Aligning Our Interests

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, September 11, 2009

I must begin this week’s column with a confession that I am no expert in the subject of climate change. I don’t have a strong scientific background or credentials that would give me any authority on the topic.

That said, I find it frustrating to hear some pundits ranting about how the cool temperatures of this July and August disprove theories of global warming. “Those silly tree-hugging environmentalists want us to give up our SUVs for this hoax that is plainly untrue,” they more or less say as the polar ice caps melt and storms rage and typhoons engulf entire cities. These talking heads spout their hype as studies are released about dangerously high levels of greenhouse gasses.

While some may choose to ignore the inconvenient truth of climate change (or worse, attempt to disprove it), I feel confident that mankind is continuing to contribute to the atmospheric pollution that will eventually kill millions, lay waste global coastal regions and devastate our planet. The situation reminds me of something the late George Carlin once said. Speaking of climate change, he mentioned that people were always saying “save the planet.” He assured his audience that the planet was going to be just fine, but that we people were all going to eventually go away.

At a recent talk given by author Michael Dowd (Thank God for Evolution), I asked him if he was optimistic that we would be able to avoid self-destruction, he answered in the affirmative but added “if not, my money is on cockroaches.” His point was that “low” forms like bacteria and insects stand a better chance of survival than we advanced humans.

Part of Dowd’s prescription for survival was the realization that interests need to converge. Our survival as a species relies on our ability to accept the fact that we are all in this together and that our fates are intertwined. In order to address the problem of climate change (and other issues that threaten our existence) we must bring corporate interests, political interests, global interests, human interests, and environmental interests in line. This requires giving corporations, governments and individuals incentives to do the right thing. Unfortunately this is not easily done.

One attempt at this may be the cap and trade bill that passed in the House of Representatives and is now before the Senate. Its stated purpose is to provide incentives for businesses to operate greener by setting limits on carbon emissions and allowing heavy polluters to purchase credits from operators that produce smaller carbon footprints.

The problem with this legislation, and the problem with much other legislation that seeks to do the right thing, is that the interests discussed above are not yet aligned. This is further complicated by a systemic imbalance of those interests. Interests of the individual lag far behind political interests and even farther behind those of corporations. Last in line, quite far behind the interest of individuals is the environment. The fact that our current two-party political system is so firmly entangled in a corporate death-grip makes it plain whose interests will win out.

The current debate over health care reform illustrates this imbalance. The GOP has been successful in shifting the narrative to corporate concerns. I remember hearing Senator Chuck Grassley interviewed on Fox News before the August recess. While he discussed the proposal that was before the House at the time for nearly ten minutes, he didn’t once mention the interests of the uninsured or the shortfalls of the current system. What he did mention three times was that the health care industry represented one-third of the economy. The next morning on NPR, Grassley softened his rhetoric a bit but reminded listeners of the potential impact on the economic interests of the corporate medical industry. And many politicians and pundits on both sides of the political spectrum have been reminding Americans that we cannot afford to overhaul health care in the current recession.

Likewise the argument against cap and trade (as well as any other climate-related legislation) is that it will kill jobs and pass an economic burden on to consumers as a virtual energy tax. I believe that legislation can produce green jobs if properly executed; however, I believe it is unlikely that corporate America will provide the brain power or the impetus to bring these jobs to the market. And without corporate support, there is little will within Congress to facilitate change.

Lobbying is an important part of our legislative process as a democratic republic. The question is which lobby wields the greatest influence. Currently, corporate lobbies are an overwhelming force and the loudest voice on the floor. Part of the problem is the broken electoral process that requires so much capital that even well-intentioned public servants find themselves beholden to energy companies and the like. Therefore, the voice of the individual and the concerns of the environment are neglected.

Another part of the problem is a different inconvenient truth. We as citizens fail to see our interests threatened by climate change. Or, if we do recognize the threat we largely choose to defer sacrifice until tomorrow rather than alter our lifestyles. Until we as individuals recognize that we share common interests with nature and the environment, effective and meaningful climate-related legislation will not come.