Rick Dubrow's May 2009 Whatcom Watch article entitled "Spinning 'round and 'round"

[Rick Dubrow]

Our laundry list of environmental concerns is staggering, driving an aware mind to spin ‘round and ’round. Said spinning feels like two separate wheels……..the menu of concerns drives one wheel while the menu of solutions drives the other.

Stuck in the middle between two wheels, like a bicyclist.

The wheel out front has spokes named global warming; bio-accumulative toxins; peak oil; nuclear waste; over-population….. I won’t depress you by naming the same number of problems as the spokes on the Trek hybrid bike I use for commuting.

The wheel out back has spokes named curtailment; alternative energy; open-air clothes drying; permaculture; staycations; vegetarianism. You can name the other spokes ‘cause you’re aware ….. you read the Whatcom Watch.

You have, inside your head, your own virtual bike: an acceptance and understanding of the front spokes (the concerns) while learning about, and incorporating, the rear spokes (the solutions).

Whether you’re an active cyclist or not, you know that physics demands that the revolutionary rate of the front wheel must match the revolutionary rate of the rear wheel or else you’re in deep doodoo. As in…… faceplant. And, again, as an avid Whatcom Watch reader, you know that faceplants on a bike do not a Mister Natural make.

All I’m trying to say is that the intensity of a solution must be aligned with the intensity of the problem at hand. Immense problems warrant immense solutions. Just changing light bulbs to address global warming is ludicrous.

So how are we doing globally?

If we placed a gauge on our handlebars to reveal whether the problems exceed the solutions, I’m afraid we’re in the red zone. Simply put, we’re over extended; over consumed.

Most people I know are aware that we’re losing the battle. Paul Hawkens puts it this way:
"The problem that confronts us is that every living system in the biosphere is in decline, and the rate of decline is accelerating. There isn't one peer-reviewed scientific article in the past twenty years that's been published that contradicts that statement. Living systems are coral reefs, they're our climate stability, forest cover, the oceans themselves, aquifers, water, the conditions of the soil, biodiversity--they go on and on as they get more specific, but the fact is there isn't one living system that is stable or is improving, and those living systems provide the basis for all life.”

Yes, the amount of good stuff happening - especially here in this aware community of ours - is increasing; no doubt. But the net effect continues to degrade. The development community, developing nations, business-as-usual, the mainstream ‘grow or die’ paradigm, campaign finance, population growth – the spokes on our front wheel – spin out of control.

So what’s the plan? Do you expect our mainstream culture to voluntarily change in time to address the severity of the problems at hand?

I don’t know about you but I don’t see this happening fast enough to close the gap. To the contrary, the gap continues to grow.

But my goal here is not to talk about the big picture because you can’t do anything about it. No matter which spoke on your rear wheel – which solution - you initiate, the parts per million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere cares not. You’re only one of 6.9 billion others.

All you can really do anything about is you and your own footprint. (Yes, it’s all about you (but you already knew this, right?)) So I want to talk about you and whether or not your rear wheel is spinning at the same speed as your front wheel. Is your footprint aligned to your perception of where it needs to be, so that 6.9 billion others behaving similarly might fix the myriad number of spokes on our global front wheel? Or, better yet, is your footprint restorative, healing some of the damage we’ve wrought on the planet?

I find myself living within two worlds; two paradigms. The one says this: humanity is on its way out – its going down - and I see no indication of sufficient change in quantity or quality to successfully turn the tide. The other says this: I will not stop working my ass off to turn the tide. I will work as if I will succeed; as if we will succeed; as is others will join the ride towards restoration and sustainability. And, while I hope the latter will overtake the former, in my heart I don’t believe it will prevail.

So, I guess, my only real hope is that I’m wrong.

“Hope is the real killer. Hope is harmful. Hope enables us to sit still in the sinking raft instead of doing something about our situation. Forget hope. Honestly and candidly assessing the situation as it truly stands is our only chance. Instead of sitting there and ‘hoping’ our way out of this, perhaps we should recognize that realizing the truth of our situation, even if unpleasant, is positive since it is the required first step toward real change.” – Gringo Stars

Let’s come back to discussing real change.

I’ll venture a guess here: you realize that 6.9 billion others behaving like you is not a sustainable path. Fair to say? (If I’m wrong you either lead a fairly rare lifestyle or you’re in denial.) And if I guessed correctly, then you’re probably feeling some degree of guilt or cognitive dissonance while spinning ‘round ‘n ‘round along your travels. Perhaps, as well, some despair.

“Many people are afraid to feel despair. They fear that if they allow themselves to perceive how desperate is our situation, they must then be perpetually miserable. They forget it is possible to feel many things at once. I am full of rage, sorrow, joy, Iove, hate, despair, happiness, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and a thousand other feelings. They also forget that despair is an entirely appropriate response to a desperate situation. Many people probably also fear that if they allow themselves to perceive how desperate things are that they may be forced to actually do something to change their circumstances.” – Derrick Jensen

So what next step are you working towards to take a large bite out of your footprint? Stop a moment here and answer this question, honestly. Is your own path one of continuous improvement so that, over time, your footprint is getting smaller and smaller? Perhaps, given the dire state of the world, could the time be ripe for a giant step instead of some small baby step?

I invite you to consider taking a giant leap; a leap whose starting gate could be May 15th…. Bike to Work and School Day. However, I ask you to use this day as the beginning of a lifestyle change, not some singular day that will have no affect on the severity of the problematic spokes that lie in front of you; in front of us.

Consider using May 15th as a new beginning.

Yes, I realize that only 29% of you live 5 miles or less from work. I fit this category exactly, which is one reason why my bike commute fits me so well. Some of you exceed this distance from home to work by a long shot, thereby suggesting that walking, transit, or some combination, may be your next step. Biking, by itself, may simply be out of reach.

One of my co-workers, for example, lives in Sudden Valley, so she has committed to a transit/bicycle model, taking the bus to Civic Field from home and then hopping on her bike to work. Every year the weather is less and less of a factor for her. Continuous improvement.

If biking isn’t the ticket for you, what is your next step to minimize your impact?

Activist and acclaimed author Derrick Jensen often asks his audience just what it will take to motivate his reader or listener into deeper action? For example, scientists today claim that 90% to 95% of the large fish in the oceans are now gone. What percentage of loss will drive you over the top in order to take actions of more significance? 97%? 99%? (By the way, Derrick will be speaking at WWU’s Fraser 4 at 7pm on May 15th. What a coincidence: May 15th is also Bike to Work and School Day. )

Let’s briefly check in with Derrick:
"Do you believe that our culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living? For the last several years I've taken to asking people this question, at talks and rallies, in libraries, on buses, in airplanes, at the grocery store, the hardware store. Everywhere. The answers range from emphatic no’s to laughter. No one answers in the affirmative…..My next question: how will this understanding - that this culture will not voluntarily stop destroying the natural world, eliminating indigenous cultures, exploiting the poor, and killing those who resist - shift our strategy and tactics? The answer? Nobody knows, because we never talk about it: we're too busy pretending the culture will undergo a magical transformation."

If there’s any magic to be had, it’s about you and me. It’s about adding resilience into our lives so that we can react to upcoming cultural shock waves brought to you, in part, by peak oil and global warming. It’s about acknowledging that we ordinarily need to break down before we can break through; that we are breaking down. It’s happening now, right before our eyes, so long as we keep our eyes wide open.

Realize we’re in a sinking raft together and do something about it. Something might be a bicycle.

Something might be a lifestyle change that will address so many of these spokes out front. Instead of spinning ‘round and ‘round in your head in an attempt to resolve your bloated ecological footprint, spin around on the road. (Or grow a garden. Or abandon your car. Or select a career that’s gentle on the earth. Or move into, or closer to, town so that you can depend upon bicycling.)

What a step in the right direction! Biking decreases the generation of global warming gasses and other air pollution; decreases our dependence upon foreign oil; delays peak oil; decreases traffic congestion; decreases resource extraction.

Further yet, there’s weight loss and cardio/vascular fitness. There’s the rush of endorphins at the beginning of your day and at the end; there’s the mental health benefits of arriving at work and at home….. energized.

Yes, and soaking wet at times.

But no one said it would be easy. We’ve got intense work to do if we’re going to align the pace of our front and back wheels. Those problematic front spokes are massive. It took industrial society hundreds of years to bring us this fallout, and these deadly concerns won’t be solved overnight.

If ever.

But if you’re like me you’ll work hard at their solutions no matter how enormous the grade ahead. Climbing hills on a real bike will be nothing like the steep grade of civilization’s hills up ahead.
You can do it. With focus, perseverance and continuous improvement you can break through to major lifestyle changes without waiting to break down. Bringing your values and your actions into compliance, over time, will help resolve this relentless spinning that get’s us nowhere fast.

Get on your bike and spin for real.