Bill McKibben on Democracy Now

"It’s as if they’re saying—I mean, literally as if they’re saying, "We’re going to stick our fingers in our ears, and the problem will go away. We’ll never have another hearing on it, so therefore it won’t be happening." I’m afraid that’s about as unlikely a proposition—I mean, more power to them if you could make global warming disappear by simply not talking about it. It would be a hell of a good strategy. But my guess is that physics and chemistry will be remarkably unimpressed by this position, you know? I mean, Congress—the sort of delusions of grandeur within the Beltway are enormous. They think because they can change the tax code, they can change the laws of nature. But that’s not possible." Bill McKibben

Some fascinating news out these days from Wikileaks concerning the role of the US government in intimidating, stalling, and buying votes from opposition nations in the recent Copenhagen climate talks. Bill McKibben is a longstanding author and activist who has attended decades of these talks and offers some great insight into the contentious nature of international agreements and into the urgency of action on these issues. His critique of American power politics and global climate change is telling. For all Washington is able to do in getting their agenda on the table, says McKibben, "Physics and Chemistry will be remarkably unimpressed." That Washington continues the program of intimidation towards other nations (even the poorest ones who are already most affected by climate change) is no surprise, says McKibben. What is a surprise is the audacity to assume we can continue to avoid this problem forever, or simply vote it off of our agenda.

The real question, to my mind, is how can we advocate for a politics that takes physics and chemistry as a baseline for action? How do we seek some form of common good in the face of power and manipulation by those claiming to represent us in government? And how might we embody in practice ways of life that take physics and chemistry seriously as well? I feel a real tension between thinking of small local forms of action and the challenge of global governance and climate talks. McKibben is bold in promoting both forms of action and calling governments to act. My more cynical side wonders where even to begin. Perhaps physics and chemistry aren't bad places to start.