Ronnie Cummins: Organics & Climate Chaos: Can the Organic Community Save the World?

Organics, Health, & Climate Chaos (Part II)
Can the Organic Community Save the World?
By: Ronnie Cummins
My Daily Bytes
Feb. 21, 2006

What we need is energy independence and the conversion of U.S. and global
agriculture, transportation, and utilities to conservation practices and
renewable energy."

John Kearney, energy activist and long-time consultant to the International
Indian Treaty Council, in an email to the author Feb. 11, 2006
________________________________________________________________

One of the most positive things about organic food and farming is that it's
not only good for our health and the survival of family farms, but also good
for the environment and biodiversity: the soil food web, plants, birds,
insects, wildlife, fish. Perhaps less understood, but equally important, is
the fact that organic or sustainable farming conserves energy and water,
reduces greenhouse gas pollution, and serves as a "carbon sink" to help
stabilize global warming.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/globalwarming101003.cfm

Organic farms use far less non-renewable energy and petroleum inputs than
industrial agriculture (for example it takes enormous amounts of energy and
petroleum products to produce pesticides and chemical fertilizers), and
generate far less climate destabilizing greenhouse gases such as CO2.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/fossil-fuels.cfm

Since the U.S., with less than five percent of the world's population, is
generating 29% of all the world's greenhouse gases, it's especially
important to reduce our nation's pollution by building up a strong organic
agriculture and alternative energy sector as quickly as possible.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Politics/security101105.cfm

Industrial agriculture and long-distance food transportation generate
somewhere between 20-25% of all climate destabilizing greenhouse gases in
the U.S., Canada, and other industrialized nations.

The average food item in an American grocery store, whether conventional or
organic, has traveled 1500 miles from farm to market, usually in a
diesel-belching tractor-trailer. Multi-ingredient processed foods add up to
even more food miles and greenhouse gases. Food processing, packaging, and
waste disposal (i.e. throwing millions of tons of uneaten foods into
landfills instead of composting them, burning crop wastes instead of
composting them) adds up to further energy use and greenhouse gas pollution.

One of the most positive trends in the organic community, in terms of
protecting the environment and stabilizing the climate, is the increasing
popularity of farmers markets, the community supported agriculture (buying
directly from farmers) movement, and buying products produced locally and
regionally. Other healthy and climate friendly consumer trends include
cultivating a home garden, eating more seasonally, eating less meat and
animal products, consuming more raw foods, cooking from scratch, and
avoiding highly processed and packaged foods.

It's true that the major portion of greenhouse gases come from cars,
transportation, and utilities (75%), but we will never stabilize the climate
until we relocalize and green the increasingly globalized and
energy-intensive food and farming sector as well. And of course, in
political terms, it is becoming obvious that environmental movement,
standing alone, does not have the political clout to force Washington and
the oil and utilities companies to implement a crash program of conservation
and conversion to renewables. Unless America's 50 million organic and
socially responsible consumers can join hands with the domestic climate
crisis and alternative energy movement to reduce our greenhouse gases by 75%
(Germany has already reduced their greenhouse gases by 21%), it may soon be
too late to save the world from rising sea levels, hurricanes, devastating
crop losses, increasing global poverty and conflict, and migrating diseases
and epidemics.

One of the major factors holding back ordinary Americans from getting
involved in the climate chaos debate is a pervasive pessimism and fatalism.
As the refrain goes, "You can't fight Congress and the big corporations."
But as organic consumers understand, you can "fight the powers," and begin
to win, at least in the marketplace, if you vote with your pocketbook for
health, Fair Trade, and sustainability. This is an important and inspiring
lesson that we can offer to our fellow citizens, as we join together to
retool the economy and stop runaway global warming. As we get organized to
force our elected public officials to eliminate corporate welfare and
petroleum subsidies, and instead to subsidize the conversion of the
agriculture, transportation, and utilities sectors of the economy, we can
simultaneously "walk our talk." We can buy local and organic, convince our
families and friends to do the same, and begin to reduce our personal and
household energy consumption by 75%. Most of us can make a commitment to
drive less, trade in our gas guzzlers for hybrids or compacts, retrofit our
homes, arrange to buy green power through our local utilities companies, and
³power down² our energy needs. This will save energy, reduce greenhouses
gases, and, perhaps most importantly, keep our spirits and self-confidence
intact as we embark upon our long-term campaign to save the planet.

The organic community can also use our positive message, our mainstream
appeal, and our positive energy to point out that the conversion of American
society to sustainable energy, agriculture, and transportation practices
will create millions of new living wage jobs, and revitalize both urban and
rural communities.

And last, but certainly not least, as today's "quote of the day" points out,
we need to frame our growing organic revolution and our nationwide and
global movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% as a movement to
achieve "Energy Independence," It is both disgusting and alarming that the
U.S. is increasingly dependent upon reactionary oil sheiks, misogynistic
religious fundamentalists, and authoritarian governments in Central Asia to
supply our oil. Now we are becoming food dependent as well, by importing
more and more food from China and other nations, including organic foods
that can easily be produced here in North America. On the commercial front
we are becoming increasingly dependent upon a military dictatorship, China,
which supplies, for example, 71% of all products sold in Wal-Mart, and
subsidizes U.S. military expenditures and corporate welfare by buying up
U.S. Treasury notes (I.O.U.s) by the billions.

More and more people are starting to understand that the real reason we are
occupying and ravaging Iraq is to seize control of their oil, as we enter
the era of "Peak Oil" and increasing scarcity. Likewise people understand
that the next likely war, in Iran, will be initiated for similar reasons,
even though the Bush administration will claim that Iran's nuclear program
poses a threat to American national security.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/politics/energy021206.cfm

The right-wing extremists in the Bush administration are not exaggerating
when they say that from now on America will be involved in "permanent war."
But of course if we continue to go down this violent and racist path of
Empire and global domination, our multi-trillion dollar economy will
gradually disintegrate into chaos, along with the global climate.

The anti-Iraq war movement in America, just like the climate crisis
movement, can learn a valuable lesson from the successes of the organic
community: accentuate the positive, reach out to the mainstream, talk about
and act on the solutions to problems and crises, don't just dwell on the
gloom and doom. We stand at a crossroads of great peril, but also of great
promise. People are stunned by the constant barrage of bad news in the
media, stressed out financially and psychologically, and badly in need of
inspiration. We must help ourselves and a critical mass of the body politic
break through the psychological trap of looking outside ourselves and our
communities for powerful leaders to solve our problems. The Democratic and
Republican parties, as presently constituted, cannot save us. The new
grassroots Movement we build will have to be strong enough to bring these
out-of-control politicians to heel, along with the corporations who, of
course, are the real power behind the throne. As difficult as it may be, we
must look in the mirror for leadership, and prepare ourselves to "clean
house," from Main Street to the Middle East.

We must all become the messengers of the good news that we can avert climate
chaos and permanent war. The solution to the present global crisis is called
Energy Independence and Sustainable Production and Consumption. As we walk
our talk, put our consumer dollars where our values lie, teach our kids by
example, and get organized politically, we must keep repeating our mantra:
"Senergy independence and the conversion of U.S. and global agriculture,
transportation, and utilities to conservation practices and renewable
energy." It's time to roll up our sleeves and begin. Please join and support
the Organic Consumers Association as we embark on this perilous journey of
transformation. http://www.organicconsumers.org/