We would have consensus, I think, on the axiom that our wars in the middle east are due to our interest in the energy deposits there—primarily the light sweet petroleum of the Persian Gulf but to a lesser degree the natural gas fields just north of Afghanistan. This was best nailed by Gerard and Audrey in “The Oil Factor” http://theoilfactor.com/. Z Brez wrote about it in “The Grand Chessboard” in a remarkably candid fashion and was quoted by Wolfewitz and Cheney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Chessboard
So if the wars are essentially about the strategic and economic need to secure the oil and energy, the wars are about our use and consumption of oil. The main user of oil in the usa is personal transport, followed by consumer goods transport.
The top consumer of energy in the USA is not cars, though. It is buildings. Choosing a responsible facility for a convention is a big one! Air conditioning and heating need to be looked at. Veterans For Peace have excellent people for this. On the St. Louis vets ride we were housed in an old church and my companion, Roland James, did a complimentary energy audit on the building. Roland is an energy expert who worked in public utilities. Why not have him help with facilities?
So we need to secure future peace through being the change we want in the world and arrange responsible transport for our conventions and responsible consumption and facilities at the conventions…its a matter of peace in our future.
One of the few times you have seen Al Gore, James Hansen, the United Nations Panel on Climate Change and the US Pentagon (already changes are being made
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Cooperative_Strategy_for_21st_Century_Seapower) agree on something is the consensus that global warming and climate chaos will cause future conflicts, global instability and displacement of people. This global warming and its consequent climate change are due to greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. The number one emitter of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not cars or airplanes, although the airplanes are a disproportionate threat as Monbiot points out http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/21/travelsenvironmentalimpact.ethicalliving
The largest emitter of greenhouse gases is the meat, dairy and egg industry. They also consume an incredible amount of energy and water, which may also be a source of future conflict. So our diet at the convention is a special place of interest if we want to be the change we want in the future and our vision is peace.
Lastly, and a bit on a tangent, a trusted and valued friend said he would rather people go to the protest in a car or plane than miss it. I would point out that the people we most revere did not protest as such, they were engaged in real action. Rosa Parks did not protest, she sat down and stayed put…same at the lunch counters. Gandhi did not protest, he made cotton thread and salt…the government protested! Perhaps the action we need to take is to walk, ride a bike, take a bus, take the train or webcast….not the same old paradigm that got us global warming!
I now ask for people who will organize responsible transport for their regions….and ask for my southern california friends to join with me and commit to travel by efficient vehicle to Portland, Maine….since I want the birthday to be a success by being the change we want to see…peace in our future! Here in SoCal, lets get a prius if its three or four of us, get a van or bus if its more….and stop along the way in VFW and American Legion halls and churches (last trip to vfw halls http://www.flickr.com/photos/13174975@N04/ ) to recruit for Veterans for Peace based on our support for a new mission for our military http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Cooperative_Strategy_for_21st_Century_Seapower
All across the usa, vfw and american legion halls are centers of local culture and discussion and as veterans we have a unique access to them. In some of these photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/13174975@N04/ you see local people who actually engaged me in anti war discussion…the woman had a husband on active duty and a father that died in Vietnam.
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