The Planets Slippery Slope

Recently world attention has been placed on environment and climate change topics and to prevent politicians becoming as popular as a mashed potato with custard topping breakfast signs of interest have to be shown to the voting masses. It's a big topic as everybody knows. Holes in the ozone layer over Australia, the vanishing rain forests, too much CO2 in the atmosphere and American and China are to name but a few things that need to be considered.

The average person cannot do much to help of course, any tax paying citizen of this world who attempts to do something good, for example by converting a hot water system from gas to solar, is as much use as a peanut to an angry and very hungry bull. It is at the end of the day up to the politicians to implement change, to make companies accept new ways through force or financial incentive and to alter the way the world turns by introducing laws appropriately.

This though is not going to happen today or tomorrow. As long as politicians are controlled the world over by those with money in their pockets, money gained from oil, coal, natural resources, etc. they do not have the incentive to enforce change. As American politicians quite categorically and unashamedly stated at the recent 'climate' meetings in Canada, "the Kyoto Treaty will not be signed by us as doing so would be harmful to the American Economy". In other words it has been decided by those in charge that it is a safer bet to continue with current practices, to not implement change and to carry on polluting and destroying the environment. To put it simplistically, those who have money will continue to fill their pockets at the expense of the environment.

Some countries are taking onboard the problems associated with the environment. Taiwan for instance has banned the free issue of plastic bags at its supermarkets (if you want one, buy one). It is also law that garbage must be separated into three distinct categories, general waste, recyclable and food! Holland has gone big into windmills (wasn't difficult as they had them before oil entered the fray) and Britain now grows crops suitable for fuel with financial incentive to the farmers. It is though not enough and as long as China's economy expands at the rate it is and as long as America exploits the world for oil, whatever smaller countries do to the positive it won't change anything. It is these two massive economic machines that must lead the world in positive change, to implement this change at whatever cost and to stop talking about it and take immediate action.

America has opted to take the easy routes whenever issues arise! The problems of CO2 emissions were discussed recently and it was concluded that large quantities of CO2 should be liquefied and pumped underground into caverns that were once filled with oil. The problems of power shortages and the very soon-to-be lack of power stations in the future have resulted in a likely return to Nuclear Power! China is too busy growing to take note or heed of little things like rivers without any life forms left in them and smoky hazes that extend for hundreds of miles.

The world is so busy talking about the problems of the environment and has been for so many decades, to the extent that rumours are spreading that we have left it too late to reverse the current destruction of our planet. We have left it too late and we are still talking about it and doing nothing. It might be too late to save the planet but by god, we can slow the destruction down till after our lifetimes and that of our children at least!

Endless newspaper and magazine articles discuss alternative fuels that have worked under test conditions, hydrogen fuel cells, wind power, solar power, tidal turbines, to name but a few. Working prototypes of "clean cars" run with zero emissions and extensive buildings that are powered solely through natural turbines and solar power are numerous and prove quite clearly to the world that clean power is a fully-viable option. On the other hand negative press reduces these examples with idiotic features like "blades falling off windmills a hazard to the public" and "solar panels too expensive to be cost-effective". Certainly, blades falling off a windmill would be worse than a coconut falling off a tree (is it necessary to go further with this analogy?); in answer don't stand underneath a windmill. As regards any item that is expensive; the more produced the cheaper they become and anyway, cost should not be playing a part in the end equation.

As the worlds people continue to be materialistically minded, as neighbours seek to outdo each other in what they can parade under the others noses, and as life's values revolve around possessions rather than the state of the air breathed then the world does not have a hope in hell of continued existence for the long term. Should any circumstance arise were the general public decide to discard cars en-mass in favour of bicycles, should whole towns opt for solar power and turbines financed with the cash that was going to pay for a new traffic system or police headquarters then and only then can these negative trends be reversed.

For the sake of repetition; the world revolves around money and as long as oil and mining companies, car manufactures and plastic firms rake in the cash they will control world politics and trends As long as they are financially in control the environment and its health will take second place to everything else despite the 'small mans' input. Politicians and governments singly and collectively spend money on rubbish, day-in day out. The war in Iraq and the Afghan conflict have cost the tax payer billions of dollars, simply so that oil-flows to the west are guaranteed (at least during the remainder of the Bush and Blair administration). The money spent on these conflicts through troop movements and equipment could have financed the building of enough 'clean power' stations to keep America and the UK lit for many years to come.

Governments need to start balls rolling and soon, not to appease voters and to win the next election but to take responsibility onto their shoulders. The "it takes three generations to implement change theory", cannot apply here, it has to start today and in a big way. A few ideas might be as follows:

1. Tax reductions on share buying of clean energy companies!

2. Less spending on military, on space exploration and wars abroad.

3. Greater emphasis on education, on personal responsibility for garbage produced

4. Greater emphasis on re-usable containers, products that do not require ten wrappings and on taking a shopping bag out instead of relying on shops to issue them.

5. On giving criminals the opportunity to sign off their sentences by planting trees or watching windmills for signs of falling blades instead of weeding roadside verges or washing graffiti off walls.

6. Giving less to foreign aid that does not actually get to where it is going and spending it on revitalising Canal networks and sea transport routes.

7. Rewarding those financially (if that is what it takes) to those who purchase solar panels, who use clean energy on their farms and who actively take an interest in helping the environment.

The subject of climate change is too big to discuss in a mere article of two pages. The above discussion only touches on a variety of topics with many not even mentioned but it is not necessary to discuss anything. It is simply time for politicians and those with money to act - actions speak louder than words!

Finally to the average person it must be mentioned; to have previously stated that the world is past the point of no-return is wrong and extremely negative. We have never gone too far. If today we build a windmill, if today we plant a tree and if today we walk to work then we have done something positive. We will have delayed the onset of the end of the world by a mere nanosecond but delayed it non-the-less. At least we will die happy knowing that at least we as an individual tried to do something right!

Ieuan Dolby
Author and Webmaster of SeaDolby.com
Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, December 2005