I suppose I am naive to be surprised that there are not more people who understand the fundamental seriousness of the dire environmental challenges, largely of humanity's creation, that we are facing going into the future.
   Thinking about the reasons for this lack of understanding, it occurs to me that one factor is the feeling/belief, perhaps fostered by some religious attitudes, that the world is as it has always been, and always will be; that it was created for our convenience and that we can do anything we like in it without any serious impact on its nature.
   I grew up in a very liberal religious environment, so had no obstacles to understanding and accepting the scientific, geographical and historical information which indicates very clearly that increased population levels, increased use of the planet's resources, and the ever-increasing use of new and drastically impactful technologies, has had for two centuries or more very significant effects on the environment in which we all live.
  For some their religious belief system leads them to expect dire events before the coming of the end of the world as we have known it, so any environmental changes that may occur are the signs of that end being near, so there is nothing human beings can, or need to, do, since that is all part of the divine plan.
   I think though there are also people who are just turning away from considering these environmental issues because they have not yet seen them effect their own lives, and are also struggling with the economic pressures present in much of the world. My own view is that the economic pressures will only begin to be alleviated when we accept that it is our current economic model and system which has been largely responsible for the current environmental crises. These are not separate issues - they are all part of the same enormous challenge we all face, of maintaining a planet habitable for human beings.

a significant day?

   Events and debates in the USA today highlight at least three fundamental issues confronting humanity at this time. The issues are confused and distorted by the bizarre state of politics in the States at the moment, but they are fundamentally clear:
1) President Obama has made a declaration on his intentions in attempting to deal with the challenges of climate change. I need to find a transcript to see what he actually proposes, but the basic point is that, if we don't get on with doing more to modify our actions, especially in regard to energy production and use, we seem to be ensuring that generations to come will have to find ways to exist in a radically altered environment.
2) The US Supreme Court has gutted a major provision of the Voting Rights Act, removing a level of protection against state legislation which creates discriminatory practices in relation to voting. I think we are at a stage when the structures of modern 'democracy' are not fulfilling the aspiration to involve all citizens equally in their countries' affairs. If the highest court of supposedly the greatest modern democracy does not perceive the need to provide all citizens with equal access to the ballot box as a top priority, it is hardly surprising that we see 'democracy' in increasing trouble in very many parts of the world.
3) The whereabouts of the most recent 'whistle-blower' is creating a real kerfuffle of enquiry and interest, which is highly entertaining in many ways. However, the real issue is that of the role that the highly developed technologies of today are to play in our existence at all levels. I hear a claim that 'technology is making life better' on a major international news channel almost daily - but is that really so? Isn't technology creating new problems which seem almost insoluble? Are we becoming too dependent on an ever increasing range of technologies which can all too easily be disrupted by a variety of natural events? Are we tending to assume too readily that technology can 'solve' our fundamental problems?
I think we need to assess the value of the various technologies far more rigorously, rejecting the trivial, and using far more carefully those that are really useful.

this is what I still think to be true!

repeating an earlier post:
I am sure that the developments in human life on the planet over the last 3 centuries, especially the enormous increase in population, have had drastic impacts on the environment, climate change being only one of those impacts. While people quibble about the details of climate change, those changes and all the others, continue to grow and threaten human life as we have come to expect to live it. Over-fishing, rain-forest destruction, garbage, chemical pollution, are some of the serious issues apart from the possible impacts of global warming. Unless, or until, human beings understand that we are merely one, relatively unimportant, part of a vast system, which has no particular interest ( being anthropomorphic!) in our survival, we will probably continue to dig our own graves. Without a fundamental change in our understanding of our situation, I doubt that we can avoid disasters ahead; I fear for my grandchildren and their children.
Joy Lumsden

starting again

My last posts were in the year before I was ill, in 2010; it's about time to get going again! Joy.