We need a Lorax

"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees..."What we need is a Lorax. The Copenhagen summit is a wonderful dream- an international coalition of governments and leaders brought together by the United Nations to foster a meaningful and long-term commitment from the nations of the Earth to solve the climate change crisis and avoid the worst results of climate change. The scientists tell us that we have time to make a big difference, but not much time, right?

We need a Lorax. I don’t mean someone like Al Gore publishing his books and giving his talks- he’s great and necessary and has inspired many people to join the movement. But he, like all of the other politicians, are talking ABOUT the climate change crisis, not from within it. Not speaking FOR it, AS it. The closest things I have seen so far is President Nasheed from the Maldives. Sure, he is doing things for publicity and doing a pretty good job of getting it, but his message is insistent and rings true because, well, because the islands he is president of are in danger of going underwater. If you hadn’t heard, the Maldives are a collection of close to 2,000 atolls off the coast of India- most of them are less than 1 meter above sea level and are in danger of being covered up or having their wells flooded by rising sea levels over the rest of the century.

We need that Lorax- Nasheed and the Maldives speak from the heart and they speak from the moment. I love 350.org, but it comes from a guy in the northeast, who is a resident scholar at a nice university. It doesn’t change the message’s truth, but they need a messenger with a story to tell. Right now, 350 and other organizations are telling the story from the perspective that everyone exists as a citizen of and a part of the Earth- the problem is, people don’t think about it that way. People believe that there is a here and a there on the Earth, that things can be put away, go away, and stay away.

We need a Lorax. Do you know the Lorax? The Dr. Seuss character who called out for justice in the parable about economic over-consumption?

Here’s a brief excerpt from the story. The Lorax speaks to the narrator, who is beginning to cut down the trees to make what he calls “Thneeds,” a widget he thinks everyone needs.

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, forthe trees have no tongues."

"Look Lorax," I said, "there's no cause for alarm. I chopped just onetree, I am doing no harm."

And he wasn’t. One tree? No big deal. But by the end of the story he has cut them all down. It’s a bit like America. There is no forest left to be cut down quickly- we’re just out of a lot of resources. And when I say we need a Lorax, I don’t mean we need someone reminding us of that (like I’m doing right now), I’m saying we need someone to speak for the destroyed areas- perhaps an Atmosphere Lorax? A Waterbound Lorax?

Photo Credit under CCL: sun dazed