Diamond-Cut Life

The largest act of civil disobedience against climate change in U.S. history took place in the nation’s Capitol in frigid, snowy weather on March 2. More than 2,000 people marched, and many risked arrest by blocking all four entrances to the coal-fired Capitol Power Plant. Time magazine gave it serious coverage among other mainstream media; primary organizers Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network report here.

Students, Appalachian coal miners, ministers, mothers and many other walks of life comprised the group, with the speakers unified on a central theme of social justice: the people who are suffering and will suffer the most from global warming, i.e. the poor, are the ones least responsible for it.

And coal, which is burned to supply about half our nation’s electricity, is responsible for 40% of the U.S. emissions driving global warming. One speaker termed the current U.S. status quo a form of “generational theft” due to the consequences it is creating for youth and the largely ruined planet they are inheriting.

I wish I could have been at the action on Monday. I did civil disobedience against nuclear bombs in the late 80’s at a nuclear test site in the Nevada desert. When established power structures are entrenched in a path that’s morally wrong, civil disobedience may be not just the right thing to do, but the most right thing to do.

As Time magazine notes, the March 2 action shows that despite the abstract nature of global warming (you can’t touch it or see it, in contrast to racial segregation, for example) the movement is gathering strong popular support. We’ll need lots more to create the scope of change we need to accomplish.

photos courtesy of capitolclimateaction

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