Kitchen Conversation No 2

If politicians are leaders not followers and corporations are more powerful than nations, what are our personal responsibilities in an era of climate change?

12 assorted people gathered for the second Kilburn conversation, and this time – there was cake. Oh yes.

To prove there is no gender bias toward big conversation we had 7 men and 5 women. One older person joined us – everyone else late twenties to early forties. A pretty tight age demographic! One parent. One crazy cardigan, no doubt a vintage from 1971.

If politicians are leaders not followers…isn’t this how it has been forever? And what do we want from them anyway? Our message is confused: If they tell us what to do, a la Tony Blair and recent education and anti-terrorism bills – they are divorced from reality and power has gone to their head. If they seek to find out what we want, they are weak and at risk of bowing to the lowest Daily Mail/Sun denominator. Unfortunately, all too often, the populist choice is completely opposite to the direction that is of most benefit in the long term.

If corporations are more powerful than nations: well, since the industrial revolution and before, we could see a history of companies motivated by profit, and from the East India Company to Orange phones, it is companies that invest in countries and bring what people want, in a way that governments can’t. Business is no doubt in charge: in Syriana (go see it!), in a subtle statement, George Clooney doesn’t even mention the politicians as the oil industry is analysed. Don’t overlook benefits: in Nigeria, mass takup of mobile phones is reducing traffic jams (anecdotally - From Our Own Correspondent' BBC Radio 4, 18 March 2006).

Should companies have the rights of citizenship? If we knew our company was directly voting in our elections, would it enhance our sense of responsibility about who we gave our time and energies to? Would we do more to influence them to align with our own values? This issue has been at the root of argument in the US where big companies have tried to argue that they are constitutionally entitled as a corporate entity to human rights and free speech. Corporations are fed by us and our consumer choices, and by our labour. Do we have any choice but to work for companies that are caring too little for our planet, when there is so much economic pressure and the cost of living and expectations for our standard of living are so high? Perhaps we can support each other in living lower-cost lifestyles so we can afford to work less and be more active citizens.

Responsibilities in an era of climate change:
To teach ourselves to use video conferencing technology - just like we expect ourselves to be able to perform basic typing and thus reduce the need to fly around the world for business meetings.
To think of future generations. Are we all climate criminals who will be around to witness our crimes on society in our twilight years and who can expect the impacted generation to try us and condemn us for our earlier oil-guzzling lives? Is a woman dropping her child at school in a 4x4 a selfish thief of today’s children's future or …a suffering person who deserves our love, who feels so insecure about herself that she will cut herself off from any connection to the world and her impact to enable her to indulge in the status symbol of the day?
To find lives that can sustain us – an eco-friendly life in which we are miserable serves no-one.
To beware of taking comfort in the world surviving without humans: our presence maybe ecologically essential.
To refuse the madness that is consumer trends that lead us into black holes of continuous costs and resource depletion, instead processing resources through us and keeping them available for healthy use.
To believe in the possibility of a red-green parliament that serves people and planet.
To believe in the possibility of a world where we have woken up and look after each other and our planet.
To recognise our mutual passion and inspiration and realise we can do anything! Climate change CAN be a conversation of the past.