Kagey

I’m not sure why but I hadn’t expected such wise words from Fidel Castro. I recommend you read his views on the meetings of minds between President Bush and the US motor industry and their plans to focus on bio fuels as the solution to future oil shortages. In a time when the global population is in expansion, climate change threatens crop production and water shortages are likely to create major instability it cannot be right to convert food into fuel. But I’m stealing Fidel’s thunder … Read on

Mr Finn the younger!

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWpM6NDx8DU[/youtube]

 

More on his UK Shed site

I am not a Tony Blair

My guess is you are not George Bush, Saddam Hussein or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad either.

However the logic of nuclear warfare is that figures like the above will create the conditions for nuclear war that you may be required to pay for with your life.

This week Tony Blair forced through the renewal of Trident. I wholly oppose this decision and yet because of his determination to retain them it is possible that these weapons will be used to incinerate people who like me oppose the decisions of their government.

Listening to the arguments in favour of nuclear weapons in the recent weeks I was struck by the absolute stupidity of the justifications. In a radio debate I heard a woman keep saying that we have a ‘moral duty to protect our population.’ However it is the possession of nuclear weapons by the state that imposes a blanket responsibility on its population to accept total annihilation in the event of nuclear conflict.

Alliance forces are currently fighting and dying to ensure that the Iraqi people have the opportunity to elect a leader of their choice through the democratic process. Our leaders have said that their highest ideal is to create conditions for peace and stability; that the Iraqi people are to be protected from tyranny. However if Saddam Hussein had possessed nuclear weaponry and looked like using them the nuclear logic would have required the ordinary Iraqi people under his tyrannical rule to be vaporised in retaliation or even in a pre-emptive strike.

Were all Germans Nazi’s? Clearly not yet if Hitler had had a nuclear weapon it would have been the German populous who would have paid an even higher price for the evil of his regime. The citizens of Nagasaki were neither Emperor Hirohito or at the seat of Japanese military policy yet the American government dropped its bomb there anyway.

Declare yourself a Nuclear Free Zone!

OK so I slag the government off for not doing enough the day before they release their Climate Change Bill!

Well as far as it goes the new bill has to be aplauded but … as per my last blog they’ve got a job on their hands to meet the targets while they continue to bulid roads, runways and depend on economic growth to meet their policy plans.

Lobby your MP to make the their new climate bill fit for purpose!

The Climate Change Swindle seems to have wound people right up and I can understand why people feel so suspicious, i.e. it looks like Climate Concern is a government rouse to raise more taxes. It is exactly the above contradiction that feeds these doubts, if you apply taxes to apparently change one behaviour (frequent flying) but support the action (build more runways) it does indeed look like a neat fundraising opportunity.

Responses to the swindle

The Ecologist - George Monbiot – The Independent – The Guardian for C4

I’ve been avoiding my blog. It’s just every time I start to write I’m just too overwelmed by the stuff that goes round in my head to be able to put something down that isn’t a complete doom laden rant.

But I’m beginning to feel brighter. Apparently I don’t really have to worry about climate change after all. According to Channel 4 and “The Great Climate Change Swindle” it’s all a load of old tosh dreamed up by scientists to get their hands on juicy funding. Mind you Channel 4 seem to be on a bit of mission to find ways to raise funds themselves and what better way to boost ratings than a bit of climate controversy or minority bashing aka Jade Goody and her well chosen words on racial harmony.

But probably the best news is that the outlawing of incandescent light bulbs in favour of low energy bulbs is the key to cutting CO2 and saving the planet. It’s going to be a toughie and already there’s a row over light bulb subsidies but I’m sure we’re ready for the sacrifice.

I wonder then is that it? Is this the extent of our politician’s grasp of what is required to save the planet? No wonder things are moving apace on global agreement. Bio fuels and lightbulbs it is then; as long as we can get em cheap.

The one thing nobody inside government is talking about is zero growth. While taxes on air travel are being touted as a way to curb emissions no one is talking about abandoning airport expansion. Taxing motorists for road use is put forward as a way to raise green taxes and restrict the further growth of car journeys but the UK government is still wedded to a huge program of road building. Surely the easiest way to curb the growth in carbon producing journeys is to just not build any more runways or roads.

As I’ve said elsewhere on my blog the sums simply don’t add up for the environment and the things that live in it while we continue to avoid the simple truth that there isn’t enough planet to go round.