Re: Can we survive Climate Change thanks for the clarification Aslanded, but living in Melbourne I was able to guess that Frosty was talking about the Aussie Greens. Not sure that I wholly agree with your sweeping statements and conclusions and even less so with a proposition that things would be different with a Greens government. Water, energy, infrastructure have been neglected for a long time and the urban sprawl simply exacerbates these among other problems.
Re: Can we survive Climate Change Do you know what happened to the $50 billion Howard gave the USA to invest for him? The "Future Fund" Has anyone heard what has happened to it?
Re: Can we survive Climate Change An intersting article https://links.org.au/node/683 Alarmist? Over-the-top?
Re: Can we survive Climate Change I do know that something has a hold on the oxygen supply. I have multiple theories but no hard evidence. Bottom line is that the system is ill-suited for intelligent thought, and that's really bad for me due to what I do for a living. Time to re-think a plan to live here and survive (instead of thrive). It's all such a crock as I didn't know I would spend 1/2 of 70's years existing as a sack of meat. Dad /could/ have told me, and even if his generation never dealt with these issues, the *** could admit he sees something bad going on with the air supply. Still to this day no admission of anything strange. Where do people come from? Do they think suffocating is just a part another part of life? I'm no idiot, I've been here 36 yrs and I've never seen a time like 2007-2008.
Re: Can we survive Climate Change This is such a huge question - surviving climate change. I'm 63, and grew up in post war Britain, where my parents' generation had these great survival skills. Britain was just about bankrupt, there was a baby boom that the government did NOT want as they already had difficulty feeding us all, and we were on rations for nearly a decade after the war ended. My Dad was just like most Dads - he gardened, kept chooks and rabbits and a pig, went out poaching, brought home bits and pieces from the woollen mill where he worked, such as leather offcuts to mend our shoes, blanket ends to sew together to make full blankets, wood for fire kindling, string, rope..... Mum had wonderful skills too - she could skin and gut a rabbit, using both the meat and fur, she could make a dinner from the garden produce and little else, she could shop cleverly, buying fish, for instance, when she knew the fishing fleet was in. She sewed all our clothes, knitted our woollens, and kept us clean without running hot water, using tubs, tin bath and a set pot (a built-in copper pot with a fire underneath). They traded and bartered, sharing skills and surpluses with friends and neighbours. They never had a car - buses and bicycles were all they used. Their food miles were minimal, though they never thought of it that way. I was taught many of these skills, and I am starting to use some of them again (not the rabbits - they're illegal in Queensland), but I believe that there is a serious generation gap here. From what I can see, people under 50 have grown up in such a vastly different world that they never got exposed to these survival skills. Many over 50s might have memories of those times, but don't want to know about them any more. I'm pretty sure the people on this forum are atypical: most people in the western industrial world do not have this picture in their minds, of how it all could be done. We need to capture the imagination of the general population, inspire people to see the dangers of climate change, to stop making things worse, and find new ways of living. Certain influential people are trying, from Al Gore to Jamie Oliver, from political greenies to quiet organic gardeners and permaculture enthusiasts,but I'm not sure how effective they/we have been. We can have it all - our favourite technology, computers, TV, music, comfy homes, interesting jobs, without damaging the world. I've started writing a self-help book about survival on next to nothing, but I have no idea how to influence the big picture.
Re: Can we survive Climate Change And here is an interesting view of the future, from a US standpoint: https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/no ... nce-agency
Re: Can we survive Climate Change Well the criminals in USA Financial system are certainly "calling the shots" now. Is this what we need or want for the future? ( A light hearted look at CEO crooks here:- https://www.satirewire.com/news/june02/ceonistas.shtml ) I am not sure that many Yanks really still want to be the 'worlds policeman' any more. The arms industry, seeing this, has been demonisng Iraq (https://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/)Iran, Islam, and China. Japan has placed a 60-80 billion dollar order for arms. It is so sad to see that country being forced by the USA to re-arm by the death-dealers who still won't ban cluster bombs or land mines. Israel gets over 100billion in US aid a year. A huge slice of the US Overseas Aid budget. Capitalism isn't working for most on the planet now. Is there a reason to keep it? As for human rights, (not mentioned in the article -but assumed by many to go 'hand-in-hand' with Democracy), the USA has set an appalling record during the Bush administration. Kidnapping people from all over the world and incarcerating them all day in tiny, sensory-deprivation cells for six years or more without trial. Hardly a "leading by example." After China the USA kills more of its people (Capital Punishment) and has more locked up than anyone else. Usually poor blacks. The poor are often forced into crime due to the US's hard nosed approach to social welfare, aged and health care (The welfare seems to be reserved for major corporations and other fat-cat crooks (e.g.,look at who gets MOST farm subsidies) The image of the big three car makers all flying into Washington in their Private Lear Jets to ask for a hand-out is ludicrous. Especially when these manufactures have not responded to the market's demand for a more environmentally responsible car & using less fuel. Fiat with its car that can use gas, petrol or ethanol seems to be doing fine.
