Call to Eco-Action

Last night, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke in Strong Auditorium at the University of Rochester. His hour-long speech was delivered with passion and covered a broad range of topics from political science, economics, environmental science, religion, and the Bush administration.

Kennedy did not pull punches, which I admired a lot. He quickly went on the critique of George W. Bush, declaring that he has systematically instituted the worst environmental decisions of any president in our history. But he didn’t stop there, he listed all the political appointments Bush has made in the EPA, and all our regulatory bodies. He has put in charge of these divisions former corporate lobbyists, which have acted not to protect the environment, but to roll back decades of environmental legislation including the Clean Air and Water acts. Kennedy made it clear that the money of corporations were now running the show, not the welfare of our children.

Kennedy spoke quickly, sometimes digressing to topics, all of which were informative and interesting. Kennedy suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a disorder the makes his voice “quavery”, but this quickly was dismissed by the listener, as they were captivated by his impassioned dialog. One digression was on the importance of wilderness. He lost some of the college crowed when he began discussing the importance of wilderness on religion, and how all the great religious prophets found God in wilderness. However, he earned my respect for speaking to his values.

He stressed that the preservation of our air and water was not just for the fishes and the animals, but for our children’s health. He pointed out that the mercury in his body was twice the recommended level. He noted that if he was a women, he would be in danger of giving birth to a child with birth disorders, like autism, which he has written several articles on. He said that you can have your mercury levels tested too, by sending a piece of your hair in to the Waterkeepers Alliance. I’m glad Laura doesn’t like fish.

Kennedy also made excellent economic points on oil. He pointed out that if petroleum companies were held to the true costs of production, and if we did not subsidize these companies, our gas too would be like Europe, However, that would force us to demand more fuel efficient cars, which would burn less gas, and create less demand, and more supply, thus driving the price down. Did I mention my next car way definitely going to be a hybrid.

Kennedy’s speech reminded me very much of listening to Ralph Nader ten years ago when I heard him speak also at the University of Rochester. Both stressed that the first thing we needed to do was to get corporate money out of the political process, and to get free and open press on our airwaves. I recall listening also to Michael Moore on campus, echoing this same themes, and having Arianna Huffington step up to the microphone to ask Moore a few questions. When will be start paying attention to what these people are saying? When do we start thinking about ten, twenty, fifty years down the road, and not what is going to make us the quick buck now?

I talked to a friend after the show. I told her how I had heard all this when I was in college. She went to school in the seventies I think, and she said it was the same talk when she was in college, only they were told things were getting better. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could tell our children that we MADE it better.