It must be that “certain age” or the current blogging vacuum caused by pre-election blues. It got me thinking about the wider issues of life. No, I am not feeling suicidal just contemplating the absurdities in life. Marches in London complaining about cuts, overshadowed by anarchists’ mayhem, whilst is Japan orderly marches to protest about nuclear proliferation giving no hint of the natural destruction which caused the situation.
The UK government tells us the country is on the verge of bankruptcy whilst still finding money to pursue wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya, still pretending there is a “great” in Britain. Bankers still drawing colossal bonuses although it is near impossible to ring your local branch or get the manager to return your call. World population projected to increase from about 6 billion to 9 billion although there are still people starving and the natural resources are being exhausted at an unsustainable rate.
Nearly every man, woman and child on the planet depends for their very existence on the internal combustion engine, in its many forms. These engines all require oil to function, remember the oil refinery blockade in the year (I think) 2000, the country was on its knees in 3 days. One natural disaster in the UK, on a similar scale to that in Japan would cause civil breakdown and I don’t think the British population would be as law abiding as the Japanese.
The government buzz-word is always economic growth and I understand that recession is not good but sustained growth, like perpetual motion is against the laws of both physics and mathematics so we should not be surprised when recession bites back occasionally. Every pound, euro, dollar or yen gained by someone, has to be lost by someone else, resources are finite so we should be managing them for the future, not fighting over them.
I suppose it answers the question ”why no immortality?”, firstly we have to die so somebody else can inherit our space on Earth and secondly this generation of idiots has to die off so the next generation of idiots can take over and make all the same mistakes over again and invent some new ones.
A very cynical view of mankind and his prospects. The answers, of course, are totally unacceptable and will remain so until the resources finally are close to exhausted.
ReplyDeleteCompulsory sterilisation in those places unable to sustain human life, bans on migration, survival of the fittest, emergence of a dominant nation state, similar to Nazi Germany, that imposes the new order rules and legalised euthanasia at a predetermined age (except probably for the fuehrer and a few cronies).
There is no perfect solution, but maybe nature will find a way. Whether, of course, we will like it is another matter. Meantime, Ken, try to stay cheerful.
PS I still think there is a 'Great' in Britain. Having travelled extensively and spent many years abroad, there is still no better place to come home to and, we still punch well above our weight.
ReplyDeleteWhen all said and done, somebody has to police the world, the Americans seem to be tiring of doing it and the Chinese are not yet ready (mind you they are making a fair start in parts of Africa).
Not that I agreed with the Iraq war.
Bill, I was thinking more along the lines of working with the planet rather than obliterating it. Until such time as we have perfected the fuel cell or a space ship to Mars, it may be wise to take better care of what we have.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I am quite cheerful, I just see it as probably the biggest challenge ever faced by mankind - its own survival.
You are right, Ken, for working with the planet is the only hope. Nonetheless, with global warming and sea levels rising leading to a loss of land space and food shortgages, there will be a rapidily expanding migratory move from the undeveloped to the developed world. The US already has it on a massive scale so that the white American will be outnumbered by 2050.
ReplyDeleteThese situations lead to frictions, fear, extremism and, ultimately, violence. Whilst one would like to think mankind can settle his problems decently, I fear there will be much blood letting on route to a new sustainable order. Already the world is tearing itself apart as people rise up against established rulers mainly because of shortages.
What makes anyone think that whoever replaces Gadaffi in Libya is going to be able to magically solve the social problems that led to the uprising. Didn't do much good for Iraq getting rid of Saddam Hussein did it?
Robin Williams illustrated the problem in his speech in New York. Roughly quoting he said 'Bring all our troops home and spread them round our borders. Build a huge wall between us and Mexico and have our navy patrolling our coastline. Liberty is no longer calling for the world to send its poor and hungry, she is saying I have a baseball bat and if you come here you will get some of it. Keep America and American resources for Americans.'
Of course, he is stark raving mad but it illustrates the attitudes that develop and harden as people see their homeland and livlihoods threatened by intruders whether the PC world like it or not.
Strangely enough, despite having no doubt now got myself a Special Branch file, I too am cheerful. Only Ed Balls can really depress me, most of the rest I can get a laugh out of sometimes.
Bill, rising sea level, because of global warming has always been a puzzle to me. The additional water can only come from two places, melting ice caps and water expansion. Ice caps take a minimal area of the earth and only the ice above sea level can make a difference because ice is lighter than water so melt water is more dense than the original ice.
ReplyDeleteWater expansion caused by temperature increase will only affect the top layer of seas and the temperature gradient down deep is very inlikely to change.
I cannot see how these two factors can result in a doomsday scenario of a 2 metre plus rise.
Sorry to be a party-pooper but:
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is a hoax (Club of Rome)
Over-population is a myth, we could all individually live in a family sized house within an area less than half the size of the USA.
Rising sea levels - don't make me laugh!
Crude oil wells replenish themselves, forget the million year old age of dinosaurs rubbish, there is plenty of oil.
Development of alternative energy sources has been held at bay by the monopoly men.
Fact is, nearly everything we have been led to believe in the 20th/21st century is utter bollix; we are living in a false reality.
Truth is, the greedy elitist oligarchs just want the planet to themselves and us out of the way.
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