This week’s reading was about how capitalism and climate change are intertwined. Chapter 64 explained how Greenpeace is organized and how they determine who is in charge of the campaigns they run. They preach about non violent protests and bearing witness to climate atrocities. Some of the protests they’ve run are pretty ballsy, and the people involved put themselves directly into the metaphorical (and literal) line of fire. I’ve seen a lot of headlines about “crazy climate change protesters,” but are they really that crazy if it works?
The Barbados Rebellion article was a super interesting read for me. How climate change affects the politics of countries is another one of those things that I knew about but didn’t realize how much deeper the issue goes. I was frustrated to read that many investors didn’t want to sign a contract with a hurricane clause, even though it benefited both parties involved. It felt like the equivalent of someone telling me, “well that’s just the way things are done,” and my response to that is always, “why can’t we change the way things are done?” I admire Motley’s determination to make her country better, and her commitment to finding the best way possible to do it, even if it requires waiting and waiting until someone finally accepts a hurricane clause. I was disappointed to read that she later regretted making a deal with the IMF. Although, her leadership in Barbados affected all the other countries in the Caribbean, and that’s an important part to remember.
The article about graphite mining in China was disappointing, but not surprising. While reading specifically about the graphite industry was new information for me, the story closely mimics others I’ve heard before. Lax environmental protocols leading to extreme crisis for those who live near industrial plants. You’d think after hearing the same story over and over again that big companies and governments would learn. When will we stop putting profits over people?
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