After the Greenrush

So now that the environment has become all the rage, there have been and will continue to be a lot of half-baked, wrong-headed measures taken to address issues of global warming, carbon emissions, and energy efficiency. Industry is going to weigh in heavy with their ideas that will look progressive yet still maximize their profits. Everyone is going to be selling their solution to the government, who will be listening to whoever is paying the most.

Perfect example – ethanol. Brilliant idea – let’s make fuel out of food! Fuck reducing the amount of fuel we use, lets just make it out of all this corn we don’t really need. The fact that making ethanol might consume as much energy as it produces, or that it creates tons of pollution is an afterthought.

Example 2 – daylight savings gets pushed forward three weeks saving energy because people won’’t need to turn on their lights for an hour in the evenings…except they had to turn their lights on for an hour in the morning, when it was still dark and cold, and then it was light out later so they drove around more. Brilliant.

The right and industry have been blindsided by the left’s victory in promoting this issue, but it won’t be long until they hijack it for their own benefit. And the whole feeding frenzy around the issue means that a lot of shitty ideas will be put in place without taking time to look at their impact and consider the best ways to move forward. I only hope that this doesn’t stay a flash in the pan issue, and leads to longer-term, reasoned measures to reduce energy consumption and co2 emissions. Right now, though, it is feeling a lot like the post 9/11 hysteria, the California energy hysteria, and similar situations where the unscrupulous used emergencies as a smokescreen to promote their own interests.

Abstinence is bullshit

Slate magazine just published an article about how the government’s 1billion dollar abstinence education program targeted at teens has failed to produce any results. Worse yet, the campaign included a lot of misinformation, discouraged condom use, and pushed a certain kind of conservative Christian viewpoint about sex and sexuality.

I am actually a firm believer that most high school kids are not ready for sex, and the world would be a much better place if people kept their damn pants on. I am not against promoting abstinence as an option in high school sex-ed classes. I think kids have so much sex marketed at them, that having an alternative message wouldn’t be a terrible thing. Remind kids that a lot of teenagers are virgins, and a lot don’t feel ready, so that those who have doubts about sex won’t feel like everyone is doing it.

That said, it is ridiculous to try and counter raging hormones by telling kids “just say no”. particularly if you are feeding them a line of bullshit like

“Even more widespread than disease are the emotional scarring and deep wounds that come out of broken relationships. No matter how strong a condom is, it won’t protect you from a broken heart.” Game Plan, student workbook, p. 36

Or

“A guy who wants to respect girls is distracted by sexy clothes and remembers her for one thing. Is it fair that guys are turned on by their senses and women by their hearts?”
Sex Respect, Student Workbook, p. 94

Or

Question: “What are the risks of being sexually active?”
Answer: “Teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, low self-esteem, loss of reputation, feelings of being used.” Choosing the Best PATH, Teacher’s Guide, p. 6

So much of the Christian view of sex is totally negative, and assumes that people are going to feel guilt and shame about sex. Why can’t we be taught that sex is wonderful, but needs to be practiced wisely and thoughtfully? For me the most effective thing about my sex ed classes was that they taught me what possible consequences unsafe sex would have and how to have safer sex, and then let me make up my mind what to do with it. My high school and college sex ed classes have helped me make wiser decisions about how I get it on and who I get it on with.

Even worse, they are teaching this abstinence only shit in Africa and other aids-ravaged places, spending billions of dollars and causing countless additional deaths spreading an ineffective and incorrect message.

I only hope that the next administration has the courage and foresight to realize that abstinence only education is stupid, and stops spending money on it.

Fuck Greenwashing

Now that everyone has a hardon for global warming, greenwashing has become the major modus operandi. At worst, this is a cynical attempt by companies to seem like they are doing something for the environment without having to actually do something. Often it is a tiny bit good intentions and a large dose of PR. A lot of it has to do with our general half-assednes, tendency to take the easy way out, and lack of understanding of how we actually impact the environment, and what solutions might actually work. I heard a great interview with a guy who worked on sustainable architecture in LA, and he pointed out that a lot of environmental/sustainable trends aren't necessarily so great. for example, heated floors might be awesome in cold climates, but in la they end up wasting energy because the weather varies so much during the day. Or the fact that the latest trends in bamboo floors might end up not being so great because a) it could involve the bamboo forests in china being clear cut and b) it takes a shit load of energy to ship that bamboo to the US.

The other thing i absolutely hate is the whole guilt-free consumption where companies offer to plant trees to offset the environmental damage caused by their product. The rolling stones did this on a recent tour, adn i think volkswagon and possibly dell are planning on similar tactics. To me, this is like saying for every bon-bon you eat you will drink a diet coke or spend some time on the stair master at some time in the future. how bout we just stop eating bon-bon's or find low-fat, low-cal alternatives. We can't fix the fix we are in by planting more trees. we have to actaully change how we live, pass laws to limit omissions, and maybe stop having so many fucking kids.

i'ma go drink some shade-grown coffee and plant a tree to compensate for my commute to work. assholes.

-pst

I'm Turning into a Goddamned Hippie

I grew up hating hippies. I was born and raised near Santa Cruz, California, which is a lot like berkeley, boulder, and any other mecca for the unbathed and organic. I hated hippies postivity, their obvious white guilt, their patronizing love for indigineous people and minority cultures, the shitty way they dressed, their love of bad, boring music, and their worshipping at the altar of ganja. Their mellow, everything is cool with me vibe was at stark odds with my cynical, angry view of the world, and i thought that they were just copping out. I figured that anyone who thought that everything was groovy must be a fucking idiot. If you can't see that the world is a big shitpile, you must be missing some chromosomes.


And yet, as i get older i find myself behaving more and more like a hippy. I am starting to eat more organic food, use less processed and artificial products, and I’m trying to be more vegetarian again.
I’ve also largely abandoned the cynicism and nihilism of my youth, or at least come to believe that being angry and judgmental probably isn’t healthy or helpful. I use canvas bags for my groceries. I’m trying to be more eco friendly. I talk about my feelings. I say things like “that’s their trip, but I’m just not into it” instead of “they are bunch of fucking idiots who should be shot. I listen to more jazz and less hardcore punk. I subscribe to mother jones.

Most shockingly I’ve started doing yoga.. For years I hated yoga, and thought it was just a retarded hippie/yuppie bullshit. But then I started doing it, and realized that not only does it help build strength, it is an excellent way to focus yourself, gain flexibility, and get to know your body. Plus, you feel really good after you do it.

I’ve also taken to wearing patchouli, which is the most bizarre aspect of all of this. I used to hate smelling patchouli on all the stinky hippies, and I never understood how it was meant to be a substitute for bathing. But goddamn it, I kind of like how it smells. It’s earthy. I dunno. Plus, it’s cheaper than sandalwood

Mostly, this just has to do with me growing up. I’m not the angry punk kid I was when I was 19. I am a thirty-two-year-old man, and I’m too damn old to be blindly pissed off all of the time. It doesn’t work.

Also, I no longer get the sixties shoved down my throat like I did in the 80s. And in the face of the crass commercialism and corporate control of the 1990s and 2000s, hippies don’t seem so offensive. Annoying, yes, but offensive, no.

Finally, I think that there are a lot of people today (like me?) who have managed to combine some of the hippie ideals of creating a more equal, sustainable, healthy planet, but have made it more savvy and realistic, and removed a lot of the pot haze and drum circles.

If you try and make me suffer through the dead or phish, though, I will fuck you up. I don’t want to be part of any revolution that features extensive jam rock noodling.

-pst.

The stock market is, like, lame.

I watched the Enron documentary on Monday, and what struck me most about it was the fact that the analyst and stock brokers were all so excited about this company whose numbers were not adding up. This reminded me of a lot of the hype around companies in the late nineties, when a lot of firms without a viable business plan were attracting tons of investors simply because they looked sexy.

I was listening to the APM marketplace podcast this morning, and they talked about how the stock market went down this morning, mostly because investors were spooked about iran.

So much of what I hear about the stock market has to do with how traders feel or how they react to news. It doesn't seem to necessarily have to do with reality. In the same way, it seems like some of the ways in which companies increase their stock price don't necessarily have to do with the health of the companies ie downsizing. There is this intense pressure to look good on your quarterly reports, and I wonder if that is to the detriment of the long-term success and viability of the company.

I don't know a lot about how the stock market works or how traders work. What I do know is that traders and the corporations they trade in have an enormous impact on the rest of the world, and I don't get the feeling that their movements and actions are calculated on any far-reaching or long-term plans. They seem to react to feelings, and be solely focused on the short-term. Sucks for the rest of us.
pst

Exciting solutions in the field of renewable sustainability!

There was a report in a recent issue of Forbes Magazine about the wealth of shady stocks that have sprung up promising renewable energy. Since renewable energy is all the rage, a lot of penny stocks and junk stocks are claiming to represent renewable energy solutions. Yes, out come the shysters. The guy on forbes suggested that if a company selling renewable energy was recently involved in gold or some other shysty commodity, they are probably not legit.

It's interesting that as we look for alternatives to oil and natural gas, we are falling back on shit like coal and nuclear energy. The coal and energy companies are wrapping themselves in a red, white, blue and green flag and pretending that they can offer solutions to our current crisis.

I have a suggestion that would cut back on our national oil intake AND tackle the obesity epidemic: People should bike, run, or walk to work. Especially city folk. Crazy, i know, but it would kill two birds with one stone. It also has the added benefit of forcing people to slow down a little in their lives, and makes their commute time relaxing and healing rather than maddening and stressful. I've been walking to work for most of this decade, and it makes me a much, much happier person than when i used to take the bus. Of course, i have the luxury of living near my work, so i realize i can't get too preachy.

Notice how the government isn't really saying anything about increasing fuel efficiency standards or pumping up mass transit, or creating measures to encourage people to live closer to where they work. We drive suvs 200 miles a day from our massive mcmansions in the exhurbs, and are concerned about the cost of gas. That's kind of like a severe alcoholic complaining about the price of liquor. Maybe you should just cut down, dude.

pst

Viva Hypocrisy!!!

I read a quote a while back by Kathleen Hannah of Bikini Kill/ Le Tigre that said "If we wait until we are perfect to do anything, then nothing's ever gonna get done." Those words really resonated with me. I am a life-long cynic, and one of my standard modus operandi is to criticize people's efforts by pointing out any imperfections or hypocrisy with them. The vegan yoga nut who loves hard drugs or smokes, the punk rocker who signs to a major label, the muckraker who is distributed by a corporation, etc. I immediately negate their good deeds by pointing out the fact that they aren't perfect.

Really, all that means is that they are human. Humans are by nature hypocritical, contrary, and confused. The angry mother protecting her young so reveres their lives that she is willing to kill for them. All carnivores and omnivores kill in order to feed themselves and survive. I could go on but I'm tired.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that hypocrisy gets a pass. I think it's important for all of us to recognized our own hypocrisy and try to address it. If we start acting like we are practically perfect in every way, that's not gonna do us any good.

Still, I think we should all feel free to go out there and fuck up, and not worry about getting rid of every scrap of sin in our lives. Every environmental activist in some way contributes to polluting the environment, but that doesn’t mean they don't have a right to address environmental issues. We are all a part of the many, many disfunctional and fucked up things in our world - that doesn't give us the right to ignore them, and it shouldn't make us feel unworthy of trying to make the world a better place.

It's a little like making a new year's resolution to get in shape. Sure, you'd be better off working out seven days a week and severely regimenting your food intake. But not all of us can do that, so if our way of being in better shape means spending three hours a week at the gym and still eating ice cream, so be it. It's better to move forward than do nothing. If we wait until we're perfect to do anything, nothings ever gonna get done.

-pst

Corporation 20/20

Corporation 20/20 (www.corporation 2020.org) is a movement started by longtime business ethics/corporate social responsibility advocates Allen White and Marjorie Kelly. The basic concept is to redesign the corporation to better respond to the social, economic, and environmental perils and promises created by globalization. They created six principles of Corporate Redesign, posted below:

Principles of Corporate Redesign

1. The purpose of the corporation is to harness private interests to serve the public interest.

2. Corporations shall accrue fair returns for shareholders, but not at the expense of the legitimate interests of other stakeholders.

3. Corporations shall operate sustainably, meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

4. Corporations shall distribute their wealth equitably among those who contribute to its creation.

5. Corporations shall be governed in a manner that is participatory, transparent, ethical, and accountable.

6. Corporations shall not infringe on the right of natural persons to govern themselves, nor infringe on other universal human rights.


Some of you may feel like this doesn't go far enough in addressing the many problems corporations pose. However, what I like about Corporation 2020 is that they are fairly realistic. Mr. White and Ms. Kelly have a lot of experience, and they realize that getting businesses to buy into the new model is essential to making it effective. The principles address major concerns, but keep things civil enough so that it is concievable that Wal-mart or other major corporations might actually abide by them. I'm not sure how much interest they've managed to generate so far, but at least it's a start.
-pst

Russia gets ornery

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech last week at the Munich Conference on Security Policy in which he basically accused the US of overstepping our bounds and creating instability across the globe with our actions in Iraq and our missles.

One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations. Well, who likes this? Who is happy about this?

While Putin had some excellent points, his peech had a definite air of "who you calling bitch, BITCH??!!?" Putin is clearly sick of criticisms that Russia is sliding into authoritarianism, that Russia is using it's energy resources to strong-arm its neighbors, that Russia has cracked down on free speech, democracy, and that the kremlin may be involved in the murders of its opponents.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Putin, and my first reaction to his speech was anger, because it seemed so hypocritical, and so obviously a means of deflecting criticism of Russia. However, as I've read it a little more closely (its available at www.kremlin.ru/eng), I've come to begrudgingly admire Putins chutzpah in calling a spade a spade. For the past six years, the US has been preaching one thing and practicing the other. Our "War On Terrorism" has essentially turned us into what we were fighting against in the first place: a country that holds people without charging them, that practices torture, that lies to create wars and then shuts down any opposition or criticism, that spies on its citizens, that preaches freedom and practices oppression. The rest of the world has been waiting for us to fuck up and now we have. As a nation we need to regroup, reassess, and renew our commitment to the values, ideals, and practices that make America a great country.

And we need to realize that Russia is not our bitch. Russia was a superpower. The russians are very happy that they are financially more secure today, and that they have become a contender in world affairs again. The US has not been as gracious as it could have been to Russia during its difficult transition to Capitalism, and during its difficult dissolution of the former Soviet Union. A little respect and sensitivity is called for. Russians are a lot like Americans - they are very patriotic, and truly believe that their country is one of the greatest on the planet. The US could do a better job of respecting that.

And Russia, for its part, could stop acting like such a ginormous arrogant prick. And maybe stop murdering opponents in the streets. Just maybe.

-pst

Russian middle class

I read an article in the SF Chroncle by Mchael Mainville, on how great the russian middle class was doing (" Russia bears fruit
The West may fault Putin, but a growing middle class savors his vision of democracy" February 1, 2007).

The article was all about Russian's growing middle class. I was really struck by the following paragraph:

" To be sure, salaries still lag far behind the West, with the average income in Moscow about $800 a month. And millions of Russians continue to live in abject poverty, especially pensioners and rural residents.
But a large, affluent middle class, especially in places like Moscow and St. Petersburg, is burgeoning."

Now, I agree that it is a good thing that Russia's economy is doing better. What bothers me is the way that the fact that millions of Russians are living in abject poverty is treated as an aside, like "Yeah, this sucks but HEY, Zara and Ikea are diong super well!"

This is the same attitude I see in this country - SF in the late nineties was full of rich people and stories of rich people, all of whom were either literally walking over or figuratively stomping on the poor on the way to their expensive condos and six figure salaries. We concentrate on the fact that one sector of the population is doing well, and ignore the fact that there are still millions of people who aren't doing well.

I'm not proposing that the rich not buy expensive things, or that we all just sit around and feel guilty. However, I don't think we can really consider ourselves successful if large portions of our population are struggling. We need to do more looking out for each other, and less looking out for ourselves. We should measure our strength and our success as a nation and a society by our ability to make sure that everyone has access to food, shelter, medicine, and education.

First Post

This site will be a venue for me to rant about the world of business, describe my hair-brained schemes to make the world a better place (for me), and develop ideas about how we might do a better job of surviving without fucking other people over.