Ecological Disasters - orig. 08/07/05
We can no longer hide our heads in the sand. Every day I turn on PBS and there is coverage of a new ecological or humanitarian disaster. These are not isolated incidents. They are evidence of a systemic problem.
Today it was the world’s largest glacier in Greenland. It is moving 10 times faster than is normal and responsible for 4% of the world’s rising ocean levels. The theory behind the glaciers unprecedented movement is Global Warming. Check out the story.
Yesterday it was a show on a type of algae that is completely changing the seascapes of the Mediterranean. It has no natural predators in the area and smothers all the other life forms in it’s environment. The particular strain of algae has not been found in nature, but they were able to track it to a tropical fish store. They couldn’t say whether this strain had been discovered somewhere or selectively bred in the store. It has been exported worldwide as there are no other green plants that can survive in the chemical soup of a tropical fish tank. There has recently been an outbreak in California. Here is a link to the PBS page for the show Algae Alert. It seems so innocuous to want a green plant for your tropical fish tank.
Like I said previously, I can turn on PBS any day of the week and there will be at least one or two programs about different ecological and humanitarian disasters. I have yet to see a rerun or the same disaster covered more than once. I expect to bear witness to many more of these events.
I only bring these things up because I want to press upon you the seriousness of what we are witnessing.
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It is natural that there is going to be some resistance to the ideas I am sharing. They go against much of what we have been taught as Americans. Let us not forget that we have been indoctrinated since birth via the media, our parents, our schools etc. to fit into a consumeristic society. I recommend that instead of looking for flaws and hypocrisy in my logic that instead we work together to find viable solutions that allow for a sustainable future.
I have just one voice, but my voice is not a lone voice. What is called for may require millions or billions of voices to bear fruit.
I believe that many groups and individuals are doing good work, but are focused on the symptoms instead of addressing the overall picture. If we can band together for a common cause in regards to sustainability then perhaps it will buy us time to resolve our other varied social ills. I believe that our focus should be on overpopulation and destructive/wasteful production methods (which will probably require that we reign in corporate rule and end commercialism).
I don’t believe any species can leave no footprint, but in a balanced ecosystem species exist as a part of their environment. It’s okay to give up buying new stuff. Stuff doesn’t have to define you or give you self worth.
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Let us address reigning in corporate rule for a moment. One of the first steps may be campaign finance reform. I would like to see no private funding for political campaigns (not even funding from the candidates themselves). All funding for political campaigns would come from taxes. It begs a couple of questions:
1. Where will the government get the money from without raising taxes?
2. How can we determine which candidates will or should receive funding?
The first question is easy. Right now there is talk of having the military be prepared to fight two full scale wars at once. Instead of being prepared to fight two full scale wars why don’t we be prepared to fight one full scale war and then not fight it? That could save the government some money.
As far as the second question I don’t have an answer yet. I will have to do more research.
Perhaps, this is not even the place to start. I am still learning and expect to steal ideas wholesale in an effort to further refine my own thoughts. We do need to start somewhere.
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Here's "What's the Point #4":
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One of the things that I was thinking of today is that now, if there is a taxable interest involved, the US government has the right to take your property. What I mean is that if a company can create more taxable income using your property than you can then the government can seize it from you and give it to the aforementioned company. I think this sets a dangerous precedent. Many people are buying acres of rain forest in Brazil. When the time comes the Brazilian government will probably follow our example and seize those acres from the current owners opening them up for development.
Today it was the world’s largest glacier in Greenland. It is moving 10 times faster than is normal and responsible for 4% of the world’s rising ocean levels. The theory behind the glaciers unprecedented movement is Global Warming. Check out the story.
Yesterday it was a show on a type of algae that is completely changing the seascapes of the Mediterranean. It has no natural predators in the area and smothers all the other life forms in it’s environment. The particular strain of algae has not been found in nature, but they were able to track it to a tropical fish store. They couldn’t say whether this strain had been discovered somewhere or selectively bred in the store. It has been exported worldwide as there are no other green plants that can survive in the chemical soup of a tropical fish tank. There has recently been an outbreak in California. Here is a link to the PBS page for the show Algae Alert. It seems so innocuous to want a green plant for your tropical fish tank.
Like I said previously, I can turn on PBS any day of the week and there will be at least one or two programs about different ecological and humanitarian disasters. I have yet to see a rerun or the same disaster covered more than once. I expect to bear witness to many more of these events.
I only bring these things up because I want to press upon you the seriousness of what we are witnessing.
-----
It is natural that there is going to be some resistance to the ideas I am sharing. They go against much of what we have been taught as Americans. Let us not forget that we have been indoctrinated since birth via the media, our parents, our schools etc. to fit into a consumeristic society. I recommend that instead of looking for flaws and hypocrisy in my logic that instead we work together to find viable solutions that allow for a sustainable future.
I have just one voice, but my voice is not a lone voice. What is called for may require millions or billions of voices to bear fruit.
I believe that many groups and individuals are doing good work, but are focused on the symptoms instead of addressing the overall picture. If we can band together for a common cause in regards to sustainability then perhaps it will buy us time to resolve our other varied social ills. I believe that our focus should be on overpopulation and destructive/wasteful production methods (which will probably require that we reign in corporate rule and end commercialism).
I don’t believe any species can leave no footprint, but in a balanced ecosystem species exist as a part of their environment. It’s okay to give up buying new stuff. Stuff doesn’t have to define you or give you self worth.
-----
Let us address reigning in corporate rule for a moment. One of the first steps may be campaign finance reform. I would like to see no private funding for political campaigns (not even funding from the candidates themselves). All funding for political campaigns would come from taxes. It begs a couple of questions:
1. Where will the government get the money from without raising taxes?
2. How can we determine which candidates will or should receive funding?
The first question is easy. Right now there is talk of having the military be prepared to fight two full scale wars at once. Instead of being prepared to fight two full scale wars why don’t we be prepared to fight one full scale war and then not fight it? That could save the government some money.
As far as the second question I don’t have an answer yet. I will have to do more research.
Perhaps, this is not even the place to start. I am still learning and expect to steal ideas wholesale in an effort to further refine my own thoughts. We do need to start somewhere.
-----
Here's "What's the Point #4":
-----
One of the things that I was thinking of today is that now, if there is a taxable interest involved, the US government has the right to take your property. What I mean is that if a company can create more taxable income using your property than you can then the government can seize it from you and give it to the aforementioned company. I think this sets a dangerous precedent. Many people are buying acres of rain forest in Brazil. When the time comes the Brazilian government will probably follow our example and seize those acres from the current owners opening them up for development.
posted by T-Bone_Jones at 6:27 PM
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