WILL THE WAR COST US THE CLIMATE?
US Military Spending is Destroying Our Chance of Preventing Global Climate Catastrophe
Climate change is not linear; there are tipping points, such as the melting of the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets, or the collapse of the Amazon rain forest. Once we pass those tipping points, climate becomes a runaway train, and nothing we do can prevent catastrophic impacts - massive flooding of coastal areas, widespread drought and crop failures, famine, epidemics, and the breakdown of ecosystems on a scale most of us cannot imagine.

To stop short of the point-of-no-return, we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% worldwide, and by 94% in the US, by 2030 at the latest; much of the reductions must come in the next 5-10 years. This cannot be achieved merely by changing lightbulbs and driving hybrids; it requires a restructuring of our entire way of life, from agriculture and manufacturing to energy and housing. Think of the rapid US shift to wartime production in 1941, and then multiply that ten-fold.

Is this even possible? Barely - but not if we wait for governments to act. This shift is far beyond the modest efforts currently debated in policy circles. We can only accomplish this with a global grassroots movement to directly change public policies and our way of life. It must include a shift in cultural values, from consumption to restoration, from endless growth to living within ecological limits, and from economic inequity to social justice.

This climate crisis coincides with the end of cheap, abundant energy from fossil fuels. Global oil production has peaked and will soon decline, with natural gas following. As demand outstrips supply, shortages will produce price spikes, supply chain disruptions, economic instability, and sooner or later, the collapse of nearly every aspect of the current oil-driven globalized economy. Peak oil may also lead to more resource wars over access to the remaining Middle East oil supplies.

Oil wealth made the U.S. a superpower, allowed us to build endless expanses of freeways, suburbs, and malls, consume at historic rates, and create a booming economy based on the illusion of endless growth. Now the boom is over, U.S. debt is at crisis levels, and our economy is largely propped up by Asian investment and the fear of a currency collapse.

The reason this matters is that the world will need all our remaining wealth and natural resources to pay for the conversion to a sustainable way of life. We have to build millions of wind turbines and solar panels, retrofit buildings and create mass transit systems, before we lose the capacity to do so. And the U.S., which is responsible for ¼ of all climate change, must take the lead.

In short, we need the biggest and most ambitious public works project in history, and the money to pay for it - nothing short of this will prevent a climate meltdown. Yet we are wasting the needed capital on a destructive and immoral war which cannot succeed in maintaining long-term U.S. control of Middle East oil, but which will almost certainly consume enough public money and resources to bankrupt our government and pre-empt the possibility of shifting to a solar economy.

We have little time left to choose: either we devote all our economic resources to limiting climate change and preserving a livable planet, or we continue with business as usual. We cannot afford to do both. Military spending is not just bad foreign policy, it is economic and ecological suicide.

- Daniel Solnit, Director,Institute for Local Economic Democracy

DANIEL WILL BE SPEAKING ON THIS AND OTHER TOPICS ON SUNDAY - DETAILS BELOW:

____________________________________

FACING THE HEAT:
Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Economic Collapse -
Real Solutions for a Sustainable Future

Powerpoint talk by climate activist Daniel Solnit, with discussion of local solutions & actions

Begins where Al Gore’s documentary left off, addressing the root causes of our global crisis in corporate greed & growth;
moves beyond lightbulbs and band-aid approaches to show how real solutions and local actions can solve the global crisis
by creating ecologically sustainable communities. Come hear this powerful and informative message -
you will leave with understanding, hope, and inspiration

Sunday, Nov 11, at 7pm
Glaser Center (Unitarian Hall) - 547 Mendocino @ 7th, Santa Rosa
Free (donations welcome) - wheelchair accessible - bring your friends!
Info: (707)823-4480 or 576-6653, www.iled.org

a printable flyer (PDF) is available at: https://www.iled.org/pdfs/FacingTheHeat-Flyer.pdf

Sponsored by: Network of Spiritual Progressives, Climate Protection Campaign, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County, Project Censored SSU, Islamic Society of Santa Rosa, Redwood Forest & Appleseed Friends Meetings, Unitarian Universalist Social Concerns, Veterans for Peace, Friends House Peace & Justice Group, United Methodist EarthKeepers, Women in Black, Earth Elders, & Around the Fire

Please forward this invitation widely, and bring your friends to the event.
Thanks!
____________________________________
Daniel Solnit, Executive Director
Institute for Local Economic Democracy
117 Morris St, Suite 220, Sebastopol, Ca 95472
(707) 823-4480 www.iled.org
** Sustainable Alternatives to Corporate Globalization **