[Iowa-dx] Fwd: Guest Article for Women for Peace and Green Party

[Hart, Holly J]

Thank you for forwarding this illuminating article.  Coincidentally, in reg=
ards to regionalism and agriculture, here's an article I saw today on the t=
rue environmental impact of the shipping industry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/13/climatechange.pollution
________________________________________
From: iowa-dx-admin@lists.gp-us.org [iowa-dx-admin@lists.gp-us.org] On Beha=
lf Of iagp-cochair@usa.net [iagp-cochair@usa.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:40 AM
To: Iowa Greens Discussion List
Subject: [Iowa-dx] Fwd: Guest Article for Women for Peace and Green Party

------ Original Message ------
Received: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:13:48 PM CST
From: Soyawax@aol.com
To: peacenik@usa.net
Subject: Guest Article for Women for Peace and Green Party


A Guest Article to freely share and publish;
Connecting the Dots; The Pervasive Economic Infrastructure of War
I applaud the efforts of individuals and organizations in our community tha=
t are taking a courageous stand against international war and the domestic =
destruction of civil liberties in our present political milieu. Marching, c=
andlelight vigils, and public demonstrations to support our troops by remov=
ing them from harm's way can be a first step, but without also working on d=
eep systemic change, such efforts will prove to be fruitless on their own. =
After each major war ends, most marchers go home and the economic infrastru=
cture's march to the very next war continues unabated. This will only chang=
e by changing the pervasive economic infrastructure of war and militarism.
It is important for all of us to do two things;

1. to educate ourselves and each other about the economic realities that ha=
ve fostered war during all of recorded human history. Every war is a resour=
ce war from a drug turf war in a ghetto to an oil grabbing global Armageddo=
n.
2. to "opt out" of the pervasive economic structures of war and "Empire" . =
We can start in our own communities to create alternative sustainable life =
support systems that we will build in place of Empire and the military-indu=
strial/petro-chemical complex.
We have the opportunity to be the first generation of civilized human being=
s. To claim that our present society that's based on violence and war is an=
ything less than savage is a mass denial of reality.
To make systemic change is not easy. It took the human species ten thousand=
 years to get to our present dead-end quagmire of endless war and Empire bu=
ilding It will take one generation to turn around and go in a new direction=
. The word revolution simply means "turn around". We must realize that the =
present structures of Empire that operate the "military-industrial complex"=
 have been built up progressively by Western Civilization over the last ten=
 thousand years. What we now call "national defense" is actually making our=
 world much more dangerous and unstable. As a result, our homeland is insec=
ure. Intelligent methods of non-violent conflict resolution are a necessity=
 to build a sane, stable and sustainable society. War must become obsolete =
for the human race to avoid becoming obsolete on this planet.
Our long march to our present stage in Human History of climate chaos, glob=
al war, resource depletion and environmental degradation has literally been=
 a ten thousand year journey. We are now at the crossroads; do you want you=
r children and grandchildren to survive? If so, then you must commit to dra=
matic systemic change during our present generation. We have 20 years to ac=
tivate a global paradigm shift to a sustainable society. With global climat=
e crisis on the horizon there are no second chances this time. This is the =
moment of truth in the human drama.
At this stage, the USA sits at the Pinnacle of Empire. More than 60% of our=
 public funds go to support the economic war machine. We must realize how p=
ervasive the economic structures of the military industrial complex have be=
come in every city and state. Here in my home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa th=
e single largest employer, Rockwell Collins is hard wired into the military=
 industrial complex. A huge portion, if not the majority of Rockwell Collin=
s contract work is for military purposes. The other Rockwell contracts are =
for the commercial airline industry, an industry with one of the single lar=
gest carbon footprints on earth.
You cannot say that you are against war and global climate chaos without co=
nnecting the dots to see how those dots trace a path right to our own front=
 door in our own home towns. This is in no way to point the finger at a com=
pany such as Rockwell... they are only one single participant in the 10,000=
 year march of the history of Empire that every one in Western Civilization=
 has been engaged in. In the USA where each one of us consumes 32 times the=
 energy and resources as the average citizens in the world, we are all equa=
lly responsible for the dead end we now face with global warming and resour=
ce depletion.
I only cite the example of Rockwell Collins, because as the largest employe=
r in my home city, it perfectly illustrates the pervasive economic infrastr=
ucture of war, militarism and empire building. During a paradigm shift, we =
must all realize; "God forgive us, for we no not what we do." In a time of =
paradigm shift, what seemed right before can be totally wrong now, as we mu=
st face the need for radical change. The stockholders, management and staff=
 of companies such as Rockwell Collins want their children and grandchildre=
n to survive just as much as the rest of us. In fact, companies that have t=
he intellectual and human capital such as Rockwell Collins can retool to pr=
ovide the knowledge and capacity to build the sustainable systems of a new =
"Post Empire" culture. We have one generation to create a post-Empire, new =
sustainable economy.
Even Iowa agriculture has become one more appendage of the Military/Industr=
ial Complex.
The agricultural research legacy of Iowan Henry Wallace of Pioneer is now o=
wned by Du Pont Corporation of Delaware that has the history of Vietnam nap=
alm and a century of war profiteering to its credit. The agricultural know =
how and legacy of the Holden family of Williamsburg, Iowa is now owned by M=
onsanto of St. Louis that gave the world environmental disasters such as Ag=
ent Orange, DDT, Bovine Growth Hormones, GMO=92s and PCB=92s. Cargill start=
ed in Iowa, but now controls a massive global reach from Minnesota. ADM is =
a huge Illinois company. Quaker Oats is owned by Pepsi of New York. Iowans =
are tossed a few bones as crop sales, salaries and local operating expenses=
, while the big guys haul the big bucks out of Iowa.
Agriculture has become very consolidated. The majority of economic control =
of Iowa Ag is vested with a few multi-national Empire builders that are hea=
dquartered outside of Iowa. Profits are deposited in East Coast banks, not =
in locally owned Iowa institutions. This seriously drains Iowa capital. Out=
 of state companies are subsidized with your tax dollars. You are paying tw=
ice; with skyrocketing prices for food and energy and with your hard earned=
 tax dollars. Each bioregion must re-localize our economy.
We have one generation to create a post-Empire, sustainable agriculture bef=
ore we destroy our own land and water base. Not one single "empire" has sur=
vived in human history. Many collapse as they destroy their own ecosystems.=
 Iowans must evaluate the direction our agriculture is headed. Soil and wat=
er is damaged as we export the majority of agricultural value out of state.=
 Economics is simply the exchange of energy. With a cost of 10 petro-chemic=
al calories to net 1 calorie of food energy, Iowa agriculture is totally un=
sustainable.
Since our agriculture is controlled by out of state empire builders, as we =
evaluate the total structure of Iowa Agricultural Economics, as a collectiv=
e citizenry, Iowans are now relegated to a powerless "tenant farmer" status=
 in our own home state. A vital democracy only works when active citizens c=
ontrol access to their own food, energy and resources. Iowa needs intellige=
nt economic development way beyond petroleum, pigs, prisons and poker! A re=
ality based economic science must include the long term environmental and s=
ocial costs of any economic activity. Local farmers can best protect our la=
nd as they now wake up and reclaim control of Iowa agriculture.
The Leopold Center at ISU, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa Network for C=
ommunity Agriculture are bringing Iowa=92s ag economy back home. A shift to=
 local food production will capture the $4 billion dollars that Iowans spen=
d to purchase food from out of state each year. This economic shift should =
now be our #1 objective for state economic development. An economy based on=
 local self-reliance can ride the waves of global change that are now hitti=
ng our economy hard. Act now while you still can.
The issues of political self-determination, peace, social justice, global w=
arming and the environment all connect within one whole system in a sustain=
able economy. Our present linear/industrial economic model is the causal ro=
ot of deep-seated systemic economic and environmental problems. All ecologi=
cal systems become healthier with increasing diversity. Iowa agriculture no=
w depletes diversity. Solutions will be provided by working together as an =
intelligent community to build reality based ecological-economic structures=
. Ecology and economy share the same root word; Eco simply means "home". Ec=
ology is the study of our home environment. Economics, is about managing th=
e resources of our "home". Our shared home is planet Earth. There is only o=
ne living biosphere.
Author Kurt Vonnegut suggested that we all "improve out own small corner of=
 the universe." In our small neighborhood; Oakhill/New Bohemia in Cedar Rap=
ids we are taking steps to build an urban sustainable village. Obesity and =
diabetes from commodity based, processed food results in billions of dollar=
s of disease care costs that hit low income people hardest. Instead of hand=
ing out USDA commodity foods to low income families, were distributing fres=
h produce and seeds and teaching families how to grow real food in the our =
neighborhood in the central core/lowest income area of Cedar Rapids. This t=
ype of effort can take place in any community. I invite you to join in with=
 this timely work. Building the paradigm of a sustainable global society be=
gins in each of our own backyards.
=93guest column=94 submitted by; Michael Richards, 1029 Third St.S.E. Cedar=
 Rapids 52401
Richards is the founder of Sustainable Ecological Economic Development (S.E=
.E.D.) He serves as the President of the Oakhill Jackson Neigborhood ASSN. =
Richards is the inventor of soy wax replacements for petroleum wax and is P=
resident of Soyawax International. His book, SUSTAINABLE OPERATING SYSTEMS/=
The Post Petrol Paradigm, published in 2007 is available at Amazon. Contact=
 #319-213-2051, or e mail at: Postpetrol @ aol.com





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