{"id":9490,"date":"2019-11-18T22:02:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T22:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/?p=9490"},"modified":"2019-11-18T22:02:57","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T22:02:57","slug":"creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally-foreign-policy-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/2019\/11\/18\/creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally-foreign-policy-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCreating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally\u201d  Foreign Policy in Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Foreign Policy in Focus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fpif.org\/creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally\/\">\u201cCreating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities\nGlobally\u201d<\/a> <\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">November 18, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Emanuel Pastreich<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"jgUVXugMck\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fpif.org\/creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally\/\">Creating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Creating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally&#8221; &#8212; Foreign Policy In Focus\" src=\"https:\/\/fpif.org\/creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally\/embed\/#?secret=AmyvDZ5GN1#?secret=jgUVXugMck\" data-secret=\"jgUVXugMck\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now\nthat the movement to address climate change at the systemic and cultural level\nhas gained unprecedented momentum, it is critical for us to establish a viable\nalternative economy that committed citizens around the world can join. The\nbasic unit of that economy should be fossil-fuel-free (FFF) communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In these FFF\n(fossil-fuel-free) communities, to be built from the ground up, nothing eaten\nor consumed, no form of transformation or communication employed, and no aspect\nof housing, furniture or utensils will contain fossil fuels (including plastics\nor fertilizers). Nor will any of these items be produced, transported, or\nmanufactured using fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such FFF\ncommunities can serve as uncompromised building blocks of a truly carbon-zero\neconomy, polity, and culture. Although small at first, such communities will\nnot be dependent for food, energy, or finance on corporations or banks tied to\nfossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creating such\ncommunities will require considerable bravery and sacrifice, and the number of\npeople willing to commit will be limited at first. But recent demonstrations\naround the world suggest that a critical mass is in place. It will not be long\nbefore small-scale FFF communities can become powerful economic and political\nplayers that can take on investment banks and oil companies and demand an\nimmediate end to all use of fossil fuels in the place of a vague and open-ended\nplan to phase out fossil fuels in a manner that does not affect profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such FFF\ncommunities make for their small size with their complete independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Growing Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The core of FFF\neconomics will be organic farms that produce 100 percent organic food and\ntransport it without the use of fossil fuels to its citizens. At the beginning,\ncitizens of these communities will encounter a significant drop in the\ndiversity of their diet because the food will be grown at home, or in the\nneighborhood, or it will be brought in from local farms without the use of\nfossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Food will be sold\n(or exchanged through barter) in communal markets that encourage collaboration\nbetween farmer and citizen, rather than a transaction between a corporation and\na consumer. Such markets will serve as the foundation for new patterns of\neconomic exchange that are entirely detached from fossil fuels. We do not have\nsuch communities these days, but they were the dominant paradigm for hundreds\nof thousands of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Partial models for\nself-supporting fossil-fuel-free economies exist today among the Amish\n(currently the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citylab.com\/equity\/2012\/08\/exploding-amish-population-bubble\/2795\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fastest-growing<\/a>&nbsp;farming communities in\nthe United States). Although the media often portray communities who engage in\norganic agriculture without the use of machinery as odd, they alone have\nembraced a sustainable economy while the rest of the United States embraced an\nunsustainable system of industrialized agricultural production tied to global\ntrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such food\nproduction will give young people paying jobs in agriculture and distribution\nthat will be morally dignified\u2014and without the deep alienation created by most\nmodern work. To produce and deliver food in a manner that does not contribute\nto the destruction of our Earth is a noble act that can inspire many to join\nthe effort. The use of carbon-free transportation, even if profoundly limiting\nat first, will eventually be seen as acts of moral bravery not merely\nunpleasant inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Making Things<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another critical\npart of the FFF community will be manufacturing. Production must not involve\nfossil fuels or plastic in the manufacture, the transportation, or the disposal\nof products. Moreover, manufacturing for the FFF community must start out 100%\nlocal, at least until 100% FFF transportation systems are in place to link communities\nin the region and across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local manufacture\nwithout the use of fossil fuels will require producing items that will last:\ndesks and chairs, bookshelves and chopping boards, shirts and sweaters, cups\nand pots that can be used for 20 to 50 years, or longer. That shift means both\nan end to a commercial, consumption-driven culture and a focus on well-made\nproducts. Such manufacture will also guarantee long-term jobs for the next\ngeneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The greater\nchallenge is how to make integrated circuits and supercomputers without\nemploying fossil fuels. A massive effort will be required to find new\ntechnologies that deliver the advanced technologies without falling back on\npetroleum or coal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New mechanisms of\nfinance will also be necessary to support this transition. A sturdy sweater\nthat can last for 30 years might cost $400. The current economic system\nproduces cheaper products that don\u2019t last as long and are produced in a manner\nthat destroys the environment. By contrast, if financing were readily available\non a small scale, that sweater could be paid off over 10 years and the real\ncost would be less than a less durable version. Similarly, solar panels\nfinanced at zero interest over 30 years are cheaper than using natural gas or\ncoal immediately, even for those with no assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The establishment\nof an FFF currency can be immensely helpful in this process. This currency\nwould represent the contribution of the individual to society and would be\nbacked by agricultural products and other manufactured goods that are produced\nin the community. As the use of this currency expands across the local economy,\nand eventually extends to the global economy, it can help support a parallel\nfinancial system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, global\ntrade contributes a great deal to climate change. Shipping goods across the\nEarth in the search of financial advantage does tremendous damage to the\nenvironment through carbon emissions and the destruction of forests and jungles\nto produce factories and factory farms. Displacing the ecological costs of cheap\nproduction to India or China allows people the world over to enjoy cheap\nproducts whose sticker prices do not reflect their true cost. FFF communities,\nwhether in Nebraska or New Delhi, offer a meaningful alternative to this\ndestructive cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Changing Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the deepest\nlevel, the response to climate change must start with a revolution in people\u2019s\nattitudes and perspectives, not with innovations in technology and governance.\nThe FFF community can be a space where such a cultural transformation can take\nplace without being interrupted by commercials promoting automobiles or the\nthoughtless consumption of food. The cult of the self and glorification of\nimmediate gratification promoted in a commercialized economy must be replaced\nby a culture based on moral philosophy, frugality, humility, and the simple\nvirtue of participation in society. These communities, because of this\nintellectual and moral independence, can create a culture that offers the\nearth\u2019s citizens a true alternative to the dominant commercial culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such FFF\ncommunities can start to undermine the false assumptions promoted by the\nideology of modernity which holds that human condition is improved by excessive\nconsumption, a vast increase in possessions, urbanization, and transportation\nvia private automobiles and airplanes. Without challenging this larger\nideological framework, a fundamental social shift cannot take place. Without\nsuch a transformation, \u201cgoing green\u201d will be limited to cosmetic changes within\nan economy built on fossil fuels (green lipstick on a filthy pig).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FFF communities\ncan introduce a new set of values such that citizens feel that the tasks\nrequired to create a society without fossil fuels have greater value than\nactivities destructive to the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FFF community\ncan also help dethrone the misleading concepts of real estate and private\nproperty. For example, a pledge by those joining the FFF community to end their\nties to fossil fuels could be central to membership. This action parallels the\nvillage contract that was so central to agricultural communities in Europe,\nAsia, the Americas, and elsewhere up until the establishment of enclosure acts\nthat ended the commons and the promulgation of the concept of real estate. The\nmodern village contract should spell out in a binding, rather than symbolic,\nmanner the responsibilities that each individual has to contribute to the\nproduction of food, tools, furniture, transportation, and governance as well as\nthe commitment of the community to provide for the members of the community for\na lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Membership in the\nfossil-fuel-free community must be open to everyone, not just those with the\nassets the education or the cultural sensitivities necessary to act green. It\u2019s\na dangerous delusion to think that the upper middle class can create a green\neconomy by driving Teslas and installing overpriced solar panels. Everyone\nshould have access to information about the climate crisis, and be qualified\nfor membership in a FFF community. The climate crisis disproportionately\naffects the poor and the working classes. Their participation in FFF\ncommunities, accompanied by access to quality education and other\nopportunities, will be essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first glance,\nit seems mysterious that those who risk everything in demonstrations about\nclimate change return home by automobile to eat food produced and cooked with\nfossil fuels. For all their spiritual commitment, they have not been able to\nbreak out of the carbon cycle. But there is no mystery. Breaking away from\nfossil fuels is not a matter of progressive policies, but of revolutionary\npolitics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign Policy in Focus \u201cCreating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally\u201d November 18, 2019 Emanuel Pastreich Now that the movement to address climate change at the systemic and cultural level has gained unprecedented momentum, it is critical for us to establish a viable alternative economy that committed citizens around the world can join. The basic unit of that &#8230; <a title=\"\u201cCreating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally\u201d  Foreign Policy in Focus\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/2019\/11\/18\/creating-fossil-fuel-free-communities-globally-foreign-policy-in-focus\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about \u201cCreating Fossil-Fuel-Free Communities Globally\u201d  Foreign Policy in Focus\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9296425,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[651,184],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9296425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}