All the signs suggest that the new green face of capitalism is replicating the sins of the old
Two films I’ve seen over the past year both dealt with human consequences and lives against the backdrop of new, largely faceless renewables projects at opposite ends of Spain. Alcarràs is a heartbreaking story of a family of peach farmers in Catalonia who are being evicted to make way for solar panels, while As Bestas (The Beasts) is an altogether darker thriller about extreme interpersonal conflict triggered by divisions over whether to accept a new wind farm in the Galician hills.
The arrival of this theme into our cultural moment is indicative of the material shift taking place in the real world, as new green technologies are increasingly deployed, the impacts reverberating. A new economy is taking shape, although it is not clear yet whether it will result in a move away from fossil fuels or an energy expansion (JustAddRenewablesTM).
Plus ça change
Wherever there is a new market, there are corporate interests looking to make a profit, and to capitalists the challenge of climate change
