More of an uncomfortable truth about the state of our earth

Christopher Titmuss

FROM THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER, LONDON. DECEMBER 16, 2007

President Bush's administration conceded for the first time yesterday that the pollution that causes global warming will have to be cut in half around the globe by the middle of the century if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change.

The verbal concession, a dramatic U-turn, came amid unprecedented pressure on the United States in the closing session of the top-level Climate Conference in Bali.

In scenes never before witnessed in international diplomacy, the US was booed and hissed by the representatives of nearly 190 nations for trying to obstruct agreement

The final battleground centred on two paragraphs of text: the first outlined what the industrialised world should take on in fighting dangerous climate change; the second outlined what the poorer developing world would do.

Having successfully watered down the rich countries' commitments, the US wanted to shift the balance of what needed to be done on to poorer ones. But the rest of the world wasn't having it. Boos and hisses broke out around the hall.

The rest of the world, led by the EU, had pressed hard for the size of the needed rich country cuts – 25 to 40 per cent by 2020 – to be included in the text, but the US resisted and they had to be relegated to a footnote.

All other developed countries, however, agreed to include the figure in a separate agreement, which excludes the US.

MORE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS

World’s population currently increases by 1,500,000 per week.
World population:
1800 - 1 billion people.
1950 - 2.5 billion people.
1960 -3 billion people.
1975 - 4 billion people.
1990 - 5 billion.
2000 - 6 billion.
2007 - 6.5 billion people.

Population of China is 1312 million people. Population of India is 1129 million people. Third most populated country is USA with 301 million people.

From a consumption perspective, the developed countries have a bigger population growth problem than the developing countries.

There are more deaths than births in South Africa due to Aids.

Five per cent of the world's population lives in the U.S. and has more environmental impact than the 51% that live in the other five largest countries.

A USA citizen consume on average 80 times more in resources than an Indian citizen.

The US lobbied the Bali Climate Change conference for research into futuristic technology such as giant sunlight-blocking mirrors in space as "insurance", an idea which the draft summary dismisses as "largely speculative, uncosted and with potential for unknown side effects.”

The United States - supported by Canada, Japan and Saudi Arabia - worked hard to ensure that a reference in the final text to any target figures to reduce emissions was deleted.

Vast majority of Western citizens resist changing of lifestyle preferring instead to make small gestures like turning the tap off when brushing the teeth.

Business reports a current consumer frenzy around the world for all kinds of homes, goods, gadgets, flights, holidays, entertainment and luxury items. The global mantra for those with significant income is spend, spend, spend.

In 2000, USA had a 3 trillion dollar surplus. It is now a 9 trillion dollar debt. It means the country has spent 12 trillion dollars in seven years. Half is funded by income taxes, half goes to the military and to pay interest on the debt. The national debt increases by $2.43 billion per day.

There is more and more conflict world wide over use of land – for deforestation, for arable use or building towns and factories, for lavish holiday resorts, for the demands of an ever increasing population. Tourist developers have taken over some areas with a view to building lavish holiday resorts on land temporarily vacated by villages after the Tsunami.

In 2000, a UN report predicted nations will one day fight over natural resources, such as oil and water, rather than territory.

The time anyone spends an American dollar, the energy equivalent of half a litre of oil is burned to produce what that dollar buys!

It would take six planets to support a middle class Western lifestyle.
Governments are failing to take major action themselves, failing to take radical steps towards sustainability and failing to force big business and consumers to change their priorities.
Forest fires, floods and draughts hit America. In 2007 draught covered more than one third of continental USA.

There were extreme floods in sub Sahara Africa during the summer of 2007.

In Sudan more than 2,000,000 die due to famine, desertification and genocide.

In 1996, US government provided $20,000,000 in military equipment for southern Sudan, mostly Christian, to overthrow the Islamic government in Khartoum. The combination of international arms trade and shipping in of food aid sustain the civil war. The Sudanese army and rebels continue their campaign of terror on each other and civilians.

Sudan is the largest country in Africa, the poorest, the highest death toll from a civil war with the highest number of displaced persons (5.5 million).

Very heavy monsoons badly affected crops in the sub-continent of India. Millions were left homeless. Families in Bihar, India and Bangladesh sat for days on thatched roofs of their homes waiting for floor water to subside.

Floods hit Europe costing billions of Euros. High summer temperature led to electrical storms, extensive forest fires and loss of lives and property in some localities of countries along the Mediterranean cost.
Australia experienced its worst drought in 1000 years according to scientists. The drought affected more than 50% of farmers. Government enforced strict rules for use of water on the population. Reservoirs dropped to their lowest ever levels.

In August, 2005, Hurrican Katrina, the sixth strongest hurricane ever, hit New Orleans in Louisiana and surrounding areas. The hurricane brought flooding or severe damage and disruption to an area the size of the United Kingdom (90,000 square miles). One million people were evacuated. Much of the city was left uninhabitable. Around 2000 confirmed fatalities and 29,000 were missing.

United States government continues to engage in war or support for war on Islamic nations.

The US government

1. makes war upon Afghanistan (it is supported by NATO, UK and Australia) to find Osama bin Ladan.More than 3500 tons of opium, record amounts, leaves Afghanistan annually for the streets of the West. Afghanistan produces nearly all the world’s heroin.

2. makes war in Iraq (approximately 200,000 troops occupy Iraq from the US and other nations). More than 1,000,000 American soldiers have fought in either Iraq or Afghanistan.1,132,000 Iraqis have died in the war.Ten per cent of Iraq have become refugees and fled.Countless numers of Afghanis have take refuge in neighouring Pakistan.

3. One in 10 US soldiers need medication to deal with emotional issues. Solders find themselves unable to function due to overwhelmingfear and anxiety from roadside attacks, dealing with the dead and wounded, house to house searches and rage from Iraqi citizens.Every week, sodliers been flown to the US army hospital in Europe with severe mental health problem. More and more soldiers can’t face any redeployment back into Afghanistan or Iraq.

4. backs Israel’s invasion in 2006 of Lebanon,

5. backs Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories,

6. threatens Iran,

7. supports rebels in Southern Sudan against Islamic government,
   support for Ethopia against Islamic Somalia.

8. maintains the living hell of Guantanamo Bay where hundreds of Muslims exist without trial, and are subjected to modern methods and experiments of psychological and physical torture.

The gradual rise of temperatures in the northern hemisphere and mild winters allow diseases and infected organisms to travel more easily affecting humans, animals and birds. Malaria has been contracted in south Europe.

Sea storms become more violent. More and more hurricanes hit coastal regions in the area of the Caribbean and south east coast of USA. Parts of the European coastline take a battering from strong gales.

Climate change, especially floods and droughts, are affecting basic food supply. Rice, wheat, potatoes and maize crops suffered badly in 2007. In some areas, yields dropped by 30% or more.

Speed of destruction of forests is increasing in the determination to provide wood to satisfy consumer demand. Great forests as far as the eye can are cut down to plant palms to provide oil for bio-diesel. Agri-business markets palm plantations as a ‘green fuel.’ Cleared land only provides a few crops before it is exhausted.

NASA satellite pictures snow and ice in the Arctic and Antarctic is melting much faster than predicted. It is expected that in just over 20 year, time these two coldest regions of the world will be ice free. Original prediction was 2080. Sea levels are expected to rise by two metres. The impact of total ice meltdown and increase in sea levels is unpredictable. There could be widespread catastrophe in populated areas living close to the sea.

PS. Attended by government representatives from 190 nations, the Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007 made major news on the front and inside pages of newspapers daily for days around the world, except in the USA.

Information above gleaned from Internet