Nature’s Response to Humanity’s Destruction of Nature | > EIDs Coronavirus | Planetary Health

Coronavirus: ‘Nature is sending us a message’, says UN environment chief.

 

Real Life This coronavirus is the wake-up call for a complacent civilisation.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 25th March 2020

‘Tip of the iceberg’: is our destruction of nature “responsible for Covid-19?

Humanity’s destruction of biodiversity creates the conditions for new diseases such as Covid-19, the viral epidemic that emerged in China in December 2019, and within months became a global pandemic.

Coronavirus, a new EID, Emerging Infectious Disease arises. Sparked at a ‘wet-market’ in China, which abound in Asia and Africa, where humans bring in live and dead wildlife (frequently endangered species) to sell for human consumption. The animals they introduce for slaughter are from diverse environments, crowded together, which is unhealthy as it is, but a recipe for disaster when their proximity to humans introduce viruses for which humans do not have immunities. No doubt the stresses and horror these animals feel as they are trapped, handled roughly and packed into these places, weakens their own immune systems.

“For the animals, wet markets are hell on earth. Thousands of sentient, palpitating beings endure hours of suffering and anguish before being brutally butchered. This is just one small part of the suffering that humans systematically inflict on animals in every country – in factory farms, laboratories, and the entertainment industry.“

The combination of animal trade and the fact that the human population continues to encroach more and more on animal habitats, leads to human communities being more at risk. They have closer contact to animals for whom the viruses are not harmful whatsoever, yet lethal to humans.

Accelerating habitat loss behind Covid-19

The fact that the human population is increasing exponentially, demanding more and more energy and housing, leads to this perpetual invasion of the habitats of other species and destruction of the natural world around us. Humans have been massively disrupting ecosystems worldwide. Humans are not merely damaging the balance of biodiversity, but precipitating a “biological annihilation” of species, a planetary 6th Mass Extinction. As scientists such as the physicist and deep ecologist Fritjof Capra, become more cognizant of the interdependent nature of living systems, they recognize how critical it is to maintain healthy ecosystems everywhere. The discipline “Planetary health“ has emerged to educate and guide people towards sustainable practices. It focuses on “the sustainability of our civilization and the toll of inequitable, inefficient and unsustainable resource consumption on the planet and human health. In addition to public health and environmental health considerations, it examines upstream political, economic, and social systems and calls for an interdisciplinary approach.”

“Planetary Health characterizes the human health impacts of human-caused disruptions of Earth’s natural systems.”

In the meantime, EID’s such as SARS, MERS, AIDS, EBOLA, CORONa-19 will continue to be introduced to the human population, because of how disruptive humans are to the habitats of other creatures on the planet. Obviously, certain populations such as Buddhist and Indigenous people have not had this disregard for other ‘Earthlings’. However, the Western world for centuries, has been objectifying the natural world and assigning a monetary value to an area or entity, rather than recognizing its worth, in itself, alive and healthy. By disassociating value and having no compassion or respect for the living systems on the planet, mankind has carved a reputation as the most vicious predator.

All other creatures and territories on the planet are ‘fair game’, to do with as we please, often perpetuating rituals that have been in place in various cultures for many generations. It’s hard enough for an individual to change habits. To question or abandon traditions that have been ingrained in a culture for centuries, seems excruciatingly difficult. Yet now, most of us on the planet are being quarantined and enforced into ‘social distancing’. Routines of work, study and social gathering in the proximity of others, stopped.

This Cartesian, mechanistic and reductionist view which has dominated, is what has ushered in the Anthropocene epoch, in which humans dominate the planet, and have excessively changed it.

We embrace our technologies for transport and construction, in the age of perpetual development. Most of our time is dominated with how to ‘make’ money, as the end-all goal. The motto is that money will provide freedom. Car advertisements seduce us with the association that ownership of a slick automobile will lure the mate and guarantee glamorous getaways in rugged nature. Yet for the last decades, even with automation, people are working longer hours (if at all) and have even less time for leisure. I noticed decades ago at university, that students were already more consumed with choosing a major in a ‘field’ more likely to ensure a lucrative career, and abominably less interested in learning, for itself. Even education is commodified.

In the age of consumerism, plots of land, forested woods, rivers and fields, creatures of the land and water, are regarded as something that we use for resources and organize our slaughter rituals around. Back when the population of the earth was not increasing at an exponential rate, it seemed to be ‘fair game’ to seasonally slaughter whales, buffalo, dolphins, elephants, rhinoceroses, wildcats and now pangolins, as fast as we could. These rituals continue, and the open seas and savannas seem to be lawless, where large industrial scale operations of fishing (with huge nets of by-catch and ruthless scraping of the ocean floor) as well as organized crime involved in utilizing helicopters to kill wild game, are rampant.

What is incomprehensible, is that as humans have learned how intelligent and fascinating various different species are; such as bird intelligence, empathy in elephants, the intricacy, intelligence and fascination of the octopus…we nevertheless continue to poach, slaughter, harvest and eat them.

Humans have so prodigiously crafted and heralded their technological prowess, yet act towards one another and towards the earth and its creatures with such ruthless violence; something to control, abuse and conquer. With more time on my hands now that every activity involving a gathering of people has benefited  cancelled, I was exposed this article by Charmers on “Dismantling Empire”, contributed to Tom Dispatch. He speaks about American excessive militarism, and citizens having an 800 pound Gorilla in the room, in reference to the literally 800 military bases the USA has throughout the world. If all were released and abdicated, it would provide Trillions of dollars. What I had not realized as a fan of the personality of Barack Obama, and perhaps didn’t want to know, is that as he made strides in protecting environmental policies, he also full-out sustained and strengthened the military budget, which sort of defeats the other efforts.

Presently, the increase in fascist leaders populating the globe, pray on peoples’ fear of the ‘other’, refugees arriving at their doorsteps from far away. Most of whom are forced to leave their homelands, having no choice. They have been affected by the warming globe which has caused droughts, failed crops, fires and floods. Besides the massive destruction of the natural world through various dirty industries, it is predominantly the USA, followed by other wealthy countries of the Global North, who precipitated climate change. Ironically, instead of acknowledging our role in global heating due to the energy consumption habits of the western world, rather than organizing around circumventing the actions that destabilize planetary systems further and dramatically accelerating actions to prescribe, implement and enforce sweeping social changes (as is being instituted at this present time of the coronavirus pandemic, these leaders are instead castigating the refugees and further investing in deals to create jobs, enrich some, while spoiling places without the slightest consideration of the repercussions to the species living there. The Amazon rainforest for Bolsonaro is fair game. Propping up negligent industries involving petroleum and plastics is fair game. The Western obsession with material consumption, as a right of passage and display of one’s worth in society, seems to be endlessly packaged into slick advertising and the Hollywood illusion that perpetuates it.

Yuval Noah Harari, history, Homo sapiens, cooperation, storytellers, finance fiction

Historian Yuval Noah Harari points out that the reason human beings today dominate the world as they do, is because of our capacity to believe in fictions and share the same stories. He talks of bankers as being very successful story tellers.

In response to the billionaire Mark Benioff’s op ed stating that the current system of capitalism has lead to horrifying inequalities, Anand Giridharadas, author of “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World,” tweeted Monday, “…I don’t trust business to behave better voluntarily, any more than I trust cats with mice care,” adding that he supports raising taxes on the wealthy. “The best way to get business to behave better is to drastically reduce business’s power,” Giridharadas tweeted.

Naomi Klein points out that now is the time that we can push forward what might have been considered radical ideas just a few weeks ago. At the time of shock among populations, is prime breeding ground for disaster capitalism. When people are distracted and off balance, the economic elite can slide in new game plans: heighten security, bail out banks and the dirtiest industries and ignore any wrong doing or unethical practices of the large institutions in which they have holdings. Wars have been big money makers among particular private firms. Various US Senators just sold their stock options days before the market crashed, while President Trump minimized the risks of the virus. He then assigned not a medical doctor or infectious disease specialist in charge of organizing the country’s health response to this pandemic, but his political VP in charge.

As people are suddenly forced to stay home, businesses close, paychecks not received, it is perhaps time for people to realize that a stimulus of $1,200 for each household, is like throwing coins or loaves of plastic-wrapped white bread on the streets, and cases of plastic water bottles. When in the same paragraph it’s mentioned that airlines, oil and gas industries and cruise ships, automobile – all fueling economic and health atrocities, will be bailed out. The economic gap pivoted to be deeper. The very industries that are tearing up the earth, for our consumption, are deemed to continue. Humans have continued to focus on maximizing their profits and buying and building and thinking that it’s fair game. We continue to chase the dollar, regardless of what is destroyed in the process.

Is this not a tipping point? With the recent spike in the ‘Billionaires club’ in the last decades, this imbalance also beckons change
The virus is the earth’s response to having her lungs and tissues choked, poisoned and burned and creatures assaulted, imprisoned, abused and put in misery.

The cosmos, our earth system, is letting us know that we need to re-assess what is fair game. And stop treating all of life – a tree, a bush, grasses, rivers and streams, plants and animals – as something disposable that we can do with as we please. Iit would be very unpleasant to live in a convenient, paved world with a Walmart, other cheap franchises populating every corner, while deforesting and paving every patch of nature.

With this economic premise of the primacy of profit, humans as well as all of the natural world are redundant and disposable. Gone are opportunities of individual craftsmanship and artistry, to create vocations through love, devotion to expertise and caring to protect the earth. With the acceptance of the ‘merger and acquisitions’ mentality as fair game, all individual enterprise is completely shoved out of competition.

No, this system of slavery to the economic elite who have cameras and security and sooner than later, computer chips inserted under your skin, so that at a gesture of a click, they could wipe out all of the undesirables >>> all who are not them, tucked away, insulated and isolated in their glass cages.

The coronavirus is a climactic act of the cosmic laws of nature, to suspend the catastrophic destruction of humanity, for which, Morelli states, we obviously have an excessive debt.

Reflections on the Coronavirus by Raffaele Morelli, an Italian psychiatrist and psychotherapist’s insight. I was touched by his message, translated it. The French version is below.

A Reflection on the Coronavirus by Raffaele Morelli Italian psychiatrist and psychotherapist:

“I believe that the laws of the cosmos have their way of establishing an equilibrium, rebalancing, when things becomes upset. The times that we are living, full of anomalies and paradoxes, makes us think …

In this phase where climate change, caused by environmental disasters, has reached worrying levels. First China, then so many other countries, are building blockades; the economy is falling apart,
but pollution is decreasing considerably.
The air is improving; we use a mask, but we breathe.

In a historic moment when, all over the world, reactive ideologies and discriminatory policies strongly recall our brutal history, a virus arrives, which makes us realize that, in an instant, we can also become the discriminated, the segregated, those who are blocked at the border, who bring disease.

Even if we have nothing to do with it. Even if we are white, western and travel first class.(power complex).

In a society based on productivity and consumption, in which we run 14 hours a day without really knowing why, without Saturdays nor Sundays,
without much pause on our schedules, suddenly, the – STOP – arrives.

All stationary, must remain at home for days and days.
To count the time whose value we have lost
as soon as it is no longer measurable
in money, in profit.
If one only knew what to do?

In a period when the education of our own children, by force of circumstance, is often
delegated to various figures and institutions, the virus closes schools and forces us to find alternative solutions to reunite mothers and fathers with their own children.
It forces us to re-create the “family”.

In a dimension where relationships, communication, socializing are essentially played out in this virtual non-space of social networks giving us the illusion of proximity,
the virus takes away our closeness,
that which is truly real: no one should touch each other,
no kissing, no hugging
maintain a distance, the coldness of non-contact.
How long have we taken these gestures and their significance for granted?

In a social climate where thinking about yourself has become the rule,
the virus sends us a clear message:
the only way out of it is reciprocity, a sense of belonging, community
to feel part of something bigger.
so it’s necessary to take care
and who can take care of us.

Shared responsibility, feeling that our actions depend,
not just on our own fate.
but the destinies of others, of all those around us.
And that we depend on them.

So, if we stop the “witch hunt”, to ask ourselves who is at fault, and why it all happened, rather ask ourselves what we can learn. I think we all have a lot to think about and actions to take.
Because with the cosmos and its laws, obviously, we have an excessive debt.
Reminding us of it with a high price, with a virus.”

-.-.-.—.-

Une Reflexion sur le Coronavirus par Raffaele Morelli psychiatre et psychothérepeut italien:

“Je crois que le cosmos a ca façon de rééquilibrer les choses est ses lois, quand celles-ci viennent á être trop bouleversées.
Le moment que nous vivons, plein d’anomalies et de paradoxes, fair réfléchir…

Dans une phase où le changement climatique, causé par les désastres environnementaux, a
atteint des niveaux inquiėtants.
D’abbord la chine, puis tant d’autres pays, sont en constrants au blocage; l’économie s’écroule,
mais la pollution diminue de manière considérable.
L’air s’améliore; on utilise un masque, mais on respire.

Dans un moment historique où, partout dans le monde, she réactivent certains idéologies et
politiques discriminatoires rappelant avec force un passé mesquin, un virus arrive, qui nous fait
expérimenter que, en un instant, nous povons aussi nous devenir les discriminés, les
ségrégués, ceux qu’on bloquent aix frontiéres, qui amènent les maladies.
Même si nous n’y sommes pour rien.
Même is nous sont blancs, occidentaux et que nous voyageons en première classe.
(complexe de toute puissance).

Dans une société fondée sur la productivité et la consommation, dans laquelle nous courons
tous 14 heures par jour après on ne sais pas bien porquoi, sans samede ni dimanche,
sans plus de pause sur le calandrier, tout á coup, le – STOP – arrive.
Tous à l’arrêt, á la maison, pendant des jours et des jours.
Á faire le compte d’un temps dont nous avons perdu la valeur.
dès qu’ill n’est plus mesurable
en argent, en profit.
Sait-en seulement encore quoi en faire?

Dans une période où l’éducation de nos propres enfants, par la force des choses, et souvent
déléguée á des figures et institutions diverses, le virus fermes les écoles et nous oblige á trouver
des solutions alternative á réunir les mamans et les papas avec votres propres enfants.
I’ll nous obliger á refaire une “famille”.

Dans une dimension où les rélations, la communication, la sociabilité se jouent essentiellement
dans ce non-espace du virtuel des résaux sociaux nous donnant l’illusion de la proximité,
le virus nous enlève la proximité,
celles qui et bien reréelle: personne ne doit se toucher,
pas de baisers, pas d’embrassades
de la distance, de le froid du non-contact.
Depuis quand avons-nous pris pour acquis ces gestes et leur significance?

Dans un climat sociale où penser à soi est devenu la régle,
le virus nous envoie un message clair:
la seule manière de nous en sortir, c’est la réciprocité, le sens de l’appartenance, la communauté
se sentir faire partie de quelque chose la plus grand.
donc il faux prendre soin
et qui peut prendre soin de nous.

La responsabilité partagée, sentir que de nos actions dépendent,
non pas seulement propres sort.
mais des sorts des autres, de tous ceux qui nous entourent.
Et que nous dépendons d’eux.

Alors, si nous arrêtons la “chasse aux sorciéres”, de nous demander à qui la faute, et pourquoi tout ça est arrivé, pour nous interroget plutôt sur ce que nous pouvons apprendre, je crois que nous avon’s tous beaucoup de matiére á réflexion et á agir.
Parce qu’avec le cosmos et ses lois,de manière évidente, nous avons une dette excesive.
Il nous le rapelle aux prix fort, avec une virus.”

Global Obliteration of Life – Endless Development $ Seductive Automobile Marketing

I was instigated to write this right away, in response to a friend’s post of his present experience in Antarctica, talking about ice sheets breaking off while the rest of the world is concerned with debates or Coronavirus. Greg Bernie Blaug posted this caption with his pictures at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica March 6, 2020.

Amidst all of the preoccupations today, there’s still this looming event that eclipses them all.

I feel that people are so incredibly disconnected from how their actions affect the natural world. Besides global warming, there’s also perpetual indulgence in continued building and expansion.

Ancient trees

I do not know how to derail the fixation that people have on having their own personal automobile.

I’ve had friends ‘unfriend’ me on Facebook after talking about the issue; that if they’re not part of the solution, they are part of the problem.

Like displaying fashion in clothes or status in property, automobile/truck ownership is something fully embedded in peoples’ psyches.

The transportation sector is the largest contributor to global warming (the word climate change neatly replacing the former term, bc it seems less human-induced and more of a natural occurrence. Certainly individuals seem to be less obnoxious than a refinery or oil spill from pipelines, but collectively pps decision to use and own cars that are using petroleum and willfully continuing despite the fucking statistical facts, implies that there is not enough education and pressure from the society and leaders, to make these facts clear.

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says “we have an urgent responsibility” to protect the planet and its inhabitants.

Ironically, it’s difficult to capture an image on a website without being bombarded with ads that are (often with respect to what I read) pointedly revealing information paradoxical to the content of the message.

As members of Climate Action Rhode Island canvassed outside of a new Chase Bank branch, to inform people that Chase is the largest supporter and investor in fossil fuels, a police officer on duty stated that he had lived in Europe earlier in his life working in the shoe industry. In Europe he witnessed much more conscientiousness with regards to automobile use and recycling. He said that here “It’s all about money”. I asked him if his colleagues saw things in the same way? He shook his head, no, no, not even close.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-causes/

Mentioning to my friend, just like back in the days when we’d participate in the San Francisco critical mass collective bike ride, I’m still riding a bicycle. Because of this, I notice very clearly through the fumes and higher temperatures emitted by the majority of vehicles, that there are in fact an extraordinary amount of people in thIs capital city of Providence, Rhode Island, who let their car engines idle, oblivious to the present and future repercussions. I never witnessed this in any European city. I continue to be miffed by their errant mufflers. Here in this New England city, people of every race, ethnicity, socio-economic background, leave their automobiles and trucks running, engine on; whether they are pulling over to check their phone, stopping and getting out of their vehicle to talk to someone, or going to do an errand. THEY LEAVE THE ENGINES IDLING, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE NOT NEAR THE CAR; for minutes, verging on half an hour. There’s also a population of motorcycle riders (big Portuguese community from islands off Portugal) who get off on revving their motors and spewing out black clouds of smoke and laying rubber to leave thick black streaks on the pavement. I find it unfathomable. I look at this scenario as if I’ve landed on Earth in the future, and see this extraordinary not just dependence, but flagrant fixation on vehicles. But not just to show how cool one is, but to demonstrate how loud and obnoxious they can conceivably be.

I’m okay with seeing people do ‘wheely’s’ and demonstrating skill, but spinning black tar and spewing it into the air is filth, and they tend to do it down by the water, where wild birds live.

I went bicycling yesterday to find the local chapter of the Sierra Club after reading about their program introducing experiences for communities of color who are less exposed to green space, to introduce them to wonder and appreciation of the natural world, so that they will be more likely to care and want to be guardians for the planet. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-3-may-june/feature/outdoors-for-all-nature-is-a-human-right The

Sierra club ‘Outdoors for All’

Sierra club was at neither address that they claimed on their website. The local director of a River council, when i mentioned idling cars, reflected on the fact that she does this too, ‘her nice warm car’ she said.

As this article points out, “will require resisting common marketing tactics.” I mean, whether you’re a low rider, motorcycle rider living paycheck-to-paycheck or a wealthy Swiss banker with a 500,000 Euro automobile, the marketing print and air waves for the last dozens of years target the human population; telling you that your worth, perceived success and luck with romance are driven by what kind of machine you drive.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/09/letters-from-the-march-9-2020-issue

“A longer-term solution may require the slowing, and the eventual reversal, of population growth, combined with a decrease in average individual consumption in richer countries. The latter change will require resisting common marketing tactics...After forty years as an ecologist, I believe that the transition to a less materialistic world would be a cakewalk compared with living on a planet with too little photosynthesis.”

Humanity Needs 16 year old Greta Thunberg to Shake it Awake

good evening America, morning to Europe, afternoon to Australia. Re posting this article written by an Australian. 

Hopefully as people read this, they may be instigated to finally act, which would cause his title to shift dramatically towards success. 

…and since the US, Brazilian, Australian…governments are ignoring reality in favor of the business-as-usual paradigm of profit over, e v e r y t h i n g    a n d    e v e r y o n e    e l s e, there is no more clear reason to drop everything, strike for the climate globally, Friday, and continue striking. if only all the truckers, police, military, agriculture and gas industries… would somehow grasp this picture, listen and decide to work together. maybe Greta Thunberg will have a huge impact on world leaders at the climate summit. But what she realizes, is that leaders, as long as they only see through the veil of economic profits, will continue to DO NOTHING. Therefore    i t    i s   u p    t o    t h e    p e o p l e  to wake up and take action, for however long it takes, to demand and follow change.  Greta knows this, she came all the way over here to the US and then to Chili for climate talks with global leaders, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO RALLY THE PEOPLE TO GET THE FUCK OUT IN THE STREETS AND WAKE UP.

 

Tim Flannery Aussie Activist

Greta Thunberg explaining to the grownups on a psychological treadmill.

Greta Thunberg explaining to the grownups on a psychological treadmill

Why? Why not? Wake up! What could be more important?

global climate strike with Greta Thunberg, Sept 20-27

 

Greta Thunberg, climate strike, 150 countries, massive Friday climate strike, international protest, UN Climate Action Summit

 

why, why not, wake up, what could be more important

 

We’re F**ked | Sept. 20 Global Climate Strike | UN Climate Summit Sept. 21st-23rd nYc

A short and sweet version of what’s been happening over the last decades, due to climate inaction – human induced global warming.

We are fucked Global Climate Strike Sept 20 2019_presenter

ich komme zum klimastreik sept. 20 Toll dass Sie um Klimastreik_dabe

Toll dass Sie um Klimastreik dabe

phoque l’inaction climatique – le 21 septembre ensemble dans la rue pour le climat

French choose 21st rather than 20th,
le 21 septembre marchons pour le climat et contre l_inaction

Hour interview by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now with 16-Year-Old Climate Activist Greta Thunberg, Global Climate Strike Sept 20 2019, we need everyone. “We Are Striking to Disrupt the System”

Greta Thunberg arrived in New York city a week ago, after crossing the Atlantic on a solar-powered, emission free sail boat.

Greta Thunberg arrived in New York city a week ago, after crossing the Atlantic on a solar-powered, emission free sail boat.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl who strikes school for climate awareness and responsibility of the media and particularly governments to TELL THE TRUTH, just sailed across the Atlantic to attend the UN Climate Action Summit and to be present for the Global Climate Strike September 20th to 27th, as she moves on to more climate awareness talks in South America.

United Nations greeted Greta Thunberg’s arrival in New York with 17 boats – their sails describing sustainability goals

Global Climate Strike 20-27 Sept

UN Climate Action Summit Sept. 2019

It’s nice to find independent media who do Tell the Truth about how corrupt right-wing leaders and governments worldwide would rather receive corporate money from industries (Brazil, Madagascar, Australia, USA…), preferring short-term profit gain, regardless of the havoc it causes to people and communities (who are seeking refuge) and destruction of life on the planet. Preferring to maintain a dynamic of fear and defense, profiting from manufacturing more roads, highways, automobiles, that are weapons to the earth and all its creatures, with 99% of the global human population suffering consequences.

The right for humans to seek exodus from their burned, parched or flooded homelands as refugees is the responsibility of the northern ‘post’ industrialized nations who have caused and exacerbated global warming and continue to accelerate levels of CO2; without taking any heed to slow it down.

Now is the time for us to boldly act and learn from one another and make massive adjustments to our habitual lifestyles.

It’s up to us to read, have conversations with one another and to recognize that government leaders in a democracy, need to be lead by the people. If the people do not elect leaders who are accountable to the health of the earth and all of its creatures, then jobs and profits for the 1%, account for nothing. Humans learn habits through generations, and humans can learn to break from the old and restructure through education and training, new habits that will benefit all. Who are you too busy for? You are too busy to care? All of our work, together, is to respect and love the earth and all its creatures. We are accountable to protect all of nature, and we need to hold governments accountable and stop corporate corruption (corpocrisy) and earth injustice. Where will you be?

Phoque l-inaction climatique. Fuck climate inaction. Which do you choose, a pay raise in hell, or making sacrifices of comfort and convenience – together – and working together with others to salvage heaven?

global climate strike sept 20-27 worldwide rebellion oct 7-18

turtle coming out of hybernation
no planet B, respect for life, life over profit, hell or heaven on earth?

Joel Sartore photo ark picture and the blogger, Carol Keiter

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

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Want to be Blasted into new heights of Awareness? Listen to Arundhati Roy’s ‘Come September’ Speech and then to what Marianne Williamson has to say

Whoops, stalled my writing so far today – regardless of approaching deadline – due to two more mass shootings in the USA (United States of Amnesia). Not to talk about white supremacy or the fact that there are more guns than people in the USA, but to talk about specifically Arundhati Roy’s speech of almost 20 years ago, that brings out the truth of how this govt. is run by very secretive operations and wants nothing more than to continue its policies that spark divisions, in a continued drive towards profit over honest values.

Arundhati Roy full speech 2002 Come September

Funny, it is so apparent as she talks, and yet so cleverly hidden from the public’s awareness. By the way, video game violence merely mimics the mentality of a society whose main objective is to distract the public and continue to play out a military defense regime who uses ‘fear of the enemy’ to continue with policies of putting money into weapons and defense, instead of genuinely putting resources towards enlightening and educating people.

Lannan Foundation US Globalization Nationalism Arundhati Roy Come September

The US regime continues to create the illusion that other human beings threaten our comfortable isolation and energy consumption; that bleeds the rest of the world and drives all creatures’ out of existence, by pretending that nationalism (allegiance to a country) is more important than conscious awareness and truth. As long as we are in economic chains and addicts to consume what is dangled in front of us – with dishonest messages about what will bring happiness (as a profit motive) – we are not free or happy.

Steve Cutts irony of how the profit motive and drive for consumerism uses lies to keep the profit motive a top priority
Happiness animation

Marianne Williamson talks about why this culture has so much physical and mental illness.

Marianne Williamson brief interview by Bill Maher

Please listen to this and share it with others, and talk about it. https://carolkeiter.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/want-to-be-blasted-into-new-heights-of-awareness-listen-to-arundhati-roys-come-september-speech-and-then-to-what-marianne-williamson-has-to-say/

carol_hitch_return_santafe

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

The PayPal donation button functions in Safari and Firefox, however is broken in Chrome.

Challenge to Trump by the Squad – Four Articulate Congresswomen Powerhouses

“Our Squad Is Big”: Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Tlaib and Pressley Condemn Trump’s Racist Attack in a news conference Monday. All are sharp and dignified, each mentioning that Chump’s actions are a distraction. None of them take the bait, all are dignified and articulate in their speeches.

Democratic Congressmembers Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, condemned President Trump’s spate of racist attacks against them in a news conference Monday.

Trump Defends His Racist Tweets | The Daily Show

Greta Thunberg Swedish SchoolStrike Climate Activist Demands | Informing the Public & Declaring an Emergency

Greta Thunberg speech Austrian World summit

A year ago the Swedish 15 year old student, Greta Thunberg, began striking her school and sitting before the Swedish Parliament. Her demand was for her government and the press to be honest about the issue of climate change and to inform the public. She was initially prompted to strike after wondering why there had been silence on the issue? Why had it not been foremost on everyone’s agenda and in every news story?

In her present speech at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna, Greta Thunberg has yet another powerful delivery. She mentions that millions of students were inspired around the world to strike school for the climate. Yet students can’t do what all of you adults can. This needs to be declared an emergency and made top priority.

She reprimands the audience that they haven’t been living up to their responsibility. Reminding them in her straightforward tone that, ‘humans are capable of so much, yet, still, hardly anyone is aware of the gravity of the situation. Most of the world is uninformed that it is even an issue at all.’ She admonishes them, ‘we need to know’.

Greta Thunberg speaking at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna

Greta Thunberg’s captive audience speaking at the Austrian World Summit in Vienna

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IPCC Climate Change Report | Highest Recorded CO2 Levels & Arctic Temperatures | Bill Mckibben Discussing Significance of Rising CO2 | Greta Thunberg TED Talk | Enforcing Legislation

In November of 2018, an (IPCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report by internationally collaborating scientists, spoke of the nefarious consequences of global warming of 1.5º C.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Articles sprouted this last week regarding a report released by researchers at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory, who recorded record-setting temperatures this last Saturday, May 11th.
atmospheric research facility

Carbon Dioxide Levels In The Atmosphere Hit Highest Mark In Human History, written by Nina Golgowski

“Carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere have soared to a new high, one never before been seen in human history, researchers announced as temperatures near the Arctic circle rose into the 80s.”

These alarmingly warm temperatures came as a daily CO2 reading by atmospheric researchers on Saturday recorded a 415.26 parts per million (ppm) baseline.”

Rebecca Lindsey wrote in August 2018 Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide regarding the 2017 rate of carbon dioxide atmospheric levels as 405.0 ppm parts per million. She wrote this US government report from the (NOAA) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Science and Information for a Climate-Smart Nation.

Carbon Dioxide Rising Levels Climate NOAA

Here is the Annual 2018 Global Climate Report by the NOAA. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201813

A person passionately familiar with what this reading means, he started 350.org in 2008, stressing to educate the public about the need to cap CO2 atmospheric levels at 350. Well his target limit was exceeded in 2017 at 405.26 ppm, and the last week carbon concentrations surpassed 415 parts per million. Bill McKibben discusses the significance of the rising CO2 levels in this audio interview.

Bill McKibben discusses the significance of the rising CO2 levels

My post was originally going to be another tally of my encounters with people sitting in or standing by their stationary vehicles with the engine left running. I will let this linger at the end, just to point out that despite the dramatic need to absolutely change the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and large industrial practices in general that disrupt ecological balances, it is absolutely up to all of us to find alternative ways of viewing what we take for granted and assume is a typical and natural behavior.

As Greta Thunberg mentioned in one of her first speeches, that to the Swedish public before the Parliament to explain her reasoning behind striking school as a 15 year old. She stated that most people are more fearful of having to adjust their behavior that relies on fossil fuels out of habit and convenience, than they are fearful of climate change itself. The problem is that it just isn’t quite grasped, it feels like a remote problem, like a remote-control war that you see short sound bites of that is happening across the globe. Well, the other major factor in peoples’ lack of concern, is the complete absence of reporting about it by the media or governments undertaking it as a major issue. Therefore the public is not only not informed, but often due to huge amounts of money poured into disinformation by petroleum industry lobbying groups, they are way misinformed.

Here is the now 16 year old audacious and articulate Swedish girl Greta Thunberg giving a TED talk about the dire need to act now to avert the most dramatic repercussions of climate change.

Greta Thunberg TED talk on climate change

Yesterday, I came upon a couple nicely dressed, obvious professionals, involved in a conversation on the sidewalk, standing several meters from the large SUV parked there with the engine running. I cycled back around to direct my voice to them saying in the most gentle way possible, do you realize that we’re in a climate crisis, and CO2 is going from your vehicle into the atmosphere? Several minutes later I bicycled by a backhoe that was stationary, but the engine on, as two men worked by it, no person in the cab. As I cycled by their work van, I saw and felt that the engine was on, no one nearby. I circled back to the men to say -as gently as I could – why do you have your engines on? The guy at first looked at me, then when he realized I was making a ‘critical observation’, he ignored me. Finally he said coarsely, “Does anyone tell you how to ride your bike?”

I looked up the Department of Environmental Management of Rhode Island, the State where I’m living. Located it, went there, walking in with a back pack on a Friday afternoon, I already looked suspicious. My question, “WHY IS THIS NOT A LAW? You can generate income by fining people. When I first arrived to this town and realized as a bicyclist that consistently, in every socio economic neighborhood, people have a tendency to sit in their cars with the engine idling. In fact, plenty are not even in their cars, but near them, as they leave the engines running.

Fortunately the woman officer with whom I spoke understood the concerns, stated that there had been at one point anti-idling laws and that in fact in the more old money town of Newport, there is anti-idling legislation.

From the time that I was beginning to drive, before their was a threat of accelerating temperatures due to human activities; heat and transportation demands, I naturally knew that there was no reason to leave an engine running. It wastes fuel, it spews out exhaust.

Obviously what impacts the environment on a much larger scale, are the industries that mine for coal and oil and transport it, and use this energy on a large scale for industrial operations and large, institutional constructions.

Nevertheless, as populations continue to increase and more and more people come to demand having their own automobile or truck, the collective use affects the CO2 levels. There are plenty of reports that reveal that idling engines are contributing to the higher levels of Carbon Dioxide, a green house gas that is warming the earth as it concentrates heat.

Since there appears to be, even in this college town with an ivy league school, an uncanny disassociation among the population and workers for the University of the consequences of their actions. Since I’ve already written numerous letters to the Mayor, Governor and State Legislature, it seemed the next move, to bring this to their attention. The officer with whom I spoke really warmed up to me after her initial skeptical looking expression, I said that if you employ me, I could make the government a thousand dollars an hour. She laughed. She told me that rather than telling people about the climate consequences, tell them that there are fines for idling.

Let’s educate ourselves as much as possible and talk with one another about the best things we can do to change our behaviors, while the new politicians on the block like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez do their best to confront the established powers and force the government to stop their silence, and begin orchestrating the Green New Deal.

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

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Carol sitting under the trees

International XR Extinction Rebellion Die-In

Extinction Rebellion Worldwide Die-In

Extinction Rebellion climate change activists stage mass ‘die-in’ protests across the globe to put spotlight on risk to human life

Protesters lie down in the streets in France, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK.

and Germany, the USA….

“The actions were part of worldwide celebration at 12.05pm called by Extinction Rebellion Berlin following the protests that began in London in November 2018, which have since spawned a mass movement.”

Banksy Extinction Rebellion artwork appears at protest site at London

‘Banksy’ Extinction Rebellion artwork appears at protest site at London’s Marble Arch

California signs up for China’s Belt and Road Forum to help in fight against climate change

“Although the US federal government has snubbed the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, representatives from America’s most populous state are attending to drum up support for international efforts to tackle climate change.”

Msg from the Future ~Green New Deal~ with AOC | Every Day is Earth Day | Surprise! World’s Happiest, Most Prosocial >Bicycle the Most<

This is the most exciting and cool thing I’ve seen and heard.

The release of this beautifully crafted, stunningly clear and informative message is another spark that is a gift.

The Intercept: A Message From The Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

It reaches us through the heart. It’s illustrated by Molly Crabapple, and is a brain child of Naomi Klein and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who contributed to text and is the narrator.

A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Intercept

You can listen to the making of this message through Democracy Now, “A Message from the Future with AOC”: New Film Imagines World Transformed by the Green New Deal

The idea of creating an image of what we can do, instead of harping on how we messed up. This was the theme among peeps at the Place to B in Paris during the Paris Climate Talks, COP21

‘How to talk about the climate differently.’

We can all keep adding to this with ideas of our own in our own communities. And as we continue to imagine ourselves and come up with things we could do in our own homes and communities, we could actually do these projects together – and the Green New Deal will pay us to do what we love doing. It will raise the standards of living towards health, cleaning up, growing our own food on roofs and creating community gardens, solar and wind on roofs, planting, creating green-ways for pollinators to larger animals and towards tearing down parking lots and planting there, and implementing all sorts of projects in our own communities. Basically completing stopping any oil/petroleum based business, and immediately finding alternatives to driving gas-fueled automobiles. Shift the ownership from private to establishing vast sweeping common areas that are preserved, clean up rivers, plant trees.

It could be quite fun.

The Climate Reality Project states “In report after report, including the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, the world’s leading scientific experts have sounded the alarm that unprecedented and aggressive measures must be taken to reduce emissions to safe levels to protect our future.” It is up to all of us to become involved, participate in raising our health and happiness standards, while reducing our carbon footprint.

The Climate Reality Project Protect Our Planet

World Happiness Report 2019

The World Happiness Report, 2019 designates all of the Scandinavian countries as topping the list. Socialized healthcare, work/life balance skews towards life, love of the outdoors, high bicycle rates, prosocial behavior, gratitude, transparency, everyone is educated for free and more of a stress on the commonwealth. By the way, Nordic countries have implemented a sophisticated internet broadband technology, as distinct from cellular. Sweden is also one of the most transparent countries in the world and, consequently, one of the most trusting.

Of the World Happiness Report 2019, “Chapter 5 discusses the happiness effects of digital technology use, Chapter 6 deals with big data, while Chapter 7 describes an epidemic of mass addictions in the United States, expanding on the evidence presented in Chapter 5.”

Is it perhaps telling, that these same countries that top the happiness list,

The 10 Happiest Countries In The World In 2019

10 Happiest Countries 2019 Forbes

 

also among the highest bicycle riders per capita.

It’s not causal, but a correlation for sure. I ride bicycle everywhere. In Berlin, Germany, as in all Scandinavian countries, there’s a well-established infrastructure of bicycle paths. There are many different ways that people transport their children by bicycle.

Child Bicycle Carriers Scandinavia

The infrastructure is integral, and so well designed that I was reprimanded by an elderly woman when I had first arrived in Berlin and road in the city by bicycle, because there’s a distinct bike lane as well as designated pedestrian walking lane. These paths circuit through city streets and continue into the country. They are raised from the car traffic lanes and clearly separated, so that one feels safely removed from vehicles.

It may seem like an extreme encumbrance to many of my contemporary American peers, because of the convenience of hopping in an automobile. Life is slower on a bicycle, and frankly, one find’s oneself taking more of the environment in; with the option to stop, change directions and turn down little ally ways if something piques one’s curiosity.

Many I guess are thwarted by distance, if they live in rural areas or suburbia. That’s because there is barely infrastructure to accommodate public transportation in the USA Today. Rail systems had been in place in some areas of the USA at the beginning of the 20th century, but replaced by a launch into the automotive industry. Living in Germany, I learned that there’s a well integrated train system, connecting all the small towns (in which one can board with one’s bicycle).

As Deepak Chopra said in a guided meditation, “There’s a big difference between speeding by a field or woods in an automobile, and slowing down to take in the life all around you with all of your senses; details of textures, colors, sounds and smells.” As a child, I was raised with the automobile. I also started bicycling early in my life.