[Hoje Macau, Macau]
Nachrichten, Switzerland
The Wall Street Crisis
and the Coming Ecological Disaster
"The fact that during the
current U.S. election campaign, this insane exploitation of nature has been
combined with the dim-witted rejection of scientific evidence propagated by
promoters of one side (of course, by the 'Christian' Republican side) is
actually quite logical."
By Patrik Etschmayer
Translated By Ulf Behncke
October 13, 2008
Switzerland
- Nachrichten - Original Article (German)
Have you had
enough yet of the economic crash? Enough of banks going bust, insurance crisis and
widespread economic paranoia? Then you probably feel like most of the rest of
us. And even if you feel that the crash is somewhat surreal - you can't dismiss
it out of hand. The extent of the crash and the values that have been wiped out
were of preposterous proportions, not least because they were based upon
inordinate excess.
But what if this crisis was
just a prelude - a precursor to a much greater threat - one that could possibly
cost millions of lives? The current economic crises was based on the idea that
we can live and consume based on credit - and the belief that we can continue
to do so unabated as long as we steadfastly ignore the facts and spread the
risks widely enough.
That idea didn't fly. Yet humanity
still seems to believe that those things that have failed in the monetary
economy, will, in the long run, still apply to the material reality of our
world. Quite simply, because nature will not present us with a bill for the
resources upon which we depend for our very survival.
At this moment, fish stocks
in the world's oceans, the climate and the atmosphere, the rain forests, energy
resources, fertile land and the majority of our commodities are all heading for
collapse. Even if the current economic situation has led to a reduction in
resource destruction, we should hold no illusions. At some point the
"fun" has to end.
A recent E.U.
study shows that the current over-exploitation of our natural resources results
in damage to the tune of $5 trillion a year. If only humanity weren't behaving
like a hoard of loony primates, this amount of money would be available to
humanity.
And therein lies the problem:
Our evolutionary heritage makes it incredibly difficult for us to change our
behavior in such a way as to secure our long-term survival - in other words
over centuries. Fuelled in particular by religion, the greed for unrestrained
procreation is the biggest problem.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Mental constructs
that were successful a thousand or even a hundred years ago - such as Islam and
Christianity (but not only these) - are now just obsolete piles of intellectual
rubble leading us straight into the abyss. To believe that a planet of a
limited size and with finite resources will be able to infinitely feed and
sustain an unlimited number of people is simply stupid. No matter what the
Pope, a bunch of Assembly of God members or the Imam at the local mosque says.
This mindset is matched by
the hatred of these groups for the very science which for decades, has not only
predicted these problems but has demanded that a population policy be
eventually put in place, which would leave space and resources on this planet
for future generations. As extreme as the greed of the bankers for bigger
bonuses and salaries are the religions with their greed for more souls,
oblivious to the famines and difficulties in countries where resources are
already limited - and where the system id already overloaded.
The fact that during the current
U.S. election campaign, this insane exploitation of nature has been combined
with the dim-witted rejection of scientific evidence being propagated by
promoters of one side (of course, by the "Christian" Republican side)
is actually quite logical. It's no coincidence that it is precisely those
people who have paved the way for the economic collapse that are still of the
opinion that as long as we pray hard enough, everything is possible.
But no prayer or contingency plan
will contain an ecological collapse once it begins. The Earth would no doubt
recover, but nowhere near quickly enough to prevent the death and unspeakable
plight of countless people. The current market crash and credit crunch are
merely a hint, just a tiny foretaste of what happens when humanity lives on
credit and squanders the natural capital of future generations.
CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN
VERSION
GALLOP POLLS CONDUCTED
FROM MAY TO SEPTEMBER 2008
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US October 21, 7:48pm]
