Global Climate Strike
I am impressed with young Greta Thumberg
A Swedish teenager who stayed from her school
To sit out on strike ‘till her message was heard
The planet is warming we must stop the fuel
Soon others joined Greta; they, too, went on strike
The movement through media encompassed the globe
One fifty world nation’s today joined in strike
O’er four million protesters marched so to show
That words aren’t enough, action now must take place
To stop global warming before it’s too late
At risk at this juncture’s the whole human race
But President Trump acts in sheer retrograde
He canceled Obama-sourced climate-change standards
Reducing industrial dirty emissions
He stopped California from setting its standards
On future gas mileage and auto emissions
This move is to favor the oil producers
Ensuring they maintain their volume of sales
But car manufacturers, main oil users,
Clearly oppose Trump in hoping this fails
The rest of the world is becoming aware
That real climate change is now happening fast
And thanks to young Greta more people now care
Political action may happen at last
9/20/19
Thanks for writing about this topic. While there are many other pressing social-justice problems with which we must deal, none of that will matter if we don’t have a place to live. Perhaps you can write another post about how individual actions are needed just as much as political ones. We are taking it seriously here in our house. We traded the 18 mpg car for an electric vehicle; we are in the process of installing solar panels; we are now buying misfit produce that would otherwise generate methane in landfills; we are reducing our use of plastic by switching to toothpaste tablets, shampoo bars, and refillable containers of cleaning fluids; we are sending donations to plant trees when we travel; we are expanding our veggie garden and we compost our food waste; we don’t eat any meat — and there will be more to come. The Pachamama Alliance offers information on 100 ways to combat climate change. You can find it here: https://connect.pachamama.org/ . Let’s all get busy and stop doing business as usual! Real change is possible and it begins with each of us.
I, Sabba Rabba, would add that reducing meat consumption has the benefit of reducing methane gas in the atmosphere and reversing deforestation which clears land for growth of cattle feed. I have read that sixty to eighty percent of farm land world wide goes to raising cattle-feed crops.
I’m curious to hear Sabba Rabba and Leigh’s opinion on the invention of impossible meat and the controversy it has caused in the south by the meat industry. “Many of the country’s 800,000 cattle ranchers have declared war on newcomers Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, which use technology to make products that hew closely to the taste and texture of meat, and now “first-generation” veggie burgers and similar products are caught in the crossfire.
In 2019, officials in nearly 30 states have proposed bills to prohibit companies from using words such as meat, burger, sausage, jerky or hot dog unless the product came from an animal that was born, raised and slaughtered in a traditional way. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming have already enacted such laws. In Missouri, the first state where the ban took effect, violators incur a $1,000 fine and as much as a year in prison.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/25/veggie-burgers-were-living-an-idyllic-little-existence-then-they-got-caught-war-over-future-meat/
This seems like the meat industry is afraid of plant based alternatives because they could possibly replace their livelihood. Is this likely or are they overreacting by threatening with legislation resulting in prison. Could you imagine sitting next to someone in prison and they ask you “why are you here?” and you have to answer ” I had a cheeseburger made of plants.”
Thanks, Josh for your insightful comment. Just like the oil industry is opposed to clean energy projects, it is natural that the meat industry is opposed to artificial meat products. Both employ large lobbying efforts in their opposition which, for the meat industry have forced some relabeling of their products. Since, ultimately, cattle raising significantly increases methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thereby global warming, they are fighting what will become an increasingly losing battle.