Incremental Green New Deal – A Modest Suggestion

Since so many are so enamored of “Saving The Planet” (though I wonder where or how… Under the bed? In a bank vault? Perhaps in a vat of formaldehyde as in biology class?) I would like to suggest an incremenral approach.

As True Believers are far more motivated than the rest of us, they need to demonstrate to us how to do it.

To that end, some preferred steps to incrementally “do it” while “educating” us come to mind. Please implement these steps one at a time. Once all are done, the path for the rest of us to follow will be clear.

1) ALL Private Jets owned by people or organizations involved in Saving The Planet are to be immediately sold. You ought not be burning fossil fuels anyway. Certainly not for just a couple of folks on a whole plane. Use the money to buy the farm from which your food will come.

2) For conventions and meetings in far off places, travel is to be by sail boat or horse and buggy. No, “carbon offsets” are not good enough. YOU need to show US how to live without “carbon”, remember? IFF a train powered ONLY and 100% by wind and solar, or wood / steam, is available, it can be used. (No, you can’t use grid power from coal, oil, nuclear, or gas and replace it later. That would still damage Gaia…)

2a) Use of wooden sailing ships and wood carriage trains is to be encouraged, and longer term, required, but initially some time will be needed to build them; so that step comes in a few years once you “make the market” for it.

3) All foods, beverages, whatever MUST be grown locally, without pesticide, artificial fertilizers, or water pumped by grid electricity or fossil fuels. All soil preparation done by hand or by animal teams (all of whom must be similarly fed, clothed, transported, and housed). All tools and implements used must be made without fossil fuels or electricity derived materials other than from wind, solar, and things grown on the farm. (I suggest planting some Hickory for tool handles). If unsure how to do this: proceed to book a one month “working internship” at the nearest Amish Farm.

4) Presentation will be done on chalk boards using hand formed natural chalk.

5) Since all electronic equipment is made using massive amounts of fossil fuels, plastics, and machine mining using fossil fuels, a megaphone (old conical style) is to be provided to each speaker. And handouts or recordings needed can be provided by trained scribes or Bards trained in the Druid Tradition for oral recitation of history. Paper or parchment supplied from your farm for your needs (sheep skin works best, btw). No cell phones either. Remember, you ARE saving the planet and setting an example for the rest of us. No sacrifice is too great.

6) Remember that you Must Not Trigger other attendees. To that end, all clothing must be of natural materials grown without fossil fuel use and hand sewn, tanned, or cobbled.

7) lighting can be by your choice of candles, oil lamps, or wind generator arc lamps. Sadly, since battery materials are mined and refined with massive fossil fuel use, they are to be shunned. Similarly solar cells and LED lamps are similarly Resource Offensive, but really, why make a solar powered light anyway? Don’t need it in the daytime and doesn’t work at night. Just hold your meetings in the daytime and it will be easier.

8) Modern venues are monuments of embodied fossil fuels. You just must not use them or it “sends the wrong message”. So meetings and events are to be held in a traditional Circus Tent made of cotton canvas (from your fossile fuel free farms, not the commercial stuff made with oil) and poles from natural trees logged by hand with horse teams. Shipped as needed by the same mode as your travel.

9) Note that since local water is undoubtedly pumped and heated by fossil fuels or nuclear power, plan to bring a natural oak cask of at least 5 gallons per day for your personal needs. And a sponge (not plastic, plant sourced please). Since open fires are likely discouraged (smog and all that, besides, chopping and carrying wood is hard work) plan on a “sponge bath” in cold water like my Mum did during W.W.II in Britain.

When all that is done, I will gladly attend your traveling circus show and applaud.

Lest you wish to complain that this is just not possible or humane, please note:

My Paternal Grandmother was Amish and Grandad ran the traditional smithy for the local Amish community. THEY lived without electricity, cars, airplanes, plastics, power tools, etc. THEY grew their own food, made their own tools, used natural canvas and wrote with chalk on slates in school. They arrived in this country by sailing ship and crossed it by steam train and horse & wagon.

I am not suggesting you do anything they have not already done.

My Father and I hand dug a well for water, grew our own food in the garden (though not all of it, he just wanted to assure I knew how), raised animals for meat, and my Mother made my clothes of cotton fabric on a foot powered “treadle” sewing machine (on which I learned to sew, too). I have made my own candles from about age 8 on, and used them. Same thing for making soap; it isn’t hard to do. I’ve ridden a horse many times and know how to hitch them to a plough or manure spreader (and yes, I’ve ridden on a traditional wooden manure spreader while in action.)

There is not a single thing on that list of steps my family has not lived. If is was good enough for us, surely it is good enough to save the planet.

Please start your transition now. I’m available for consultation. Just send your horse cart by and have “your man” pick me up…

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