EARTHBOUND
&
INCOMING
volume 1
OP-EDS OF OUR TIMES
NONFICTION BY
W.M.A.BES
Writing
columns and articles is not as easy as you may think. Publishers and editors limit lengths and word
count and therefore the opportunity to express yourself and the ability to expound
on your ideas and thoughts to the extent you’d like. Nonetheless you’re left with the obligation to
construct an argument or idea in such a manner that it still makes sense to the
reader. The dilemma you’re then left
with becomes a matter of what to put in and what to leave out. In some cases the germ of what you’re putting
down in a column could well provide the seed of an entire book. What you’re about to read is my short-format
writing of the past few years. Some are
in column style and others in article format.
I
don’t write to please. Years ago I was
challenged by one of my mentors to write with purpose. As a writer, a student of history and
philosophy, I have an obligation to write about the human journey. Every era needs chroniclers.
Do
bear in mind that these are my impressions and therefore tainted by personal
bias. Yours are too! We all view the world from within the limited
parameters of our own personal knowledge and experience. We’re only equal in our shared
ignorance. I do believe in original
thought and critical thinking. Life is a
journey we share and by putting your thoughts and mine together we might make
some sense of it.
Economic
forecasters and market gurus want us to believe that electric vehicles and the electrification
of more gadgets and industrial processes will stave off or minimize global
warming and climate change. What all of
them tend to ignore is the fact that almost all manufacturing is a dirty and
wasteful process and that everything we produce has a limited lifespan. Electrification will not reduce the amount of
waste or the energy required in the various processes. Whether we like it or not, oil will remain as
one of the primary resources for many industrial applications. We haven’t come up with an alternative
yet! Fossil fuels will remain a
necessary part of the equation when it comes to generating heat and power to
support the consumer type markets we have created. An uncomfortable reality is the rapid
depletion of the fossil fuel resources we have come to rely upon. The price of all mass produced consumer
products will skyrocket when this happens, as will the expense of heating homes
and keeping the lights on! Renewable
energy, although desirable, is not only costly, it is spotty at best. Currently it only delivers a small percentage
of all our energy requirements. We can’t
stare ourselves blind at a nation like Denmark that has heavily invested in
wind power. It is not a huge nation nor
does it have a large industrial base.
Its population is also small and stable.
Their exposure to the seas that surround most of the landmass puts them
in a far superior position to take advantage of wind power than most other
nations. Energy use and needs are in
direct correlation to the economic development of a nation . . . and its
potential for prosperity. Nations with
advanced technologies and superior market access will continue to lead the pack
. . . but will lead in energy use and needs as well! None will give up their economic power and dominance,
or do so willingly to help out lesser developed countries or reduce the impact
on the environment if this means giving up market share. Profits and market share are powerful
motivators when it comes to not sharing with others. Climate change and global warming are people
driven. We either accept this as
scientific fact or we can persist with a skeptic-driven denial. Not a single nation will take the lead when
it comes to tackling this thorny issue and not a single nation will protect its
people from the worst climate change can bring to bear. Nations around the world are up to their
eyeballs in debt and any attempt to challenge the private sector and legislate
drastic changes will lead to immediate and decisive retaliation. No surprise then that Cop26 should serve as a
stark reminder that once more nothing concrete was agreed upon. No definitive global measures and targets, no
restrictions, no penalties, no oversight or a mandatory verification process. Predictable promises were made. And the young activist Greta Thunberg
rightfully and indignantly referred to it as more of the usual blah-blah-blah
that we have come to expect from world leaders.
It is not that businesses or the
markets are blind to the consequences of our impact on the planet, they are at
a total loss as to how to change or adapt without losing market share and
profitability. None of us will ever
give up anything voluntarily. We never
have and never will. When everything on
earth disintegrates we will still pretend surprise and that we are the cause. To the bitter end we will gaze in disbelief
at the carnage we have inflicted and yet continue to wonder as to how it could
have happened. We will go to our graves
as ignorant as ever. That’s the way the
human mind works. We are the dumbest
apes to have ever emerged from the safety of the jungle. The time has come to stop explaining
ourselves in glowing terms, but to accept the fact that we have become abject
failures in our relationship to others and the planet as a whole. We don’t need another revolution but a new
evolution: Adapting methods and processes that are not harmful. Markets geared to sustainability and the
preservation of all life. Our mantra
should be protect, preserve and restore.
It is not that we are ignorant of the needs of others, but that ignoring
them conforms to our human nature; one that is selfish and self-centered. We have purposely created lifestyles that
allow some to flourish as the expense of others. Humans have become consumers of the world
rather than contributors.
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