| by John Jewell (London, England) |
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| Do you remember the Laurel and Hardy films or movies of years ago? Every now and again one will pop up on television. One of the catchphrases used by Oliver Hardy was “this is another fine old mess you’ve got me into.” It’s a phrase that with a slight adaptation would fit the way the world is right now. Re-stated it looks like this “regarding the planet what a fine old mess we’ve got ourselves into!” I’ve also just been listening to a discussion on BBC World Service’s “One Planet” series. The three contributors made some good points highlighting the fact that our economic and environmental systems are just not working. They are based on wrong principles. One comment made was “we are living beyond our means regarding the environment. Our capital is about to run out.” The emphasis especially by the United Kingdom and the United States has been on constant growth. Everything is dedicated to the increase of the GDP or the Gross Domestic Product with a total disregard as to whether or not the environment can sustain that approach. We forget that everything we use comes from the environment. We ignore the fact that we cannot, and should not, use resources faster than the planet can regenerate them. We cannot, and should not, produce pollution faster than the environment can absorb it. The European nations have a better understanding of this than either the UK or the US. Today, we are the two nations that face the worst troubles and consequences of our profligacy. The reality is that everything is either coming from, or returning to, the earth, to the planet to be regenerated. What is needed is a steady state system worldwide, where we balance what we extract with what we put back. But just how is that to be achieved given the attitudes and direction of China and India to name but two. They now want to have things, to have “stuff”, just like the western nations, mainly the US and the UK – the planet cannot sustain this. China and India are both disaster areas. Even if those, and other, nations would agree to restraint it is absolutely certain that the United States would not. And Britain would not. We therefore face a catastrophic situation. It is finally being accepted by the world at large that the basic reason for climate change is mankind’s own actions. But do you see any changes being seriously suggested. Mr. John McCain in his bid for the presidency said he would do nothing to damage the standard of living of the Texas farmers. President Bush said many times he would do nothing that would harm the oil companies or prevent the American citizen from driving his car. It was their right. By the way, does anyone yet know what Mr. Obama would bring to the presidency. He speaks of “change” – but what change? The color of the presidential skin? I don’t think so. Changing what? Change for better? In what way? Change for the worse? Probably! That’s the track record of the politician of today’s US and UK. Mr. Obama is asking the American elector to sign the biggest blank cheque in the history of the world. There was a speech recently given by Mr. Obama. In it he outlined a need to do something about the millions of Americans who have lost their homes because of the “credit crunch” and the many others who are faced with loss of jobs and a subsequent inability to make the mortgage payments. Many thousands of Americans now live on the streets as a direct result of the greed and incompetence of others. Following Mr. Obama’s speech one young lady was interviewed. She said how wonderful it was that Mr. Obama, if he became president, would take care of her mortgage payments, and would cover the big rise in the cost of food. Mr. Obama has now become president and has still to outline a program for the United States. He has now to walk on eggshells! It is no wonder he has never voiced a definite program. Predictably, he not only got a huge endorsement from the lower paid level of the people, but a number from the right-wing section of society voted for him as well. Presumably because he wasn’t George Bush! Mr. Obama has now to be very careful what he does, that is if he is not to be a one term president! He has to satisfy the needs, desires and aspirations of the lower classes who are mainly Democrat and at the same time not offend the right wing or Republican. And there are many in the U.S. who feel he is too socialist in outlook. These two almost irreconcilable pressures are going to prevent Mr. Obama being as effective as he might like to be in foreign affairs. He has publicly said how he wants to bring American troops out of Iraq; however the time frame is rather longer than the American citizen might like. He is talking about some time in 2010. He says that he wants to see more troops, and more troops from the EU, in Afghanistan. The penny has still not dropped after all the time fighting in Afghanistan that the situation there is impossible. Perhaps the British approach was always the best and that was to pay the farmers well to produce cocaine. It could then be brought back to Britain and then either converted into morphine for medical use or destroyed. This would have built an opinion locally against the Taliban. History is otherwise against any resolving of the problem of Afghanistan. Mr. Obama is also the victim of his background – he is American born, just! He was born in Hawaii 47 years ago. Hawaii is not exactly mainland America. It has no rednecks such as inhabit Georgia and Texas, the average Hawaii citizen is Polynesian, somewhat similar in color to Mr. Obama. And the way of life is totally different. All these things in addition to his Kenyan background, his father is now dead, but he has many family members still living in Kenya. However, Mr. Obama, somehow and no one knows exactly how, went to college and then to the Harvard School of Law. These are both expensive. However, they will have been instrumental in giving him the ability to move within the American political system. The late president, John F. Kennedy, presented policies that were similar to some of what we know of Mr. Obama. Policies that were regarded as socialist. He wanted, as Mr. Obama does, to shift income from the highly paid to the lower paid. His assassination in Texas was hardly surprising. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder but was himself shot in public by Jack Ruby. The rumors of a conspiracy to murder JFK have never gone away to this day. The U.S. is still a “gun-society” — we have been many times to the States and have spent a lot of time in Georgia. To see a pick-up drive by with a gun rack clearly seen through its rear window is nothing unusual! To then, however, be warned never to catch the eye of the driver of a pick-up was a bit un-nerving! The same is true in Texas. So is the election of Mr. Obama with his subsequent coronation in January to bring about a genuine new society driven by the brotherhood of Man? I fear not! It is more likely to see even more alarming pressures and situations arise. The problems of this planet are beyond the wit of any one person to solve, even if he is a brilliant, new president loved by everyone, perhaps that should be almost everyone! We wish Mr. Obama well, we hope he survives this first term without too much harm to either himself, the nation or the planet, and then quietly retires, while he still can, and provided the world has not already entered into its final meltdown. There is yet another penny to be dropped! It still seems that most people really do not believe that the planet does face imminent destruction. Well, to be more accurate, the very large ball that is planet earth isn’t necessarily going to be destroyed at this point. But that is what is fast approaching everything living on the surface. Shortage of food is a huge problem. A number of nations from the Caribbean right across the Atlantic, Africa and the Indian Ocean to Indonesia are experiencing food riots. For so many people just the basic food is becoming impossible to buy so high has the price now gone. Prices of wheat, rice and maize, basic food for multiple millions of people across two thirds of the globe have nearly doubled in just under a year with the price of rice reaching record levels. Add to this severe drought, devastating floods, more and more frequent earthquakes and violent storms and life becomes impossible. Throw in to this witches’ brew of Macbeth, violence, with genocide a main ingredient and it is apparent that for all these millions they do face extinction. Yet, what was, in the 1960s, called the Population Bomb has not gone away. It was recognized at that time that there are limits to the number of people the planet can support. The population is rapidly approaching 7 billion and within about 12 more years can be reasonably estimated to reach 8 billion. With the rapidly increasing advance of deserts alone, it will become less and less possible to feed even the number we have now. This will of itself create pressures which will only be relieved by war and violence that will threaten the survival of mankind. Food shortages will also generate disease. Another consequence of the “population bomb” exploding is the question of where are the increased numbers to live. What work are they to do? These are huge problems which are not going away. And is this a problem just for the third world? No! New EU rules concerning agriculture could well considerably reduce agricultural production in Britain. There is no way Britain can feed its present population let alone the 70 million that the British socialist government apparently wants it to go to. And have you noticed that we have heard very, very little recently about another problem that threatens life in Britain? But it hasn’t gone away. This year the weather in Britain has been very wet, windy, and generally cold. It has been accompanied by a number of floods. The weather pattern being described as worst in living memory, or worst since records began. I’ve remarked how we aren’t going to see global warming in Britain, its going to be global cooling for us. We rely on the Gulf Stream for our moderate weather and as long as it continues to flow at the right, constant rate we continue to be blessed with that weather which has given us a very productive land. We’ve checked reports from the National Oceanography Centre regarding it and note that three years ago there was a report that the Gulf Stream warm water flow has weakened by 30% in just 12 years. In May 2005 it was noted that the sinking of the cooled water in the Greenland Sea has weakened to less than a quarter of its former strength. A few weeks ago, someone we know well stayed with us, he is a leading scientist at one of the world’s most renowned oceanographic stations and I said to him “we could see the Gulf Stream suddenly stopping” His reply was “you could say that!” So, who is to save the planet and everyone on it! Will it be Mr. Obama? The UN? The British Labor Party with Gordon Brown? The bible tells us clearly that if this human life was all that there is we have nothing to look forward to. The bible shows us a wonderful future reality which brings real hope. But we, you, and I, have to see it, embrace it. Turn to God and to Jesus Christ now while we still can. |
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