in the time remaining, to help us understand how the man-made system of capitalism will lead to the extinction of our human species, and so many others.
We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Coal May Pass Oil As World's No. 1 Energy Source By 2017, Study Says
NPR, a major radio network in the US, is one of those "public-private partnerships", a benign term used to hide the real meaning of this arrangement: private control using public funds. Thus, the article ends by subtly implying that natural gas can save us from radical climate change and that China and India are the bad guys. "Natural gas can save us" is the same mantra-like theme permeating all other major media discussion of the climate change issue.