If you want to change the world, change yourself--Ghandi

A good friend recently wrote me that she had gone to see the new film on global warming by Al Gore.  Her reaction was succinct "we're screwed-the world, that is..."

The next week she and her husband flew across the US to attend a wedding-and back. Depending on the type of aircraft and the number of passengers, that trip added another 500 kilos to one ton of CO2 in the atmosphere--per passenger. At 25,000 feet, CO2 releases have roughly twice the greenhouse, or heat trapping effect, as releases from sources on the ground.

Another friend who is very environmentally aware asked my opinion about her plans to travel to Kenya to attend a climate change conference. By airplane of course.

My sister who lives in India just told me that she and some of her family are flying to Britain for the christening of her newest grandchild.

Coincidentally it is precisely the UK which seems to have taken the whole issue of climate change more seriously than many countries. Prime Minister Tony Blair is said to have leaned, unsuccessfully it would seem, on George Bush in an effort to move the US toward some acceptance of efforts to accept the "growing body of evidence that global warming is advancing far more rapidly than scientists once thought it would."

Evidence is everywhere. Even people with short-term memory problems remember hurricane Katrina. Glaciers are melting worldwide, and wildfires have increased in the western US. Tragically, the latest predictions are that Africa-the continent with the least historical "contribution" to industrial carbon emissions-is going to be the hardest hit by climate change. So much for Karma....

As if all that weren't enough to "make your day," take into account that the US is ramping up its coal fired electrical generation capacity and China is building coal generation plants faster than MacDonald's. Economic growth and surging demand in spite of high prices, combined with a worldwide squeeze on natural gas, are forcing some countries to burn more coal-a lot more. This trend will only exacerbate global warming.

At the recently concluded St Petersburg meeting of world leaders from the G8 group of nations French President Jacques Chirac starkly warned:

"We cannot talk about energy security while there is no progress on climate change. Mankind is dancing on the edge of a volcano."

Prior to revealing my preposterous proposal to address the above issues, allow me to quote from a recent inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group, an independent panel of British MPs:

Climate change is now such a critical problem for Britain and the world that it should be taken out of politics to make radical remedies possible...

Conclusion: the democratic political process is incapable of dealing with the exigencies of addressing climate change. On the energy front, a similar conclusion was put forth over a year ago in a study for the US Department of Energy.  In The Inevitable Peaking of World Oil Production, The authors take a long hard look at US fossil fuel dependency and conclude that it will take two decades of a crash program before world oil production begins its inevitable decline. And, the report calls for the curtailment of  "lengthy environmental reviews and lengthy public involvement."

You know what that means. No more NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) syndrome. Sorry folks but the wind generators go here, the power plant goes there, the pipeline runs down this street and through that swamp-sorry wetlands-the works. You know, like during a war. Like during WWII when President Roosevelt politely invited the heads of Ford, GM and Chrysler to the White House for lunch. He proceeded to inform them that due to pressing national needs they were temporarily out of the auto building business. Any questions???

So there you have it folks. My attempt to paint the big picture started with the individual decisions of a group of people who are aware of the climate problem and yet continue the very patterns of consumption which are aggravating it. In case there is any suspicion that after 10 years of riding a bicycle in Guanacaste I'm claiming the moral high ground, let me be perfectly blunt. If I had the money I'd be doing the same thing. Believe me, I would love to drive-or fly for that matter-anywhere, except Lebanon for the moment. Individual decisions, our precious freedom of choice to fly anywhere, drive gas-guzzlers and build energy consuming monstrosities, at some point needs to be over-ruled. The ‘radical remedies' mentioned above need to be implemented by somebody guided by the principle of "the greatest good for the greatest number, over time."

We-the world that is-need a "take-charge" kind of guy. We need leadership like never before, somebody who can wrap his mind around the task at hand, explain the situation, motivate the masses, and simultaneously smile for the cameras, shake hands, schmooze and kick butt. Unfortunately, my own favorite candidate for the job is currently deceased. Before addressing the ‘slight technical difficulties,' let me explain why I think Winston Churchill is the man of the hour.

Best known for personifying British steadfastness in the face of the Nazi onslaught during World War II, Churchill had an earlier career as Lord of the Admiralty-head of the Royal Navy. Prior to World War I., he had the vision to push for, and accomplish, the transformation of the Navy from coal to oil-powered, just in time to deploy a vastly superior armada-faster and more easily refueled. He pulled this off in the face of huge opposition and cultural inertia. Britain was built on coal. They dug, transported, burned, breathed and thought coal. Oil was a newfangled thing for them. ‘The sun never set' on a seafaring empire which had coaling stations for ships around the world. Churchill's decision proved to be one of the decisive factors in the epic naval warfare of WWI.

We need a guy like Winnie, able to grasp the energy/climate situation, envision the way and take the helm. With all due respect and with tongue slightly in cheek, I can't think of a better idea than break out the shovels, dig him up, dust him off, get the DNA like in Jurassic Park, clone him quick and get him up and running on the double. Have Armani figure out an appropriate wardrobe for the 21^st century. We are in desperate need of a leader who has the glandular fortitude to turn things around in a hurry. To pry millions of fingers off the ‘self-destruct' button here on spaceship earth.

Tom Peifer is an ecological land use consultant with 12 years experience in Guanacaste. Phone: 658-8018.  peifer@racsa.co.cr

El Centro Verde is dedicated to sustainable land use, agriculture and development

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