The Secret is Now Out: We've Got A Job To Do

It has now become clear what the problem is and it's solution.

For some of our longtime regular readers, you know that Neil Young's album Greendale was responsible for awakening this blog from it's post-9/11 dormancy. In fact, Greendale hit us like a sledgehammer to the anvil of truth.

Echoing themes that we have long held dearly since discovering the true meaning of "After the Goldrush"'s lyrics, Greendale crystallized Young's career into a single spell-binding album. But, the inconvenient truth of Greendale is that it was "the most important album of 2003 -- the musical equivalent of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring".

Greendale called out such obvious problems as "corruption on the highest floor" (Enron scandal), "Hey Mr Clean, you're dirty now too" (environmental movement's cave-in to corporate sponsorship), "Trying to stop the media" (mainstream media manipulation), "Powerco is workin' with the white house to paralyze our state with fear" (California's manufactured blackouts), "Corporate greed and chemicals are killin' the land" (mindless raping and pillaging of the earth's resources), and so on.

It was the message of hope in "Be The Rain's" line "you can make a difference if you really try" which precipitated the resuscitation of Thrasher's Wheat. And then came Living With War and the "Restless Consumer"'s screed against mindless consumption and a "piece of crap" culture.

And soon we'll have "Fork In the Road" -- an album based on trying to solve a problem.

Which brings us to why we're covering the LincVolt story so closely.

And just in case anyone wonders where this is all going, one only needs to take a look at yesterday's New York Times Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman "The Inflection Is Near?" to understand why if one hasn't already figured this all out.

There it is. In black and white. In the New York Times. On a Sunday. On the Op-Ed page. Rip in the matrix style.

"The global economy is a Ponzi scheme".

There you have it. The secret is out now. You can read the full details on this startling obvious conclusion on the blog Climate Progress by Joseph Romm, another of our favorite bloggers.

“We created a way of raising standards of living that we can’t possibly pass on to our children. We have been getting rich by depleting all our natural stocks — water, hydrocarbons, forests, rivers, fish and arable land — and not by generating renewable flows.

You can get this burst of wealth that we have created from this rapacious behavior. But it has to collapse, unless adults stand up and say, ‘This is a Ponzi scheme. We have not generated real wealth, and we are destroying a livable climate …’ Real wealth is something you can pass on in a way that others can enjoy.”

From report, "The Economic Elite vs. People of the USA by David DeGraw:

"It has now become evident to a critical mass that the Republican and Democratic parties, along with all three branches of our government, have been bought off by a well-organized Economic Elite who are tactically destroying our way of life.

The harsh truth is that 99% of the US population no longer has political representation. The US economy, government and tax system is now blatantly rigged against us.

Current statistical societal indicators clearly demonstrate that a strategic attack has been launched and an analysis of current governmental policies prove that conditions for 99% of Americans will continue to deteriorate. The Economic Elite have engineered a financial coup and have brought war to our doorstep. . . and make no mistake, they have launched a war to eliminate the US middle class.

So what to do? Well, obviously, it has to be more than singing a song or writing a blog.



At the 2008 Berlin Film Festival, Neil Young's comments provoked a world wide reaction to which he responded:

"Somewhere on Earth a scientist is alone working. No one knows what he or she is thinking. The secret is just within reach. If I knew that answer I would be singing the song.

This is the age of innovation. Hope matters. But not hope alone. In the age of innovation, the people's fuel must be found. That is the biggest challenge. Who is up to the challenge? Who is searching today? All day. All night. Every hour that goes by. I know I am."

LincVolt is only a single candle. We need more candles before its too late.

From We Stand on the Cusp of one of Humanity's Most Dangerous Moments by Chris Hedges:

"Aleksandr Herzen, speaking a century ago to a group of anarchists about how to overthrow the czar, reminded his listeners that it was not their job to save a dying system but to replace it: “We think we are the doctors. We are the disease.” All resistance must recognize that the body politic and global capitalism are dead. We should stop wasting energy trying to reform or appeal to it."

Neil Young has been performing "Mother Earth" at each of his concerts over the past year or so.

Why?

Mother Earth by Neil Young

Oh, Mother Earth,
With your fields of green
Once more laid down
by the hungry hand
How long can you
give and not receive
And feed this world
ruled by greed
And feed this world
ruled by greed.

Oh, ball of fire
In the summer sky
Your healing light,
your parade of days
Are they betrayed
by the men of power
Who hold this world
in their changing hands
They hold the world
in their changing hands.

Oh, freedom land
Can you let this go
Down to the streets
where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days
Or trade away
our children's days.

Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days.

We see the phrase Bright Green: The New Environmental Spectrum emerging:

In its simplest form, bright green environmentalism is a belief that sustainable innovation is the best path to lasting prosperity, and that any vision of sustainability which does not offer prosperity and well-being will not succeed. In short, it's the belief that for the future to be green, it must also be bright. Bright green environmentalism is a call to use innovation, design, urban revitalization and entrepreneurial zeal to transform the systems that support our lives.

So, if you never really figured out what 2003's Greendale was all about -- or if you missed the stageplay concert -- then take a few moments and watch this video of "Be The Rain".



Be the Rain. Be the Change. Be the Wheat.

“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

-- Ancient Indian Proverb.

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"Be the change you want to see in the world and the world will change." -Gandhi

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A major link back from Climate Progress » Blog Archive » Neil Young sings of the Ponzi scheme: “There’s a bailout coming, but it’s not for you” and “Keep on blogging". The Climate Progress blog is a major player in the GW debate and it's an honor to be linked. Thanks Joe!

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Are Sun Green and Earth Brown eco-socialists?. Discuss.

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