Tag Archives: Climate change

ON WE MARCH LEAVING FUTURE GENERATIONS THE PROBLEMS OF INEQUILITY

30 Monday Jun 2014

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This is a vast subject on which millions of knowledgeable words have been written down the centuries with little or no effect.

I am sure you will agree however no matter who was writing it is the people who are in pursuit of social change, and constantly bring attention to issues of equal rights and privileges, are often the people who do not have them. The ones who suffer daily from different levels of multidimensional inequality are the ones that see it is impossible to be politically equal.

The source of present day conflicts. 

The majorities at the bottom of the apex, with very limited power, are unable to make choices that would bring them to their ends. 

It is easy for us to say what should be done, but few of us can carry out what needs to be done.

ALL THOSE WORDS AND VOILA! WHERE ARE WE TO DAY?

With a Capitalist market which is earthly constructed that can only dole out earthly rewards.

If we continue to have so many social and economic inequalities our standard of living seems to be declining because we aren’t economically equal.

Some say in order to remove inequalities we must increase the minimum wage to a living wage. This will indeed save the middle classes and in doing so could reduce the need for food banks, social welfare benefits, and the like. In my view it would be a mistake to focus on growth and let inequality take care of itself, not only because inequality may be ethically undesirable but also because the resulting growth may be low and unsustainable.

Equality will not stop inequality of opportunity, education, health nor will it take people out of poverty. It will only move the reasons for inequality to a higher plane.

The drive to higher and more sustainable growth does not in itself support efforts to the redistribute of wealth.

There is an argument that a re-distributive system will slow innovation on quality of life improvements. Further, re distributive policies rely on the wisdom of the ‘redistributor.’ Freedom to choose those resources has been moved to the bureaucrat and politician and will ultimately lead us down the path of financial protectionism.

Now you might not agreed with the content of the above Paragraph but it is already in progress with more and more countries turning to Sovereign Wealth Funds’ (SWF) to protects their futures.  ( See Previous blogs)

These Funds have no outside beneficiaries or liabilities (beyond the government or the citizenry in abstract) they invest their assets, either in the short or long-term, according to the interests and objectives of the sovereign sponsor.

More and more Governments around the world see SWFs as an insurance policy for a potential future problem.

Political equality the most value of democratic theory. The idea that all have the capacity to make political and moral decisions and that we are equally qualified to rule is a long way off, if ever has long gone out the window.

What are the chances now that we have the start of Climate change that we can act as one. Fat chance of that coming about as the Climate is a salable product- CO2 carbon credits ( not worth the paper they are written on)

There is much work to be done Globally in a tight time frame if we don’t want mass immigration.

Development is about people: either poor people have ways to become richer where they are now, or they can become rich by moving somewhere else.

Rest assured that with CLIMATE CHANGE THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

With this in mind, it seems that most of these theories about re distribution of wealth come from fairly elite class perspectives and, in turn, tend to be more pessimistic about bringing change to the inequalities they are evaluating.

When in fact what will happen is that these SWFs will reach out to each other taking advantage of the forthcoming crisis forming partners or in “clubs.”capital.

These funds that Sovereignty Wealth Funds bring to the table are committed to improving their investment capabilities not reducing income inequality. They have taken advantage of the financial crisis by acquiring valuable human resources which has nothing to do with improving the quality of living for the masses.

If not Capped they will along with Climate Change they will rewrite the map of global.

There is only one solution. Make Greed Contribute. ( See previous Blogs)

 

 

We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”

23 Monday Jun 2014

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Stupidity has been around since the dinosaurs.

As Albert Einstein said  “Surely there is no-show that can possibly equate to the amount of mental diarrhea that is presented in every single microsecond.”

YOU MIGHT WELL ASK   “Why does applied science, which saves work and makes life easier, bring us so little happiness? The simple answer runs: Because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it.”

Here is an Idea that might make a difference.

These days we carry cool devices that let us carry the world in our pockets, so why not use them to spread wealth, health, food aid and the like.

Its time we set a price on nature.

The people of the world can be asked whether and how much they prize the two values of nature – use value and non-use value.

This can be done WITH AN UNITED NATIONS APP that rewards the user by issuing a United Nations Food voucher to the deprived.

We would soon know what is valued and what is not.

Nature provides ecosystem services, and we trash it at our peril.

Our activities have put and are putting priceless resources – fresh water, clean air, oceans, and our climate at risk.

Man tries to make for himself in the fashion that suits him best a simplified and intelligible picture of the world; he then tries to some extent to substitute this cosmos of his for the world of experience, and thus to overcome it.

This is what the painter, the poet, the speculative philosopher, and the natural scientists do, each in his own fashion. Each makes this cosmos and its construction the pivot of his emotional life, in order to find in this way peace and security which he can not find in the narrow whirlpool of personal experience.  Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.

We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.

A critical landmark in the sage of global climate change is occurring right in front of our eyes. If you are a non believer try Googling the Carteret Islanders of Papua New Guinea. They have become the world’s first entire community to be displaced by climate change.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world so why not use it.

Not one statesman in a position of responsibility has dared to pursue the only course that holds out any promise of peace, the course of sharing wealth since for a statesman to follow such a course would be tantamount to political suicide. This is why we must cap greed. ( See previous blogs)

Only a life lived for others is a life worth while .

A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited
in time and space.

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The image which man has of himself and his environment.

15 Sunday Jun 2014

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The earth is the foundation of all life, so taking care of the earth and its resources should be a responsibility shared by all .

We are now in the middle of a long process of transition in the nature of the image which man has of himself and his environment.

Primitive men, and to a large extent also men of the early civilizations, imagined themselves to be living on a virtually illimitable plane. There was almost always somewhere beyond the known limits of human habitation, and over a very large part of the time that man has been on earth, there has been something like a frontier. That is, there was always some place else to go when things got too difficult, either by reason of the deterioration of the natural environment or a deterioration of the social structure in places where people happened to live.

The image of the frontier is probably one of the oldest images of mankind, and it is not surprising that we find it hard to get rid of.

All resources are interconnected, so a deficiency in one area puts pressure on all others.

People are putting increasing demands on the earth’s resources in many ways – the need for more food puts pressure on the land and fishing resources, power, fuel and building resources are over-used, our technology demands all sorts of new raw materials, even space for living can be in short supply.

With 7 billion people on the planet – theoretically from today – there will be an inevitable increase in the demand on the world’s natural resources.

Here are six already under severe pressure from current rates of consumption:

The six natural resources most drained by our 7 billion people

1. Water

Freshwater only makes 2.5% of the total volume of the world’s water, which is about 35 million km3. But considering 70% of that freshwater is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover and that we only have access to 200,000km3 of freshwater overall, it isn’t surprising that demand for water could soon exceed supply. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations is predicting that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.

2. Oil

The fear of reaching peak oil continues to haunt the oil industry. The BP Statistical Review of World Energy in June measured total global oil at 188.8 million tonnes, from proved oil resources at the end of 2010. This is only enough to oil for the next 46.2 years, should global production remain at the current rate.

3. Natural gas

A similar picture to oil exists for natural gas, with enough gas in proven reserves to meet 58.6 years of global production at the end of 2010.

4. Phosphorus

Without this element, plants cannot grow. Essential for fertilizer, phosphate rock is only found in a handful of countries, including the US, China and Morocco. With the need to feed 7 billion people, scientists from the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative predict we could run out of phosphorus in 50 to 100 years unless new reserves of the element are found.

5. Coal

This has the largest reserves left of all the fossil fuels, but as China and other developing countries continue to increase their appetite for coal, demand could finally outstrip supply. As it is, we have enough coal to meet 188 years of global production.

6. Rare earth elements

Scandium and terbium are just two of the 17 rare earth minerals that are used in everything from the powerful magnets in wind turbines to the electronic circuits in smartphones. The elements are not as rare as their name suggests but currently 97% of the world’s supply comes from China and they can restrict supplies at will. Exact reserves are not known.

MAN IS DESTINED TO FIND AND CONSUME MORE ENERGY, AND STILL MORE FOREVER.

Our ever-rising ability to do more things faster, and impose more order of our own choosing anywhere we like is bad for the rest of the planet.

It will not have escaped your notice that doomsday-est are never listens to.

At the risk of being called a doomsday spoil sport there is only one solution and that is to tap into mans greed. ( See previous posts)

THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO DRINKING WATER.

12 Thursday Jun 2014

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Water is complicated.

Unlike coal or petroleum water cannot be replaced.  It is intertwined with every sector of society.  Energy production, Agriculture, Industry.

It won’t be long before we will have move people to water.

The problem is that we humans are searching for it on Mars when we need be searching for ways to produce more water on earth.

97% of the water we have is Saltwater, with 2% is trapped in ice that leaves 1%. To put it another way : If all the water on earth was represented by an 11 litre jug, the fresh water would fill a singles cup, and we can only access the last drop.

Now if we keep growing in world population only by 2030 the demand for water will out strip supply by 40%.

We have had two waves of resource-driven imperialism in the modern era. Gold and Oil.

The third wave is currently being fought over the most valuable natural resource  WATER – Iraq, Libya, Syria.

Why bother with missiles,bullets and the like just turn the tap off and the wars will end.

At the moment France’s global mega water companies: Suez, Ondeo, and Saur, control almost half of the world’s $400 billion water market.

Syria controls 40% of Israel’s water.

Water is the commodity that determines the wealth and stability of nations and will in the not so distant future spell the difference between greatness and decline.

Now I can hear you saying what can I do about it.  All one can see is Conflicts, Poverty, Modern Day Slavery, Climate Change, Corruption, Greed.

Here is what you can do.

To stop Sovereign Wealth Funds Privatizing what is left of Fresh water you can read my previous blogs and get involved  to lobby the United Nations to introduce a World Aid Commission of 0.05%  on all Foreign Exchange Transaction over $20,000.

The funds raised by this commission can be used to protect what is of value to us all.

 

 

 

 

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IS THIS ALL WE ARE? CONSUMERS.

02 Monday Jun 2014

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The richer we are and the more we consume, the more self-centred and careless of the lives of others we appear to become.

Even if you somehow put aside the direct, physical impacts of rising consumption, it’s hard to understand how anyone could imagine that economic growth is a formula for protecting the planet. So what we seem to see here is the turning of a vicious circle.  The more harm we do, the less concerned about it we become. And the more hyper consumerism destroys relationships, communities and the physical fabric of the Earth, the more we try to fill the void in our lives by buying more stuff.

All this is accompanied in the rich anglophone nations with the extreme neoliberalism promoted by both press and politicians, and a great concentration of power in the hands of the financial and fossil fuel sectors, which lobby hard, in the public sphere and in private, to prevent change.

How we break the circle and wake people out of this dream world is the question that all those who love the living planet should address.

There will be no easy answers. To succeed is to destroy ourselves. To fail is to destroy ourselves. That is the bind we have created.

Ignore if you must climate change, biodiversity collapse, the depletion of water, soil, minerals, oil; even if all these issues were miraculously to vanish, the mathematics of compound growth make continuity impossible.

Iron ore production has risen 180% in ten years. The trade body Forest Industries tell us that “global paper consumption is at a record high level and it will continue to grow.” If, in the digital age, we won’t reduce even our consumption of paper, what hope is there for other commodities?

Any market-based system to save the planet generates a clash between profit and protecting nature and it is usually resolved in favour of business. Just look at the price of carbon credits £2.80 below junk bonds.

All systems of Governments are flawed, but those that are controlled by private money are reduced to a subsidiary of the human economy. Nature is worthy of protection when it is profitable to business.

NOW I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON ADVOCATING CHANGE.

THE PROBLEM IS COMBINING ALL THE VOICES INTO ONE THAT WILL HAVE AN EFFECT.

It is time that people matter more than profit.

The Foreign Exchange Market which is largely unregulated is $5.3 trillion a day. Just think what we could be achieved by a World Aid Commission of 0.05% . See previous Posts.

If you have any suggestions as to how we can achieve a United World Voice I am all ears.

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0.05% WORLD AID COMMISSION- WORKINGS part two.

23 Friday May 2014

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It is beyond my comprehension with 7/24 news that we continue to destroy the planet that we all own and live on for the sake of short-term Profits.

Greed has no boundaries, no limitations, no moral obligations, no self – esteem, no conscious, it is concave.

It must be harnessed – re focused to contribute to the survival of us all without creating more greed.

In the first part of this blog I out lined how easy it would be to adopt a World Aid Commission. To apply it to all World Foreign Exchange transactions under $20,000. Creating a Fund with a source of perpetual Aid in billions.

So who, how, and where would we invest these funds?

I suggested that the funds revenue could be allocated as follows.

50% – Rapid Aid – fully equipped Response Centers.

25% – Climate Change  Defenses.

25% – International Development Fund.

The Rapid Aid Response Centers (  would get rid of the pathetic need to beg for aid every time there is a disaster) is self-evident.

Four or Five centers fully operational positioned around the globe like lifeboat stations would not only save lives but create employment and pool expertise.

Combined with a Rapid Peacekeeping force that represents all member states.

Climate Change Defenses.

Also self-evident. If we don’t start to build defences and educate the world to the consequences we are all facing  there will be no need for any fund.

International Development Fund.  

This must be Non payback Grants with no strings attached.  Totally transparent based on viable projects submitted to a new United Nations Governing body made up of experts in all fields from all member Nations of the United Nations.

Each project on approval would be allocated an approval number which would then qualify that project for entry into an Annually Televised  Draw for Funds ( this would stop lobbying and corruption etc.)  So many winner at x amount, at y amount, and so on.  The Television program would also show the progress on the previous year Projects winners.

If we are to achieve a fair and just world full of the values that are essential to all of us irrelevant of religious, political, and other aspirations, we must use Greed ( which is common to all of us.)

There is no point living in a virtual reality world full of technology if we have ongoing conflict, inequality, mass economic migration, depletion of finite resources, flooding, poverty, to name just a few of our ailments.

The Primary responsibility is ours not the Futuristic World of the unborn.

If you have any interest your contributions will be much appreciated.

In the mean time kindly support my Petition to the United Nations and the G8.  Found on http:// www change.Org /Robert Dillon.

PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS. THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE EARTH AND THE GENERATIONS TO COME.

A 0.05% WORLD AID COMMISSION – WORKINGS

22 Thursday May 2014

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As I have said I am not the first to advocate what I like to call a commission ( FTC- Financial Transaction Commission) not a Robin Hood Tax or any other kind of tax.  The very word Tax these day sends quivers in all the wrong directions. However perhaps I am the first to broaden the application World Wide.

It would have little or no effect on world economies with very little cost to collect as present collection of taxes is done electronically.

Even if it was applied universally only to currency transactions over $20,000 it would produce billions with the potential to make a huge difference to the well-being of millions of people. 

The foreign exchange (FOREX) market is the largest market in the world, with enormous sums being traded everyday. The size of the market is so huge that it is quite difficult to comprehend the amounts involved. More than $1,200 billion (or $1.2 trillion) worth of currency is traded each day, more than three (3) hundred (00) thousand (000) billion (000,000,000) dollars ($300,000,000,000,000) each year.

Lots of taxes are hard to collect, but this doesn’t seem like one of them.

Sales taxes have decent compliance, and they are often collected by small businesses conducting commerce in cash.

Trading, on the other hand, is conducted by large businesses on computers. This commission would be collected by the exchanges. If there’s no exchange involved, the buyer owes it. It would be paid on any trade carried out in the world or by any world entity or individual (a corporation’s offshore subsidiaries can’t get around it).

It can also be imposed on unfilled orders, derivatives, repos, currency trades and any financial transaction but this is already on the cards within the European Union  and the USA and other countries 

A financial transaction commission (FTC)—a commission on the trading of financial assets—has multiple appeals.

It is a progressive commission that would affect primarily wealthy individuals and large corporate institutions, with benefits potentially flowing to many. Further, while an FTC is not a substitute for effective regulation of finance, it would act to dampen some financial activity, helping to reshape a political economy in which finance has become overly dominant. Finally, the political logic of an FTC—the dynamic of Wall Street vs. Main Street—should give it wide appeal.

The first question is who would manage the fund ?

To create a totally new Organisation would be too cumbersome/ and too expensive to set up.

But a consolidation of existence United Nations organisations/ agencies would save money and resources.

Such a consolidation could combine THE FOLLOWING : OCHA, UNICEF, UNDP,UNEP,UN-HABITAT, UNODC, UNFPA,WFP –  INTO  (ONE ORGANISATION CALLED  –  UN CONCERN – OR WORLD AID COMMISSION- OR UN REACTION WORLD CONCERN.

The funds revenue could be allocated as follows.

50% – Rapid Aid – fully equipped Response -Centers.

25% – Climate Change  Defenses.

25% – International Development Fund.

This concentration of aid over the next 10–12 years would constitute an unparalleled investment in development with benefits that will accrue over time as infrastructure is put into place in the poorest countries.

As always I end this blog fully admitting that I am no expert and all contributions are welcome. The next blog I will attempt to outline how the fund will be transparent and avoid outside political or other pressures in its allocation of funding.

If you are Interested I would be more than pleased if you would give your support to My Petition to lobby the United Nations and the G*8. (  link – https//www.change.org)  – search Robert Dillon.

 

 

ARE WE ALL INCAPABLE OF ACTING AS ONE ?

09 Friday May 2014

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The Asteroid is on it final countdown before hitting earth causing a terminator-style annihilation.

Most of us have seen a Science fiction Movie with this scenario.

Did you ever try to list the reasons why it is impossible for man to act as one. A very interesting exercise of imagination and fact.

Here is my first attempt at a few reasons

Our DNA demands Survival.  Greed.

We are caught in a vicious cycle of Fear, Rage, and Appetites that cry for instant gratification.

We are the agents of the very changes that are throttling us.

We are inventing a world of which we are altogether ill fit to live on.

Complex languages.  World Organisations that compete against each other.

Intelligence. In ourselves, we may finally have met our match.

There is an Evolutionary force to which we cannot adapt.  The web.

Perhaps we will simply morph into Cyber sapiens,* a new human, infinitely more intelligent than you or I are, perhaps more socially adept, or at least able to juggle large tribes of friends, acquaintances, and business associates with the skill of a circus performer. A creature more capable of keeping up with the change it generates. To handle the challenges of time shortages and long distances, Cyber sapiens may even be able to bilocate or split off multiple, digital versions of themselves, each of whom can blithely live separate lives and then periodically rejoin their various digital selves so that they become a supersize version of a single person. 

 A lack of biological constraint may become the defining trait of the next human. We will almost certainly become augmented versions of our current selves.

Our newfound capabilities might become more than we can handle. Will we evolve into some version of comic-book heroes and villains, clashing mythically and with terrible consequences? Powers like these give the term cutting edge a new and lethal meaning. And what of those who don’t have access to all of the fresh, amplifying technologies?

Should we not being guarding  against a world of super-haves and super-have-nots? It is these sides of the equation I wonder about most.

 

 

THE SCRAMBLE HAS BEGUN-IS SUSTAINABILITY STILL POSSIBLE

08 Thursday May 2014

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We are all living in an age where the word Sustainability more typically lends itself to corporate behaviour.

The question is whether civilization ( what ever civilization mean these days) can continue on its current path without undermining prospects for future well-being.

Can humanity alter current behaviors that are leading to self destruction.

The North America’s Iroguis had a proverb ” We have not inherited the earth from our fathers,we are borrowing it from our children.

So what’s going on? and can it keep going on in this way, on this scale, at this pace.

It will almost certainly take more cooperation and more sharing that we can imagine in a world driven by competition and individual accumulation of wealth.

Societies are unlikely to enact policies and programs that favor the future, at the expense of people living in the present, especially the poorer among us.  We have little choice but to give priority to the needs of human beings alive today.

On the other hand we classify ourselves as a Smart and adaptive species which might explain why so many important economic and environmental trends seem headed in conflicting and even opposite directions. 

To help with measurement, we should look without blinking at what is unsustainable—at practices and patterns that,  if we don’t stop them, will stop us.
The rarely voiced reality of environmental unsustainability is that we may have not just less prosperous and comfortable lives in the future but shorter and fewer lives altogether.
If it proves too challenging to feed the projected 2050 world population of more than 9 billion people, for example, it is quite possible we will not have to—for the worst of reasons.
The same can be said of “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emission scenarios: by the time global thermometers register a hike of 4 degrees Celsius, business-as-usual will have ended a long time ago.
So to answer the Question.  It is my belief that we are all incapable of Sustainability, due to Greed.
The only way is to harness greed into contributing by Placing a World Aid Tax or commission on all Stock Exchange transactions world-wide.
This will creating a sustainable fund to distribute wealth to tackle the present day unsustainable inequalities in the world.
   

AS IF WE DID NOT KNOW IT – CAPITALISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE INCOMPATIBLE

21 Monday Apr 2014

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There is no economy without the environment.  For that matter there is no anything.

By this I mean there’s is no question about it, if we turn a blind eye that is what we will have –  Nothing.

There is no need for absolute knowledge for science to come to this truth.

Common Joe Soap can tell you.

There are no thresholds when it comes to Nature.

The Downwinders ( people who have been exposed to fallout from nuclear tests) found out that there is no such thing as teetering on a threshold.

We are being told that the two big ice sheets on the globe are melting.

So for crying out loud are we all sleepwalking.

Like when we obliged the Large global Oil companies by putting a Tiger in our tanks that turned out to be tetraethyl lead a nasty environmental toxin.

Science is about a gradual convergence on the truth. Capitalism is about Profits for profit sake.

At this point it is irrelevant what the scientists don’t know we must a new creationist strategy to tackle climate change. This change can not be achieved without removing poverty in all its forms along with all our other World problems caused by man’s Greed.

We must stop the privatisation of the planet by Sovereign Wealth Funds, and get capitalism to pay for what we value by placing a World Aid tax on all Stock Exchange transactions world-wide. ( see Previous Blogs)