People's Voice Editorial
While it takes millions of people to achieve real change, a far smaller number can often use their wealth and power to block social progress. In the long run, despite the desperate resistance of imperialism, the working class and its allies have the strength to win crucial advances. But today, the forces for revolutionary transformation of society also face the ticking of the clock towards a fatal buzzer.
The UN Environment Program reports that significant progress has been made on only four of 90 environmental goals adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. If current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail, unprecedented dangers lie ahead. The concensus among scientists is that the planet is heading towards three degrees Celsius of warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions by 2100. Natural phenomena triggered by human activity - melting permafrost, the loss of Arctic sea‑ice - will add to the heating trend. According to the scientific journal Nature, life on Earth may be near an irreversible "tipping point", with mass extinctions of species to follow.
At the 1992 summit, Fidel Castro warned that "humankind is at risk of disappearing due to the rapid and progressive elimination of its natural habitat." He put his finger on the culprits - the capitalist societies spawned by colonialism, consuming the vast majority of the planet's resources and spewing out pollution. Tomorrow will be too late, he warned, urging an end to the arms race and action to block ecological destruction.
Survival depends on heeding Fidel's words. Our planet cannot afford endless capitalist exploitation, profiteering, and war. The alternative is a global shift towards a socialist model based on meeting the needs of humanity and the environment. For Canadians, the first step is to dump the Harper Tories, one of the most rabidly anti-environment governments in the world.
(The above article is from the June 16-30, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)