ON Carbon, Race, and Housing

There is a new coalition for social justice rising up in Marin, one that includes and is lead by people of various colors. Their website www.concernedmarinites.org. In this battle over affordable housing, racial and economic inequality, regional and state planners versus local control what has been lost sight of is the intention of the state’s legislation to cut down on auto travel to reduce greenhouse gases. The concept that commuting and housing are linked is evident in Marin as 85% of us live along the 101 corridor, pressed against the bay shore line. Our state has set us on a course to reduce our GHG emissions more than 80% in the next 35 years. Forty years ago it was regional, state, and local planning that saved our bay from destruction and it will take such coordinated collective actions today to address the challenges of carbon pollution. It is hypocritical to think that we can stop the Keystone XL pipeline simply by ‘putting on a comfortable pair of shoes’ for a warm Sunday afternoon walk in San Francisco while we oppose efforts here in Marin to reduce our demand for oil. This state did not take on this fight for social justice reasons, but the forces of inequality and racism have aligned to defeat this initiative. ‘No Growth in Marin’ is not a rallying cry for sustainability. I feel like we are reliving the story of Genesis. The story of the first 9 generations in the Hebrew Bible is of a fratricidal struggle between human development and conserving the natural environment that ends with the destruction by a great flood. Many environmentalist have this same sense of impending doom for our planet from such a flood. This time science is warning us of sea level rise. We cannot protect our beautiful landscapes unless we likewise do so for those outside Marin. Our survival requires us to see the Bay Area, California, and the whole world. In the next 35 years science tells us that the earth’s population will increase another 2 billion people and California’s by 13 million. The agricultural and natural landscapes of the other 8 Bay Area counties are just as dear as Marin’s and worthy of protecting. The only alternative to urban sprawl is more densely populated urban environments that have already been greatly impacted by development. That is or current duality. We either learn to live more sustainably within existing urban boundaries or we perish from our own misguided myopic view of the world. We must make positive efforts for both social and environmental justice. These struggles can longer be separated from each other. We will not save the planet by simply standing on the sidelines of this struggle and criticizing the efforts of others. If we have found fault we must put forward alternative just and sustainable solutions. Race and affordable housing are counterposed in Marin. Our successful evolutionary trait of tribalism now presents us with an opportunity to delight in and grow from our wondrous ethnic diversity. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both taught us that racism is exploited to divide us by stirring up fear and loathing towards the other. Racism is ginned up to send us to war and to maintain the power of an elite by preventing us from seeing our common condition. In the years since Proposition 13 destroyed the quality of California’s educational system my family followed many others to Marin. Marin figured out early that local communities could raise money for their schools. Marin also has a truly impressive conservationists spirit that has kept much of its beautiful landscape undeveloped. We do not develop housing units at a pace that even matches our birth rate. People move here for the schools, the fantastic weather, and to be with their kids and grand kids. This tremendous pressure on housing is what drives the cost of living here so high. Our motives are not driven by hate but by admirable emotions and contemplations. It is without a doubt a great privilege to be able to live in this paradise with engaged community-minded folk, a mostly well functioning governance, in addition to the natural beauty. This privilege however is not shared by all. Wealth is power. It is the great divider. And wealth inequality is the essential ingredient of our racism. Our racial aspect is not that of the Alabama State troopers defending Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Marin is not for batons, dogs, and fire hoses. But Marin has two toll bridges of its own. If you have the toll you can live here. If you are black or brown the chances of that are much less. Marinites do not need the federal government’s Housing and Urban Development Department to tell us that institutional racism thrives here. Most of us know that Marin is one of the richest counties in the country. We also know that minorities make up a majority of California yet 4 in 5 Marinites are white. Our great wealth, in a big picture economic sense, is our right to demand services. And that wealth brings tens of thousands of workers here every day seeking part of those riches. Its divisiveness sends these workers home when their days work in done. This greatly contributes to our Greenhouse Gas emissions. It is the disparity of our wealth that is both our blessing and our curse. Marin is in need of a social justice organization that is well intentioned and capable of directing us towards a sustainable path both environmentally and socially. The consequences of inaction will be another flood caused by man and not god, it’s called sea level rise. Join with Concerned Marinites and contribute your efforts.