I want to talk about one understanding of sorcery to address our world’s situation. When I say sorcery, I mean it as early science, so as not to be confused with mysticism. For example, alchemy is not just turning lead to gold (though we are now very close to that), it also was involved with water purification — more chemistry than mysticism. Or pharmacia, which again was once considered sorcery but was just the science of medicines and herbs.
Cap and Trade is a False Solution to Climate Change
by Jill Mangaliman and Edgar Franks
“How can you buy or sell the sky?”
These words by Chief Seattle resonate today, especially when there are contradicting proposals for climate action that pit profit against people and planet. Cap and Trade — also known as Carbon Markets — are “market-based” schemes introduced for and by major climate-polluting corporations in order to claim they are taking meaningful steps to limit (and over time) reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Alec Connon, an environmental activist with 350 Seattle, “JP Morgan Chase is the largest funder of fossil fuels in the world, with $196 billion invested in the fossil fuel industry” since 2015. The company’s investments contradict CEO Jamie Dimon’s statements that he disagrees with Trump’s decision to remove the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Extinction Rebellion Hosts Climate Change Rally April 15
by Julia Buck
When I wake up, I think about climate change. The thought crushes me; I cannot get up out of bed. I wonder whether our earth has 12 years, or only 10, or if maybe the tipping point has already passed and it’s all over but for the screaming. I might lay there 15 minutes. I might lay there two hours. But either way, I can’t get up with my alarm.
OpEds by Got Green appear in the South Seattle Emerald every month.
by Marion Romero and James Williams
As the month of April begins to unfold, the infamous Earth Day rolls around. Like years before, many people will plant trees, participate in park clean ups, or attend fairs that focus on sustainability and a cleaner planet. While these are positive things, we must understand that celebrating the Earth one day a year will not stop climate change.
Signs reading “There is no Planet B” and “Our Future is Being Sacrificed” dotted a crowd of youth who sat on the grass at Cal Anderson Park on a beautiful Friday morning in Seattle. Hundreds of young people from dozens of Seattle schools showed up at Cal Anderson Park to show solidarity with the millions of youth walking out of their classrooms across the globe to let their governments and older people know that it’s time to take climate change seriously.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report on October 6, and it’s far more dramatic than any that came before it. It offers a hard deadline for climate action; just 12 years. It recognizes that climate change is already happening, and that we are currently dealing with just the tip of the iceberg of what’s ahead.
Washington voters who open their voting guides will be in for a surprise when they see a lone atmospheric scientist standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Big Oil to oppose Initiative 1631, a plan to make polluters pay for their pollution and invest in clean energy and healthy communities.
