We are creatures that live on a miraculous planet with a plethora of life forms that are phenomenally beautiful and intriguing in their intricacies of form and behavior. A world of intelligent systems, from how the wind and water moves, to living soil that nourishes flora that in turn house and nourish fauna. All these systems are intelligent and continually interacting. Without all of this life, we would have a very dull, one-dimensional existence. In fact, we wouldn’t exist at all; not without the birds, bees, trees, ants, bacteria, rain, plasma. Yet we sort of forget about it and go about our lives entrenched in our habits: patterns of movement, acquisition of materials and societal norms that compel us to adhere to certain standards and activities. Many of our actions that don’t appear to be harmful in any way because they are accepted as standard – everyone else does it – are extravagant and fully damaging to all life systems on earth. Yet, we are magical beings. We have intricate bodies, minds and imaginations. We are capable of so, so much more. There is so much beauty on the earth. Soil gives nutrients to plants. The sun infiltrates and charges life. Water provides life. One drop of water is fragile beauty, an ocean is a reservoir of life and power. Taking oil out of the crevices of the earth, is like draining blood vessels. Mining and splitting the earth is like slicing and tearing away skin. Do you feel joy exchanging a smile with another being? Delight in interacting with another creature? Do you realize that you have the choice through joining in your actions with many other people together, to make this earth into a paradise in a multitude of ways? Simply by making the decision and joining others to change habits and become the life force that walks away from the path of destruction and the monetary system within which we are entrenched. If we all do this together, it will actually be a spiritual leap of faith.
Joel Sartore the Photo Ark
Joel Sartore decided to photograph every life form. He’s the founder of the Photo Ark ” groundbreaking effort to document species before they disappear—and to get people to care while there’s still time.” The BBC did a feature on his work The man who takes studio photos of endangered species. as well.
At the same time, E.O. Wilson’s incentive is to catalogue all of earth’s species. He’s established the Biodiversity Foundation’s Half-Earth Project. “Half-Earth proposes an achievable plan to save our imperiled biosphere: to devote half the surface of the Earth to nature. In order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet”, says Edward O. Wilson.
E.O. Wilson’s Biodiversity Foundation and Half-Earth Project
https://eowilsonfoundation.org/half-earth-our-planet-s-fight-for-life/
The reason I bring these people up who wish to remind us of what is out there and encourage us to do what we can to save their lives, is because we have come down a path that is wiping them out. Our habits of sophisticated locomotion, comfortable surroundings, tastes for food and beverages and entertainment, conveniences, comforts and luxuries as humans, come with a cost to the rest of the living planet and wildlife.
Certify your Garden to Wildlife; your yard, deck, windowsill, roof, local park or school. Learn what you can do, and do it.
We are suffocating our atmosphere, putting toxins into our soils, choking our planet’s coastlines, waterways and oceans with plastic. An article in a New Zealand paper a year ago states, “Drowning our marine life in a growing sea of plastic.” 27 Mar, 2017
Plastic Ocean Still from Australian documentary NZHerald
Plastic Oceans Foundation is a global charitable organization that aims to change the worlds’ attitude to plastic in a single generation. They’ve created a film Plastic Ocean. Here’s the trailer of A Plastic Ocean.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Five major collections of garbage due to ocean currents.
Particles of plastic of all shapes and sizes are being found in the farthest islands from civilization, inside the stomachs of migratory birds and in whales. Researchers indicate that they find typically 100 to 200 pieces of plastic in the stomachs of birds. A beached whale had more than a 1,000 pieces of plastic in its stomach. As plastic gets baked in the sun and tossed around, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, and is often misidentified as food all along the food chain of ocean creatures.
Boyan Slat: How we will rid the oceans of plastic
Fortunately, there are a number of individuals and groups of people who recognize this and are doing fantastic things to mitigate problems from deforestation to replanting, cleaning, finding ways to dissuade people from using plastics, educate them, devise ways to encourage people to recycle and exchange plastic for currency and who are cleaning it up.
Yet the reason that I started this blog was when I learned of several dolphin stranding events that occurred a weekend ago. And as I was putting together this article, a week later another stranding happened. I found plenty of articles showing a correspondence between naval sonar exercises as well as industrial seismic testing with mass stranding events (landing out of the water and unable to swim back in) of various marine mammals. I’m talking about species that are social, intelligent, humorous, playful and gregarious. I’ve written to several international marine mammal groups and several responded, yet none indicated a direct association to naval sonar exercises or petroleum exploration recent enough to indicate that their seismic testing may have affected these pods. I however, am inclined to think that if these were previously associated, with a correspondence between these underwater invasive sound activities that travel easily through the medium of water and are extremely loud, that these pulses would indeed affect these species who use echolocation to find their food, detect their predators and to navigate. If it has already been linked, why is it not recognized or talked about?
Senator for Queensland to Australia questions regarding Active Sonar
RIMPAC CPF Navy Warship Exercises
Comments steered me to references of naval (military) activities in the region where these recent dolphin deaths occurred. I was pointed to RIMPAC and Raytheon. I looked up The Raytheon Company – a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics.
Raytheon gets $37 million SM-6 and SM-2 missiles contract modification Nov 27, 2018 in Maritime Security, Missiles & Bombs, News
I was told about RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. And found this very proud pro war-games propaganda video “News Alert – World’s Largest Naval Exercise Rimpac 2018 Begins, China Un-Invited”
Though the article a week ago regarding 145 Pilot Whales Found Dead on Remote New Zealand Beach, Nobody Knows Why (Pilot Whales are dolphins), I feel like there’s a silence about this. There have been discoveries of damaged tissue, acoustic trauma and hemorrhaging around the ear.
145 Pilot Whales Found Dead on Remote New Zealand Beach. Nobody Knows Why.
This article refers to the one that happened a few days ago. 51 Pilot Whales Die in Another Mass Stranding in New Zealand.
This somewhat recent article hints at sonar, but will not make a clear statement indicating that this was the cause. “Dead whales that washed up on Irish beaches ‘may have been killed by military sonar” Thursday 9 August 2018 “The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) said the strandings coincided with naval manoeuvres following the reported sighting of a foreign submarine in British waters. No connection between the whales’ deaths and the naval manoeuvres was established.” Hmmm, once again, no idea? No connection!
Greenpeace talks about whale and dolphin injury and deaths due to Seismic & Sonar Testing. They say that according to government estimates, 138,500 whales and dolphins will soon be injured and possibly killed along the east coast of the U.S., if exploration companies are allowed to use dangerous blasts of noise to search for offshore oil and gas. Just as the reports I read from the New Zealand government report on pathologies of marine mammals, none of the reports really divulged what may have caused the death. These are individuals working in a government office. I met an American who was a Climate Scientist working for the State of California who told me he was warned not to mention the word ‘global warming’ in any of his reports as early as 1991. He confided that his studies always lead to mentioning the phenomenon. I’m thinking that the lack of mentioning a correlation with sonar or seismic testing of the Australian government bureau may also be because the employees are dissuaded from mentioning this.
The Center for BiologicalDiversity is well aware of the deleterious impacts of sonar and seismic testing.
Seismic blasting diagram center for biologicaldiversity
The correlation is certainly there. Well, where exactly are our heads at? Certainly the Navy is going to be the last to admit that they’re killing dolphins.
I sent a letter of inquiry to a handful of international whaling organizations asking if they have any more information on this connection? I did receive several responses. So far, the two that wrote back didn’t make that correlation. The dolphins were too remote to get to before decomposition begins, which emulates the findings of damaged tissue from sonar or seismic activity, then it’s too late to detect specific deterioration from what had been the cause. I asked if they were aware of autopsies being conducted regarding signs of deafness, damaged tissues, acoustic trauma or hemorrhaging around the ear? Mentioning that although certainly ingestion of plastics is a tremendous problem leading to toxicity and death, the stranding of an entire group points to an event that effected them during a fixed period of time.
They didn’t find this correlation. One responded with an official New Zealand government link to Marine Mammal Pathology Reports, which upon perusing a few, I didn’t see any indicating plastic or naval sonar. In fact, none of them point to any projected cause. I investigated current 2018 Australian Naval exercises, didn’t yet find any specific report (to the public) but found for example this. The NZ response mentioned that “The most recent petroleum seismic survey in New Zealand finished on 30 Mar 2018, so this is unlikely to be related.”
I guess PTSD isn’t considered with respect to marine mammals who’ve been forced to exposure of extremely loud noises. Of course it is disruptive and cumulative. Of course it would lead to deafness and affect the function of sensitive organs , when one’s entire operating system – echolocation – relies on subtle sound detection.
A naval report Thales to Upgrade Sonars on Australia’s fleet of Collins-class Submarines with a lot of military propaganda. “Australia’s strategic priority on enhancing its submarine capability will be supported by Thales through major upgrades of the sonar systems on all six Collins class submarines. A$230million contract with Thales is part of a A$542million project approved by the Australian Government for the upgrade of the Collins class sensor capabilities, the key to extending the life and the regional superiority of the Collins fleet.”
In the meantime I’d just watched this video by Robert Reich, THE MONOPOLIZATION OF AMERICA: The Biggest Economic Problem You’re Hearing Almost Nothing About He explains that a century ago there were anti-trust laws preventing any company from getting too large, but they disappeared during the Reagan years. Reich points out that the less businesses there are in competition, the more that the few who are in control can create their own prices as well as the wage standards. No competitor, no problem, for those making the rules.
Robert Reich Monopolization of America Monsanto Owns Genetically most soy and corn
Robert Reich Monopolization of America Walmart Drives Down Workers Wages
Robert Reich Monopolization of America Health Care Monopolies 2015
Robert Reich Monopolization of America Health Care Monopolies 2016
And then I saw this bit of information
The USA according to what businesses ‘control’ each state. Walmart Nation, Health Care Boeing
I noticed how odd it is that Health Care is a business, an obviously really, really big moneymaker. Hmmm, and then Boeing, a weapons manufacturer. ok. The Boeing Company is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. Yes, the same Boeing which Withheld Information on 737 Model, According to Safety Experts and Others. You know, that most recent airline crash in Indonesia.C
Military/Naval use of seismic testing to detect enemy submarines and underwater electronic weapons testing and industrial exploration to detect resources they wish to split open the earth to access. These I believe are completely in synch with the stranding, um, lets call it mass death.
Stranding sounds too harmless, a better word is ECOCIDE. If there is any correlation to the fact that this has occurred once, it means that the people of the world who are continuing an activity that they consciously know is killing another species, I would say is killing, silently, without regard. And as long as they can keep a lid on it, they will.
Well, hmmm. The technology for war and manufacturing – seismic testing – is causing staggering loss.
Transnational BANKS, CORPORATE INDUSTRIAL Monopolies and MILITARY > are DRIVING RELENTLESS GROWTH and FINANCING EXTINCTION.
There have been suggests on many fronts that we need to reintroduce the commons, so treasured land and water and air resources are commonly held among all of the people. And in the process of valuing, establishing parks and community gardens and places for people to come together in the arts and sciences, all people can participate in building this community; re establishing the common wealth and common health, as George Monbiot eludes to in Common Wealth 2nd October 2017
Federal Budget the Costs of Being an Empire
Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote on November 1, 2018 The American Economy Is Rigged, And what we can do about it “Markets do not exist in a vacuum: they are shaped by rules and regulations, which can be designed to favor one group over another.”
The military is big business. It’s not just about defense, it’s integrated into the economic system, manufacturing, jobs, investments, just like big industry. These have a presence in all powerful countries. So the scale is continually tipped towards investments and money, with the natural environment and the preservation of life and wilderness, not good for finances. This massive infrastructure of manufacturing weapons, building sophisticated information systems, to fleets of ships, submarines and jets, and upgrading technology to be the most powerful to penetrate everything, to be the feared and powerful enemy, is all part of the global market, keeping business and money, flowing.
Most of the wealthy nations and multinational companies that bolster this military presence, basically adhere to the same stance: war, might, deterrence and growing the GDP in profits in the multi-billions: USD $, AUD $, GBP £, EUR €, CNY ¥, CAD C$, HKD HK$, INR Rs., JPY ¥….
And all of us are participating in one way or another. Grade schools are grooming kids to stay in line. Patriotism plays a big role as well. Patriotism to the school, to the country. Military is considered honorable. Media and broadcast TV show idols. We are encouraged as young adults to decide what we wish to provide through our services to the world. We start working or enter into vocational schools, colleges and universities. The military in its different guises is a lure, secure income, free education. Many students are persuaded to study not necessarily what they feel the most connection to, but what will make the most money. Along with consolidating companies, minds are getting shrunk into mirroring this value of money and profit above all else. Thing is, it’s maybe not so easy to decipher how what they are doing for their work is affecting other life. We have this extraordinarily beautiful earth and delightful creatures whose habitat continues to shrink as the big box stores, the Walmarts, the Coscos, the Starbucks, the CVS…keep building more and more branches, mowing down trees and tasteful buildings and paving more parking lots as cities all over the USA have the same ugly car-centered peripheral sprawl of all of the chains and box stores. Is that really what we want? Or are we sort of indoctrinated into thinking that we need to keep buying, that this is what life is all about. And we keep feeling a crunch of money and time, and keep rushing to go out and buy more. It is perhaps difficult to find the time or space or luxury to step back and know that our work and habits may be contributing to some very nasty stuff. But perhaps it’s not quite in our consciousness, and therefore not really in our conscience to be bothered if the work we do isn’t meaningful or is paving the way to more destruction of our natural world? Perhaps the huge narcotic epidemic in the USA is because of all of this emphasis on financial wealth and power, with little connection to how much we are violating the earth and the habitats of its creatures. I’d rather see a bunch of fields of flowers and groves of trees, bicycle paths, community gardens and fruit and nut trees in parks than more Walmarts or other box stores. I think a lot of people would be a lot healthier and happier if they were out with friends and families playing outdoors and interacting with one another in parks than having to have the newest and latest fashion, shoes, watches, phones, computers, tv monitors, cars. We are sort of drilled into thinking that we need all this stuff, and that ‘getting the best deal is more important’ than the fact that Walmart has wiped out all of your local markets, that Amazon has put all your favorite little shops out of business and that there’s hardly any green left as these massive businesses keep slapping them up as fast and efficiently and cheaply as they can.
This is violence to the earth and its creatures. Building more and more box commercial chains, outlets, malls appears to be what people want, but I think its a seduction game into making people feel that they NEED these things to be loved and lovable. Or that an engine is an extension of one’s manhood and therefore showing someone’s worth. Fighting so called enemies in wars, drilling, fracking, draining, cutting, slicing, spoiling environments, destroying beauty and habitats is violence to the being (the earth and its creatures) which is our life support system which gave us the gift of life and all of these wonderful creatures to watch in endearment to share it with. How far can a person go making choices, or simply not paying attention to the repercussions of their actions? How long can people distract themselves and not have the community resources to understand how their habits are affecting creatures near and far? Many are so time-challenged and consumed with making ends meet their tastes, that they do not comprehend the larger picture, nor wish to.
Humans are highly social creatures. As babies, we learn through watching, listening and observing our surroundings with all of our senses Then we adapt into discovering who we are through interactions with our parents, at school, with teachers, peers. Cultural institutions monitor us and guide us. Modern western man over a period of time shifted to a very comfort driven, consumer oriented culture in the land of plenty. And this idolatry for gadgets and all that glistens and gives us glamour and freedom, comes at a cost.
Just when we were catching on to all that money can buy, we started to get more indoctrinated into being patriotic to our countries. As war became the focus with WWI, this marriage of industry and government seemed to launch. People were living well, standard of living associated with goods manufactured and profits made through war. In the latter part of the last century, more businesses consolidated, and the money firmly linked to the government and continually to weapons manufacture and war.
Do I sound unpatriotic? If Patriotism implies looking the other way when the means of employment is to build weapons, approach other people by trying to overpower them instead of looking another human being in the eye, or regarding any creature as a subject that is incredible with fascinating life, to destroy it because it’s in the way of my profit, or choke it’s air, pollute it’s water and soil and basically kill anything that gets in the way of the corporation or state, then yes indeed, I am not patriotic.
A song by the British band The English Beat talks satirically about youth being indoctrinated into working in industries making weapons or things you don’t need that will screw up everything it touches. That’s a pretty common understanding these days.
The English Beat song Get a Job
There’s a training course
boys and girls of real ambition
start a new job in a factory
where they’re making ammunition
but it makes them think of stealing
when they read between the lines
through the owners of this funfair
you won’t find a ride you like
just get-a-job, get-a-job
manufacture rubbish
although no one can afford it
you could make a profit
more than anyone deserves
so you find you’re left with poison
so you dump it in our water
and so create the kind of problems
only radiation cures
through get-a-job, get-a-job
get-a-job, get-a-job
oh you young people are revolting
8 to 5 life should give the jolt needed
in a few years you won’t feel quite the same
you’ll be playing their get-a-job game
games games games games
there’s a training camp when
you come from saving nations
get a new job and a new leg
social rehabilitation
every time you thing of leaving
you get caught between the lines (lies)
it’s the training for the funfair
you get taken for a ride
you! get-a-job get-a-job
just get-a-job, get-a-job
just get-a-job, get-a-job
Oh, it’s an understanding that things may suffer from the job, but completely misunderstood that the person is choosing to do something that is really bad for their own spirit and health and bad for others, bad for our living planet, bad for life systems and destroying biodiversity.
That’s why I feel so much hope when a youthful person stands up and says what many adults are not wanting to talk about or hear. The 15 year old Swedish girl,Greta Thunberg made a speech in English in London at theExtinction Rebellion launch. She went on a school strike and then Greta sat before the Swedish Parliament stating that the government and the grownups are doing NOTHING, regardless of all the facts.
Greta’s powerful speech to Swedish people before the Parliament
There are individuals and entrepreneurs and nations taking action to deal with plastic crisis. But there’s nothing more important than recognizing that change can happen. Coming through education and arts and activities within your own communities. We can drive that change. If one young girl has already sparked and inspired students in Australia, in another continent, this can ripple. We need to look very, very hard, at what we are choosing, so that we don’t lose what is most precious. You may think your own immediate children are the most precious, but what if there are no trees, woods, grasses, available food, no clean oceans or rivers or lakes, or air, and no other life? It is an astoundingly clear choice to me. We’ve got to make some changes, and we’re going to do this together. And plenty of people are pointing the way, and your own ideas will be as valuable as anyones, collaboratively we will create this change.
Greta states in her speech before the Swedish Parliament, “To all of you who choose to look the other way every day because you seem more frightened of the changes that can prevent catastrophic climate change than the catastrophic climate change itself. Your silence is almost worst of all. The future of all the coming generations rests on your shoulder. Every single person counts. Just like every single emission counts. Every single kilo. Everything counts.”
Geert Weggenhe Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2018
Global Warming. Climate Change. Climate Justice. Ben & Jerry’s
Stop Look Smile
Appreciate All Life
It’s Free
Joel Sartore photo ark picture and the blogger, Carol Keiter
What can I say? I simply did not want to break up how I wish to present these topics, because they are integrally interrelated.
