The puppet masters who have been working George Bush, have surpassed themselves, they have actually got him believing he is a world leader, to the extent that he has chaired a summit of some 16 nations to discuss the subject, global warming, that he is wriggling to avoid tackling. The problem is the people who put him in office, with their large subscriptions for his campaign, have interests which are contrary to those best suited to saving the world. He’s not alone in this of course, irrespective of the carbon emission per capita, the bigger nations are loath to sign up, with the problem that presents. Across the world we have large nations, with impoverished residents, who are doing their damnedest to avoid being drawn into the debate on CO2.
There are a number of aspects concerning this subject which are not made clear. To the best of my knowledge there has been no statement of what is an acceptable level, in tons per capita, or the CO2 we are striving for.. That alone would be a useful yardstick. There was an American politician, as well as some here, who was urging us all, not only the USA, to change to these energy-saving light bulbs within a few years, I think it was ten. When they first came onto the market I bought four and put them into one of those hanging brackets – the modern-day chandelier. They didn’t fit, they looked hideous, they were dust traps, because the tubes were pointing upwards, and overall I don’t really think that they gave off the amount of light they were credited with. So taking this American’s idea, without a total redesign of the nature of these lamps, with the different sizes and shapes that would be required to accommodate them into the average domestic fitting, one of two things is going to happen. If they don’t change the design either the individual will not buy them, or he will be placed in a situation where he has to change the light fittings throughout his house. The second situation, one which I believe will never come to pass, is that they will require to redesign the lamps so that they fulfil the placement for the fittings currently in houses across the land, and representing taste stretching across not decades but at least a century. What I believe and is obvious, is that when one takes into account all the light fittings across the world, the manufacture and supply of new systems, coupled with the removal and disposal of the old fitting and the installation of the new ones, with all the redecoration that will involve, I believe the Carbon emission saved by the new bulbs would be dwarfed by that generated, even if the customers of the electricity companies ever did ultimately accede.
I wish that our politicians would stop haranguing us for their own ends, to appear to care, to appear with it, and sit down and think of the parameters that are involved in the implementation of what they’re proposing. It is no wonder that the populace as a whole, are apathetic and have totally lost faith in most of the people who purport to rule them.
What follows here is not new and probably echoes your views, but because those in responsibility are shying away like they did with the Iraq question, even with such a small audience as I have, 200 readers per day, I feel I must reiterate.
Greed is not necessarily about money or possessions, In family circles it can be about the pecking order, love, and can be forged by jealousy. On the wider stage it is about self-aggrandisement, pride, reputation, approval, and of course wealth, and this greed is never more demonstrated than in politics. With regard to the problems in Burma, the Junta is fearful of losing its status and all that goes with it. India’s politicians are fearful of losing their oil source and consequently are sitting on the side lines, with their own status intact. Russia and China, with governments not in the democratic mould, are bound to either do nothing, or even obstruct any censure, because they are seen by the rest of the world as being in almost the same category as the Junta. With such vast power being wielded, and the failure of the UN to control insurgency, hope for the solution many of us see as appropriate and just, is small.