An Inconvenient Truth - DVD Released

I don't think technology is the issue. We pretty much know what we have to do. The issue is how do we find the political will to do it? How do we wrest control from big business, when big business owns both political parties, and the parties and business together make sure it's nearly impossible for alternative voices to be heard or get on the ballot?

I applaud Gore for publicizing the ecological disaster. Maybe that's a good first step. But we are still butting up against the brick wall of corporate greed and ruthless power.

Maybe in the end what happens is civilization collapses, smothered by its own excrement, and either the human race goes extinct, or the few survivors revert to a stone-age technology.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Nov 24 2006, 02:56 PM) [snapback]353744[/snapback]</div>

It's unfortunate...that's what I think on a daily basis. Well, not smothered in its own excrement as much as garbage and all kinds of waste. And being a mom and having those thoughts TOTALLY wigs me out. I personally can handle the collapse of civilization; I can't stand the thought of my son having to.

Great...more nightmares tonight.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Nov 24 2006, 06:45 PM) [snapback]353821[/snapback]</div>

I was merely being colorful: The "excrement" of a civilization being its garbage, waste, and pollution.

It wouldn't be the first time. The early Earth had no free oxygen. The first life was anaerobic. Oxygen was its waste product. Eventually (and without technology!) those little things produced so much oxygen that it wiped them out, and now they can only live in extreme environments where oxygen cannot penetrate.

But, unlike you, I have no kids to worry about, nor does my sister. Two of my cousins have kids, but I have not seen any of them more than twice in my life.

 

Scored on the DVD this weekend, really cool that it came packaged in 100% post consumer recycled slieve with a corn based outer wrap. Then to make the deal sweeter, it had a compact flouresent lamp with it.

 

Global warming will be the subject of next Tuesday's Oprah.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Nov 25 2006, 07:03 AM) [snapback]353908[/snapback]</div>

Good point

The reality is, that while we should be mindful of pollution, it is the EXPLOSION OF WORLD POPULATION, which is the real problem.

Humans have generally been destructive and polluting throughout their history: look at "slash-and-burn" agriculture (still widely practised in the Third World,) mass extinctions, such as that of most of Australia's carnivores caused by the arrival of the Aborigines, etc..

But for most of our history, our relatively small numbers have kept us from effecting the significant impact we are discussing here. In 1700, the world population was estimated at 600 million. In 1800 it was 900. In 1900 it was 1.7 billion. In 2000, it was 7 billion!!!

We have reached a crisis point, but few want to talk about it: The Religious Right thinks their God has commanded them to procreate and are afraid of abortion and family planning; The Left is afraid of being racist, since the population explosion today is almost exclusively in the Third World.

Nevertheless, there is this population elephant in the room, and things are going to get broken, even if the elephant behaves nicely. We can all be driving Priuses, recycle and and use solar panels on our roofs, but if we don't do something about population, at the end the elephant is going to wreck the room.

Cheers

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Black2006 @ Dec 1 2006, 06:54 PM) [snapback]356528[/snapback]</div>

IOW, if we don't do something about it, nature will.