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 Doug Haynes on June 3, 2010 at 3:52am
Clark said:
Notorious Dug's specious claim that he has no alternative but to pollute, rings hollow in our ears. Helplessly throwing up his hands doesn't cut it. Certainly he has alternatives...get a different job! Many of the rest of us have.


What kind of a job should I get Clark? I am a heavy and industrial equipment mechanic; you tell me what these skills cross over to that will allow me to work in a 'green' industry, maintain my current income level and give up the use of a service truck and I will hop on that band wagon tomorrow.

Don't just tell me I have alternatives, tell me what they are.

I'm in the industry and I have shopped my skill set around and there is not a whole lot out there for guys like me and the scant few of them that are for 'green' companies still have me using the same stuff to get the job done; it's hard to drag a crane from job site to job site with a bicycle...

I also do not want to hear this 'throw up his hands' crap either because that is putting words in my mouth. I make an effort to never drive unless it is for work but when it comes to work. If able to choose a alternative to oil I do so; I used to drive a veggie oil powered truck I converted myself. We do not all have the luxury of an education or back ground that provides us with white collar jobs in down town office buildings.

Not to mention that if I, and every other guy who runs all over in a service truck, where to suddenly give up on using any petroleum for a month or so you would see a drastic change in the luxuries available to you... Just curious but when you need your A/C fixed do you use a company that has a guy come out in a van? Would you never use a landscape contractor that has petrol powered trucks and does not use reel mowers? Do you only eat locally grown, in season food products? Do you ever shop at a box store that uses a hub style distribution network? Do you ever have stuff delivered to you via UPS or the USPS?
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on June 3, 2010 at 3:55am
I believe the key is being seen and gently and politely encouraging others to get out of their cars, even if its not biking. I'm planning a class at my office next month called, "Alternative Modes of Transportation for the Active Realtor". If I can convert a couple more people in a profession that most people think needs to be done 100% by car then I'm doing my part. We can be ambassadors. When cyclists are rude and angry and break the rules of the road we are digressing I believe. It makes drivers HATE us.

On that note, I'm reading a book called, Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities by Jeff Mapes. Some of us newbies forget that it A WHOLE LOT of advocacy in the 70, 80 and 90s to get where we are (bike lanes, rights to the road, etc).

I know this conversation isn't just about transporting ourselves, its about lifestyle. One way is biking. One way is what we eat. Another way is composting, trying to use fans instead of A/C as much as possible, etc. We do what we can. Joey is trying to be an example to others.

Any of you who think he shouldn't have written that, do you know what he is doing? He started a not for profit to raise money to put solar panels in public schools via a bike ride. I'm sure he has singlehandedly turned a whole lot of inner city children into cyclists who are also now understanding their carbon footprint.

Joey also generously donated 1/2 the pizza to Chainlinks 1000 Member Party we had in Feb 2009. Thanks dude. Lawyer Jim donated the other half.

So before you go bashing him and his ideas, I just wanted to point out all the GOOD things he is doing for our world.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on June 3, 2010 at 4:57am
Adriana said:
Oh, we are but a speck of dust in the sands of time...I just got here and I am tired of this rehashed subject.

So what makes us so special...our intelligence, our self-awareness? How does that differ from say, the dinosaurs, who had no clue that a comet was hurdling through space about to wreak havoc on the ecosystem? And the planet, it survived...it is not the planet we are concerned with, it is our own skin. Oh no the poor animals. We are animals and if it wasn't for that mass extinction, humanity would not have evolved. Nature is our biggest foe. So I say, just do your best :o) instead of pointing fingers 'no, its your fault...you consume more, your hands are bloodier than mine, I am better than you...'

or continue to fret, fret for your microbrews, fret for your wheelsets, fret for your iphones and macs, your fashionable socks, your grilled pineapple...hmmm how the hell did a pineapple get to Chicago I wonder?


LEARN TO SWIM

If you haven't already done so, can I suggest you read Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything”? He makes a compelling case about the futility of our civilization in the grand scheme of things. Reading it while enjoying a couple of fine microbrews makes it even better.
Permalink Reply by JKH on June 3, 2010 at 5:42am
Suggesting that someone change jobs is the biggest bunch of elitist bullshit I've heard in a long time. It's easy to feel smug when you sit on your ass in front of a computer for a living. There are jobs necessary for our society that require driving. Would you suggest that everyone that is socially conscience get a job that doesn't require driving? As a fabricator I manage to use a Subaru wagon for a job that most people use a full size pickup or van. I also schedule my work so I can bike about half the time. Should I quit so someone with a F-250 takes my place. I say if you are promoting career changes everyone in a cubicle should get a job in construction and use a fuel efficient vehicle. This would do a lot more good than most of the suggestions made here.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on June 3, 2010 at 6:20am
If I could afford owning a car or having air conditioning I would totally give up both in solidarity with the people who have so selflessly committed to such noble sacrifice.
Permalink Reply by JKH on June 3, 2010 at 6:48am
It is impossible to live in our society without having a negative environmental impact and it's not enough to say I don't drive. What are you actually doing to decrease pollution? My point is that running away from the physical world isn't helping at all. Things need to move, be built, be grown and best way to help is to figure out how to do it better.

Of course we all are responsible for the current mess and we should do what we can and part of that should be boycotting BP
Permalink Reply by cutifly on June 3, 2010 at 6:53am
Just as long as you don't Bl#w yourself up at the auto show this year ...

H3N3 said:
If you can look past the unfortunate subject line of the e-mail he's completely, 100% spot-on.
All consumers of petroleum have environmental blood on their hands, the more they consume the guiltier, and while BP needs to be held accountable (and I really don't think a fair person could read the e-mail and assert that Mr. Feinstein is saying it does not) it's not like none of us knew that off-shore drilling would result in a certain percentage of disasters just like this one.

I'm relieved to see there's someone else out there who recognizes that individuals can't just absolve themselves of responsibility and blame "the system" or "the evil corporations" with gleeful abandon without wallowing in hypocrisy.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 3, 2010 at 7:23am
I choose my career path before I was as socially and environmentally conscious as I was before; at this point in my life it is not really possible for me to re-train and not have to spend years and years taking a massive salary hit and derail my life as I know it in order to change careers.

I like the way you completely avoided giving me any useful suggestions or answering any of my questions.

I have another one for you:

If no one drives trucks for a living how do you get the food you eat? Go down to the farmers market; how did most of the vendors get their food there? Unless you never buy any goods by truck you are in the same boat as the truck driver when it comes to contributing to fuel use.

Clark said:
Yes but the point is the same as the one that began this thread: We're each individually responsible for the larger effects of our personal actions. If you don't want to pollute, don't get a job as a truck driver...no matter how many drivers' jobs there may be. You ARE in charge of your destiny... Think Globally: Act Locally!

JKH said:
Suggesting that someone change jobs is the biggest bunch of elitist bullshit I've heard in a long time. It's easy to feel smug when you sit on your ass in front of a computer for a living
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 3, 2010 at 7:34am
We do choose our own paths but there are times when we end up far enough down a path that there is not a viable way to find a new one by the time we start to see the world a little differently.

I do what I do to make a living and that probably is not going to change unless but I try to do it in as socially conscious and environmentally friendly a manner as I can; at what point did doing what you can with the situation you are in become not enough effort to keep the blood off your hands?

I have little choice in my job at this point or how I can go about doing it but I work hard to make environmentally friendly choices and try to get my customers to do the same; is that not an acceptable compromise? Should I make half the money and let the companies that don't give a shit about that stuff have my market share?

The concept that you can not being doing good for the world if you drive a car or use petrol to do your job is close-minded, elitist and in the end more damaging to the cause as a whole because it turns off people who are not as dedicated as you are.

H3N3 said:
As Clark said, we choose our paths. Nobody "makes" anyone do anything.
Can't respond to the bit about elitism or sitting in front of a computer without some effort on your part to frame that argument in a way that makes some sort of sense.

JKH said:
Suggesting that someone change jobs is the biggest bunch of elitist bullshit I've heard in a long time. It's easy to feel smug when you sit on your ass in front of a computer for a living. There are jobs necessary for our society that require driving. Would you suggest that everyone that is socially conscience get a job that doesn't require driving? As a fabricator I manage to use a Subaru wagon for a job that most people use a full size pickup or van. I also schedule my work so I can bike about half the time. Should I quit so someone with a F-250 takes my place. I say if you are promoting career changes everyone in a cubicle should get a job in construction and use a fuel efficient vehicle. This would do a lot more good than most of the suggestions made here.
Permalink Reply by Natalie on June 3, 2010 at 7:36am
There's a report (which I've not read, because it is long and I'm busy) from the United Nations in 2006 that says that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined. The reference is here. Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but it seems like becoming a vegetarian is the single most effective change most of us can make.

Actually, the most effective change would be for humans to become extinct.

H3N3 said:
Not sure why you need to discount the effect of choosing not to drive-- it's the single most effective change most of us can make. The argument that you have to either reduce your ecological footprint to zero or not even bother is childish and depressing.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 3, 2010 at 7:49am
I hate to say it but I will gleefully watch everyone I know suffocate, burn to a crisp or otherwise come to an unsavory end provided I get to keep eating sweet, sweet bacon right up until it's my turn.

I mean seriously, give up bacon? For the well being of other people? Sheeyeah, right!

Natalie said:
There's a report (which I've not read, because it is long and I'm busy) from the United Nations in 2006 that says that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined. The reference is here. Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but it seems like becoming a vegetarian is the single most effective change most of us can make.

Actually, the most effective change would be for humans to become extinct.

H3N3 said:
Not sure why you need to discount the effect of choosing not to drive-- it's the single most effective change most of us can make. The argument that you have to either reduce your ecological footprint to zero or not even bother is childish and depressing.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on June 3, 2010 at 8:30am

Clark said:
Sorry Howard, I wasn't intending to condescendingly lecture you...but in rereading my post I can see how you might have inferred it. Perhaps not here in this forum, but usually when I tell folks I've given up my car, it provokes a "holier than thou" reaction from them. So I always add a disclaimer, that I recognize that I'm still a polluter...my original sin.
I actually think population control is our only long-term answer. With 7 billion people in the world, and another billion being added every 11 years, we will have many problems to confront in the next 100 years. Energy will only be one of them. But telling people to have fewer kids is more provocative than telling them to give up their car. Not to mention the religious and political overtones of that message.

H3N3 said:
Sorry, Clark, I appreciate the backup but I never said anyone was scot free of anything and I find the implication that this would not have occurred to me condescending and insulting.

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