CHEAPER ? ? ? - you decide!

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The costs of corporations and business is not generally realized. I'm not talking about taxpayers money being handed out to "publicly sensitive" businesses that are in financial trouble, nor am I talking about the "shady" contracts between some politicians and corporate leaders. My concern is the effects that industrialization and modern business ethics is having on our planet and society. Our energy hungry world shows no signs of changing it's insatiable ways. . . . ,yet we must.

In a short 90 years we have changed the composition in our atmosphere of CO2 by 30% and more than doubled the methane content. This is a direct consequence of our industrialization and populations. There has finally been some recent acknowledgement by the political realm that strategies need to be in place to counter "global warming", and this has been largely forced upon them through the stark reality of abnormal weather changes and from the general communities' concern. There is still a group that believe human activity has had no effect, but most scientists are now in agreement that humans have accelerated nature's changes.

Some new theories touted by the skeptics is that the sun is warming things up :) and that this is happening in a perfectly natural way, that sunspots are the causes, and human related activities is having no effect. What should we believe?

Well there is a great deal of physical evidence to show that our world is heating up, and that "human activity" has caused immense damage to many (and effecting all) other living things on OUR planet. This argument by the skeptics can be likened to arguing over the choice of curtains that should have been used in the house that is on fire . . . . . . Completely illogical decisions are happening under our noses because corporate power and other interests are firmly in control of our governments. (The supporters of these decisions need their motives scrutinized and or dealt with severely).

Much evidence exists to show how corporations are quite happy to see us get cancers, send us off to war, give us horrible addictions, let us commit financial suicide etc etc just to turn a buck. (gain power). It isn't too much of a stretch to think then they may risk our environment. THE FACTS ARE there is too many people on this planet (another corporate goal) , green house emissions and other pollution is affecting our environment badly, and thermal solar cycles (and cycles within cycles) also play a large effect on our environment as do the ocean flows. There is too many inconstancies to solely blame the solar output with much historical evidence pointing to this. (A good "balanced" short article by Geerts and Linacre titled Sunspots and Climate is worth reading).

What we must remember is that nearly everything except our own actions is out of our control. The greenhouse mechanism plays a major part in the adjustment of our environment, and "human activity" has radically changed that system. The logical response to this should be a concerted effort to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing this impact, after all, it was just a greedy few that stopped us all from driving around in electric cars since the 1920's. . . and that's just one example !

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Many things have caused a re balancing of the climate in the past, the earths axis shifts occasionally, the odd meteorite hits us, ocean currents change, and the suns output can vary too. It appears that a trigger is needed for the system to jump to some new stable operating point for this to happen. Figures recorded for the last 2 solar cycles (approx 22 years, since 1985), shows a reduced thermal output from the sun, but as our oceans operate as a huge heat sink, and interplay complexly between our atmosphere, flora and fauna (us), our climate remains very stable.

However, global warming will cause major weather changes around the globe, some areas may become deserts, and hopefully vica versa. Storm intensities will increase (and Australian cyclones may occur at much lower southern latitudes). It will likely kill all of the coral reefs through surface temperature increases which will stress the fish populations living there, and down the food chain. The ocean currents also provide a transport system to equalize temperature across the globe. There is a huge self sustaining ocean current system which travels the globe which is driven by water density changes in the northern Atlantic. This system provides a mechanism to lock up enormous quantities of CO2, as it is highly soluble in cold water, and is also helped along by phytoplankton. This process on evidence is slowing down which may cause severe climate changes to particularly Northern Europe and change the temperature distributions across the globe generally. (This current normally brings warm water to this area, and makes it much milder than it could be.) Phytoplankton which ride these ocean currents are little creatures that consume CO2 in large quantities during photosynthesis. They contribute considerably to the carbon cycle because on consuming carbon they form calcium carbonate (CaCO3) which sinks to the ocean bottoms when they die. The oceans lock up over half our CO2 releases to help stabilize the system in a number of ways. Phytoplankton, as well as many other creatures, are under serious threat from dangerous radiation levels because of ozone thinning, and other changes to their habitat.
Perhaps this trigger will result in an ice-age, perhaps then it is lucky to enhance the greenhouse effect, it mightn't last the full 80 to 100 thousand years! , never before . . . ever , has there been so many animals plundering the earth, and seemingly without any sensible control to their actions. - a trigger did I hear you say?

Historical records tell us that the oceans in the ice ages were 100 metres lower or more, and also that the oceans have been much higher than they are now. If the unthinkable was to happen , and Antarctica's huge ice reserves, and other land based ice were to melt, coupled with the thermal expansion of water due to an enhanced greenhouse process, the oceans could rise another 60 metres. Our civilization could be under serious threat , either way it goes.

De-forestation and an ever increasing population along with an insatiable thirst for energy and resources is not helping things either. We have already caused changes that will take more than a 100 years for nature to correct if we could stop right now, and there is also some evidence that the thermohaline currents could stop because of northern latitude ice melts and cause severe weather changes in as little as 10 to 40 years.

Of concern as well is the tremendous population's of China, India, and Pakistan etc. which are now entering "heavy industrialization" phases. Their need to compete for energy and resources will seriously escalate our global problems under the present global business machine, and food and water will become major social issues too. (perhaps we should be thinking about developing a new global business engine, one not greed driven and destructive to the planet, or that requires heavy competition of resources.)

As concerned citizens we should all lobby our politicians to help these countries emerge through this phase with minimal global impacts. We should also be leading by example too . .

Our ability to sustain ourselves into the future may be in serious jeopardy from climatic changes, by affecting our food production , water supplies and infrastructures. This will in turn put pressure on the sustainable population levels that live there, and their life-styles. . . . .

( to research this - look up "thermohaline circulation" and the "greenhouse effect" )

Another problem we now have is an ongoing disappearance to our ozone layer at certain times of the year. This upper ozone layer provides an important filter to solar and other cosmic radiation, the thinning has allowed greater intensities and bandwidths of radiation to penetrate. This has caused a severe increase in skin disorders / cancers here in Australia (and other parts of the world ) and is also a problem for other animal and plant life.

Other problems (related to overpopulation and corporate greed)

Another very real threat exists for us through viruses. Overpopulation is the single biggest problem because mother nature's mechanisms attack this problem in many different ways, ensuring there will be "something" which will bring things back to balance. We are contributing to the dangers by offering some man made possibilities as well.....

Practices where animals are herded together in great numbers creates the possibility of viruses developing and jumping species to us. (Pigs, monkeys, cows and chickens are examples of species viral jumps ) Further complications are made when these animals are genetically "enhanced" to acquire some new qualities, because there is always a possibility of some unforeseen problems. Antibiotics are being fed to animals to promote growth, health and "profits". This is compromising our own immune system and the medical world is fast running out of drugs to combat new and stronger strains of bugs within our hospitals. (Our political representatives need to be vigilant too - To place peoples lives in harms way to protect a market is criminal, remember "mad cow" , how it was impossible to catch ! )

Some of our food crops are genetically manipulated too. This has been done to "enhance" the crop to maximize a yield or make it resistant to a pest etc. In many cases it hasn't worked and made producers to be more reliant on "special " products from the suppliers. The "pests" are also becoming more resistant to "pesticides" or have adapted to some new conditions. All this has made farming a questionable viability particularly for "smaller" farms. We are basically just taking a gamble that these crops won't affect other crops, insect life or us, etc. badly. (Studies have shown a 13-16% increase in liver sizes in rats fed from GM canola . . a worry? - well not according to governmental food standards). The vitamin and mineral quality of our crops has also been substantially lowered by processing, irradiation, cold storage etc, reducing our own bodily intakes possibly making us more susceptible to infections

The genetic crops are replacing "natures own" crops too. Seeds and viable plant stock that could be cultivated from the previous years crops are disappearing as a result. Fruit and vegetables are "de-natured" for bacteria control and supposedly longer shelf life, as a result very little fruit and vegetables can be (or are), "home grown". By design or just rotten luck, it seems our food supplies are largely now controlled by corporations.

{One should question the corporation's motives and morality when they are using "terminator" gene technology to stop seed production and force farmers to buy seed from them every year, (and what if this somehow gets into natures biological chain??), also plants are being conditioned to respond more to "chemicals", rather than to natures plan, absorbing the natural nutrients from the soil.}

The increasing, and increasingly sick populations need for donor organs has encouraged new ways to supply this problem with "xeno-transplants". Viral jumping across species is taken to new heights with this because the donor animals are genetically manipulated to be compatible with humans, and this could introduce a whole new raft of viruses and other possibilities. ( ie a new aids etc.)

All the fuel we burn is largely converted to heat because of the disgustingly low efficiencies of our machines. We are warming the planet unnaturally from the inside as well. (Lets hope practical superconductors are being properly funded for research and are just around the corner.)

There are a great many other lucky dips around too! - Scientists , Doctors, etc, are trying to do all they can to help , but the reality is they haven't got a crystal ball, are human, and don't know all the answers. We are taking extraordinary gambles to solve some of these problems and sooner or later we're going to trip. (It is lunacy to allow corporations de-regulated controls and access to enormous power, they will ultimately destroy us, willingly or unwittingly).

"Ethics" was mentioned earlier, well this could be the last nail in our coffin, because "life-style" , "energy use" and the environment are inexorably linked. These ethics (or lack of) are commonly employed to maximize profits, and the burden is placed back on the communities. This inhumanity towards each other is training out the very qualities which could save our species. The media offers "substitute lives" while our own is being stolen, our children are learning that "greed is good" , to hate, and to not value life through "daily" violent imagery. This is a recipe for future trouble. To regain control of our lives is essential, to do this in an atmosphere of mistrust and insecurity will be difficult. The business machine, while it provides some of us with food for the table, is denying so many in the world a reasonable chance at life, there are many in the world that are dying from malnutrition, and the architects are getting a free (limo) ride. The problem for us as a society is, what's good for corporate bottom lines is generally not good for us, or our planet. . . .

The earths resources belong to everybody, to take it and give nothing back is wrong. To create an environmental problem from taking it is wrong. Knowing that "the product" will cause considerable harm or cause some loss of life, is evil. Holding back technologies that could prevent problems or enhance life is despicable.

Our collective use of the combustion engine is the next biggest problem, WE ARE GUILTY TOO, even if we're being led around by the nose - DEMAND . . . cheap electric vehicles, good electric rail systems, electric trolley buses, bikeways, etc. - and most importantly " GREEN" POWER STATIONS, ( Solar or Tidal power stations)

The bottom line is, one day soon, if some of us don't die in a revolution, we will die from starvation, thirst, epidemic, heat wave or another " {man-made} natural catastrophe".

The use of SOLAR ENERGY NOW may give us the time we need to change our energy demands, our social responsibilities and our populations. . .

Oil companies have already moved to dominate and control the solar and alternative energy markets to control their OIL interests and profits, eco friendly cars and other alternatives have been developed, and HELD on the drawing boards - DEMAND THESE NOW! - what they and the politicians have done is knowingly degrade our environment for profit.

The Coal Industry is no better . . (especially here in Australia).

The systematic brainwashing of people is simply unethical, and the oil/coal, (energy industry) has badly breached its obligations to us all by degrading our planet and conspiring to milk us for as much as possible. This is an opinion and maybe difficult to prove, (just like the cigarette cases within our "justice" (snigger) system), but we, the global community can probably lay a lot of the worlds woes directly at their feet.

The global transport systems NEED TO CHANGE and again these people probably have been working against our interests just to line their pockets. I ask you to watch , "Who killed the Electric Car", written by Chris Paine who has some interesting facts we all should be aware of. History will record the key players in all this, and certainly there are more changes to come.

Some Facts -

CO2 has risen from 280ppm to 360ppm since industrialization.

Methane has more than doubled in the last 200 years, 700ppb to 1700 ppb.
due to animal populations - (thats us and our 4 legged food supplements)

N2O has increased 10%

Our energy demands , food and water requirements, and populations are increasing dramatically .

De-forestation and the present atmospheric damage are accelerating the greenhouse processes.

The slow warming of the ocean creates a lag between emissions and their full effect on temperature. The consequences of past emissions are not yet entirely apparent.

and , It appears nobody in power gives a rats. . . . .

I would hope that even the NON believers or "so what" people could just acknowledge that it wouldn't hurt to just to fix the increases that scientists have measured just in case there is something in it.

A little to lose, and maybe much to gain?

(and if the pollies try slapping us all with a "green levy", remind them the coal/fuel industries have been fobbing off their responsibilities for a long time . . . and their reason ---> private profit . . make them pay!)

Some videos well worth watching for educational value are:

"The Corporation", Jolie/Owens movie "Beyond Borders", "The Inconvenient Truth", "Iraq for Sale", "9/11" , "Who killed electric cars", Russell Crowes, "The Insider", "V for Vendetta" - terrorism? , Nicolas Cage's, "Lord of War", "Sometimes in April", Blood Diamond, and so on.

(Mr Gore are you making money out of green trading? or political maneuvering?, sorry, there's something instinctive about not trusting a politician.) ,

Trap for children - and throughout life. . . .

Studies are finding that we are all largely a product of our environment" . There are some genetic pre-disposition to things and we all have slightly different boot loaders at birth , but it is our experiences largely that make us. . . . . . . .
Makes you think that perhaps we (a society) sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot, and a very thin line could exist between two very different paths in life for someone. A light hearted example might be a "politician" and a "thief". ( the thief goes on to learn new skills in jail however), and . . . . . what seeds have we planted in the children of Iraq?, or the many others around the globe crushed by corporate / political decisions?

But if you think about this issue, there are serious implications in how we should treat people, particularly our children. Also the way we punish and rehabilitate people for crimes. We always look at the short term costs, and without "proper" correction and education these things always cost much more in the long run , because the same problems keep coming back.

Very recent studies show the adolescent brain is still "wiring" itself up till the age of 20 or so and the probable reasons their "teenage troubles" for most parents. This new research should allow us to understand them further, or at the least be more tolerant of their irrational ism. This raises some other gigantic questions though. . . Should these people be locked away for crimes committed because they had insufficient guidance, or inadequate parenting, or are just uncontrollable through this period?? Could they become useful citizens again after more education and guidance, or perhaps in a different (loving) environment, and even be a worthwhile contributor to society later?? . . I think much needs to be re-thought, I even believe the brain substantially rewires itself over our entire life, adapting to new environments and challenges.
Our culture (largely now American) is failing our children on a number of fronts, but inadequate guidance and parenting because of the pressures of living and working in today's world must rank high too - Perhaps children need good parental care up to 24 or so??, or at least the opportunity, is this happening??.
Is this "modern" Roman empire we live in really worth the pain?, (in so many ways), can we learn from our mistakes?

If people weren't so afraid of standing up for what is right our society would be much better off, (our jails would certainly be less full) - we all share in some bodies actions. It goes back to, Edmund Burke's saying, " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. " We all can mould the world we live in , and so we all share in it's beauty and it's abhorrence. . . .

SOCIAL problems - Unemployed and over-worked people / people on low wages, can have heightened family tensions and lead to family break-ups, (approx 50% of marriages fail now), this can cause high suicide rates, higher drug / alcohol / substance abuse, may cause excessive gambling (and generally causing all sorts of addictions). Children usually end up with lifetime physiological problems living in a "stressful" environment, they may run away, and then become a problem for society in a number of other ways. Higher crime rates and assaults also accompany these problems. Poverty is also a "trap" for children , which becomes generational. These people usually have poor education and skills , low esteem and lousy prospects. The higher "stress" levels also makes people sick and causes bad judgment. (and yes there's sharks out there ready to take advantage of this too)

Companies /"internationals" who are making huge profits from the community seem to avoid paying taxes, so governments and communities not only have to pay to band-aid many of the above social problems, (or any environmental messes these companies make) , they are denied the tax revenue which is rightfully the communities share for the finite resources used, and quite often the governments own flagrant waste of the peoples money causes much resentment too.

Often public money is given as an incentive for a company to "trade" somewhere , for dubious public benefits. Public money is "floated" in many of these companies, and used without due care, or inside trading occurs. Often government handouts are given to rescue theses companies - ( from criminal and / or incompetence ). Many of these large companies are outside the law because they wield more financial power and influence than most nation states. ( Prosecution is too expensive for governments, and rarely gets there - however a rap on the knuckles might make the polices look good for public perception)
Cost cutting nearly always causes problems, It may expose people to higher dangers (insufficient safety), may increase POLLUTION and help destroy our environment by " streamlining " (short-cutting) processes,
EXPLOITATION of the world's finite resources,(These resources belong to ALL the people of the world). Profiteering through COLLUSION - Setting Availability to control prices, Predatory business dealings killing off small business, (which are the main source of creativity and innovation for the world ), The use of human physiology in manipulating our decisions and purchases, collection of data which is used against us. (We don't stand a chance!)
CONTROL THROUGH MEDIA - modifying our expectations to the unrealistic, (we are now materialistic and impatient. - both parents need to work to sustain a family these days - what of the children ? ) , controlling politics of a region or country .
EASY CREDIT - FINANCIAL CONTROL - creating financial problems ( when you have them by the ----- their hearts and minds will follow! ) Why do you think the GST became part of the Australian landscape after John Howard said "it won't be introduced {never ever}", (some years back) - The world bank commanded, they wanted it! , to further secure tax for our interest payments, further evidence to what our politicians are up to.
On a global scale countries can be controlled, (by controlling their politicians, controlling their currency, controlling their trade - with a variety of methods).
SLAVERY and poverty in 3rd world countries ( this is changing to "everywhere") where children (and adults) are purposely exploited and have no choice but to work for peanuts, and to rub things in the executives pay themselves millions. Also the worlds rich to poor gap is widening quickly, the poor are themselves just slaved to the elite ruling class - some poor buggers are just to overworked and tired to realize this. (Australians work harder and longer for less than most other western world countries.)

Politicians and other senior public officers seem to be supporting decisions which are benefiting corporations more and more. Political power is being used unchecked, we are supporting and financially backing actions which polls at the time show the public doesn't support. (eg, war on weapons of mass destruction, privatization of utilities in all cases now costs us much more for that service, political manipulation of our judicial systems, mismanagement of resources resulting in quongo's to be later privatised, etc)

Governmental and Legal processes - Companies are able to manipulate the system for their interests and to our detriment. Most know what the going rate for someone's life is, and use "risk management" to maximize profits, the legal claims from the mayhem they cause are either quietly settled, or dragged out in court cases for years till the victims gives up, are financially crippled, or die ! , l could go on for pages but I think you have the gist . . . . . .

The biggest joke of all is, ALL THIS may be linked to money, a commodity which is partly fictitious and created or destroyed by a stroke of a pen ( or a keystroke! ) - suggested reading - "The Money Trick" , "Billions for the Bankers", "Story of the Commonwealth Bank", " None dare call it conspiracy" ,

Money is just a tool to acquire power, it is used by the elite classes to keep the masses under control. They use us as "resources" just like cattle, and as cannon fodder in their wars when they can't buy, steal or cheat another out of something they want. It has been happening all through time right back to the war lords. {Imagine if nobody turned up when these ..... wanted their little wars!}

So all the penny pinching deals, the cut-throat decisions, the worker sacking's or underpayments, the charities and the poor, in this commercial world are just a sick joke when "money" is recognized for what it is. . .

The politicians loyalties have been shown time after time that they have no concern for us except around election time. A tremendous volume of evidence is on record that corporations are quite happy to poison or addict us with their products, or let their products or processes destroy our environment - and yet they are allowed to still operate and have government processes to protect them. (supposedly to protect us!). . . . . Are we collectively that stupid, ..... When will we wake up and stop this obscene plundering upon ourselves?

Privatization of a government service or utility has in every case so far caused an increase in costs for it's citizens for that service. Why are we agreeing to this lunacy?

Soon everything we thought was "gods gift" or common property will be in the hands of private people, and "our" politicians have been working away to make this happen. Stop this now, get them to reverse these decisions. If you thought you were a slave now, just wait and see what's around the corner. . . .

When you consider the number of people throughout the world that haven't been given a chance to live , let alone contribute, aren't we doing ourselves a great injustice. - How many Einstein's or future public leaders have we blown up with a mine or starved . . . . . . .

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