The House That Progressives Built: Working for a More Tolerable Planet

by Paul Cassinetto and Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto

As members of a generation often viewed as individualistic, we were urged early on to “build wealth.” Now, like many couples, we don’t always agree on financial or political issues. This is not surprising given our different historical and cultural references. We both believe, however, that our economy and our security are inextricably linked with our ecosystem.

A century ago, progressives of every stripe sought to establish the underpinnings of a good society based on human welfare. Today, we are faced with double-digit unemployment and fears of a double-dip recession. In California in November, we will put to a vote Proposition 23, a measure which will temporarily suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) until the state’s unemployment rate drops below 5.5%.

To move the economy forward, we need to create jobs. This does not imply, however, that environmental regulations prohibit the creation of jobs or have caused this massive unemployment in the first place. According to the AB 32 fact sheet, the clean technology sector is the fastest growing industry in California in terms of jobs and venture capital investments. A clean energy economy is, therefore, feasible. The costs of a polluted environment, on the other hand, far outweigh the benefits of generating more oil industry-related work. There is also a bigger picture to consider: continued climate change alters the ecosystem which will, in turn, further devastate the lives and livelihoods of the poor, and inevitably threaten international peace.

In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), which, among other things, sets a cap on the nation’s production of greenhouse gases. But the bill still waits ratification by the Senate. When we look back a hundred years, some of America’s leaders were reformers who strongly believed in social justice. Today, we also need progressive, decisive leadership to stand up for us as well as with us. We need our leaders to work within a moral framework that takes into account both the planet and the poor.

More importantly, to create sustainable development solutions for a clean energy economy, we need to act and think like a community, one that is built on cooperation, trust, bottom-up grassroots coordination, and unity. We need to learn that protecting our environment also means looking out for one another. Initiatives like 350.org, 10:10, Billion Trees, and Google.org lead community-centric campaigns that help to educate and mobilize people to work on climate and energy solutions.

The Social Gospel movement of the early 20th century provided a moral drive in addressing the social problems of the day. Present-day faith communities (keeping in mind the establishment clause of the First Amendment) are in a position to raise awareness about our responsibility to the planet and to each other based on our interconnectedness.

Henry David Thoreau believed that a tolerable planet is worth more than a house. Seven generations later, more than houses dot the landscape of the same old planet. Tolerable or not, it’s still our one and only.

Paul Cassinetto works as an information technologies director for a workers’ compensation defense firm in San Francisco, California. Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto is author of Traje de Boda: poems (Meritage Press, 2010) and associate editor of Our Own Voice, a literary e-zine of the Filipino diaspora.