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WHAT THERE IS IS ALL THERE IS A world created on the assumption of always MORE is obviously unsustainable: Unending growth of an economy, unending riches. No, this is not about oil. It may well be that the supply of oil that is easy to get out of the ground, and therefore cheap, is running out, but sooner or later it becomes unsustainable to rely on oil, or coal, for energy. Why moan about the price of oil when we should get ourselves ready to do without? Yes, there are undoubtedly other ways to get energy to run an immensely wasteful so-called civilization that is not sustainable regardless of what kind of energy we use, but wouldn’t it be smarter if we took stock of the underpinnings of how we live, how we have created this world we live in? We use too much of everything, and throw away more than the earth can absorb. And, of course, throwing away what is not biodegradable is creating dumps that will choke our children’s and grandchildren’s world. No, we must learn again to do without. Our scientists have told us for years that fast food -- junk food -- is bad for us; too much fat, too much sugar, and the wrong kinds of fat and sugar. Not only is manufactured food bad for us but it has the potential to be dangerous as well. It is not at all difficult to grow vegetables. Admittedly, that means we eat strawberries only when they are in season, and what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t that make them all the more delicious, even more special? And we’d savor oranges only if they grow in the next valley, not imported from half a world away. Long distance transport requires picking the fruit long before it is ripe; profit requires “forcing” the plant with bad chemicals to produce more and “better” oranges: All the same size, perfectly round. In truth, nothing tastes as good as an orange (or any fruit) when picked ripe, in season, from a tree that has had no artificial aids to produce bigger fruit (which kills the tree earlier than its natural life span). For many years I survived without oranges. There is vitamin C in many other fruits, apples, pears, a variety of berries. I’ve read that in the 1920s and ‘30s cities, even medium sized cities, had street cars, or other forms of mass transport, public transportation. American car manufacturers bought the street cars of Los Angeles, tore down the overhead lines and the tracks, so that the city would have to buy buses. Big corporations sold us on the idea that everybody should have their own car -- four door cars, with room for five, driven by one person to work. The country made super highways for these cars; let trains languish in order to force huge trucks on us to transport the oranges from Israel all the way to Las Vegas. States and counties made roads so that we could live in the suburbs, because, after all, in America everyone has to have a car, right? We live where we prefer to live, even if it means a three hour commute by private car. We bought the idea that we all needed to be free to go where we wanted at any time we wanted, live where we chose, do what we damn well please. That is Democracy, right? Americans who travel to western Europe are often surprised to find countries as modern as we are where it is not necessary to own a car. Public transportation goes to the smallest hamlet. Bicycle paths are everywhere. There are wonderful trains that zoom quietly at 130 miles per hour. Free health care for everyone. Schools are free, even school lunches. Universities are free, even text books. Countries without the death sentence, where few, if any, are thrown away in prisons for the rest of their lives. And, most surprising, they too have elections, refrigerators, all the gadgets and gimmicks we have, but also six weeks paid vacation a year, and a thirty-five hour work week. Yes, they pay more taxes, but they get their money’s worth in services. Of course they do not have the largest army and air force in the world because they see no need to control the rest of the world. Most other countries have a multitude of political parties because a free world has a multitude of shades of gray -- even colors, from green to red. We are stuck in a two party system although both parties contain groups of very different thinking, thoughtful people. Maybe a country of three hundred million people has outgrown two, and should have three hundred parties to reflect the thinking and the needs of many different population groups. Every decision Congress makes then would require a coalition of parties, rather than “advice” from high-paid lobbyists. But, I am told, democracy means a two party system. Really? We were urged to believe, and we bought the idea, that it is good to reduce taxes for rich people because wealth “trickles down.” Oh yeah? We accepted the idea that health services should never be centralized, that would be socialism, and socialism is bad, bad, bad -- although few of us know what socialism means. So, instead of having one payer, we accept that it is better to have many insurance companies. Many insurance companies are supposed to keep the price down because they compete with each other. But they have to make a profit; how can it be economical when it adds to the cost of health care? We tacitly agree -- it is assumed we agree -- that capitalism, which in America is called Free Market, is not only good for us, but the only way to go. The market, we are told, will even things out. Competition takes care of scoundrels who charge too much, and see to it that everybody gets their share. Are you sure about that? How come then, these last years have seen stagnant income for everybody, but a very few who earn a billion or more bucks a year buying and selling imaginary value? The movies taught us that man’s future was to go where no man had any business going. Our leader, in the same vein, told us that we must control the world, by going across the world to get rid of a bad dictator (who, if the stories are true, we supported only a few years earlier). This evil dictator had something to do with 9/11, we were told (not true), he was a great threat to the security of our country (very doubtful), it was hinted that he had nuclear weapons (he didn’t). Most of us believed the words-- if you can’t believe your leader who can you believe? Or, more likely, we did not know what or who to believe, so we stopped thinking about it. “They,” in Washington, do these things in our name. We toppled the bad dictator in a few days. Nobody questioned why we did not get out when we had accomplished that. Why did we stay? Okay, we had to find those “weapons of mass destruction” (were we told what that means? No, it was only hinted that they might be nuclear “devices” or “bio-terrorism” or…?) There weren’t any WMD to be found. No great surprise because the people who should know these things, knew that they had long been destroyed by the bad dictator himself. But, we stayed, caught the bad dictator who had been hiding. He was tried and hung. We pushed the local people to have an election. They democratically elected a government. Then we bestowed sovereignty on the government (was it ours to give?). And still we stayed on. Because, then we were told, now there were all kinds of bad people, and we had to stay to secure the security for the government we had given sovereignty. Now, five or more years later, we are still there. In fact, our presence has increased in number and power. At great cost we built enormous bases (did we ask the government we had given sovereignty for permission?). Our Air Force owns the air space and bombs when it deems it necessary to assist ground actions. We spent trillions for armies, planes and bombs, and bullets made with “depleted” uranium that probably is not totally depleted. We have a free hand in that free country. http://www.wildwolff.com robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
His obsession, in his old age, is our War on Terra, the continuing, probably escalating destruction of habitats, the pollution of the land, water and air of our planet. And, of course, our utter disinterest in getting back to a sustainable way of living. He writes stories, occasionally fiction. He paints minimalist paintings of leaves, air, plants. He grew up in Southeast Asia, in a small town. He has a special feeling for Tiger, who is his protector.
Science is a passion.
outgrow 2-party system In a digital age where we are saying electronic voting is available, why aren't we a democracy? Why are we still a republic? Out grown a 2-party system? Absolutely and why not have voting for all issues? Why pay a salary to individuals who sell their votes when we could each cast our own vote? Why provide an unbelievable retirement plan to each of those individuals regardless of the length or the quality of their performance? Why aren't we all voting for any issue about which we have strong beliefs? Chaos??? I, for one, would be willing to risk that, knowing that i at least made an effort on the issues that mattered. Perhaps we are too large, too diverse. I would like to think we could come together on at least a few simple, humanitarian issues, but I fear even that is beyond us as a country. We certainly are not ready, as a country, to become members of a global community that recognizes that natural resources belong to everyone -- particularly those unborn. Thank you for your writing! May your future come to pass, for it is far better than the one I forsee. by
sometimes blinded (1 articles, 44 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 210 comments)
on Friday, August 22, 2008 at 9:31:45 PM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
thanks Thank you Mikel Paul-- yes I took the piece off yesterday, thinking I could fix the loss of paragraphs, and the small size font. I could make the font a bit larger, but the loss of paragraphs apparently is what MS WORD does to that web site. I don't even have WORD 00 I use a Mac, but my word processing programs can translate into WORD.
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robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Friday, August 22, 2008 at 10:25:42 PM
WHAT THERE IS, AND WHAT THERE WON'T BE I TOTALLY AGREE WITH ROBERT WOLFF on everything he says: regarding sustainability except he operates under the belief that we will work our way out of the jam U.S is in. While I agree we could, even when I squint, I see no hint of it. The "ease" would happen with the legalization of hemp. What do you hear about that? We, meaning me and friends, have talked ouselves hoarse about that, and are answered with total silence. Either no one is listening or they are handling it by ignoring it. Either way Mr. Wolff has told us all we need to know, assuming the voters want the world to continue carrying us around. On the trickle down philosphy he does a dandy. I forgot who said it, but he said that the only living things that should be involved with trickling on, either up or down, are a dog and a post. I agree to both. I'll jump back in at the WMDs. We were told that was one reason we had to invade this tiny nation and bomb them to a size where we couldn't count the remains. By starting with how many lived there and working backward that little nation came up 3 million people short. To be more specific "3 million we killed". One reason our "good leader" told was that we MUST, MUST FIND THOSE WMDs. I always wonder what our "good guys" meant to do with these WEAPONS OF MASS DESRUCTION. Of course, internatonally, they are illegal. But that doesn't cut any grass. Arn't Our leaders both "good"and "wise"? People in other "good guy" nations smiled and almost clapped - once. Would we have destroyed them as we should. Or would we have, on a dark night, added them to our enormous stock pile? by
emily horswill (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 67 comments)
on Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 5:00:15 PM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
thank you Thank you Blinded, by
robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 5:38:29 PM
Ex serviceman (inf) informed and prepared.Many experiences in the worka day world, restaraunt owner, music producer/promoter, truck driver, and many other interests and pursuits.
OIL? what is missing in all this oil talk is the history of oil/fuel etc, most "oil" up until about 1930 was not petroleum but hemp oil many times greater yield than corn, requires no FERTILIZER and will grow in most North American lands. It is not owned by major "OIL COMPANIES" it is earth friendly, has about 100 known uses, medical and industrial, makes a superior fabric than does cotton(which contaminates most of the Caribean with chemical polutants. What is happening now is the "VANISHING" of species by major oil/pharmacuticals and government. Governments end allows the creation of armies of cops etc under the guise of"Marijuana Menace" which never did exist. Science debunks every official lie about the dangers that don't / never did exist except in the minds of the idiots that believe what government tells them. Marijuana would be legal in Canada except for threats of invasion and confiscation made by US Presidents in support of the ban. Here is a link click here The oil slavery visited upon us by the major oil companies and government is a fabrication and a fraud designed to enslave the world, so far it is working. KDG by
KDG (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments)
on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 12:53:46 AM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
What there won't be... Emily Horswill, no, I find it very hard to believe that we will work out way out of this mess. As to hemp -- that is one of the blind spots that this country has had for a century. We seem to love "wars on." War on poverty, on cancer, on drugs, on terror -- empty slogans. by
robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 11:11:01 AM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
KDG KDG, I'm not familiar with the history of the word, or concept, "oil." It is very likely that the word has been used for all kinds of oil before the current use. Today "oil" means to most people the thick stuff that refineries make gasoline and airplane fuel from, as well plastics that are not biodegradable. When people talk about more "natural" oils to burn as "bio-diesel" the main difference is that they are younger. Petroleum products are plant material that has changed into the thick black stuff for millions of years. Palm oil, or used cooking oils, are made from plants and trees that grew yesterday. Whether one is better or worse than the other I don't know.
by
robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 11:21:16 AM
Ex serviceman (inf) informed and prepared.Many experiences in the worka day world, restaraunt owner, music producer/promoter, truck driver, and many other interests and pursuits.
"oil" Mr. Wolf; "oil" mentioned here is or was the fuel of the aircraft and machinery of the first WW. It can be used in most all processes that currently use Petroleum. It is bio-degradable and renewable and there fore "green". You are not using it because the petroleum industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the fertilizer folk and your government can't control it's production! In the case of the businesses they eliminate the competition under the guise of the Governments need for a boogie man in order to maintain a huge military/police force. "Marijuana Madness" etc. There is and has been for years a movement of censor ship and removal of the word "Hemp" in reference to anything historical etc. ie. displays of Henry Fords early auto original called the "HEMP MOBILE" renamed as vegetable oil. Henry Fords, original idea was to use "HEMP" in all his autos The list is virtually endless, the attitude ongoing. If a major Multinational could get an exclusive on "HEMP OIL" you would be using it . In general use it is benign compared to petroleum, it has as many or more uses and again is renewable. KDG by
KDG (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments)
on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 6:25:55 PM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
oil KDG, it is possible that other oils, including hemp oil, were used in early machinery. The first war was 90 years ago -- in those 90 years all machines were made for use with a particular kind of substance, most of them derived from petroleum. The point of my essay was not only to talk about the use of oil, but the use of enormous amounts of energy, and too much of everything. We have learned and become addicted to an extremely, and unsustainably, wasteful society. I read somewhere that what America throws away can feed the world. Everywhere we have landfills that are choking on plastic and poisons from the "things"we cannot seem to do without, and the wastes from the industries that make these endlessly changing things. It is unsustainable, inefficient, incredibly impoverishing to the whole of it, enriching a very few at the top. A stupid way to live.... by
robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 8:05:58 PM
Robert's website There's a bug in the website link posted by Robert, - it doesn't go through. Here is one that should work: by
Aurora (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 353 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 1:55:44 AM
robert wolff lives on the Big Island, called Hawai'i, pretending that his environment has not changed, even though this island was "discovered" a few years ago: the price of land has quintupled, houses are built all around, inhabited by other white people who do not belong here. Then, of course it all crashed. Our street now had a dozen new houses, half of them empty, for sale.
bug in link to web site Thanks Aurora for alerting me -- now the link to my web site works. Maybe you caught me just as I was adding something... I know little about politics, and, to tell the truth, don't really want to know... Politics has become psychological warfare. Everyone knows by now that any kind of war is unnatural, wasteful, and a lose-lose proposition. Nobody "wins" a war. by
robert wolff (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 9:59:07 AM
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