Answers?

We recently talked about capitalism vs. climate change and income inequality. I think these two issues are related at least as far as justice is concerned. It is poor people who always take the brunt of the suffering. Well off people are in a better position to move, build and secure safe housing. They also have better food security. Thinking this will always be the case is being short-sighted on their part. It depends on just how warm we get and how fast. Time is not on humanity's side. Today we are experiencing the effects of a warming planet, not in ten or twenty years. It is here. There are solutions. People like short-term and black and white answers, good vs. evil, Democrat vs. Republican and right vs. wrong. If you have lived past ten years, you learn that life is rarely so clear. Huge problems are often decades in the making and solutions take time. We are going to need patience, hard work and a willingness to change. 

We have two tools we can use for positive change, the ballet and our wallets. Here in the USA, where the so called choice is between center right and far right voting our way out of this mess will be a long difficult slog. I'm often tempted to throw in the towel bitching about both parties are more or less the same. I think in many ways they are. But then January 6th, 2021 happened. The Republicans ceased being a political party and morphed into a doomsday cult headed by the former president. They are utterly devoid of ideas on how to better the country, much less the world. They are blind to income inequality and climate change mynacilly repeating the same old tired, disproven and irrational ideas of tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, the power of the mythical free market and guns for everyone. Recently they've added phobias of everyone non-white, the words communism and socialism (anything that could possibly help average people) and a cult leader. The Democrats at least pretend to be reasonable, listen to science and throw a few scraps here and there for working people. I can vote for Democrats but am under no illusion they are going to save us from the ravages of casino capitalism. They might just buy us a little more time. A more effective tool is our wallets, how we spend our money. 

Money is the only language our corporate overlords understand. We've seen a slight gain in worker power here in 2021. Enough people are finally saying we are not going to just accept slave wages, hence wages are rising (note the slick amazon ads about rising pay). I'm not impressed with your small business making money by paying minimum wage. A viable business should pay living wages. This notion needs to carry over into climate related areas. DISCLAIMER: I don't do enough of these either. But here are a few ideas. I should avoid meat all together (clear cut farming). I should never go to Walmart or use Amazon (landfills). I drive / use my car rarely (I can). I have my own garden, chickens and a greenhouse (my wife's but hey!). None of us should fly. It may be too late already but we can still try. I don't know a way to organize enough people to spend their money in an environmentally friendly way. If you do, I'm all ears! This leads me to the hard part. 

Adapting to a rapidly changing environment will require us to fundamentally change the way we live. Not only that, it will require an entire paradigm shift on how we view the world. We can no longer live humankind vs nature. We need to get back to humankind is a part of nature. I think this is impossible for most people living in a luxurious western world. We are simply too deeply and hopelessly attached to houses, yards, cars, year around HVAC and an undying belief in eternal growth and "progress." Yes, I too, want the shiny Star Trek future, flying cars and to break the mind machine barrier. Alas, not going to happen. We are going to have to learn to live in a shrinking economy, with more crazy weather and more and more conflict. Can we do it? I'd guess no but we may as well try.