The Marxist roots of the envirofundamentalist movement

There are a lot of "useful idiots" in the environmental movement, who have no idea of the roots of the envirofundamentalist ideology. They should read Marxist sosiology professor John Bellamy Foster´s (University of Oregon) "scientific" article published in the Monthly Review, "an independent socialist magazine":  

 It is no secret today that we are facing a planetary environmental emergency, endangering most species on the planet, including our own, and that this impending catastrophe has its roots in the capitalist economic system. Nevertheless, the extreme dangers that capitalism inherently poses to the environment are often inadequately understood, giving rise to the belief that it is possible to create a new “natural capitalism” or “climate capitalism” in which the system is turned from being the enemy of the environment into its savior.1 The chief problem with all such views is that they underestimate the cumulative threat to humanity and the earth arising from the existing relations of production. Indeed, the full enormity of the planetary ecological crisis, I shall contend, can only be understood from a standpoint informed by the Marxian critique of capitalism.

After a verbose "introduction" the professor (who can be reached at jfoster@monthlyreview.org) offers the following conclusion:

The Meaning of Revolution

The ecological critique generated by twentieth-century monopoly capital theory—the bare outlines of which I have sought to present here—only adds additional force to Marx’s classical ecological critique of capitalism. Every day we are destroying more and more public wealth—air, water, land, ecosystems, species—in the pursuit of private riches, which turns consumption into a mere adjunct to accumulation, thereby taking on more distorted and destructive forms.
The metabolic rift in the relation of humanity to the earth that Marx described in the nineteenth century has now evolved into multiple ecological rifts transgressing the boundaries between humanity and the planet. It is not just the scale of production but even more the structure of production that is at fault in today’s version of the capitalist Raubbau. “Such is the dialectic of historical process,” Baran wrote, “that within the framework of monopoly capitalism the most abominable, the most destructive features of the capitalist order become the very foundations of its continuing existence—just as slavery was the conditio sine qua non of its emergence.”40
It is the historic need to combat the absolute destructiveness of the system of capital at this stage—replacing it, as Marx envisioned, with a society of substantive equality and ecological sustainability—which, I am convinced, constitutes the essential meaning of revolution in our time.

Read the entire article here

Here it is: Combating "the absolute destructiviness" of the western market economy and free enterprise is "the essential meaning" of the Marxist revolution "in or time". The present system should be replaced with "a society of substantive equality and ecological sustainibility". Sounds familiar, doesn´t it?

Flashback May 2011:

 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need for fundamental changes in humanity’s resource consumption patterns and values, saying the planet’s natural environment is under unprecedented pressure with far-reaching social and economic consequences
"Our excessive use and consumption and production patterns are no longer sustainable".

Flashback November 2009

Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warned that western society must undergo a radical value shift if the worst effects of climate change were to be avoided. A new value system of "sustainable consumption" was now urgently required, he said.

"Today we have reached the point where consumption and people's desire to consume has grown out of proportion," said Pachauri. "The reality is that our lifestyles are unsustainable."

PS

Neither Bellamy, nor Ban Ki-moon or R.K. Pachauri mention that there already are countries where "a new value system" has replaced the old one - North Korea and Kuba. One kind of wonders why they choose not to bring up these beacons of hope for humanity as models for us to follow?

Is Pope Benedict a closet climate sceptic, after all?

Britain´s new ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker, last week presented his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI. In his address to the Pope, ambassador Baker "highlighted areas of shared common values, in particular efforts to combat climate change, the elaboration of an international arms trade treaty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals".

It is interesting to note that Pope Benedict, in his carefully prepared address to the ambassador, did not say a word about climate change, which was a priority item in the new ambassador´s speech. Maybe the Pope is not that convinced about human induced climate change, after all?

Read the Pope´s entire speech here

The EU travelling circus heading for the Big Apple

The world is waiting for EU President van Rompuy´s words of wisdom in this hall

The EU travelling circus is all set to go for its annual appearance at the United Nations General Assembly "ministerial" week in New York. This year´s show promises to be the biggest ever in the Big Apple. The official EU press release explains why:

"This will be the first General Debate since the adoption of the historic resolution 65/276 in May, under which the EU statement in the General Debate will be delivered for the first time by the President of the European Council."

President Herman van Rompuy himself gave this statement before boarding the EU private jet to New York:

"It is a great honour for me to be the first EU representative to address the gathering of world leaders at the UN. I am keen to promote at the UN General Assembly the EU's position on climate change, sustainable development, the Arab Spring and the Middle East peace process and global interdependence."

The world is now eagerly waiting for the poet president´s words of wisdom (and maybe a new UN haiku?). And, no doubt, the champagne bottles at the EU delegation in New York are already in the fridge waiting for the celebration on the great day.

The official press release gives us an idea of the other eurocrats joining van Rompuy in New York, although it does not mention the tens, if not hundreds of other, minor EU representatives in attendance:

In addition to President Van Rompuy’s presence during the so-called ministerial week, the EU will be represented by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, High-Representative/Vice-President Ashton, as well as by Commissioners Piebalgs, Dalli, Georgieva and Hedegaard.

All these people, staying in five star hotels, will attend hundreds of official and inofficial meetings, lunches, dinners and cocktail parties, most of which - like the ones listed below -are totally meaningless, and a waste of taxpayers´ money:

• the Leaders’ Dialogue on Climate Change, sponsored by President Zuma of South Africa and President Calderón of Mexico, where Heads of State and Government will discuss the preparation for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Durban in November this year
• the Executive Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative, where President Barroso will present the EU's leading work on resource efficiency and the green economy in the framework of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
• a series of high-level meetings in connection with the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Many of the meetings will help to prepare the UN Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa, at the end of the year
• a meeting of the High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability, which has been mandated to formulate a global blueprint for sustainable growth and low-carbon prosperity ahead of the 'Rio +20' UN Conference on Sustainable Development
• a meeting of the Troika of Women Leaders on Gender and Climate Change, hosted by former Irish President Mary Robinson
• a panel discussion on climate change at the Louise Blouin Creative Leadership Summit

PS

Shouldn´t Greenpeace and other climate change fundamenalists be worried about the huge carbon footprint of all these bureaucrats jetting to New York?

Leaked cables: Polish foreign minister Sikorski worried about German-Russian axis

Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski has without doubt worked for strengthening relations with both Russia and Germany lately. However, leaked diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks indicate that  German-Russian cooperation also worries him:

Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski in a private conversation with US diplomats in 2008 said that Germany protects Russian interests in Nato in return for access to the Russian market.

"Asked what the US strategy should be towards Germany and Russia, Sikorski responded that Germany appears to have a deal with Russia. 'They'll play with Russia and in return German companies will get hundreds of billions of euros of business there, a pretty good deal'."
Sikorski made the comment after Germany opposed giving Georgia and Ukraine a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at a Nato summit in Bucharest.

The Nato decision came shortly before the Russia-Georgia war in the summer of 2008. Several commentators later said a positive MAP decision would have prevented the conflict, which has ended up with Russian occupying two Georgian provinces.
Germany at the time was ruled by a coalition of the centre-right CDU and centre-left SPD parties. The then SPD foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was openly pro-Russian and is a close associate of former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who now works for the German-Russian gas pipeline firm, Nord Stream.

Read the entire article here

Steinmeier is no longer German foreign minister, but not so much seems to have changed. Germany in March sided with Russia when the UN Security Council voted to give NATO a mandate for Libya air strikes. Former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who now is on Russian Gazprom/Nord Stream´s payroll, is still an influential figure promoting Russian interests. There is a clear danger that envirofundamentalist groups, supported by German and Russian business interests, will succeed in preventing Poland from utilizing its enormous shale gas potential.

New study: Shale gas "likely to have a significant impact on current European gas supply dependency on Russia"

A fresh report by a Polish think tank confirms what this blog has been saying already for months (see here, here and here): The shale gas revolution will be a gamechanger in Europe putting a stop to Putin´s ability to blackmail countries dependent on gas imports from Russia:

The EU gas market could undergo significant changes over the next 10 years due to an "unconventional gas revolution", according to a report Friday by Polish think tank The Kosciuszko Institute.

The report, compiled by 20 academics and scientists for the Krakow-based agency, said the development of the unconventional gas sector in Europe, chiefly shale gas, could lead to increased energy security, lower gas prices and reduced CO2 emissions.

Even if European shale gas exploration and production costs are 50% higher than in the US, gas prices may still be lower than Russian gas, which currently accounts for a quarter of the EU's supplies, the report said.

"Unconventional gas is likely to have a significant impact on current European gas supply dependency on Russia. Once the European unconventional gas industry has developed to scale and has properly got its costs under control, it will be very competitive against both Russian gas, hauled all the way from Siberia, and LNG," Professor Alan Riley from City University in London said in the report.

Marcin Tarnawski from Krakow's Jagiellonian University said that large-scale industrial exploitation of unconventional gas in the US, Europe and Asia could seriously upset the balance of power between existing gas exporters and importers.
"It may lead to a situation where new investments in the trans-European pipelines, such as Nord Stream and South Stream, will not prove to be economically viable," he said.

The report estimates that Poland, with resources estimated as high as 5.3 trillion cubic meters and considered one of Europe's most promising shale gas plays, may deliver up to 100 billion cu m/year of production in 10-15 years, although a more probable scenario is 20-30 billion cu m/year.

But that would more than cover the country's current annual consumption of 14 billion cu m and transform Poland from a country which relies on Russian supplies for two thirds of its consumption to a gas exporter.

Mariusz Ruszel, The Kosciuszko Institute's energy expert, said Poland could begin to export gas to neighboring countries such as Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania, and even further afield


Read the entire article here

Addio Roma - Benvenuto Bruxelles!

                             Addio Roma - Benvenuto Bruxelles!

Italy has this year celebrated its 150 years of unification in grand style. Even EU poet "president" Herman van Rompuy joined in the celebrations by writing this haiku:

From the multitudes to unity
After a century-long journey
Together forever

But now it appears that Berlusconi´s foreign minister, former EU comissioner Franco Frattini, thinks that the country´s sovereignty and unity after all is not that important:

In a rare federalist outing, Frattini, a former European commissioner, may have given an indication of how serious the eurozone debt crisis is perceived in Rome.

"Different countries have different views on European federalism, but Italy is ready to give up all the sovereignty necessary to create a genuine European central government," Frattini told the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday (14 September).

Read the entire article here

The EU travelling circus "among wild animals"

                        "Friends hold a summit among wild animals".

In June the Bureau of Investigative Journalism disclosed the lavish lifestyle of the top European Union executives:

Commissioners travelled in limousines, stayed in five star hotels and splashed out on lavish gifts including Tiffany jewellery as their member states faced savage budget cuts and rising EU taxes.

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism into spending by the EU executive has shown that more than €7.5m (£6.6m) was spent on private jet travel for commissioners between 2006 and 2010.

Read the entire article here

In spite of the criticism after the disclosure and the growing financial crisis, there are no signs that the EU top executives are intent on changing anything in their way of doing things. On the contrary.

Last week Commission President José Manuel Barroso embarked on a global trek that took him (and a number of his colleagues) to such exotic places as Australia, New Zealand (where the Rugby World Cup opened) and Singapore.

Yesterday Barroso´s private jet took him to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, where according to Africa Intelligence "Friends hold a summit among wild animals". The haiku poet and EU "president" Herman van Rompuy was also spotted in the famous wilderness park, which boasts "the most diverse game viewing experience in Africa". The exotic environment clearly seems to have inspired the poet, who in his official press release was deeply grateful to the host:

"I would first like to warmly thank President Zuma for hosting our annual Summit in such
an enjoyable setting in the Kruger National Park".

Barroso - and probably also van Rompuy - can look forward to another exciting visit to South Africa soon again. The size of the EU delegation at the UN mega climate jamboree COP 17/MOP 7 in Durban is not yet known, but one thing is certain:  The EU fleet of high carbon foot print private jets will not suffice for the transportation needs.

PS
The South African safari of the EU top brass was a well executed display of imperial style (after all, the EU is an empire according to Barroso). Neither did the high imperial envoys forget the old tradition of bringing gifts to the natives: They launched a Primary Health Care Programme, worth € 126 million and promised more gifts for other purposes.

But van Rompuy and Barroso must have noticed the cracks in the imperial splendour. Next week South Africa´s finance minister will discuss aid to the European Union together with his BRICS colleagues:

The emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will discuss possible aid to the European Union amid its debt crisis, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega says.
Mr Mantega and his counterparts will be in the US capital next week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The story has a familiar ring to it: Barroso could be right about the empire - although it is of the type that is described in this fairy tale by the famous Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.