On Apr 11, 11:07 am, "TibetanMonkey, the Beach Cruiser Philosopher"
"The reason is we have now reached a moment where four words -- the
earth is full -- will define our times. This is not a philosophical
statement; this is just science based in physics, chemistry and
biology. There are many science-based analyses of this, but they all
draw the same conclusion -- that we're living beyond our means."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/08/opinion/gilding-earth-limits/index.html...
I won't dispute those finding because they confirm my own common
sense. The question is what do we do about it. One option is make
pregnant mothers sign an affidavit that she understands the Earth is
full, and that her kid won't have a nice life. We have to make her
understand that cannibalism is a real possibility within a lifetime
due to the scarcity of resources. Or maybe that cats and dogs become
an important part of our diet.
Another option, of course, is to learn to live within our means so the
Earth can sustain us for a long time. Reality is we are stealing from
future generations and that's not nice. There's something I can do
today and that's to ride a bicycle and be conscious of what I eat or
use. Tell you what, I won't drive a car today.
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http://webspawner.com/users/BANANAREVOLUTION
"No species has ever been able to multiply without limit. There are two
biological checks upon a rapid increase in number - a high mortality and
low fertility. Unlike other biological organisms, man can choose which
of these checks shall be applied, but one of them must be."
Quite true.
At the same time never forget much like fantasy kumbaya and manufactured
notions of equality the very idea humans are somehow ultimately above
nature is utopian to begin with. That is, more simply put, not all
posterity are created equal; and some children are _still_ preferred
more than others.
another instance of "hope" over experience perhaps?
Why not be one with nature?
We could support very high populations if it weren't for all the waste
and lack of planning. The Dutch get along fine with their bikes in a
highly populated land. Bike traffic seems to flow better there than
rush hour in America, which has a much lower population density. Maybe
the Third World needs to discard the Western model altogether and look
for alternatives such as the bike and the preservation of ecosystems.
The cash crops are wiping out forests and creating hunger.
The West has paid a hefty price for development and it's now in
crisis. I can only hope it doesn't bounce back so it'll learn to live
within its means. Perhaps the best hope we can have in the wasteful
rich countries is to have bicycles occupy our main mode of
transportation within healthy communities.
It's not the bike alone of course. Curitiba, Brazil, is a model of
public transportation from a Third World country. You don't need to be
rich to be prosperous.
Look, you still have to make a choice. And some will be more valued than
others in zero-sum game.
Why fight Darwin?
Why deplore competition when it's selection process?
Why not accept some will be valued more than others by whatever perspective?
Again, why fight nature? And not learn from the "West's" mistakes?
If you don't use the Xerox machine, then it makes sense. My concern is
that consumption habits made in West are recklessly copied, and this
adds to the doomsday scenario.
For example the approaches followed by Taiwan (scooters) and Singapore
(bullet trains) are praiseworthy given their reality not that of the
West. And in turn this not the reality for Africa, where the humble
bike could the vehicle of liberation. Adaption to the environment is a
law of nature.
Then tell us how much more copying you can get if you parrot equality,
liberty, or democracy. When you "liberate" the rest of the 6 or 7
billion, how much worse will the world become?
Tell us.
You are rather pessimist about the outcome but it can only be better
than what it is. Liberation means not only democracy but liberation of
Western patterns that are rather unhealthy and unreal. I can almost
hear it: "I got to have a car to be happy." Oh c'mon, this is Africa,
you better be happy with bicycles and bananas. Yes, the West has some
mighty technology such as the Internet that we can take advantage of,
but we all can be happier by roaming free, than by driving a car and
eating McDonald's.
Bananas and the Revolution
By Peter Schata
There is a long political history behind bananas becoming the fifth
most important food commodity in the world. They were one of the first
products where no expense was spared to create world markets for this
unmistakable fruit, turning whole countries over to banana production,
with stooge dictators controlled by the USA, in what aptly became
known as 'the banana republics'. Half a century after the big
Hollywood-style banana campaigns, the banana reflects ever more
clearly a world economic system concerned only with the kind of
'growth' that means control of the markets and massive profits. What
happens to the environment or to the people, who produce and consume
the fruit of such intentions, appears to be irrelevant.
In our democracies there is little self-determination, and we only
need to look at poverty and unemployment in Europe as well, to raise
doubts as to what is meant by 'free trade'. Such distortions of
language that hoodwink millions of people into accepting their lot,
need to be challenged and overturned. New language means new ideas,
new concepts. This is the revolution. We are this revolution!
Such a revolution is especially important if we are to find ways to
shift from the current forms of egocentric globalisation to a global
society that recognises the actual interrelatedness of all human
beings as well as our interconnectedness with the planet that supports
us.
Western solutions. Then American engineers will face the fact that
they have to work for their money. Cuba has such a solution but it's
the wrong model: NO BANANAS and NO ROAMING FREE.
This is biking in North and West Africa. Notice that no locals are
