Climate Cycle's founder says: "Don't Blame BP" ?!

 A Letter from the Executive Director
Photo: Tricia Koning
Joey Feinstein


Dear Climate Cycle supporter,

As an organization, Climate Cycle is founded on the belief that each one of us can make a difference that benefits us all. As the founder and executive director of Climate Cycle, I consider it important to improve how I align my actions with this basic tenet.

Today, we find ourselves in the midst of what many are
calling the worst ecological crisis in US history, and it's washing up on
American shores. As we call upon BP and politicians for answers, let us
not ignore it is we Americans who consume five times more oil per capita than the average world citizen.1 Although BP negligently ignored safety warnings and took shortcuts, they are filling our demand like other oil and
energy giants. Much like BP, we too are ignoring nature's safety warnings with our ever-rising consumption of fossil fuels.

Over time, issues like energy have become
Photo: Telegraph.co.uk
BP oil spill
increasingly politically contentious. Yet it was W. Bush's 7th State of the Union Address that he declared "America is addicted to oil." As unnerving as the rallying cry of "drill baby drill" is to many of
us, it is the message that is sent to oil rigs and volatile regimes all
over the world every time we fill our gas tank, whether white, brown,
Republican, Democrat, man or woman.

At 12:40 p.m. today, I am flying to Brussels, Belgium. The arrangements have been made by the
U.S. Mission to the EU so that I can share ideas on sustainability and
education with European delegates in the days leading up to Europe's
Earth Day on June 5th. It is an awesome honor. At the same time, the irony
of traveling in a gas guzzling jumbo jet across the ocean to discuss
issues of climate and energy is an unsettling juxtaposition. For all I know, this plane could be filled with fuel from underwater wells like the one that is gushing out of control.

Although it is easier to look back 1,000 years than forward 50 years, the oil
spills lining our seas pale by comparison to what catastrophic climate
change could look like within our children's lifetime. Society is
dragging anchor and in danger of ecologically capsizing.
Photo: Tricia Koning
Polaris Climate Cyclists
Where this will exactly lead nobody knows, but we must beware of the rocks. As in times of great crises, it is imperative we each do our part to stem the tide.

To this end, upon returning from Europe, I pledge to donate my car to charity and convert most of my long distance travels from airplane to train. While such decisions require increased travel time commitments, until the crude method of combustion we are reliant upon is rendered obsolete,
time is of the essence in reducing our fossil fuel riddled ways.

Let us not allow the miracles of the modern age we all enjoy become dynamite in disguise for the children we love. Together, we can ensure that our greatest dangers become opportunities
for a societal renaissance on par with the Industrial, Space Age and
Computer Revolutions.

To refueling our future,Climate Cycle logo
Joey Feinstein                                                                             
Founder and Executive Director


1 WorldWatch Institute - http://www.worldwatch.org/node/808




His e-mail subject was: Don't Blame BP
Many of us got this e-mail.

This guy is suspiciously wrong .
This enormous environmental disaster was not caused the end users of the fossil fuel.
11 workers were killed by BP and it's policies not by the end users of the fossil fuel.
90%+ of the blame clearly is at BP's door.
1 for allowing  the accident in the first place.
2 for lobbying to change  the rules that allowed them to get away with it.
This lame argument is like saying that users of electricity are responsible the the 29 dead coal miners at the recent coal mine disaster instead of blaming the mine operators. Or like blaming children for lead poisoning of themselves, for wanting  toys instead of blaming the Chinese manufactures.
Has this guy turned into a corporate slug?

I say:
BOYCOTT BP -------and Boycott  all it's parts
am/pm mini mart
ARCO

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-BP/119101198107726
http://www.earthyreport.com/site/boycott-bp/
http://www.citizen.org/page.aspx?pid=3311
http://boycottbptshirt.com/
http://www.fubp.org/


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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on June 4, 2010 at 2:37pm
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801/

this article makes a pretty good rejoinder to this kind of claim
Permalink Reply by rik on June 5, 2010 at 4:44am
Peenworm Grubologist said:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801/

this article makes a pretty good rejoinder to this kind of claim


Peenworm Grubologist, Thanks for the great article. It makes the case perfectly. I like this part:
"...The second problem—and this is another big one—is that it incorrectly assigns blame to the individual (and most especially to individuals who are particularly powerless) instead of to those who actually wield power in this system and to the system itself. Kirkpatrick Sale again: “The whole individualist what-you-can-do-to-save-the-earth guilt trip is a myth. We, as individuals, are not creating the crises, and we can’t solve them.”
Permalink Reply by rik on June 6, 2010 at 3:21pm
Clark said:
"Yes and this is why modern civilization is doomed...no one wants to change; no one willing to take responsibility. Everyone waiting for the CEO of British Petroleum, and CEO's of other rapacious polluters, to shut down their businesses and go away.
Ain't going to happen... Have we really learned nothing in the last 2000 years? As with the Roman Empire, let's just ignore the barbarians at our gates, and party tonight!"

Clark:
Your pessimistic is somewhat justified, however your claim that "everyone" some how thinks the same ridiculously naive. Despite all the stoics, Nihilists, apathetics, and various obstructionist; civilization will move forward. Civilization may or may not be doomed; that one is up to the rest us.
There is no way you can claim everyone thinks the same on any subject. Obviously many of us have already changed out of sense of responsibility toward a solution.

"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it. " - James Baldwin
“Those that say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those doing it” - Chinese Proverb

I like your "barbarians at the gate" analogy. Unfortunately they have already seized the center and we are the ones on the outside. The corporate barbarians look over the gate and laugh at us while they have their looting/polluting party.

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