Dave gave this speech at the United Nations for Earth Day Equinox and then again to a gathering of environmental groups in Gloucester, MA. Now, we are focusing on preparations for the Presidential Forum and Eco-Emergency Alert, the app that puts the facts in your hands on petroleum disasters and pollution of all kinds. Find it at Google Play. And yes, we are working on an iPhone version.
The War on Science, People
and the Earth
The Earth Society has struggled for
nearly a half century to persuade Americans climate change is real.
Now, the issues of pollution, oil disasters, and the rising levels
of disease and early deaths is becoming impossible to ignore. The
cost in human suffering and the impact on our air, water and land
cannot even be calculated. But in flashes on the news we see it.
In the Central Valley of California
1,000 children die each year of asthma caused almost entirely by
petroleum poisoning. Need I mention the children of Flint? No, I
don't. Because you are here today because you realize the gravity of
the problems we face.
Despite this, I am here to bring you
hope, because today Americans are realizing what is happening and are
desperate enough to take action.
In this season for campaigns more and
more Americans are realizing there are only two political parties.
Corporations and The People.
Today, we are seeing the future the
corporations created for us. America's college graduates are the
least technically trained in our history. A technically aware
electorate would be too dangerous to the power of corporations so
determining what our children learn and understand became another
item on their agenda – along with accountability for how they 'do
business.'
Did Exxon know their practices were
causing global warming? Yes, they did – and because they knew I
can tell you for a fact so did every other major oil company. These
are the kind of facts they share within the confines of their
industry. I know. Once, I was one of them.
Don't mistake what I am saying. These
are the facts. Transnational corporations through their denials of
accountability have systematically conducted an undeclared war on
science and Common Sense which has led to catastrophic consequences
for people, communities and the Earth. Yet those who brought us to
this space in time have never been more vulnerable.
With collapsing fuel prices, the fossil
fuel industries are now in serious decline. Drilling rigs in the US
this week are at their lowest levels since the early 1800’s. The
1800s!!!!
Meanwhile, exploding oil tank cars in
N. Dakota, oil spills in Michigan and Arkansas, gas leaks in
California and earthquakes in Oklahoma are being recognized as
man-made disasters caused by the use of obsolete and dangerous
equipment. Could you believe Plains All American Pipeline, with
Exxon one of the instigators of the Refugio Spill less than a year
ago now intends to open up for use a pipe which is nearly a century
old? That pipeline is under the clean water of the Detroit River.
It's true – and it is not 'if' a blow
out will happen to this ancient pipe. It is only – when. And
this pipeline is not that much older than many others still in use
today. The so-called “accidents” of oil disasters take place
because of abominably poor maintenance and unreasonable cost-cutting
even when prices were high and bonuses and profits were setting new
records.
This is just the beginning. Using
ancient pipes, even when they are known to leak, is an industry
practice which will increase.
These corporations show little regard
for human health and safety. Citizens are denied legal recourse
because they trust the government owned by the corporations. When, as
we have, you see people suffer both the health impact of petroleum
poisoning and the shock of understanding why there will be no justice
- it hurts every single one of us.
This must be stopped before our
metropolitan areas are turned into sacrifice zones as monuments to
greed and carelessness. In the near future, as profits drop even
lower, expect fewer oil companies and a safety margin so thin you
can see through it.
We must face the fact the corporations
control the regulatory infrastructure intended to enforce good
practices and minimize risk to people and our environment. There is
not one cause, but many. Oil industry lobbyists demand fewer
regulations. They strangle government oversight agencies by reducing
funding. Lobbyists cycle in and out of these agencies, paid to put
us at further risk.
These are the facts. Now, for the hope
which is our exit from this long nightmare. Despite all of this we
have the power for change in our hands.
Every community must learn about its
own vulnerabilities and prepare to protect themselves.
The first step is knowing the facts,
and every American can have them.
With this goal in mind, we developed
the Eco-Emergency Alert App for Android phones which tracks the
entire Energy Infrastructure in the US and pinpoints sources of toxic
pollution and spills in near real-time in every neighborhood.
Using the app you can see the cancer
clusters and much more integrated with a human health and historical
database of emissions as well as alternative energy sources of solar,
wind, geothermal and hydro power.
This is a tool, the starting point.
But the real action must come out of our communities. We are calling
for every community in the United States to begin training for the
disasters which will, inevitably, continue to increase.
Coming together to help each other will
change communities, and each of us. This will bring us together in
ways living generations have forgotten. Have you ever wondered what
made America Great? It was this, standing up for each other when the
bad times come. We must love one another.
If we act nowmCommunity Teams will be
ready to help victims gauge their danger, help them relocate, show
them how to monitor their health and also show victims how to ensure
the company responsible pays real reparations and cleans up the mess
instead of shoving it into a storm drain.
Providing this training to local
groups is our mission. Can we stand up for each other and the Earth?
Yes, we can. Because we possess in our hearts and minds the will
and determination to begin the world over again and this time, get it
right.
