Desmond Tutu Speaks Out For Climate Change

The situation with climate change is getting rather desperate. As shown last Thursday, Harrison Ford and Don Cheadle are also very concerned about climate change. See What Do Harrison Ford And Don Cheadle Know That We Should.

Now Desmond Tutu speaks out for climate change. He thinks we need an anti-apartheid style of boycott of the fossil fuel industry. He is recommending some interesting changes in our lifestyle to help curtail global warming. Some of these recommendations have already been in other articles on Meditation Practices. With each of Desmond Tutu’s recommendations, you’ll find a reference to one of the articles.

Here is what he says about the Keystone XL pipeline:

This is why, no matter where you live, it is appalling that the US is debating whether to approve a massive pipeline transporting 830,000 barrels of the world’s dirtiest oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Producing and transporting this quantity of oil, via the Keystone XL pipeline, could increase Canada’s carbon emissions by over 30%.

If the negative impacts of the pipeline would affect only Canada and the US, we could say good luck to them. But it will affect the whole world, our shared world, the only world we have. We don’t have much time. [See also Are We Eating Our Children? and Read More…]

This quote shows how unaware the money-hungry politicians and fossil fuel giants are about how something done in the United States and Canada can affect climate change, the carbon emissions, and the whole world. When will they wake up and learn a little bit about interdependence?

Desmond Tutu also calls for divesting in fossil fuel companies, as we already saw in Three Numbers You Should Know About Global Warming and Is Global Warming Real? I have taken this step by dumping the stock I had in BP and donating to organizations like World Wildlife Fund to cover the fossil fuel investments in mutual funds that I hold but don’t necessarily follow their day-to-day activity.

Another suggestion Desmond Tutu makes is to try to have a no car day. This has been going on in Plum Village for years now and many people are adopting it. See Letter from Thầy From The Blue Cliff Monastery. October 12, 2007.

One of his other suggestions I find totally comforting. It falls right into the practice of mindful consumption, the Fifth Mindfulness Training. He tells us to turn off our televisions and disconnect our cables so that the myriad of fossil fuel commercials don’t enter our consciousness. I have avoided commercial television now for about ten years and will continue to walk out of the room when commercials are on if my wife is watching something she wants me to see.

There are other things we can do. For example, we can boycott events sponsored by fossil fuel companies and support those energy companies investing in sustainable energy products.

What action will you take to help curtail global warming? Will divest from fossil fuel companies? Will you boycott their sports teams? Will you turn off their commercial? What will you do? Please be specific.