Long-time Energy Bulletin contributor Luane Todd wrote a response to an editorial note:
Just a word about why EB is devoting so much effort to covering the Occupy Movement.
The concerns we write about at Energy Bulletin are not being addressed by the existing political structures. Whether it’s peak oil, climate change, society’s lack of resilience, can anyone say that any government or any mainstream political party is acting in a way that we could consider adequate?
The Occupy Movement, and its counterparts in Europe and the Middle East, are shaking up politics in a way that we haven’t seen before. Certainly, neither peak oil nor Transition have caught the popular imagination the way that Occupy has done.
At this juncture, we can either retreat into our enclaves, muttering that Occupy doesn’t understand peak oil or the need for de-growth. Or we can learn what this scrappy, inspiring movement is all about, and take part in it.
It may mean giving up our preconceptions, but it is the way forward.
-BA
Why do you think Occupy has been more effective at mobilizing participation and discussion than peak oil or Transition? Their ‘message’ is not so dissimilar but it has connected.
The Occupy movement, unlike the peak oil/climate/Transition movement (?) is a bottom-up not a top-down approach. That appeals to the younger people and many of the older ones as well. What they are doing is not coming in the form of ‘delivered wisdom’ from the ‘experts in the field’ with their laundry list of what we ‘must’ do.
From what I can tell there is a lot of debate/discussion going on all the time about what to do and how to do it. It seems that the ‘leaderless’ or open classroom idea where everyone is a teacher and a learner is a very powerful concept that actually makes our younger people enthusiastic players. For the first time in ages (or forever for some of them) they feel they have the right to speak AND be heard with respect. It is ok to question other points of view, everyone is encouraged to do so.
For comparison I submit that one reason the local food projects are getting a lot of popular support and interest is that to some extent they are site-specific in a way and they lend themselves to customization in another location.
On the other hand, as has already been noted a few times here at Energy Bulletin, there is a hint of elite-ism and follow the manual in the order presented (there will be a test at the end) about the Transition approach. And, the people leading and teaching resemble the education hierarchy so many of the young people are tired of … they are considered to be receptacles to be filled, not active participants in any sort of planning/implementation of the program. Put another way, there seems to be very little flex in the Transition model and more than a hint of religious fervor. That works for a lot of the older people (and it seems to me that there are very few under 30-year-olds in the Transition groups) in part because we are conditioned to take the advice of the professors and scientists as gospel. (At least some of us are, me not so much)
I think part of why the young people are in the forefront on this is:
- they have the energy … not an unimportant thing
- they have fewer demands on their time, although there are quite a few retired people involved for the same reason
- they see the root problem…it’s the money/power, silly
- they know that nothing can be done about energy or climate or anything else until the financial playing field is leveled and there is room to move again.
So to that extent you are correct … the economic problems are immediate and in some cases life threatening. Those problems must be addressed NOW.
Sort of like the old joke: When you are up to your a** in alligators it is hard to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp.
Luane Todd is a retired farmer, now living in Harrison, Arkansas and active in local Occupy movements. She’s led a busy and active life, including “12 years of very intensive cattle, then sheep and goat grazing.” I hope that someday we can convince her to tell more of her story. -BA
