Mistakes times 32

Here a paragraph out of Daniel Goleman's Ecological Intelligence: "A great injustice of global warming is that the world’s poor will suffer most even though they contribute least to the cause. The habits of the rich most intensely fuel the planet’s global warming – and so the rich bear the greatest ethical burden to change. The one billion denizens of the developed world consume at a rate 32 times greater than the world’s poorest citizens. This vast share of humanity’s impact on the planet means a 32 times greater rate not just in using limited resources like oil, lumber and fish, but also in producing waste like greenhouse gases, plastics choking marine life, and a sea of other stuff moldering in land fills. With countries like China and India reaching for the life style of the world’s affluent this is completely unsustainable." 

I don't think the fact that the poorer peoples suffer more than the richer is new to you. But the 32 times is a horribly big figure that is probably not that well known. I sometimes think half of the rich folks are also 32 times more ignorant to the damage they do. Small (and often poor) island nations asking the rich countries to stop their bad habits so the islands don't sink in the process of rising sea levels has not changed much. The striving of countries like China and India to reach the living standard of the richest is scary to me but also shows that they have not learned anything, that they do not look critically enough at the way we live, that they do not realise how destructive for the society and environment this life style is. That's something quite typical in the human being I think. We want to make our own mistakes. learning by doing. The terrible aspect in the case of a whole nation making a mistake is though that those mistakes happen on a very big scale and are not easily if at all reversible. Once you chopped down the boreal or rain forest it's gone forever. Nobody is going to make the effort to replant and resettle the variety of plant and animal species that use to thrive there. We don't have the ingenuity to do this and we don't have the patience to wait for the results which is obviously going to take many generations. Money, as capitalist nations might think is the solutions to just about anything , is not going to help either. Yes, you can spend money on research, foreign aid, reforestation (mainly done for the lumber industry though) and who knows what but money can't buy an intact eco-system. The Metro newspaper did a survey and asked people which advice they'd give to the next generation. Besides flossing and sleep lots there were comments like look after the environment or care for the planet and even apologies saying sorry for the state of the planet we are passing on to you.  Great, but I still believe the importance of changing our life style has often not even reached our neighbours, these people next door to us. That's probably why I feel like slashing tires when I walk down a road with lots of (big) cars. So how is the next generation meant to score any better?  I suggest to add "ecology & environment" to every school's curriculum, right next to maths and reading. If it is not explained to the next generation early in age, before they develop bad habits, they will not be any better than us.                              

Oh, oceans ... and that fish that's left

Here are a few ocean-related facts that I found in the Epoch Times newspaper about 6 weeks ago:

-         About 80% of the world’s fish stocks are fully exploited or overexploited and thus require effective and precautionary management. 90% of all tuna and sword fish are already gone.--- If that's right I wonder why tuna & sword fish aren't a luxury yet. They should be dead expensive, or subsidised.      

-         Oceans absorb more carbon dioxide than the land. This absorption causes the ocean to become more acidic which leads to the dissolving of shell organisms that form the skeleton of coral reefs that will therefore die.

-         Higher biodiversity enhances the functioning of the deep-sea ecosystems which is vital for the sustainability of our biosphere. --- Having species die out never seemed a good thing but with the economic desire to uniform food so it looks and tastes the same no matter where and when you buy it biodiversity is on the losing end. It does not matter if that's the banana or beef burger or fish. Due to companies like Monsanto biodiversity will disappear ever so fast. I'll come back to that.    

-         By 2015 50% of the world’s population will live along coasts, adding pressure on coastal and marine biodiversity. --- This fact in in fact no surprise at all. Just as an example: With Canadian coastal cities happily dumping their waste raw (untreated) into the ocean, what do you think is happening in poor countries? Lots and lots of water pollution ...  

David Suzuki Foundation also had a lot of fish-related articles on the website recently:   

1. Did you know that Canada's Atlantic longline swordfish fishery kills tens of thousands of sharks each year? To find out more and take action got to http://www.friendsofhector.org/

2. Killer whale wins court case for Canada's marine species at risk! http://bit.ly/gVLaZh

 It's a good start but the article points out there's a BUT. It's nice to have laws but laws have to be enforced in order to make a difference and the Canadian government is not famous for enforcing laws that protect anything related to the environment.   

3. Saving Pacific salmon is possible and profitable! Profit is possible on all fronts with closed containment salmon farming

Again, it's a beginning but there's still a study in progress and change tends to happen slowly ... I hate to say it but "better late than never" has developed a sour taste for me. It might be too late for one or the other species at risk. Read also http://bit.ly/eYcWNU   

 

4. For the reading enthusiast a whole book's been written about fish: Four Fish: The future of the last wild food, describes our profoundly changing relationship with the world’s oceans. Learn about the fascinating lives of four fish - salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna – and why overfishing and biotechnology are serious threats to healthy marine ecosystems. http://bookclub.davidsuzuki.org/