Heres a useful tool .Go to Google and personnalise your home page with bulletins from The New Scientist

http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn10743-warming-oceans-produce-less-phytoplankton.html

This one is another bit of depressing news about the consequences of how we've f*****d up.

Too late now so just carry on attracting loads a' money .......I'm sure someone will make it edible one day.

Last edited: 6-12-2006 07:29:26 PM

Quote

Only when the last tree is cut;

Only when the last river is polluted;

Only when the last fish is caught;

Only then will they realize that you cannot eat money


Cree Indian proverb

Quote

Hi John

Note your interest in global warming. A popular topic these days, although it's a shame the masses are a bit slow on the uptake. A colleague of mine has been responsible for organising the 'Wild Law' conference in Brighton over the past two years, based on the book by Cormac Cullinan. This year we heard from speakers including Cormac himself, Satish Kumar (of Resurgence) and Norman Baker MP. An eclectic mix of speakers and one of the most inspiration Friday afternoons that I've had in a while.

I think it's important for us to stear away from the doom and gloom as it's all too easy to become apathetic and assume it's too late to change. Personally, I don't think it is too late and whilst global warming will undoubtedly impact significantly on the earth, there's a lot that we can do to soften the blow.

Radical change? Well yes. But then if we can cope with two world wars then we can deal with this.

I like to focus on the positive. Increased fuel costs? Well, great. Means reduced car use, reduced pointless waste of fuel transporting food around the country and reduced air travel. This could mean improved public transport, a boost in the local economy (as people return to their local shops, farmers and industry) and a thriving tourist industry as we relax on our own soils.

Isn't this what the public is striving for? How many Sunday supplements focus on our new-found love of British organic food, farm shops and 'down-shifting'?

Only question is of course, can the country can take the strain??!

I could go on an on, but I'll save your ears and leave you with an interesting article written by my colleague, which was recently printed in the Guardian.

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1941609,00.html

Last edited: 7-12-2006 04:33:49 AM

Quote

Hi Josie

thanks for your reply.....but dont take me too literally . I'm a drama queen . I will shove the negative in there to invoke a response.

I agree we have to stay positive ,but as a generalisation in itself its not enough.

The trouble is how we achieve 'right action for the job'. We only have a window of opprtunity and if we waste it with well intentioned theories and' Wrong action' then we dont achieve what we intend.

One problem is that we dont really understand the size of this one ,as it is an event unfolding ..not a passed event which we can reflect on .

Also we are still going very fast in the wrong direction and infact there is little to suggest that in real terms our Growth is going to slow down ....but in the meantime that very action intensifies the velocity of what is coming right towards us.

Elementary physics tells you that such forces on collision course can only have an explosion at some point.

I think James Lovelock has got it about right in that if anything we're in the midst of a damage limitation exercise at best.

The Doom scenario will inevitably send some to stick their heads in the sand ....but whats new there...But on the other hand we should not fall into the comfort zone of minimizing it either which is what a lot of people ( Bellamy et al) have been doing.

We are playing Russian Roulette at the moment and dont lets kid ourselves ....

History is littered with great civilisations that suddenly disappear in a short period of time ......

Basically they just didnt get it.....the seed of success is the seed of destruction as well.

In a world culture whose real Gods are Individualism... a right to wealth and fortune.....in a world made for our benefit.???.......enough said.

John......

( By the way Josie ...your not that little girl in the advert who spells 'paleontology' at the age of 3 ...by any chance)?

Last edited: 7-12-2006 05:42:03 AM

Quote

Hello again John

Nothing wrong with being a bit dramatic, saves us from a boring life! All points taken and understood. Fear not, I'm the last person for quarrelling amongst the like-minded. If there's one thing that's got my goat from working within environmental organisations over the past few years, it's the lack of willingness for combined effort. The desire for individual success (financial and otherwise) still blinds even the greenist of folk.

Don't get me wrong. The task we have ahead of us is a massive undertaking and we might very well fail. But the fact that the world is at last attempting to take it on, gets me excited. Even my local Odeon cinema was packed the other week watching the Al Gore movie - and not with Geography teachers either (well, I guess that's an assumption, but how many Geography teachers can there be??!)

As for Bellamy...well, I think he's lost his marbles. Shame, I used to like him as a nipper. As far as Davids go I'll stick to the Attenborough variety.

Lovelock - clever, clever man. Although I heard him talk earlier in the year and he seemed a bit crotchety and damning of us all. Mind you, who could blame him ehh? His work has fallen on deaf ears for too long! Not sure how I feel about the rush to nuclear though. Don't know about you, but I think wind turbines are pretty stunning, and you don't hear people complaining about ugly electricity pylons whilst they're watching Eastenders with a hot cup of tea and the heating on!!

As for being a child genius...eeerr no. I read Jane Eyre at 11, does that count?

The photo is from around 1979 (thus the snazzy dress). But it is me none the less. I am still partial to wealding spoons..in the kitchen that is.

Josie

Last edited: 7-12-2006 06:34:10 AM

Quote

Hi Josie


Yes its a difficult one ,and because it's an event in the making we dont have the luxury of hindsight on it.

One of the scary things about it is the amount of denial that still lingers on in our so called intelligensia.Bellamy is only one and that young whippersnapper Longren (or what ever he is called ) is another .Usually they reflect vested interest.

As for the nuclear thing I was quite active in the anti nuclear movement years ago ...and infact I got quite a high neutron bombardment count when me and a few other Idiots camped for a weekend down at sizewll B. It was meant to be an organized big demo but only 16 of us turned up...(.the event organisers didnt even turn up....thats dedication for you) .I say idiots by the way as all (bar me ) went swimming in the hot water created by the discharge of coolantwaters....can you believe it!!!! ...What message was that then!

Anyhow I digress....Im not actually a lover of the option myself, but I think it may prove to be the lesser of the 2 evils. Although having said that we should do everything we can in regards conservation of energy matters and with passsive systems. The danger with relying on the nuclear option,is that people will tend to think its all sorted when it isn't at all.....This is a real tough one.

,At the personel level we have for years now used bio fuels ,and live relatively simply compared to a lot.However making a yacht does somewhat put the carbon count up for now ,although she will be a sail boat and run on bio fuel.

There are other areas which impact on this as well...perhaps as profound as the issue of what energy to use. That is the whole issue of lifestyle and the power and influence especially on the young of role models and the puppetmasters of mass culture.

I touched on this in another forum on market forces.These are the big players, and loosely speaking come under the heading of ' corporate capitalistm'.and the downsides of mass production....and rampant consumerism.

If and when the ' shit hits the fan' these guys will look aghast at such accusations and say ...Me!!....but look I live in a zero carbon house (albeit a mansion) run a hydrogen car and have always recycled my waste (well...... the housekeeper does that bit) Look ! its that working class scums fault .....them and their fat chubby kids!

ps Hi jay...it was that proverb I had in mind when I wrote.

John

Last edited: 7-12-2006 03:04:29 PM

Quote

Just an amendum here ...just in case anyone thinks I'm a bit ...over the top

Arnold schwaznegger has about 10 Humvies which( I dont have to tell anyone how much they guzzle)...but he also has a hydrogen vehicle ( which only the super rich can afford)........and we all know his politics.

The other example is yours truly ....Old W himself ( George Bush)...he has apparently had a new ranch built ..... all low energy high tech insulation ....Mister Green hey?........ dont worry about all those soldier boys or Iraqi women and children....just keep buying the oil !!!

Last edited: 8-12-2006 05:53:00 PM

Quote

Yeah, but worrying about those people can drain YOUR energy. I've done this too (A LOT!), but I am finally learning to conserve my energy for what is important.

Also in my experience it helps to focus on sending thoughts towards a solution rather than too much towards the problem. It's tricky, because you need to undestand the problems, but once you do understand the problem--focus on a solution, even if it seems preposterous. See if you can manifest a miracle!

I regularly send calming energy and focused intent to an area whenever there is an earthquake or volcanic activity. I also send an intent to hurricanes whenever they arise to "shrink". I check with the planet first and submit my intent to the highest good of all, but the size of the problem never deters me.

Many people started focusing on minimizing hurricanes following Katrina in the US. The Crofts also dumped a bunch of orgonite into the region with help from the dolphins who distribute it. Remember all the dire predictions of hurricanes early this year, and how many actually hit???????

Manifest a miracle!

Quote

your right in what you say here and I am aware of that as Iv'e done that a lot as well...and yes from time to time I still do I suppose ...but then I'm not a God ........yet.

The reason why I give this aspect some focus is that in our liberal society we often miss the contradictions out there and are quite prone to being 'mesmerized ' especially by those who have power.....the bling bling or glitter affect.

I will also push it deliberately to evoke a response ,and what I say is not the sum total of my thought s on a subject..

I must say though that I'm not too sure about the bit about 'Crofts' ,'organite' and 'Dolphins '.........is that as in cryptonite???

The world is however bigger and more wonder full than the average male brain can cope with........and mine is no more than that... .perhaps theres hope for me yet

john )

Last edited: 9-12-2006 03:03:10 PM

Quote

Gee, what device could possibly "mesmerize" the people this way? Maybe the TV?!?! ( I know it's more complicated then that, but the TV is a major player methinks)

That was my "push the curiousity button to evoke response" maneuver. Looks like it worked

Orgonite is a device made from crystals and metal shavings. The combination seems to help transmute negative energy into possitive energy. I am still experimenting with it, so I am not sure how effective it really is, and if some devices can be negative. You can learn more about organite here: Etheric Warriors and read about their musings about the hurricanes here: noaa-cane Ernesto.

In general, I have been experimenting with solutions using the power of intentions and I think we may be able to do quite a bit with it to heal the planet.

Quote

Hi katherine

caught me out on that one. ..Yes TV has got something to do with it ..the murdochs of this world dont own it for no reason.

Interesting about the organite /dolphin thingy......what drops into my head here is Wounded Knee and the Ghost dancers ...and I suppose the organite here has to be the ghost shirts ...which sadly didn't stop the bullets.


I say this with all respect ,but what is shared is our 'intent '....... a response from the heart... to an attack to the heart.

I suppose as a dialectical materialist ,although I see the world completely interconnected energetically ,I see the power dynamic for change more at the social level and more specifically at the level of classes( a term very much misunderstood )or if you like ..lumps of mass that have the potential to go critical and transform the social dynamic at a different level to individual change.

Today I got James Lovelocks book 'The Revenge of Gia'....a man I have respect for.

I suppose at the end of the day we are all expressing a facet of energy in motion, in what everway it comes to us.

To quote a Native American;.... The Earth is but one being.What we do to

one , we do to ourselves'..................

John

Last edited: 5-01-2007 06:32:40 PM

Quote

True about the bullet comment. I don't think organite or good intentions could stop a bullet that is already in motion. At least I'm not ready to try it. However, I have seen enough to be convinced that these things have some effect. I'm still sorting out how this works, and some things seem to work on different levels.

Here's something else interesting. Have you heard of sending love and thanks to water? Apparently Dr. Emoto studied how thoughts can change the structure of water. This page has some of his research: Water Crystals. Of course we need to stop the polluters too, but this is something anyone can do, even kids, to help until we can get at the root causes.

So, when you read about some nasty environmental catastrophe, if you project "love and gratitude" to the water nearby, you may be able to have an effect and you will be focusing your mind on positive solutions, not giving energy to the problem itself.

That's my two cents anyway.

edit: Just looked at some reviews of the Revenge of Gaia book. It sounds very depressing. Try not to let it get you down, ok? I have never felt any sense of Gaia wanting revenge. If we support her with our hearts and minds and work to minimze the damage that's been caused we can get through this environmental crisis. There are those on this planet who will hype the environmental issue just to get more control; ie. "we need to give the government more power to solve this horrible crisis". Lovelock may not be in that camp, but watch out for those who are.

Last edited: 12-12-2006 12:41:09 PM

Quote

Hi Katherine
Have just visited Dr Emotos website...interesting stuff and am sure there will be something in it.

Afterall thought is a reflection of matter and thought also acts back on matter. this a basic postulate of dialectical materialism and is there whether we can see it or not.

As for Lovelock being depressing . I think if anything he is inspiring .I think it depends how we view the negative as a construct and as an element in our lives.

The tradition is to see it as something to fear and thus to avoid. One could argue infact that it is because we dont take responsibility for the negative by means of ignoring it ..be it waste... pollution ...co2 (the negatives of production) and merely indulge ourselves in its positives....we are where we are .

Transformation is always an interpenetration of opposites.There is no transformation unless we let the other penetrate..and I think Jamie boy does a good job because he gives it back to us as our choice ..take it or leave it....do what it demands of us...or face the consequences.

As for the word Revenge when you read the book he doesnt really mean it in the way we would...it is more an act of rebalancing. I think its his way of giving it the drama it deserves .

Thanks for your concern though Katherine .....I appreciate the chat.

John

Last edited: 13-12-2006 01:47:23 PM

Quote

I have read most of this thread and find it very interesting, however, I believe we have a bigger problem than globa warming. The reason I think the problem is bigger, is because I think it will happen first. The problem??? Well, let me ask the question, How much longer can we continue to take oil and gas from inside the earth and the iron from the earch and either destroy/burn it or send it into space before the earth implodes, or starts to vary on its orbit?

Last edited: 17-12-2006 12:34:28 PM

Quote

Interesting thought Jon ....dont know.

It would seem that not many scientists are looking at it as we would have heard by now....wouldnt we....perhaps not.

I suppose because it comes from the top layers we assume it doesnt interfere with the greater molten mass.
The polarity of the earth is changing however ...north and south magnetic polarities are 'swapping' so to speak.
This apparently will in the process of doing so affect the strength of the magnetic field and thus our resistance to radiation storms coming from the Sun.
Some seem to suggest that this could have a devastating effect........as in fry us for breakfast.

Sod it ......pass the wacky baccy !


Woooow hows this for a bit of synchronicity...a film has just sarted on Channel 4 called 'The Core' and guess what its about?......The earths core stops moving and disturbs the magnetic field ...people start dropping dead and pigeons start crashing into buildings .....and yuck! ones just gone into a taxi drivers windscreen.

God ........I must be Psychic...but then you started it Jon.

Last edited: 17-12-2006 03:36:47 PM

Quote

I must be psychic?????????????????????
Nah, I'm just a Coffee Salesman turned Kinesiologist.

Last edited: 18-12-2006 02:54:32 AM

Quote

show me the science

i realise that i am becoming a dissenting voice in most of these blogs, but my question in regards to global warming is 'where is the science?'.

i mentioned this in another post recently - the divergent viewpoints in regards to the environment are stunning - and the most stunning thing of all is the great human arrogance that in a [virtually] infinite universe that the fate of an entire planet rests in our hands

really ...

as much 'evidence' exists to suggest that there is either:
1. no global warming; or
2. if global warming is happening it is a natural cycle and nothing to do with industrialisation

this is not to suggest that there may not be value in looking at how we are doing things and making some deliberate decisions to do things differently

it is simply to say that this debate is still open, and the debate itself is healthy - perhaps the truth will out if we keep being open to divergent views, rather than accepting the new status quo of the 'global citizen'

and if you really think there is an issue here, rather than trying to solve it through our consumer choices, perhaps we should be lobbying governments to legislate sustainability in

just a thought - and a stirring of the pot

cameron

Quote

Well actually there is no descension about global warming and whats causing it amongst reputable scientists. This has now been confirmed . What there is , is a cabal of 'characters 'funded by Exxon Oil and Big Tobacco.

......So .....I'll show you mine if you show me yours.......go to:

....http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1875762,00.html............

.................Is it a case of what you want to see you,ll find...... and no one will tell you different?

As in other posts .....some of us can,t grasp the relative within the absolute ..........nor can they grasp the absolute within the relative........

reductionism has a lot to answer for ...to say nothing about m********

Last edited: 5-01-2007 03:13:29 PM

Quote

make sure you go to.

Exxonsecrets.org

,.....thats the real medicine for sceptics.

Trace the source of your pre conceptions on this issue ......they may well lead back to the above.

Last edited: 5-01-2007 07:14:10 AM

Quote

Very interesting link John!

Trinity

Last edited: 7-01-2007 06:03:02 AM

Quote