This song sparked a conversation with my wisdom. She broke down the second verse as Talib Kweli is discussing the Shell funded murders of Nigerian Ogoni activists by Nigerian military. He speaks on Saro-Wiwa’s murder and how oil is black gold.
This is a great song, but it focuses on environmental activism. This notion of going green in the United States is mostly focused on which goods to consume and how to dispose of them. It doesn’t focus on active ways to change the eco system for the better. In Port Harcout, Nigeria in 1995 Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hung for their public statements against Shell Oil. Going green to the Ogoni didn’t mean buying aluminum water bottles, it meant survival. One thing the Ogoni were protesting was Shell Oil’s process of gas flaring:
- In Ogoniland, 95% of extracted natural gas is flared8 (compared with 0.6% in the United States). It is estimated that the between the CO2 and methane released by gas flaring, Nigerian oil fields are responsible for more global warming effects than the combined oil fields of the rest of the world9.
This type of dedication to freedom and justice is truly admirable. I wonder if steadfast, self-righteous, recycling Americans would do so and speak about it if they knew US Corporations would pay off militias to murder them? Peace to the Ogoni people, Saro-Wiwa and his supporters and their families, and to the brother Talib Kweli and Sara for informing me.
Random thoughts after reading this blog entry:
I’m fully supportive of the concept that oil is black gold.
When you say sparked a convo with your wisdom are you referring to Sarah for explaining the verse?
Going Green is a baby step that Americans are taking, but asking them to consider the eco system as a whole would be like asking them to take their own trash to the incinerator.
I just don’t think the coffee shop going self righteous americans who identify as going green would put their lives on the line like the Ogoni or the people in Ecuador who protested Chevron. I just think the so called green movement in the US is soft and isn’t one that puts everything into account. Recycling is important, but so is carbon emission and climate change. Americans need to understand how climate change is affecting entire ecosystems abroad and how the luxuries enjoyed in the US are only at the expense of others in 3rd world countries in Central and South America, Africa, and beyond.