
severe
struggle with the corporations and the billionaires that will be needed. We
need to
build a working-class environmental movement that will bring to the fore the
real
needs of environmentalism, of abandoning market fundamentalism, and of
fighting the corporate polluters.
Thus, we must fight for the radical changes that are needed to ensure that
environmental goals are really met, or else everything will end up as just
going
through the pretense of taking effective action. Everyone can help do this. In
our
schools and workplaces we can initiate discussions of the daily news reports
about climate change and its effects, as well as of other environmental issues,
including in our workplaces. We can think about organizing environmental groups
in our schools and workplaces that study and discuss environmental issues and
take actions around them. We can join locally existing environmental groups.
And
we can encourage friends to go with us to anti-climate change events like those
upcoming:
Monday, April 15, beginning at 11:30 AM:
Extinction Rebellion protest rally and die-in,
Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, 915 2nd Ave.
Thursday, April 25, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM:
Dahr Jamail and Extinction Rebellion speaking on "Confronting the Extinction
Crisis,"
Kane Hall at the University of Washington
Seattle Communist Study Group 4/13/2019
seattle.com...@gmail.com
Notes:
(1) https://qz.com/964499/which-fossil-fuel-companies-support-a-carbon-tax/ <>
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