Ecosocialism or Barbarism!
By David Purucker
These are tough times for the environmentally aware socialist. The International Panel on Climate Change warns that humanity has only about 12 years to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius. Trump and the Republicans seem determined to turn Earth into the planet Venus. And we know the Democrats won’t do much better — in Washington and here in Oregon, their imaginations are still limited to failed market non-solutions like cap-and-trade.
But there are glimmers of hope. The Green New Deal advanced by socialists and progressives in Congress frames climate change as an issue of justice and economic power. It’s just one part of a movement that demands we see environmental crisis and capitalist crisis as inextricably linked, a politics that some activists call ecosocialism. Here in Portland DSA, the Ecosocialist Working Group, now 11 months old, has become a lively center of chapter organizing. According to its founding document — the group formed as a caucus in July 2018 and recently transitioned to become an official chapter working group — the Ecosocialists seek to “ensure that the transition to socialism in the United States is grounded in the sound ecological principles of sustainability and biodiversity,” and to be a consistent voice for environmental issues in the chapter. They focus on building power for environmental justice in coalitions with working class and front-line communities.
The Ecosocialists led DSA’s involvement in the Portland Clean Energy Initiative campaign last fall. The PCEI victory plus the national attention paid to the Green New Deal have helped the working group grow rapidly. They now regularly have 25 to 30 members at their monthly meetings. With all this new energy, the Ecosocialists have been able to launch several exciting campaigns. One focus has been organizing the chapter to oppose the Clean Energy Jobs bill (H.B. 2020), a cap-and-trade policy being pushed by Democrats and liberal environmental groups in Salem. At the January chapter General Meeting, the Ecosocialists put forward a resolution proposing that Portland DSA oppose H.B. 2020. Group member Nick Caleb made the case to the chapter that cap-and-trade has failed to curb emissions in other countries, and that the hype around H.B. 2020 risks allowing the Democrats to delay serious climate action yet again.
The resolution passed with strong support from the chapter and was later covered in Willamette Week, causing a stir in the state’s mainstream enviro community. Portland DSA’s opposition to state cap-and-trade puts us at odds with Oregon’s mainstream environmental establishment. Nick Caleb told B&RC that he thinks DSA’s dissent on this issue will open up space for more left-leaning enviro groups and activists to come out against weak policies like cap-and-trade. It’s an early demonstration of the role DSA can play as a left pole for environmental justice in Oregon.
But we aren’t waiting around for liberal groups to get with the program. Instead, we’re working to build coalitions with environmental justice organizations in Portland and around the state. The Ecosocialist Working Group recently signed on to a seven-point framework for an Oregon Green New Deal developed by the Just Transition Alliance, which includes principles like community-controlled energy, regenerative agriculture, and support for job transition programs out of extractive industries.
We’re also working on a campaign to oppose the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas terminal in Coos Bay. If built, Jordan Cove would be a disaster for sensitive coastal ecosystems, would raise global carbon emissions, and would violate tribal sovereignty in southern Oregon. Led by working group member Katie Behrendt, the campaign is focusing on building coalitions with Southern Oregon environmental organizations and indigenous groups. They also want to take a page from our Medicare for All campaign and ramp up pressure on Gov. Kate Brown by challenging her at town halls and other public events.
The Ecosocialist Working Group is open to any and all chapter members who’d like to get involved. Nick told B&RC that it’s a great place for new DSA members to gain valuable experience in direct action, environmental law, communications and design work, and the ins and outs of Oregon environmental politics. In the future, the Ecosocialists will expand their work on the OR GND project and the anti-Jordan Cove coalition. Other projects include giving input for the implementation of the Portland Clean Energy Fund, developing a campaign to bring electric utilities under public control, opposing oil-by-rail expansion in the city, and (of course!) engaging in base-building in Portland DSA.
When B&RC asked Bobby Hayden, the former group facilitator (and ex-chapter Communications chair), what made ecosocialism important, he highlighted its orientation toward the future.
“Capitalism is incompatible with a finite planet. Ecosocialism is a framework to envision the world we really want to live in,” Hayden said.
Of course, every socialist project has a touch of the utopian. But ecosocialists spend a lot of time thinking about the real nitty-gritty of the future — how to reorganize our urban environments, how to build an energy grid for everyone.
