The Culturotomy

Here is the last part of a post at Culture Change by Jan Lundberg on what we can do about passing the energy tipping point:

"There must be major corporate players who "get it" and know we will have a very different world to deal with rather soon. It is often assumed that the corporados' drive for their mega-riches and more mega-riches may cover their own backsides, so as to be able to ride out future disruption to business-as-usual.

But could it be that some corporations are planning to go way beyond the environmental sensitivity of Walmart (led by their acquisition of an ex-Sierra Club head), and restructure according to ecological economics ahead? Wow! No doubt such plans for, say, Mitsubishi turning away from clear-cutting tropical forests -- toward, instead, local, sustainable pencil-making collectives -- are under lock and key.

What is the alternative to the corporate state (which is the definition of fascism) trashing the planet?

(clip)

Funny enough, what we need to do to deal with climate change is almost identical to what needs to be done in recognition of petrocollapse. The Pledge for Climate Protection's ten steps were listed on a tree-free postcard our office produced in 2000. (snip)

The Pledge:

1. Cut down on driving my vehicle, or carpool. I will walk or bike, and not buy a car if I do not have one (best of all). I will support and use mass transit. I may work closer to my home.

2. Cut down on working just for money: I can thereby barter more, and cut down on commuting.

3. Depave my driveway, or help others’ depave their driveways, or depave parking lots, and grow food in depaved land.

4. Unplug or retire my television, and perhaps go off the electricity grid. I will reduce energy for heating, and share appliances such as my oven with neighbors, and not buy or use power tools or jet skis, etc.

5. Publicly oppose new road construction and road widening in my community, to start undoing sprawl, prevent growth in traffic, and halt the spread of forest roads allowing clearcuts.

6. Take vacations without jet air travel, and avoid career activity dependent on jet travel.

7. Plant trees, collect rainwater, and avoid overusing municipal water as it is energy-consumptive (and thus may emit CO2, the main heat-trapping gas that fossil fuels release).

8. Buy local products, buy as little plastic as possible, carry a travel mug. Minimize consumption. Support alternative plant materials to cut down on petrochemicals and trees for paper. Avoid eating animal products especially shipped-in beef.

9. Not bring more children into the world, or limit my offspring to one, and possibly adopt. I recognize the threat of overpopulation.

10. Inform my community and the greater national and global community on the need to take action such as the above for climate stability.”

As laudable as much of this pledge is, it seems odd to me that there is nothing in this pledge that actually solves the problem.

And what is the problem?

It is a Corporate State that continues to plunder the earth for its resources, that destabilizes our climate, and perhaps permanently damages our ability to pass on a stable culture to our children.

Ten years ago, I closed off a TV program with part of the answer to the problem.

Corporate Capital Punishment.

If you want the rights of a person,

you must be responsible like a person.

If you recklessly endanger others,

you should be brought into custody,

given a trial, and possibly put to death.

That means that the offending corporation's assets

are seized and distributed,

and the directors are held responsible.

The Producer of the show said that I got hate mail.

I guess there are some folks out there who have no problem

with the execution of a poor black man for shooting a clerk,

but get really nervous about executing a rogue corporation,

that has recklessly killed tens of thousands.

We cannot change our culture as long as capital rules the earth.

We must move forward to a human based culture,

that honors life, and peace, and the best of our natures.

Someday soon, we should pledge to

Boycott all Rogue Corporations.

And depower the War Mongers and Profiters,

And build a new world of Cooperations,

A World of Earthfamilies,

that don't let the market work,

but instead, make the market work

For all of Us.

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