Green lifestyles are not enough…

Finally the ecological crisis is being taken seriously by capital.

How do we know?

The torrent of green lifestyle features and eco films pouring out of places like Hollywood coupled with the mainstreaming of green commodities and conusmerism.

Bluntly, this is a good thing.

If, the forces of capitalism dominate this world. As the Situationists used to say every realtionship in this society has been commodified. Given the timescale of the catastrophe we are facing a climate friendly capitalism today is an improvement and one that might make a crucial difference.

Of course green consumerism and planet friendly exploitation are no long term solution, but they might just give the rest of us enough breathing space to organise the alternative.
We know the flaws in green consumerisma and any solution within a capitalist society. I have no intention of rehashing these arguments here and now.
However, one thing we must be aare of as we champion An Inconvenient Truth, Grist.org and carboon footprint calculators is that none of this green lifestyle mentions the need for a political alternative to the ruling class.

The backing of Angela Davis for the US Greens gives us an example of where we need to position ourselves. We are winning the the awareness battle, but now we must focuss our efforts at providing a radical, grassroots political movement. The upcoming elections in London and the US give us an oppurtunity to position the Greens as the vehicle for enacting the radical change we need.