We were honored to take part in the People’s Climate March yesterday in Seattle. It’s powerful to see many people speaking out about global warming, when a few short years ago this issue was not on many people’s radar. Here is a photo - our sign is dead center, and reads “Sabotage the Machine”.
Our #1 problem with the climate movement is the focus on green technology. Nearly every single speaker went on and on about the promise of new technology and “green energy”.
DGR Seattle member Max Wilbert has spoken and written extensively on this topic. Here is the bottom line: green technology is a multi-billion industry that requires the extraction or recycling of huge quantities of metals, rare-earths, and other substances, and then the associated process of refining, production, install, maintenance, and disposal.
Here are some of the impacts of this process:
- Heavy metal contamination of air and water - Release of highly toxic chemicals into air and water - Deforestation at site of extraction and install (w/ erosion and associated issues) - Release of toxic substances at point of disposal - Release of potent greenhouse gases during refining and production, plus from fossil-fuel equipment throughout extraction, refining, production, install, maintenance, and disposal.
In some cases, the impacts of “green technologies” are less than fossil fuels. **But that is a horrible place to start measuring from.**
Reducing harm by increasing efficiency has been shown by many economists (notably Stanley Jevon’s) to, in many cases, increase consumption and therefore increase overall impacts.
At Deep Green Resistance, we strive for harm elimination, not merely harm reduction. Earth needs protection, not continued attacks at a slightly slower pace. Others can embrace incrementalism, and we support reform in some cases. But “green technology” is a distraction.
Good to see people out blocking the train tracks. #NoneShallPass