Last month Sarah Palin wrote an oped in the Washington Post urging Pres. Obama to boycott Copenhagen. “Without trustworthy science,” also calling it “politicized science” and “agenda-driven science,” it’s not worth it for the U.S. to cut a deal, which would amount to a “job-loss program,” she wrote.
In her article, she acknowledges the retreating sea-ice off Alaska’s coast, thawing permafrost and coastal erosion. “We recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends . . . .”
With half the population and half of Congress agreeing with her thinking, short-term economics and short-term elections will continue to rule the day. And any shift at the national-policy level, for better or worse, will shift back with every election cycle. Washington is not likely to lead on this issue, will likely never get out ahead of us. But they will follow the market forces that affect their local constituents.
Some things you can legislate, but can’t enforce adequately – like residential recycling, the speed limit, keeping your paint cans out of the town dump. There are many pressure points to create change, and regulations are one of them, though don’t always guarantee outcomes.
Some things regulate well from the top-down: exposing the public to radiation and no longer developing on wetlands. Some of these could be stronger, like limiting commercial carbon emissions, but nevertheless, these are natural top-down regulations.
Successful bottom-up movements leading to regulations include standards for drinking water and town-wide waste recycling, which is pretty much a norm for all garbage collecting, both things that didn’t really exist only 20 years ago.
Some studies claim that top-down costs more for industry and related markets than bottom-up movements. Partly because top-down happens rather quickly, bottom-up usually happens over a long, developing span of time. Incentives like taxes or fines play a role in outcomes and costs as well. Also, bottom-up grassroots movements that succeed also sustain themselves for the long term, since they come into their own with support already in place.
Human beings are in the unique position, for the first time in the history of the planet, to save or destroy the planet. No other species has had this position. It’s simply a choice we must make as a race. At the moment, it’s highly unlikely top-down regulation will mandate buying a Prius, installing solar power, or taking public transportation. It’s going to require leadership from the bottom, from those who care and understand about creating the infrastructure to make these changes
The more I watch Congress, or international politics, the more I see that little will change on a national or international level among industrial countries. We must lead the way from the bottom. The best things we can do, as individuals, is to do our thing, stay our course, talk it up, communicate together. No matter is too small during the holidays or any time. At home or at work or with family or wherever, every green act you do, everything you purchase, every comment you make sends a message. Send the right message.
