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Is
it to Late to Save Mother Earth? by High Priestess Michala Lee-Price Mystique Mish – The Wayfinder
In November 1992, some 1,500 – 1,700 of
the world's leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates
in the sciences, published a document of appeal titled: “The
World Scientists' Warning to Humanity”.
It was written and spearheaded by the late Henry Kendall, former chair of
UCS's (Union of Concerned Scientists) board of directors. “Human beings and the
natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh
and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical
resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious
risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal
kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to
sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if
we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.” [1] The
rather lengthy document went on to list many of the crises in the
atmosphere, water, resources, oceans, forests, biodiversity and human
population. Following which
the document contained a stern and urgent WARNING: “We the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated.” [2] The document concluded with an extensive list of
“WHAT WE MUST DO” to Save Mother Earth. It can only be deemed as reprehensible that this document
was largely ignored by many in the Global Community and Governments of
Developed Countries for at least 5 years up until December 1997 when The
Kyoto Protocol was
introduced, and that a campaign launched by UCS in the same year of the
publication to “Urge
US Congress to Support New Global Warming Bills” was not acted upon until February 2007.
When you consider that this document was published almost
16 years ago and only resulted in extensive, prolonged debates with little
action-taking place … Are we too
LATE? “The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of reducing greenhouse gases in an effort to prevent anthropogenic climate change. It was adopted on 11 December 1997 by the 3rd Conference of the Parties, which was meeting in Kyoto, and it entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of May 2008, 182 parties have ratified the protocol.[1] Of these, 36 developed cg countries (plus the EU as a party in its own right) are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the levels specified for each of them in the treaty (representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries),[1][2] with three more countries intending to participate.[3] One hundred thirty-seven (137) developing countries have ratified the protocol, including Brazil, China and India, but have no obligation beyond monitoring and reporting emissions. The United States has not ratified the treaty.” [3] In December 1997, the
U.S. government tentatively agreed at a United Nations meeting in Kyoto,
Japan, to reduce nationwide emissions of greenhouse gasses by 7 percent
below 1990 levels. This goal
would be achieved by reducing the combustion of fossil fuels sufficiently
to diminish emission levels in 2010 to 41 percent below where they would
end up at current rates of emission growth.
Although any estimates of the overall economic effects of the
agreement are fraught with uncertainties, economists estimated that
abiding by the agreement could reduce U.S. GDP growth by as much as 2.5
percent per year and as a result, President Bush announced in March of
2001 that the U.S. would not sign and ratify the treaty. The Australian
Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Australian people and the
Australian Government, only signed the instrument of ratification of the
Kyoto Protocol on 3rd December 2007 but in Kevin Rudd’s
favour, it was one of the first things the in-coming Labor Government did: “…
and on 11 March 2008 Australia's ratification came into effect. Australia
has committed to meeting its Kyoto Protocol target, and has set a target
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050. Australia
will participate actively and constructively in the negotiations working
towards a post-2012 agreement, which is equitable and effective. Our position is that any binding commitments need to encompass both developed and developing countries if we are to be successful in tackling climate change.” [4] It is woeful, that industrial and developed countries like
the United States of America, China, and Australia (through the then,
Liberal Government) etc. held the world to virtual ransom for such a long
period of time. It is not surprising that the two great Global powers which
refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, namely USA and China, are also, the
greatest violators of Human Rights and their respective countries house
several of the most polluted cities in the world. However, if you did an Internet Search for such listings,
you would find that the calculations for the Top
Ten Most Polluted Cities and The
Top Twenty Most Polluted Cities are contrary to each other and the
statistics do not add up. As most of the agencies and news services, which
published these findings are US based, it seems apparent that the US
government has manipulated the findings to ensure that the three
most heavily polluted US cities [5]
are not included in the Top 20 list and that: “A total of 16 out of the top 20 most polluted cities are in China. #1 on the list is Linfen City in Shanxi Province, China. "The whole city smells and is covered in smoke." [6] At the time of writing this article and potential white
paper, the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing, China and
International Athletes are risking their future health to win “Gold”
for themselves and prestige for their respective countries. “According
to World Bank statistics, outdoor air pollution in China causes
350,000 to 400,000 premature deaths each year. (The World Bank also
reports that 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China.) For
a lifelong Beijing resident, to look at a building whose edges are blunted
by smog is, in effect, to consider your own mortality.” [7] Albert Einstein
said: “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count;
everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”
You don’t have to be an Einstein to do the sums. Not everything
adds up and it is my non-academic opinion that the governments of the
world are manipulating the scientific findings before they are released to
the populace. To quote David
Suzuki: “There is a glutz of misinformation on the Internet.”
and to research this article and do it justice I had to sift through a
great deal of chaff to find the grains of wheat. According to the Natural
Environmental Research Council of the United Kingdom: “Our planet faces unprecedented change. If we continue on our current path, by the end of this century, or earlier, our environment will be in a state that modern humans have never experienced.” [8] Available on the
NERC’s website is a very informative brochure which presents an “overview
of the programme” they have on offer and there are many similar
pamphlets, booklets and brochures available at many other environmental
organisations’ web sites if people wish to seek them out. [9] Academic or not,
those who do not play ostrich and stick their heads into the sand, like to
question the information that is presented us and not take it on trust. Here in Australia,
where I reside, the out-going Liberal Federal Government published and
delivered a booklet to all Australian letter boxes titled: “Global
Warming – Cool it.” On the inside cover of the booklet, the former
Minister for the Environment and Heritage wrote: "Reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emission is an extremely important part of limiting climate change. Each year Australians emit, more than 550 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. Through everyday activities such as transport, household energy use and decay of household waste in landfills, Australian households generate about a fifth of Australia's total emissions. This equals about 14 tonnes per household each year." [10] As you read this booklet, I encourage you to consider ways you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in your own home to help save money and the environment. Many of the hints and tips in this booklet are simple things that are practical, cost-effective and easy to do" [11] Ironically, the
Minister who wrote this has since resigned from politics, and the Liberal
Government (led by the then Prime Minister John Howard) that he belonged
to, did nothing to address the issues other than promise to
‘invest $2 billion dollars to address climate change”. Here we had a government, which refused to sign and ratify
the Kyoto Protocol; a government, which approved the Gunns
Limited Bell Bay Pulp Mill; a government, which planned to construct
Nuclear Power Plants across Australia, suggesting that it is up to the
general population to make everyday changes to combat climate change. It does not matter
what country, it is an inarguable fact, that an out-going government
always leaves a legacy for an in-coming government to fix whether it be an
economical deficit, a human rights violation, a war or police action the
government involved itself in or an environmental issue/ disaster. Certainly the
current Federal Labor government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made
in-roads to address certain issues such as signing and ratifying the Kyoto
Protocol and an apologise to the Australian Indigenous Community and
reconciliation, however there are still many golden opportunities when it
comes to the Environment that are going begging. One small area
where they have fallen short relates to the Government grants for Solar
panels on residential homes. After the most recent Budget the Rudd
Government cut grants and made them income tested. The sad consequence of
this seemingly minor change is that those families who had chosen to
support the environment and install subsidised panels found without grants
money they could not afford to do so as the income testing made the grants
inaccessible to those who were choosing the environmental option. Families
who do fall within the income fields do not have the disposable income to
choose this eco-friendly sustainable method of electricity even with
grants. A further, equally sad consequence is that due to the cancellation
of orders and fewer bookings solar companies are also going out of
business. On an Australian
news program, recently there was mentioned new evidence to show that old
growth forests have the ability to process twice the Carbon of new
plantations that cover the same area. This is due to the diversity and
maturity of the forest is much more efficient and effective at cutting our
carbon emissions. So when we cut down old growth forests and replant new
forests we are effectively increasing our impact on the earth. We would be
better off protecting our Old Growth Forests and planting trees purposely
to cut down. So that bears a question for the individual, where does the
wood you use in your homes come from?
Ironically the present Federal Labor Government under Rudd has
continued to support the Gunn
Limited Bay Bell Pulp Mill in Old Growth Forests. [12] “So far, over 75% of Tasmanian
old-growth forests of these trees have been felled, the majority being
made into woodchips for shipment to Asian markets. Since Tasmania is part of Australia, where only .5% of the landmass consists of rainforest, you would think that they would protect the remaining trees. But like the mega fauna, and trees on Easter Island, on this trendline the forest cover goes to zero.” [13] In June 2004, The
Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative was signed.
This was an initiative of the John Howard led Liberal Federal
Government adopted by the present government. [14] Currently, in Our
State of South Australia, there is a lot of political action taking place
to save our major river the River Murray from drying up. This river
travels through three states (New South Wales and Victoria) and ends in
the South of South Australia, however the mouth is so land locked and
saline that the river is dying. There has been a lot of discussion over a
vast number of years but no real action. Food Producers in our state have
been on zero water allocations for months. There are many arguments as to
why it is so bad but unless the damage is rectified the river will dry up,
the food producers will close down and we will be stuck importing our food
at great expense to the individual. We, the people,
elect governments in the hope that they address important issues of our
concern, whether they be National or International.
When it comes to urgent and extremely important issues such as
pollution, Global Warming and other very sensitive environmental issues it
should be paramount that action is taken. Not wait 16 years
after “The
World Scientists' Warning to Humanity”, to further debate strategies and develop proposed
solutions. On Thursday
14th September 2006, I was fortunate enough to be able to
attend a Public lecture by Doctor David Suzuki in Adelaide, South
Australia. I was also, given the ability to write a review of this lecture
for the local (SA) pagan newsletter, The
Silver Wheel. [15] In the article
I wrote: “David Suzuki knows how to engage an audience; he knows how to relate and address the audience as if he is speaking to you personally. He addresses each part of the room with equal courtesy and talks in a fluid and very articulated manner. He then talked at length about Economists, Globalisation, Global Warming, Pollution and how these pollutions have caused an escalation of asthma world wide. He spoke at length about alternative power supply i.e.: Wind farms and Solar power. He spoke at length about Nuclear power and how expensive nuclear power would be to generate electricity for homes. He covered a great deal of information in a very short time. He went on
to examine the fact that all indigenous people world wide acknowledge the
Earth as the Mother; and that we all came from the mother and that all
life consist of the four sacred elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. To paraphrase his quote: “We are
all Air. Human beings are made of the four elements. Earth, Air, Fire and
Water. All four elements are of equal importance … but without air we
would not exist … so why do we destroy our air …with chemicals and
pollutants … when it is apparent that we are destroying our-selves…” To emphasise this, Doctor Suzuki then mentioned a colleague of his that measured the argon particles in air. Argon particles are an inert element of air. The number of argon particles in a breath of air which was calculated to be about 2 litres which meant that for every breath of air we breath in approximately 38 billion argon particles and breath out the same amount which then disperse and within five minutes everyone in a room would breath in the same. So technically we are sharing air. This means that we are all inter-linked by the air we breathe.” [15] Why do we
destroy our air … with chemicals and pollutants … when it is so
apparent that we are destroying ourselves? If we stopped
and considered how the damage that we have done to the Environment has had
such drastic environmental impact upon human beings, let alone the other
species on this planet we share, we would of acted upon the warning at
least a decade ago. “In 1990 –1991 it was
recognised that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (now known to be caused by a
variety of factors, all of which result in a biochemical cascade/cycle
which in turn causes it to be part of an illness complex which includes
CFS, fibro myalgia, MCS, and even PTSD) was "growing at a rate 5
times faster than AIDS" -- and the estimate was that "1 in 10
people" had it, and they were starting to worry about the impact on
the national economy at that point. Almost all cancer is caused
by environmental factors (an interesting window into that can be seen in
the sudden and enormous drop (between 25% to over 66%, if I remember
correctly, depending on the type of cancer, with an overall drop between
33%-66%, despite the range of factors which remained unaltered) in the
rate of certain forms of breast cancers in Israel when they banned a
certain group of pesticides for a few years -- following which those same
cancers returned to their previous rates when the pesticides were
reintroduced), and that the statistical rate of cancer in men is now
predicted at "1 out of 1 men will have cancer in their lifetime"
-- and no, that's not a typo, I didn't drop a digit -- it has now
approached "statistical certainty" that every man will have some
form of cancer in his lifetime. Bladder cancer is linked by
a causal relationship to dry cleaning chemicals. Leukaemia in turn
is linked to certain high-temperature petroleum distillates (commonly used
in light industry), as are other environmental factors (like the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused a world-wide change in levels of
childhood leukaemia). The rates of ADD, ADHD,
autism spectrum disorders, etc., which are all environmentally linked as
well (see the studies in changes in children where the food additives are
removed from the diet, the behaviour changes in children fed the
antifungals found in McDonald's hamburger buns, etc.). As for VATER
syndrome (a severe and usually life-threatening birth disorder), it's
known to be caused by environmental exposure. Both environmental
estrogens and other factors are linked to mental illness -- women given
naturally sourced estrogens recovered mostly-fully from late-life forms of
mental illness and dementia, where no other aspect of treatment was
changed. Aluminium cookware is in turn directly linked to
Alzheimer's, in what is known to be a causal relationship (we use none in
this house -- food isn't even re-heated in or near aluminium foil, for
precisely this reason). Hypoglycaemia (which in turn is a common
reaction to chemical contamination of the food -- commonly relieved in MCS
(Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) patients who change to an all-organic
diet, as it was in Ken) is in turn linked to schizophrenia, by way of a
study which showed that 50% of the schizophrenics in the study became
symptom-free on an unmedicated regimen, as long as they ate a
hypoglycaemia-appropriate diet. When it comes to Multiple
Chemical Sensitivity sufferers:
We
have opened “Pandora’s Box”. In the last 200 years we have consumed
more resources and done more harm to the Earth and our Environment than
any other period of time in history. To
once more quote Doctor David Suzuki: “There is no Environment out there and we have to interact with
it. We are the Environment because we are the Earth and we are made by the
FOUR Sacred elements. Earth, Air, Fire and Water … and that’s not
meant in a metaphoric or poetic way of speaking. They mean that in the
most scientific and profound way!” People continue to
buy into the government(s) propaganda released through the various media
sources without seeking out and researching statistics and more reliable
information. The majority of the population are accepting what they are
told without question. Recently, there
have been several news reports and much debate in various on-line forums
about the believed apocalypse
which, based on the Mayan calendar, will occur on Dec. 21, 2012. Survival groups around the world are gearing up for the event. [17] Across the United
States, Canada and throughout Europe, apocalyptic sects and individuals
say that is the day that the world as we know it will end. [18] Ironically, the next
Kyoto conference is schedule for 2012 but are we too late? If we are to believe the
Mayan calendar is it the End of the World and if it isn’t then, what
legacy are we leaving our children? I no longer consider myself a member
of the Human Race, because unlike the rest of Humanity I am not Racing
towards my own extinction and I no longer consider myself a member of
Mankind because Man is NOT kind. I am an Earth Kin; a Child of the Earth. "Look deep into nature, and
then you will understand everything better. Select
bibliography and source: 1.
http://www.ucsusa.org/ucs/about/1992-world-scientists-warning-to-humanity.html 2.
http://www.ucsusa.org/ucs/about/1992-world-scientists-warning-to-humanity.html 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol 4.
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/international/kyoto/index.html 5.
http://www.citymayors.com/environment/polluted_uscities.html 6.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-06/2006-06-28-voa36.cfm 7.
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=218780 8.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/lwec/ 9.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/lwec/documents/lwec-brochure.pdf 10.
Global
Warming - Cool
It! 11.
Global
Warming - Cool
It! 12.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Bay_Pulp_Mill 13.
http://www.sprol.com/?p=66 14.
http://www.nwc.gov.au/www/html/117-national-water-initiative.asp 15.
Silver
Wheel Article in Pdf 16.
Researched and written by Willow Firesong for
this article and used with permission. 17.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=5301284&page=1 18. Thousands Expect Apocalypse in 2012 19. Green Creed 20.
Glacial
Melting Causes Flooding in Nepal
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