THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

DECEMBER 14 2014

THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

Senator Inhofe out of touch

Negotiators from around the globe were haggling this past Saturday in Lima, Peru, over the final elements of a draft Climate Change deal. This COP 20 (Conference of People) would, for the first time in history, commit every nation to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions — yet would still fall far short of what is needed to stave off the dangerous and costly early impacts of global warming.

Years ago, in the year 2,000, I attended such a gathering in The Hague, the Netherlands. That was COP 10, thus in the next 14 years there have been 10 more of these international meetings, each time in a different corner of the world, and each time attended by some 2000 delegates, each producing nothing but more GHG, the gases they are supposed to reduce.

For some poor representatives going to such an international meet is a real treat. I remember at the closing the less well-off delegates grabbed the leftover fancy conference cases for use at home or perhaps to sell them. For most of these people such outings are a once in a life-time experience, where the discussions are really of no importance. The final communique is usually written well in advance. The results speak for themselves: only a total collapse of the economic system will assure that the targets for CO2 reduction will be met, and we are well on the way to see this happen.
Nevertheless all this travelling and these meetings add to the GDP of the world. The overarching aim of each country is to increase economic growth by whatever means. That’s why some countries now include prostitution and illegal gambling into the figure that is posted by the government as an affirmative indication of economic well-being. And why not? We count car accidents also as a positive economic sign, and cancer operations, so, yes, the more economic bads, the higher the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

Last year I was at an international church meet, discussing Climate Change. There a delegate quoted Oklahoma GOP Sen. James Inhofe, as a good example how a Christian should look at Global Warming.

That same senator wrote a book. Its title says it all: “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.” It reveals everything you need to know about the Republican Party’s position on Climate Change. That is the Bad news portion of this week. Sen. Inhofe will chair the Environment committee in the US Senate starting in January, another frightening prospect. His view is by and large how Christians view creation. The book says that climate science is hogwash. Inhofe trusts divine guidance. He writes: “God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”

With Inhofe in the saddle America will burn in climate hell. He’s vowed to block all regulations aimed at cutting carbon emissions. When Ban Ki-Moon visited Ottawa harping Harper on that subject, his next stop was not Washington, where Inhofe would have refused to see him anyway: nobody is more unable to change his/her mind than those people who know exactly what God wants. Unfortunately they comprise the majority of the earth’s creatures, including all Muslims.

I read another headline: The Madness Gene.

The headline read: “Do humans have a ‘Madness Gene’ that will ensure the end of the planet as we know it?” The original was a rhetorical question pointing to the obvious capitalistic message: All humans are at their core egocentric, myopic capitalists … all are programmed with this built-in “Madness Gene”… all unwittingly driven to self-destruct our own capitalist economy … our civilization … our planet … and even sabotage ourselves. In short, the “Madness Gene” in all humans exposes the planet’s ending.

The history and evolution of this “Madness Gene” is detailed by Elizabeth Kolbert in her new classic, “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.”

The negative consequences of our “Madness Gene” mean worldwide mass species extinction. This is already in progress as a result of the unsustainable irrational behavior of us, humans, in our quest for perpetual economic growth in world of limited nonrenewable global resources.

Yes, our “Madness Gene” is having disastrous implications for all seven billion humans on the planet. Look at the way we move around. We all want transportation. Our car is a status symbol. There are a billion autos and trucks in the world. America has 240 million cars; Europe has 200 million; China and India each 80 million. That’s why Big Oil gets over a trillion in annual revenues. You’re going to cut back on driving? No. That’s your madness gene at work!

Christmas coming up. Rich, middle class, poor millions are driven by consumerism. We demand food, electronics, drive the economy, make sure our kids get an education. Consumers want more, goods, money, progress, a better future. The American Dream was built on a capitalist demand that has a built-in self-destruct “Madness Gene.” Yes, we want it all, even if it kills us.

It’s going to happen. Older folks are the fastest growing segment of global population, in Canada, Europe, Japan, America, China, throughout the world. They all want security, protection, entitlements, retirement nest eggs and good medical care. Also all want to cut taxes. And workers want a bigger cut of the capitalist pie.

So the list of people, good people like you and me, all have the “Madness Gene”, where more is never enough, greater wealth, for a better life, now and more tomorrow.

But capitalism is blind, a game of musical chairs, we’re all playing, screaming “me-first! Climate later!” Unfortunately, later is too late. Because after all 50 percent of Americans think that “global warming is a hoax”. Warnings from Inhofe, from GOP presidential candidates, from Big Oil, we will not be enough time to plan ahead … not enough money to reverse the damage of global warming as the planet passes the point of no return … where the impact is irreversible and there’s no more political will to take action.

I was born in a deep Calvinistic family, adhering to “We are born and conceived in sin, and therefore children of Wrath.” Ouch. That hurts. But that really is our “Madness Gene!”

It reminds me of a very peculiar bible story, involving King David, when he was waging war against Israel’s arch enemy, the Philistines. Here’s what the Bible tells us, perhaps relating one of the earlier version of the Madness Gene. I found it in 2 Samuel 23: 15-17, when David was in a fortress, facing the enemy, occupying Bethlehem, his home town. There David was looking down and some memories stirred in him. What sort of memories? Perhaps David’s mind went back some 60 years, when, as a young boy he was waiting his turn at that well. Ahead of him was a young woman. While she was scooping the water her shoulder scarf fell off, revealing a young, full figure, exposing something David – who only had brothers – had never seen before. Did that incident make David call out, as recorded in the Bible?

David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well there by the gate. Then three of his heroes broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, for he said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.”