THIS WEEK ON RADIO ECOSHOCK
January 21, 2010
1. "THE FOOD BUBBLE" with Lester Brown
2. "The Australian super-floods" with Professor Matthew England
3. "12 X12 - back to simplicity" with author William Powers.
THE FOOD BUBBLE
You have seen food prices going up at the local grocery store. That could be just the beginning. According to Lester Brown, a leading expert in both the environment and world agriculture, those bulging supermarket shelves are part of a "food bubble", which could crash.
Lester Brown founded the World Watch Institute, with it's annual "State of the World" reports. He's written 50 books, won many honors, is recognized as a thought-leader for our era. Now in his own Earth Policy Institute, Brown's new book is "World on Edge, How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse."
Brown compares our world food situation to the real estate bubble in the United States. We are in a "food bubble" he says.
Here is a quote from the Press Release at earth-policy.org
""Our early 21st century civilization is in trouble. We need not go beyond the world food economy to see this. Over the last few decades we have created a food production bubble-one based on environmental trends that cannot be sustained, including over pumping aquifers, over plowing land, and overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide," notes Lester R. Brown, author of World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse (W. W. Norton & Company).
"If we cannot reverse these trends, economic decline is inevitable," notes Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental research organization. "No civilization has survived the ongoing destruction of its natural support systems. Nor will ours.
"The archeological records of earlier civilizations indicate that more often than not it was food shortages that led to their downfall. Food appears to be the weak link for our global civilization as well. And unlike the recent U.S. housing bubble, the food bubble is global."
"The question is not whether the food bubble will burst but when," says Brown. While the U.S. housing bubble was created by the overextension of credit, the food bubble is based on the overuse of land and water resources. It is further threatened by the climate stresses deriving from the excessive burning of fossil fuels. When the U.S. housing bubble burst, it sent shockwaves through the world economy, culminating in the worst recession since the Great Depression. When the food bubble bursts, food prices will soar worldwide, threatening economic and political stability everywhere. For those living on the lower rungs of the global economic ladder, survival itself could be at stake."
In the Radio Ecoshock interview, we also discuss the impact of climate change on world food production.
Lester Brown also explains the difference between "event driven" problems, and "trend driven." In a short example, food prices might go up for a short time, because of a failed harvest some where, or speculation. That is "event driven." But food prices will definitely go up in the long run, due to oil depletion, soil depletion, and pumping out the water tables (water depletion). That are predictable "trend driven" processes.
We also talk about the gender problem in food. In many countries, especially Muslim countries like Pakistan, but not limited to Muslim countries - men eat the most food, first. Women and children get the left-overs, if any.
I remember seeing a BBC documentary about the after-math of the Pakistan floods last Summer. In woman after woman, the fingernails were very white, a sign of malnutrition. Food aid was not getting through to them, while men were eating. And this is true for the billion or so people at the bottom of our human "food chain" - those who get perhaps only one meal a day, and go to bed hungry every night. Again, women suffer the most. That's something to keep in mind, as the food bubble bursts.
Lester Brown does not shrink from the contentious issue of over-population. After all, should we try to infinitely expand world food production, even as the eco-system deteriorates, just because humans cannot control their own population? Lester goes into various measures we could be implementing to limit, and then reduce population.
We cover a lot of other issues, please listen to the audio interview. And as a bonus, I recorded the original press teleconference for you as well. That 45 minute recording is available here (in Lo-Fi, 10 megabytes).
You may also be able to download a free preview copy of Lester's new book here.
=============
THE AUSTRALIA FLOOD TRAGEDY - CLIMATE CHANGE?
We all saw the awful footage from Queensland Australia. People, cars, houses, indeed whole towns, swept away in fast-moving floods. The area impacted was the size of France and Germany combined.
Three river systems filled up, and powerful waters damaged the city of Brisbane.
It's not the first time. In 1974, Cyclone Wanda flooded Brisbane. But in the last 12 months, flash floods hit all over the world, from Brazil through Pakistan, to Sri Lanka. It is hardly normal weather, but is it climate change?
From Australia, I'm pleased to have Professor Matthew England on the line. He's from the Climate Change Research Centre, at The University of New South Wales, in Sydney.
We learn that the increase in water in the atmosphere, as a result of global warming, is just one factor encouraging bigger storms to come more often, dumping unheard of amounts of rain in short periods.
The other big factor is warming oceans. The heat from warmer seas, even in a "cooler" water period like El Nino, adds force to tropical cyclones, typhoons, storms. Scientists have been measuring ocean temperatures not only around Australia, but around the world.
Most of the excess heat from the greenhouse effect is going into the oceans. As you know, water takes much longer than air to heat, but then water holds that heat longer. Dr. England expresses the worry that humans have not yet felt the real impact of the heat created by the greenhouse gases - that will continue to warm the oceans, with unpredictable results. And these oceans, once warmed, may determine the climate for centuries to come.
We cover briefly the research showing people are more likely to believe in global warming at the end of the summer, than after a winter storm. Newscasters in the media play on that, and it's pathetic - the kind of logical mistake I would expect my dog to make, but not millions of viewers. My own theory is that people put up all those "where is global warming now?" posts on the Net, after a winter storm, to re-enforce our general hope that we can keep on driving and flying around, that the threat of a high-carbon atmosphere isn't real after all. I hope I haven't insulted any dogs. Maybe they would be smart enough to recognize that the species are changing, the seasons aren't what they used to be, things aren't right....
For whatever reason, the floods and deaths in Australia touched me deeply. Maybe they seem so much like us here in North America. That is could happen to us here.
But the death toll from incredibly fast and heavy rains in Brazil is much higher. I've been to a "Favella" (slum) of Rio. I've seen those homes perched on hills, with no building codes, must people building whatever shelter they can. There is no government support, not even police and fire, for those people. It's no wonder so many died, when the flash floods took down hillsides of mud. I'm worried about the poorest people in the world.
A BIG STORM FOR CALIFORNIA COMING...
Even Californians should be worried. Look up "ARkStorm". That stands for "atmospheric river 1000." Yes, a river of water in the atmosphere, hitting the U.S. West Coast.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is warning a big storm could flood California any time soon. The results would be more devastating that "The Big One" - the expected big earthquake there. Raw Story covers this well, Science daily even better.
The USGS just convened a big meeting about preparing for the super storm.
The USGS just issued a report on the flooding that could happen. The Central Valley, which is the heart of the State, and produces not only massive amounts of food, but also the main economic products of California, would become one giant 300 mile long lake. San Francisco and Los Angeles would suffer hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.
Just imagination? Hardly. A storm of that size hit California in the winter of 1861/2. Scientists can still find the high water marks from that one. Now with warming oceans, and a disturbed Jet Stream, there is a much greater chance a super storm could hit California. The new report calls for local, regional and state planning on the same scale as for the earthquake. Disaster drills for every city to be affected. There is even a warning video from USGS on You tube.
You can also download the full 200 page USGS report as a free .pdf file.
================
GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL.....IF THAT'S STILL POSSIBLE.
There is an emptiness that invites us all to escape. I did, for a while, living for 10 years without electricity in a self-built cabin in Northern Ontario, Canada.
William Powers did. And who is he? Google tells me about an American from Long Island, an international development and aid worker in poorer countries, a man concerned with the extinction of people, languages, and Nature.
William Powers' writing appears in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and many others. He's got degrees from Brown University and Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. He's even worked for the World Bank, - we'll forgive that. Bill is now a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute.
But Williams Powers had to leave all that, to find himself. In a Twelve by Twelve cabin in North Carolina. A place with no power, no address, and a creek with no name.
We learn a lot about our consumer society, when we leave.
If we can leave. I ended up near a uranium mine. With the wind just right, Bill Powers could smell the industrial chicken barns that power obesity in America. It's hard to be Henry David Thoreau, on Walden Pond, with military jets screaming in the sky.
I think you'll like the interview. It sure comes out we don't need 3,000 square foot homes to be happy.
The book has lots of good ideas about rethinking ourselves, as well as our society. And what if feels like to reconnect to Nature again.
Alex Smith
host
Radio Ecoshock
Showing posts with label consumerism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consumerism. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
CLIMATE CHAOS & CHINESE CONSUMERS
Hi there,
There are three parts to this program:
#1. I interview Jeff Masters. Millions of people check with "The Weather Underground" for the latest. Last week, it was #56 for traffic, out of all the sites on the Net. It's huge.
Visitors want the color charts, maps, satellite photos, - and - the big picture from Dr. Jeff Masters. As a Meteorologist, Jeff was a "Hurricane Hunter", flying with the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration planes out of Miami. He flew right into the big ones, like Gilbert, and finally Hurricane Hugo. In 1995, Masters co-founded a web site, to make real-time sense of raw data pouring out of the National Weather Service.
We talk about the relationship of wetter and warming winters to the blizzards that hit the U.S. and Canadian Northeast, the wild winter heat wave in the Arctic, and floods in Australia. What does the future hold?
#2 A few energy tidbits. Oil burning has jumped significantly in 2010, the biggest jump in over 5 years. Bad news for the planet's atmosphere. With a bit more energy news, involving Russia (now the world's largest oil producer, bigger than Saudi Arabia) and China (likely the world's biggest oil consumer, or heading that way). Why this impacts the U.S. dollar and American government ability to borrow.
#3. Why China went the standard American-style consumer route, complete with an unsustainable oil path. Hear the interview with Karl Gerth, who teaches modern Chinese history at Oxford. His new book is "As China Goes, So Goes the World. How Chinese Consumers Are Transforming Everything."
READ MORE (with all the links)
There are three parts to this program:
#1. I interview Jeff Masters. Millions of people check with "The Weather Underground" for the latest. Last week, it was #56 for traffic, out of all the sites on the Net. It's huge.
Visitors want the color charts, maps, satellite photos, - and - the big picture from Dr. Jeff Masters. As a Meteorologist, Jeff was a "Hurricane Hunter", flying with the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration planes out of Miami. He flew right into the big ones, like Gilbert, and finally Hurricane Hugo. In 1995, Masters co-founded a web site, to make real-time sense of raw data pouring out of the National Weather Service.
We talk about the relationship of wetter and warming winters to the blizzards that hit the U.S. and Canadian Northeast, the wild winter heat wave in the Arctic, and floods in Australia. What does the future hold?
#2 A few energy tidbits. Oil burning has jumped significantly in 2010, the biggest jump in over 5 years. Bad news for the planet's atmosphere. With a bit more energy news, involving Russia (now the world's largest oil producer, bigger than Saudi Arabia) and China (likely the world's biggest oil consumer, or heading that way). Why this impacts the U.S. dollar and American government ability to borrow.
#3. Why China went the standard American-style consumer route, complete with an unsustainable oil path. Hear the interview with Karl Gerth, who teaches modern Chinese history at Oxford. His new book is "As China Goes, So Goes the World. How Chinese Consumers Are Transforming Everything."
READ MORE (with all the links)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
DEGROWTH - Planned Contraction
Today, more cars are sold in China than in the United States. Chinese companies, many state-owned, are traveling the world to buy up oil to power them. We are already going to extremes to keep our own fossil economies going - blowing the tops of mountains for coal, the horrible tar sands, and now super deep ocean drilling, like BP's Gulf of Mexico blow-out.
Ours is a fossil economy. Every day, humans burn up fuels made from 5 million years worth of solar power, stored by ancient plants. We are burning it all, at a rapid rate, loading up the atmosphere with greenhouse gases.
In fact, all our resources, from metals to rainforests, are being used up, turned into waste, at an incredible rate. Developed economies continue neo-colonialism, as multi-national corporations, larger than countries, drag out "unobtainium" even from war-torn, collapsed countries like Sudan and the Congo.
Meanwhile, thanks to the glory of television and advertising, far from developed countries, all humans struggle to join in the final party. If everyone consumed even as much as Europeans, much less North Americans, it would take three to eight planet Earth's to do it. Billions want more, and WE still want more. A collision of unimaginable proportions is coming.
Pretty well everyone senses a collapse is inevitable, as natural reality, and the laws of physics, interrupt our endless expansion of population and consumption. The only question is: will we drain Earth until it dies, or will we at least try to plan something else?
There is an alternative. It is called "Degrowth". A planned and willing movement to end the mad economic system of endless growth, based on endless consumption and pollution. An admission that really, to survive, humanity needs to shrink out demands upon the planet. To plan out a smaller economy, and lower personal ecological footprints.
It is time.
This is Radio Ecoshock. If you go over our past programs, you'll find dozens that lead to degrowth. Like Cecile Andrews on the "Simplicity Movement". Like everything we've ever done on climate change. I suspect most Ecoshock listeners, when they investigate degrowth, will feel like they are coming home. Finally, a name for what we know.
On April 30th, 2010 I attended and recorded one evening from a three day conference on Degrowth. It was historic, the first such gathering in North America.
European intellectuals and activists have been leading the development of Degrowth. They have a long history and much wider recognition. The first International De-growth Conference was held in Paris in April of 2008. There was another, the 2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, held in Barcelona, Spain in March 2010. Each was remarkable for the wide range of academics, and even government officials who attended. The need to limit greed, and find alternatives to endless growth, is better known in Europe.
But a shrinking economy, even though that is obviously in the cards, is still shocking in the heartlands of buy-more, the United States and Canada. So it was a welcome beginning to find 300 people gathering in Vancouver, Canada, for the first Degrowth meet-up on this continent.
In this program, you will hear just a few samples from many presentations there, and nothing from the lively discussion circles hashing out the new vision, and new rules of living on a limited planet.
I'll start with a brief introduction by conference host and author Rex Weyler, a founder of Greenpeace, a member of the Vancouver Peak Oil Executive, and now the Degrowth movement. We'll also get a short impression of the Barcelona Conference, from Tom Walker.
Then it's time for heavy lifting. The ugly reality of our near total dependence on fossil fuels that are running out. Even without the tragedy of climate change, Peak Oil expert Dave Hughes should frighten us all into low-energy life with sustainable power. As a Canadian energy researcher and resource expert, (he worked for several decades for the Geological Survey of Canada) - Dave has many times given what is now known across North America as "the talk". As he makes numerous presentations, with his graphs and helpful facts, Dave is kind of an energy Al Gore, don't you think?
From many speakers, I've also chosen Jack Alpert from the Stanford Knowledge Integration Laboratory. He'll tell us how many humans could live sustainably on Earth with modern lifestyles. Wait till you hear that number.
One of the principal organizers was Conrad Schmidt, head of the Work Less Party. And job sharing is one of the tools available to keep people working, as we share sustainable life. Here is a short clip from York University Professor and no-growth advocate Peter Victor, as he suggest how to maintain employment in a time of economic contraction. You can also find that clip of Professor Peter Victor on You tube.
We only have time for one more speech from Vancouver's No Growth Conference. Remember, the idea is that we are headed for a collapse, due to over-use of the planet's resources, plus a sudden demand for equality of life from billions more people in the world. Should we wait for war and famine? Or can we still plan not just to limit our consumption, but to reduce it drastically? Collapse or degrowth seem to be the only options left.
Let's say we want to keep high-tech solutions like hospitals, and reasonable use of rapid transportation, like high-speed trains. And we want everyone on the planet to have enough to eat, without using up the soil, or poisoning the planet with pollution. How many humans can planet Earth really support in this way, for thousands of generations?
Jack Alpert has figured that out. The reality is shocking.
That short talk barely touches the depth of Jack Alpert's experience and thinking about humanity. For example, he's developed a theory that explains our inability to deal with long-term problems like limited energy or climate change. He calls it time blindness. Jack has agreed to do a future interview with Radio Ecoshock, but in the meantime you can watch a full-length video at the web site skil.org.
We hardly covered the many presentations and discussions from the three day conference in Vancouver, at the end of April 2010. You can find a couple more speeches on the "Economic Crisis" page in our audio-on-demand menu, at ecoshock.org. These include presentations by former Shell International VP Anita Burke, and Vancouver alternatives architect Rick Balfour.
Conference organizers are also offering a DVD of the entire proceedings, with screening rights. Find the details at www.de-growth.com. My thanks for permission to record and broadcast what you have heard today.
For a quick introduction to this movement, and it's intellectual roots look up degrowth, all one word, at Wikipedia.
I'm Alex Smith for Radio Ecoshock. I invite you to cruise our archive of past programs, at ecoshock.org, for a lot more ideas about simple living, real sustainable energy tech, and ways to live in a just and lasting world.
Ours is a fossil economy. Every day, humans burn up fuels made from 5 million years worth of solar power, stored by ancient plants. We are burning it all, at a rapid rate, loading up the atmosphere with greenhouse gases.
In fact, all our resources, from metals to rainforests, are being used up, turned into waste, at an incredible rate. Developed economies continue neo-colonialism, as multi-national corporations, larger than countries, drag out "unobtainium" even from war-torn, collapsed countries like Sudan and the Congo.
Meanwhile, thanks to the glory of television and advertising, far from developed countries, all humans struggle to join in the final party. If everyone consumed even as much as Europeans, much less North Americans, it would take three to eight planet Earth's to do it. Billions want more, and WE still want more. A collision of unimaginable proportions is coming.
Pretty well everyone senses a collapse is inevitable, as natural reality, and the laws of physics, interrupt our endless expansion of population and consumption. The only question is: will we drain Earth until it dies, or will we at least try to plan something else?
There is an alternative. It is called "Degrowth". A planned and willing movement to end the mad economic system of endless growth, based on endless consumption and pollution. An admission that really, to survive, humanity needs to shrink out demands upon the planet. To plan out a smaller economy, and lower personal ecological footprints.
It is time.
This is Radio Ecoshock. If you go over our past programs, you'll find dozens that lead to degrowth. Like Cecile Andrews on the "Simplicity Movement". Like everything we've ever done on climate change. I suspect most Ecoshock listeners, when they investigate degrowth, will feel like they are coming home. Finally, a name for what we know.
On April 30th, 2010 I attended and recorded one evening from a three day conference on Degrowth. It was historic, the first such gathering in North America.
European intellectuals and activists have been leading the development of Degrowth. They have a long history and much wider recognition. The first International De-growth Conference was held in Paris in April of 2008. There was another, the 2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, held in Barcelona, Spain in March 2010. Each was remarkable for the wide range of academics, and even government officials who attended. The need to limit greed, and find alternatives to endless growth, is better known in Europe.
But a shrinking economy, even though that is obviously in the cards, is still shocking in the heartlands of buy-more, the United States and Canada. So it was a welcome beginning to find 300 people gathering in Vancouver, Canada, for the first Degrowth meet-up on this continent.
In this program, you will hear just a few samples from many presentations there, and nothing from the lively discussion circles hashing out the new vision, and new rules of living on a limited planet.
I'll start with a brief introduction by conference host and author Rex Weyler, a founder of Greenpeace, a member of the Vancouver Peak Oil Executive, and now the Degrowth movement. We'll also get a short impression of the Barcelona Conference, from Tom Walker.
Then it's time for heavy lifting. The ugly reality of our near total dependence on fossil fuels that are running out. Even without the tragedy of climate change, Peak Oil expert Dave Hughes should frighten us all into low-energy life with sustainable power. As a Canadian energy researcher and resource expert, (he worked for several decades for the Geological Survey of Canada) - Dave has many times given what is now known across North America as "the talk". As he makes numerous presentations, with his graphs and helpful facts, Dave is kind of an energy Al Gore, don't you think?
From many speakers, I've also chosen Jack Alpert from the Stanford Knowledge Integration Laboratory. He'll tell us how many humans could live sustainably on Earth with modern lifestyles. Wait till you hear that number.
One of the principal organizers was Conrad Schmidt, head of the Work Less Party. And job sharing is one of the tools available to keep people working, as we share sustainable life. Here is a short clip from York University Professor and no-growth advocate Peter Victor, as he suggest how to maintain employment in a time of economic contraction. You can also find that clip of Professor Peter Victor on You tube.
We only have time for one more speech from Vancouver's No Growth Conference. Remember, the idea is that we are headed for a collapse, due to over-use of the planet's resources, plus a sudden demand for equality of life from billions more people in the world. Should we wait for war and famine? Or can we still plan not just to limit our consumption, but to reduce it drastically? Collapse or degrowth seem to be the only options left.
Let's say we want to keep high-tech solutions like hospitals, and reasonable use of rapid transportation, like high-speed trains. And we want everyone on the planet to have enough to eat, without using up the soil, or poisoning the planet with pollution. How many humans can planet Earth really support in this way, for thousands of generations?
Jack Alpert has figured that out. The reality is shocking.
That short talk barely touches the depth of Jack Alpert's experience and thinking about humanity. For example, he's developed a theory that explains our inability to deal with long-term problems like limited energy or climate change. He calls it time blindness. Jack has agreed to do a future interview with Radio Ecoshock, but in the meantime you can watch a full-length video at the web site skil.org.
We hardly covered the many presentations and discussions from the three day conference in Vancouver, at the end of April 2010. You can find a couple more speeches on the "Economic Crisis" page in our audio-on-demand menu, at ecoshock.org. These include presentations by former Shell International VP Anita Burke, and Vancouver alternatives architect Rick Balfour.
Conference organizers are also offering a DVD of the entire proceedings, with screening rights. Find the details at www.de-growth.com. My thanks for permission to record and broadcast what you have heard today.
For a quick introduction to this movement, and it's intellectual roots look up degrowth, all one word, at Wikipedia.
I'm Alex Smith for Radio Ecoshock. I invite you to cruise our archive of past programs, at ecoshock.org, for a lot more ideas about simple living, real sustainable energy tech, and ways to live in a just and lasting world.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Buying Into A Dying World
Attics, basements, and garages are loaded with the plunder of past shopping. Some people rent storage lockers just to hold all their extra stuff. Dumps are filling up with brand new items, never used, but tossed out. There's even a TV show called "Hoarders" - a reflection of the national preoccupation. Do all these THINGS really make us happier?
In this Radio Ecoshock program, we examine the two extremes of consumption: the Americans who use up more of the world's resources than any other people; and the slum dwellers who use practically nothing.
The World Watch Institute has released it's annual report. "State of the World 2010, Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability" is 262 pages of solutions from around the world. You can buy it from worldwatch.org for $19.95 as a paperback, or $9.95 as a downloadable ".pdf" file (requires the free Adobe Reader).
I interview the project director, Erik Assadourian. We start by noting the total disconnect between governments and economists encouraging consumers to get out and buy to save the economy - versus the plain facts that resources are getting harder to find, the forests and land are being devastated, and the atmosphere is damaged by all the useless spending.
Why do we do it? We were raised to shop. Kids grow up with millions, if not billions of ads everywhere we look. Why do we wear corporate logos on our clothes, like walking billboards? Why do we need walk-in cupboards, multiple shoe racks, garages full of big-boy toys seldom used?
Rush Limbaugh nearly had a heart attack when the sacred advertisers were threatened by this rather brave World Watch report. It didn't help when the British Guardian newspaper came out with the headline "US cult of greed is now a global environmental threat, report warns."
The sub-head was "Excessive consumption has spread to developing countries and could wipe out efforts to slow climate change, Worldwatch Institute says."
Assadourian replied, saying the report wasn't trying to blame Americans - who were simply indoctrinated into a culture developed since World War II. The answer isn't blame, but a willing shift, a transformation to a survivable way of life.
Here is the Earthscan blog entry where Assadourian (sort of) agrees with Rush.
In our Radio interview, Erik and I discuss a little of the psychology, and the horrible statistics. But we spend longer looking at key institutions that could help us move away from shop-till-the-planet-drops lifestyles.
These include the greening of world religions, early childhood education (keep those toddlers away from TV!), the way Universities groom us to accept corporate symbols as self expression, the role of media, and so on.
But Worldwatch goes further, with chapters on things like converting agriculture to Permaculture (with Albert Bates), and a lot of other good ideas from all over.
Counter-consumerism hasn't exactly caught on, but there are some examples we can try. Of course, our previous week's guest Keith Farnish says this is all window-dressing for a civilization that has to collapse to save the biosphere. You decide.
Incidentally, Keith's blog entry for February 9th is titled "Monthly Undermining Task, February 2010: Time To Break The Ads." Whether is straight sales, or "green" products, Farnish says it's time to end advertising, before it ends us.
IS IT THEM, OR IS IT US?
Then we look at the other part of the world, the 3 billion people who create hardly any carbon emissions. Most of them live in "illegal settlements", with no government services, no police, no fire, no hospitals, no schools, and little hope.
Except, as our next guest David Satterthwaite tells us, the so-called "slum dwellers" are self-organizing to improve their lot, in many parts of the world.
Dr David Satterthwaite is a senior urban planner for the International Institute for Environment and Development, a non-profit based in the UK. He's traveled to the poorest parts of cities all over the world. He's the editor of the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities, and co-author of many other books, including "Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Understanding and Addressing the Development Challenges."
Satterthwaite has also researched the role of consumerism, in the developed versus developing world. If you were wondering, when it comes to climate change is it "them" (increasing population in the "Third World") or is it "us" (Western-style consumers) - the verdict is in: it us!
Here is a link to a press release from the IIED "Study shatters myth that population growth is a major driver of climate change."
Here are a few factoids from that press release:
"Dr David Satterthwaite of the International Institute for Environment and Development analyzed changes in population and in greenhouse gas emissions for all the world’s countries and found that between 1980 and 2005:
* Sub-Saharan Africa had 18.5% of the world’s population growth and just 2.4% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* The United States had 3.4% of the world’s population growth and 12.6% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* China had 15.3% of the world’s population growth and 44.5% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions. Population growth rates in China have come down very rapidly – but greenhouse gas emissions have increased very rapidly
* Low-income nations had 52.1% of the world’s population growth and 12.8% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* High-income nations had 7% of the world’s population growth and 29% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions.
* Most of the nations with the highest population growth rates had low growth rates for carbon dioxide emissions while many of the nations with the lowest population growth rates had high growth rates for carbon dioxide emissions."
Asked about the human failure (so far) to tackle either carbon emissions or urban poverty, Satterthwaite said we have a duty to keep on trying, even when facing apparently hopeless situations. I agree.
WHY ARE GREENS AFRAID TO TACKLE POPULATION?
Almost every question and answer period I record, on climate change, has at least on guy (and it's always a man) who stands up and says (somewhat angrily):
"Why don't the Greens every tackle population growth. That's what is causing climate change. Why are the enviro's always afraid to tackle the real cause of it all?"
Well, angry guy, now you know. That's just a slick denial in the West, to avoid taking responsibility for our own role. Blame the brown person on the other side of the world for our climate-wrecking, planet-draining need to shop.
Or check out this column by the UK journalist George Monbiot, titled "Stop blaming the poor. It's the wally yachters who are burning the planet."
It's the rich bastards that do the most damage, with those multiple monster houses, big SUV's, flying around the world. What about limiting the rich? There's a campaign you won't find in mass media - even if it has to happen.
Alex Smith
In this Radio Ecoshock program, we examine the two extremes of consumption: the Americans who use up more of the world's resources than any other people; and the slum dwellers who use practically nothing.
The World Watch Institute has released it's annual report. "State of the World 2010, Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability" is 262 pages of solutions from around the world. You can buy it from worldwatch.org for $19.95 as a paperback, or $9.95 as a downloadable ".pdf" file (requires the free Adobe Reader).
I interview the project director, Erik Assadourian. We start by noting the total disconnect between governments and economists encouraging consumers to get out and buy to save the economy - versus the plain facts that resources are getting harder to find, the forests and land are being devastated, and the atmosphere is damaged by all the useless spending.
Why do we do it? We were raised to shop. Kids grow up with millions, if not billions of ads everywhere we look. Why do we wear corporate logos on our clothes, like walking billboards? Why do we need walk-in cupboards, multiple shoe racks, garages full of big-boy toys seldom used?
Rush Limbaugh nearly had a heart attack when the sacred advertisers were threatened by this rather brave World Watch report. It didn't help when the British Guardian newspaper came out with the headline "US cult of greed is now a global environmental threat, report warns."
The sub-head was "Excessive consumption has spread to developing countries and could wipe out efforts to slow climate change, Worldwatch Institute says."
Assadourian replied, saying the report wasn't trying to blame Americans - who were simply indoctrinated into a culture developed since World War II. The answer isn't blame, but a willing shift, a transformation to a survivable way of life.
Here is the Earthscan blog entry where Assadourian (sort of) agrees with Rush.
In our Radio interview, Erik and I discuss a little of the psychology, and the horrible statistics. But we spend longer looking at key institutions that could help us move away from shop-till-the-planet-drops lifestyles.
These include the greening of world religions, early childhood education (keep those toddlers away from TV!), the way Universities groom us to accept corporate symbols as self expression, the role of media, and so on.
But Worldwatch goes further, with chapters on things like converting agriculture to Permaculture (with Albert Bates), and a lot of other good ideas from all over.
Counter-consumerism hasn't exactly caught on, but there are some examples we can try. Of course, our previous week's guest Keith Farnish says this is all window-dressing for a civilization that has to collapse to save the biosphere. You decide.
Incidentally, Keith's blog entry for February 9th is titled "Monthly Undermining Task, February 2010: Time To Break The Ads." Whether is straight sales, or "green" products, Farnish says it's time to end advertising, before it ends us.
IS IT THEM, OR IS IT US?
Then we look at the other part of the world, the 3 billion people who create hardly any carbon emissions. Most of them live in "illegal settlements", with no government services, no police, no fire, no hospitals, no schools, and little hope.
Except, as our next guest David Satterthwaite tells us, the so-called "slum dwellers" are self-organizing to improve their lot, in many parts of the world.
Dr David Satterthwaite is a senior urban planner for the International Institute for Environment and Development, a non-profit based in the UK. He's traveled to the poorest parts of cities all over the world. He's the editor of the Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities, and co-author of many other books, including "Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Understanding and Addressing the Development Challenges."
Satterthwaite has also researched the role of consumerism, in the developed versus developing world. If you were wondering, when it comes to climate change is it "them" (increasing population in the "Third World") or is it "us" (Western-style consumers) - the verdict is in: it us!
Here is a link to a press release from the IIED "Study shatters myth that population growth is a major driver of climate change."
Here are a few factoids from that press release:
"Dr David Satterthwaite of the International Institute for Environment and Development analyzed changes in population and in greenhouse gas emissions for all the world’s countries and found that between 1980 and 2005:
* Sub-Saharan Africa had 18.5% of the world’s population growth and just 2.4% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* The United States had 3.4% of the world’s population growth and 12.6% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* China had 15.3% of the world’s population growth and 44.5% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions. Population growth rates in China have come down very rapidly – but greenhouse gas emissions have increased very rapidly
* Low-income nations had 52.1% of the world’s population growth and 12.8% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions
* High-income nations had 7% of the world’s population growth and 29% of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions.
* Most of the nations with the highest population growth rates had low growth rates for carbon dioxide emissions while many of the nations with the lowest population growth rates had high growth rates for carbon dioxide emissions."
Asked about the human failure (so far) to tackle either carbon emissions or urban poverty, Satterthwaite said we have a duty to keep on trying, even when facing apparently hopeless situations. I agree.
WHY ARE GREENS AFRAID TO TACKLE POPULATION?
Almost every question and answer period I record, on climate change, has at least on guy (and it's always a man) who stands up and says (somewhat angrily):
"Why don't the Greens every tackle population growth. That's what is causing climate change. Why are the enviro's always afraid to tackle the real cause of it all?"
Well, angry guy, now you know. That's just a slick denial in the West, to avoid taking responsibility for our own role. Blame the brown person on the other side of the world for our climate-wrecking, planet-draining need to shop.
Or check out this column by the UK journalist George Monbiot, titled "Stop blaming the poor. It's the wally yachters who are burning the planet."
It's the rich bastards that do the most damage, with those multiple monster houses, big SUV's, flying around the world. What about limiting the rich? There's a campaign you won't find in mass media - even if it has to happen.
Alex Smith
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Economy: Dinosaurs Will Die
Welcome to Radio Ecoshock. This week's program is about schizophrenia: the state of hoping the system will crash before it kills the planet, while counting on all the usual creature comforts of home, jobs, and a well-stocked supermarket.
Yes, I know the Western world is hanging in suspension. We're waiting for the shopping to resume, for the economy to rebound, for the good life to return. Most politicians and the mainstream press promise that it will all go back to the normal process of chewing up and spitting out the last of the planet's goodness.
Meanwhile we go to movies like 2012, slurping up scenes of the destruction of everything. Part of our secret selves hopes it all goes down in flames, or floods. Even while we worry about our children having a decent life. You see how it goes?
I know you are worried about the economy. Maybe even your own job or home is at risk. Despite the propaganda, we'd be crazy not to worry about it. I've been told the general formula for every speech and radio program goes as follows: we paint the grim picture, but always, always end on a positive note. Give humans solutions, or they'll just go numb and do nothing.
Sorry. This week we violate the rules. Lately Radio Ecoshock has run a series about greening our cities. A couple of listeners have written back, saying cities can never be sustainable, as Derrick Jensen says. Have I fallen into the camp of false good cheer?
We'll start out with one of the most promising solutions I've heard about lately - a dream of new economics coming from a British government advisor, Professor Tim Jackson. He's got a new book out "Prosperity Without Growth".
Then we'll head into more pessimistic territory with Dave Cohen, an analyst for ASPO, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas. Having written the American Empire is now obviously in decline, Cohen asks "Now What?" We talk more about the economic crisis, Wall Street bull (and bears) - and the energy crisis.
Along with James Howard Kuntsler, and our recent guest Richard Heinberg, Cohen says normal consumption is never coming back. We might as well prepare ourselves for very hard times.
We'll trash smug Canadians a bit, since real estate north of the border is just as stupidly over-leveraged as the American market. Then we'll notice Australia melting in the heat, while they push even more coal. A big Canadian company has just bought into the dirty Aussie coal market. Aren't we proud?
In the end, I wonder, is hope just getting in the way of dealing with the limits of reality?
This show is peppered with audio clips, including shorties from Max Keiser, Jeff Buckley's song "The Sky Is A Landfill", Bob Holman's "We Are the Dinosaur", and of course ending with the show title "Dinosaurs Will Die" from NOFX. We open with "Times Is Hard" by Loudon Wainwright III.
READ MORE
Yes, I know the Western world is hanging in suspension. We're waiting for the shopping to resume, for the economy to rebound, for the good life to return. Most politicians and the mainstream press promise that it will all go back to the normal process of chewing up and spitting out the last of the planet's goodness.
Meanwhile we go to movies like 2012, slurping up scenes of the destruction of everything. Part of our secret selves hopes it all goes down in flames, or floods. Even while we worry about our children having a decent life. You see how it goes?
I know you are worried about the economy. Maybe even your own job or home is at risk. Despite the propaganda, we'd be crazy not to worry about it. I've been told the general formula for every speech and radio program goes as follows: we paint the grim picture, but always, always end on a positive note. Give humans solutions, or they'll just go numb and do nothing.
Sorry. This week we violate the rules. Lately Radio Ecoshock has run a series about greening our cities. A couple of listeners have written back, saying cities can never be sustainable, as Derrick Jensen says. Have I fallen into the camp of false good cheer?
We'll start out with one of the most promising solutions I've heard about lately - a dream of new economics coming from a British government advisor, Professor Tim Jackson. He's got a new book out "Prosperity Without Growth".
Then we'll head into more pessimistic territory with Dave Cohen, an analyst for ASPO, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas. Having written the American Empire is now obviously in decline, Cohen asks "Now What?" We talk more about the economic crisis, Wall Street bull (and bears) - and the energy crisis.
Along with James Howard Kuntsler, and our recent guest Richard Heinberg, Cohen says normal consumption is never coming back. We might as well prepare ourselves for very hard times.
We'll trash smug Canadians a bit, since real estate north of the border is just as stupidly over-leveraged as the American market. Then we'll notice Australia melting in the heat, while they push even more coal. A big Canadian company has just bought into the dirty Aussie coal market. Aren't we proud?
In the end, I wonder, is hope just getting in the way of dealing with the limits of reality?
This show is peppered with audio clips, including shorties from Max Keiser, Jeff Buckley's song "The Sky Is A Landfill", Bob Holman's "We Are the Dinosaur", and of course ending with the show title "Dinosaurs Will Die" from NOFX. We open with "Times Is Hard" by Loudon Wainwright III.
READ MORE
Thursday, October 29, 2009
SMART DECLINE
Bill Rees, originator of the ecological footprint, says we are already into overshoot. We can plan to reduce our use of Earth's resources, or plunge through a series of disasters.
Full keynote speech from "Resilient Cities" 091021 plus Q and A with Warren Karlenzig on Post Carbon Cities, including China's "eco-cities". That presentation, with host Daniel Lerch from the Post Carbon Institute, was October 20th, all at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada.
Breakthrough information.
Ecoshock 091030 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production notes: end music clip: "99 and a half won't do" by Mavis Staples (cut if you need time for station ID; break-point with re-intro at 39:37)
Full keynote speech from "Resilient Cities" 091021 plus Q and A with Warren Karlenzig on Post Carbon Cities, including China's "eco-cities". That presentation, with host Daniel Lerch from the Post Carbon Institute, was October 20th, all at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada.
Breakthrough information.
Ecoshock 091030 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production notes: end music clip: "99 and a half won't do" by Mavis Staples (cut if you need time for station ID; break-point with re-intro at 39:37)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
DEAD MALLS, GLOBESITY & SIMPLICITY
[Opening clip: I just want to get a megaphone, and yell to people entering the Mall "It isn't in there."]
That is Cecile Andrews - and she's right. Happiness is not in the shopping mall, never was.
I'm Alex Smith, this is Radio Ecoshock.
This program is loaded. You'll hear retail expert Howard Davidowitz. He's the shopping expert who says 200,000 American stores will close - and the great days of consumerism are dead. May they rest in peace.
Following that interview from New York, we go to France. Michelle Holdsworth is co-author of the new book "Globesity, A Planet Out of Control?" We explore the relationship between obesity and climate change. Can fat warm the world?
In the second half hour, 15 minutes from a new speech by Cecile Andrews. She brought us "Slow Is Beautiful". Her new book, perfect for tough times, is "Less Is More". It's all about the simplicity movement, and how simple human community saves lives.
I'll wrap up the program with a survival project: one day canning, how to eat better for half the cost.
READ MORE....
That is Cecile Andrews - and she's right. Happiness is not in the shopping mall, never was.
I'm Alex Smith, this is Radio Ecoshock.
This program is loaded. You'll hear retail expert Howard Davidowitz. He's the shopping expert who says 200,000 American stores will close - and the great days of consumerism are dead. May they rest in peace.
Following that interview from New York, we go to France. Michelle Holdsworth is co-author of the new book "Globesity, A Planet Out of Control?" We explore the relationship between obesity and climate change. Can fat warm the world?
In the second half hour, 15 minutes from a new speech by Cecile Andrews. She brought us "Slow Is Beautiful". Her new book, perfect for tough times, is "Less Is More". It's all about the simplicity movement, and how simple human community saves lives.
I'll wrap up the program with a survival project: one day canning, how to eat better for half the cost.
READ MORE....
Thursday, April 17, 2008
ADDICTED TO OIL
Why can't we kick the habit?
Interview w. psychologist Bruce Alexander, author of the upcoming book "Globalized Addiction". Bruce is a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He has worked with heavy drug addicts in the poorest part of town - but finds we are all increasingly addicted, to a lot of things, in the consumer society. We point to the junkie, while developing the same addictive habits, and brain reactions, as we over-spend on things we don't need.
Alexander won a prize for controversy, with his work.
We run a clip from Nate Hagens at ASPO (why we don't react to Peak Oil). Nate believes the rational brain has not yet conquered our earlier reptilian brains. Actually, he bases this on neuroscience, rather than any kooky idea. So we "know" oil may run out, or the climate may be wrecked, but are programed to choose reward now, over any future consideration.
Nate was previously a big time investor, before becoming an energy analyst. He is a co-editor at the popular web site The Oil Drum (theoildrum.com)
Plus clips on addiction and hope from Dr. Gabor Mate, Terry Tamminen. Terry was Gov Schwarzenegger's green adviser, and published a book on oil addiction, called "Lives Per Gallon". His full book tour speech is on our site, at ecoshock.org
Tim Flannery, author of "The Weathermakers" explains new plan to replace gas burning cars in Denmark with wind-powered electric. Even re-charging parking spots and battery exchange stations. We offer the full speech at our site.
Plus new quotes from Al Gore, from his April 2008 presentation at TED.
Plus an original radio play: "Ecovention"- a parody of the A & E addiction program "Intervention". They cover addiction to drugs, eating disorders, alcohol - but we think oil addiction needs its own show too...the drama, the tears, of kicking the oil habit.
Ecoshock Show 080418 1 hour CD quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production notes: song "Addicted to Oil" by Bruce Kerr. Cut last two minutes of music if time needed for announcements or station ID's.
Interview w. psychologist Bruce Alexander, author of the upcoming book "Globalized Addiction". Bruce is a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He has worked with heavy drug addicts in the poorest part of town - but finds we are all increasingly addicted, to a lot of things, in the consumer society. We point to the junkie, while developing the same addictive habits, and brain reactions, as we over-spend on things we don't need.
Alexander won a prize for controversy, with his work.
We run a clip from Nate Hagens at ASPO (why we don't react to Peak Oil). Nate believes the rational brain has not yet conquered our earlier reptilian brains. Actually, he bases this on neuroscience, rather than any kooky idea. So we "know" oil may run out, or the climate may be wrecked, but are programed to choose reward now, over any future consideration.
Nate was previously a big time investor, before becoming an energy analyst. He is a co-editor at the popular web site The Oil Drum (theoildrum.com)
Plus clips on addiction and hope from Dr. Gabor Mate, Terry Tamminen. Terry was Gov Schwarzenegger's green adviser, and published a book on oil addiction, called "Lives Per Gallon". His full book tour speech is on our site, at ecoshock.org
Tim Flannery, author of "The Weathermakers" explains new plan to replace gas burning cars in Denmark with wind-powered electric. Even re-charging parking spots and battery exchange stations. We offer the full speech at our site.
Plus new quotes from Al Gore, from his April 2008 presentation at TED.
Plus an original radio play: "Ecovention"- a parody of the A & E addiction program "Intervention". They cover addiction to drugs, eating disorders, alcohol - but we think oil addiction needs its own show too...the drama, the tears, of kicking the oil habit.
Ecoshock Show 080418 1 hour CD quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production notes: song "Addicted to Oil" by Bruce Kerr. Cut last two minutes of music if time needed for announcements or station ID's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
