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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Why Earth Won't Cope With Humans Much Longer
http://www.rense.com/general92/rth.htm
Frosty Wooldridge
9-2-10
In this continuing series on overpopulation in America by Marilyn
Hempel, editor of Population Press, you, a concerned citizen, will
find more information than anything in the main stream media. In the
current edition of Population Press, Hempel features John Gibbons with
"Six reasons why Earth won't cope for long." www.populationpress.org
This article was written on the eve of the last day of the Copenhagen
Climate Conference. The pressing reality, the dangerous convergence of
environmental and resource crises, has not diminished.
Richard Heinberg, author of Peak Everything: Facing a Century of Declines, said,
"...the discussions in Denmark took place in a conceptual fantasy
world in which climate change is the only global crisis that matters
much; in which rapid economic growth is still an option; in which
fossil fuels are practically limitless; in which a western middle
class staring at the prospect of penury can be persuaded voluntarily
to transfer a significant portion of its rapidly evaporating wealth to
other nations; in which subsistence farmers in poor nations should all
aspire to become middle-class urbanites; and in which the subject of
human overpopulation can barely be mentioned.
... It's no wonder more wasn't achieved in Copenhagen."
http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=311db31977054c5ef
58219392&id=1853646c28&e=411677039a
"As world leaders arrive in Copenhagen for the crunch phase of the
climate conference, the focus turns to what kind of deal is likely to
emerge," said Gibbons. "Pre-eminent climate scientist Prof James
Hansen of the Nasa Goddard Institute has already given the entire
process the kiss of death. Any political deal cobbled together is, he
believes, likely to be so profoundly flawed as to lock humanity on to
"a disaster track."
"Hansen voiced publicly what environmental scientists and campaigners
have murmured all year. A political fudge that ducks science is the
likeliest outcome at Copenhagen. Earlier this week, for instance, EU
fisheries ministers agreed a deal that pleased government and
fishermen. However, it does little to arrest the progressive
annihilation of a common resource that, like our atmosphere, is owned
by no one-and so exploited by all.
"The world faces a dangerous convergence of environmental and resource
crises, not all directly climate related. All, however, are
increasingly difficult to resolve in a rapidly warming world. Taken
together, they are not amenable to a business-as-usual political
response. Here, in no particular order, are six:
1. Population Pressure: Sir David Attenborough has witnessed how the
natural world is being crushed by humanity. "I've never seen a problem
that wouldn't be easier to solve with fewer people, or harder-and
ultimately impossible-with more," he says. The Earth must provide for
around 80 million more people than this time last year. It took us
almost 10,000 years to reach a billion people. We now add that many
every 12-15 years.
2. Biodiversity: "The world is currently undergoing a very rapid loss
of biodiversity comparable with the great mass extinction events that
have previously occurred only five or six times in the Earth's
history," says the World Wildlife Fund. It has tracked an astonishing
30% decline in the Earth's biodiversity between 1970-2003.
Overpopulation, hunting, habitat destruction, deforestation, pollution
and the spread of agriculture are leading to as many as 1,000 entire
species going extinct every week-that's a species every 10 minutes.
The economic cost of destroying biodiversity is also immense. A 2008
EU study estimated the cost of forest loss alone is running at $2-$5
trillion (¤1.3-¤3.4 trillion) annually.
3. Ocean Acidification: The evidence of the effects of increased CO2
levels on the world's oceans is unequivocal. Surface ocean acidity has
increased by 30% since 1800, with half this increase occurring in just
the last three decades. The rate of change in oceanic pH levels is
around 100 times faster than any observed natural rate. Increasing
acidity is impeding the ability of plankton called foraminifera to
produce shells. These creatures form the base of the entire marine
food system. The world's vital reef systems are also in peril from
acidification.
4. Peak Oil: This month, the International Energy Agency formally
predicted global peak oil by 2020. [Some industry analysts think it
has already occurred.] Today, the world burns the equivalent of 82
million barrels of oil every day. Projected growth in energy demand
will see this rise to almost 100 million barrels within a decade, but
by then, output from the oilfields currently in production will have
plummeted to barely a third of that. A massive energy gap is looming,
and with discoveries having peaked in the mid-1960s, we are
approaching the bottom of the cheap oil barrel. Non-conventional oil,
renewables and nuclear will be nowhere near capable of bridging this
energy gap in time. The oil shocks of the coming decade will be
intense.
5. Peak Food: The global food system is predicated on plenty of cheap
oil, fresh water, soil and natural gas. All four are in decline. The
food riots of 2008 were an early warning of a global system in crisis.
In the US, it is estimated every calorie of food energy requires 10
calories of fossil fuel energy. More food production is now being
channeled into fattening animals. Meat is a tasty but entirely
inefficient way to use finite food resources. Meanwhile, the UN
predicts the collapse of all global commercial marine fisheries by
2048, depriving up to two billion people of food.
6. Peak Water: During the 20th century, human water usage increased
nine-fold, with irrigation (for agriculture) alone using two-thirds of
this total. With almost all major glaciers retreating, many river
systems are at risk. Groundwater in aquifers is another key fresh
water source. Over-extraction, mostly for agriculture, has caused
their levels worldwide to plummet. Pollution, especially from
fertilizer overuse, adds to the loss of fresh water. The [Irish]
Environmental Protection Agency yesterday reported only 17% of
Ireland's rivers are of "high ecological status".
"The 19th century naturalist John Muir famously wrote that "when one
tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of
the world". As the Copenhagen conference draws to a close, the words
of a contemporary of Muir, politician and orator Robert Ingersoll,
have never seemed more apt: "In nature there are neither rewards nor
punishments; there are only consequences.""
John Gibbons blogs at www.thinkorswim.ie
__________
Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six continents - from the Arctic
to the South Pole - as well as six times across the USA, coast to
coast and border to border. In 2005, he bicycled from the Arctic
Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece. He presents "The Coming Population
Crisis in America: and what you can do about it" to civic clubs,
church groups, high schools and colleges. He works to bring about
sensible world population balance atwww.frostywooldridge.com He is the
author of: America on the Brink: The Next Added 100 Million Americans.
Copies available: 1 888 280 7715
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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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