It wasn't enough for George Bush to boycott the Earth Summit. He sent negotiators
flanked by big business to Johannesburg to destroy it. And Bush had other help
as well. He had lots of support from ordinary folks back home. Average Americans
are destroying the planet with their fossil fuel lifestyle. And they don't seem
to care how it affects the world around them.
The tiny island of Tuvalu in the South Pacific has given up hope. It's evacuating
its population of 14,000 to New Zealand. The 16-square-mile island is sinking
into the ocean due to rising sea levels caused by global warming. The world is
under assault by catastrophic floods, fires, and droughts. And most people are
blaming the United States.
Oh sure, other countries also contribute to climate change. But given that
the U.S. is responsible for 25% to the world's carbon dioxide emissions while
representing only 4.6% of the population...we are clearly leading the way. And
although it's common practice to place all the blame at the feet of America's
corrupt corporations and spineless politicians, that becomes increasingly difficult
when SUVs now account for 23% of all new car sales nationwide and 47% in California
alone.
So what's the world to do? How can foreign peoples and their governments make
an impression on apathetic Americans? More talks? More summits? Not now. The Earth
Summit just showed how easily it can be sabotaged. Short of violence, which is
commonly used for good and ill by American presidents both past and present, foreign
governments and individuals could expand on a three-part strategy already in limited
use - sue, boycott, and get 'personal' with Americans.
Let's start in reverse order. First...get personal...man-to-man. Let Americans
you meet hear your outrage. Violate our comfort zone. You're not asking for less
consumerism from Americans, just clean and green rather than coal and oil...or
at least cars that get over 20 miles per gallon for Pete's sake. Many countries
are forging ahead with substantial wind, solar, and fuel cell projects, while
George Bush promotes coal, oil, and nuclear energy. And Americans let him get
away with that.
Next...boycott American goods and services. Don't prop up our economy with
your investments and consumer spending. Already there's a fairly successful boycott
in many parts of the world against (mostly U.S.) genetically modified crops. And
boycotts certainly worked to liberate South Africa from apartheid. Capitalism
responds when business takes a hit.
And...for the final and third strategy...foreign nations and individuals can
sue America. There's growing interest in international environmental litigation.
And the island of Tuvalu may lead the way. It’s considering lawsuits against the
United States and Australia for refusing to ratify the 1997 Kyoto protocol on
cutting greenhouse gas emissions to prevent global warming.
Europeans are also up in arms after a summer of catastrophic floods, and they're
blaming America, reports Paul Martin of the Washington Times. He writes, "Gallus
Cadonau, the managing director of the Swiss Greina Foundation for the preservation
of Alpine rivers and streams, has urged that a punitive tariff on imports from
the United States be imposed to force cooperation on greenhouse gas emissions."
That's not a lawsuit or a boycott, but it's coming close to both.
For the first time, Americans are suing our own institutions for causing global
warming. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the city of Boulder, Colorado,
filed the suit against the Export Import Bank (ExIm) and the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC), alleging that these taxpayer funded lending institutions
illegally provided more than $32 billion in financing and insurance for oil fields,
pipelines and coal-fired power plants without assessing their contribution to
global warming and their impact on the U.S. environment as required under key
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It's about time.
International environmental law was the focus of a meeting of more than a hundred
judges and lawyers at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. The "Johannesburg Principles
on the Role of Law and Sustainable Development" were adopted at the Global Judges
Symposium organized by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It states,
"…the fragile state of the global environment requires the Judiciary, as the guardian
of the Rule of Law, to boldly and fearlessly implement and enforce applicable
international and national laws ..." Nice words and it's a start, but without
U.S. support The Johannesburg Principles will certainly have rough going.
Americans live in geographic and cultural isolation. Getting their attention
is a tough assignment. Getting them tuned-in to saving the planet may be even
tougher. But the time for politeness is over. People and nations around the world
are in a battle of survival largely because of American reliance on fossil fuels.
And if foreign countries and their people have to get in our face, or boycott
our businesses, or sue us in order to save themselves, then so be it.
If these strategies don't work, the case for violence will be made. For the
peoples of the world, protecting the environment is a question of life and death,
not comfort or convenience.
Links:
Lynn Landes is a freelance journalist specializing in environmental issues.
She writes a weekly column which is published on her website www.EcoTalk.org
and reports environmental news for DUTV in Philadelphia, PA. Lynn's been a radio
show host and a regular commentator for a BBC radio program.
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