Won't Get Fooled Again

As America’s hopes for the future rest in the hands of a new Obama administration, We the People must demand and push for the completion of a new energy agenda. Told time and again that an energy plan was essential for the welfare and security of the nation, every President since Nixon has spoken of, then failed to produce, a real change in our energy policies. Let us all commit to help Obama and our nation and each other as we finally begin and ultimately achieve this goal.

As a nation and a people, we have been like fish following the bait of cheap gasoline without fully realizing until recently the true hidden and long-term costs. The global climate crisis, the Iraq / Afghanistan wars without a seeming end in sight, and the economy driven to its brink, finally, as the several weeks of $4.00 per gallon gasoline that pushed everyone over the edge. We fall down, the world falls down. The great powers that herd and control us -- our institutions, our political leaders, our corporate titans -- for decades now have been baiting that hook. Lobbyists wield their influence and we all respond exactly as the oil, coal, and gas companies want us to. The future - our most precious commodity, our kids and grandkids – where do they stand, if we can’t stand up for them?

I number myself among Barrack Obama’s generation. When we were both growing up, there was a public service announcement with a Native American crying, paddling down the river, witness to the filthy water, dead fish, and littered land as a result of our progress. Though small children, the meaning was not lost on us and we clearly understood. The significance of a world destroyed by the new occupants from the point-of-view of the ancient trustees, even when you are only 8 or 9 years old is one of those images you don’t forget.

By the time our generation was graduating high school, we had already witnessed how the Iran hostage crisis cost Jimmy Carter the presidency and ushered in the Reagan era. As Carter had put solar panels on the White House, Reagan ordered them down. We grew up, went to school and work and raised children. We worried and worked for our families, our neighbors and friends. Somehow, we didn’t pay enough attention, though. We focused on our own small lives, we lost sight of the bigger picture, we lost the perspective of “we” as the “me” overtook our vision.

How can the “me” generation make amends for ignoring and allowing the status quo to inherit our own and our children’s future? Did they trick us or did we trick ourselves? How’d we get into this mess?

I recently found this great book at the library, Power & Light: Political Strategies for the Solar Transition by David Talbot and Richard E. Morgan. What an eye-opener. The authors educate their readers to the insider’s game. We learn the lingo and rules – soft energy, rate setting, municipal energy corporations, public utility rates, and so on. The book highlights achievements and pitfalls, with chapter titles telling the story – The Specter of Synfuels, The Dark Ages, Capitalizing Solar, Soft-Energy for Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities.

One success story given is that of a San Bernadino California community group. Under the direction of Valerie Pope Ludlam, a solar jobs program is created. She is quoted in the book, “We saw that it was a major new business opportunity, a new frontier. We saw that it could create a whole new job market…Solar is a new opportunity for us to participate in the American Dream.”

The only issue with the book … it was written in 1981, the year I graduated high school. So, what happened to Valerie Pope Ludlam and David Talbot and Richard E. Morgan? Why didn’t we already reach the promise of a solar future when we were ready to achieve it back in 1981? These guys were smart, their book is fact-filled, with references to everything, everything cited, with a glossary to boot. When the reader finishes the book, the thoughts that come to mind are, “Hey, we are on the brink of a revolution here. Look at all these people, making a difference. We can do it; we really can use the power of the sun.”

Incredibly, the word “green” is not mentioned in this book and there is only a passing reference to climate change and the effects of carbon dioxide on the planet. In 1981, we wanted to go solar because it meant jobs and it meant getting us to kick the oil habit, taking the country away from the interests of coal, oil and gas, and nuclear industries. That should have been enough. And yet …how did that road turn into our road?

When the prices for oil and gasoline did not soar as they once had, we forgot all about it. We had bigger, Soviet fish to fry. We had political infighting, we argued over blue versus red. Hairstyles and stock market bubbles came and went. We celebrated the millennium and then everything changed, somehow, the collective rug was slipped out from under us. That beautiful September day, it all changed.

Now, I implore you, my generation – re-listen to the words of the Who’s song, "Won't Get Fooled Again". Shall we let this boss be the same as the ol’ boss? Shall we all gather up our papers and smile at the sky? We all know that the hypnotized never lie.

Wake up, America! We hold the future in our hands. I do. You do. Obama does. We, the People do. True energy independence is not only possible, it is right here, right now. We only need to envision it, imagine it, demand it and so it will be. If you read this book, you will be convinced that we had the answers 25, 30 years ago and were led down the same ol’ boss’s road.

Al Gore has put forth a wonderful, bold plan on how we can achieve this in ten years time. Amory Lovins, a genius in energy and head of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a man energized by energy itself, he is my vote as our energy czar. Wouldn’t that be wonderful to have a leader in the DOE that was actually a leader in energy conservation?
Both men argue for a sane policy. Minor and major changes are required. Not the least of which involve some actual behavioral changes. Maybe we won’t all be so comfortably heated and cooled, maybe we can take that walk to the store instead of the good ol’ American auto. A little walk won’t hurt. A little colder or warmer, I can do that for my country, my kids and your kids and those that aren’t even here yet.

One last lingering thought I’d like to leave you with and that is to think about the word “karma”. Karma is real, it happens all the time. The earth is full of cycles. Rocks and rivers regenerate and the pollution and abuse done in one corner turn around and bite you in another corner. The pollution from coal powered plants generated way over there drifts right over here. The forests shrink, while the deserts grow. Guess what, folks … we are all connected, all of us, and all of the planet. Chain links, invisible but made of steel, pull me and you together. I am you, you are me. What’s done for one is done to all, eventually.

The smart fish doesn’t get caught, it knows that shiny thing at the end of the string is not really a worm, it’s a trap. If we get lured down the same path of lobbyists over logic, then shame on us. And heaven help us, we'll need it.