by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The year – and the first decade of this new century, and indeed millennium – are quickly coming to a close. And what a year, and even couple of years, it has been and what a decade!
The economy took a dive, starting in 2008 about, as did the global climate talks at the end of 2009. Budgets were frozen or even melted away, while consumers and most businesses just hunkered down. The bankers were so dishonest and there we so many ponzi schemes – and let's face it the way the world economy is run it is nothing but a giant one – that many large and small banks went to the wall while the great part of the remainder ended up being bailed out by the governments.
However, as far as consumers go it depends where one looks. Spending this Holiday season in Britain seems to have been very high, from what I have personally seen in the stores. Already Wednesday December 23, many stores had bare or nigh empty shelves, meaning either that they anticipated a lack of demand and did not bring in enough goods or that people spent on credit cards, more likely, despite the recession.
Regardless it appears to have been a banner year for green business in many parts of the world. It would be better still for the green businesses if greenwashing would be left out of the operations and honesty be employed.
Alas, way too often we have found that companies have been economical with the truth, such as SIGG as regards to BPA, have been putting out half-truths and even outright lies, such as claims by Gaiam as to their bottles being BPA-free which they were not.
What is the consumer to believe?
Then, after “Bankers Gate”, we had “Climate Gate” and the proverbial hit the air moving appliance. Now we see a lot of damage control in that the tack has been changed. Honesty went out of the window, it would appear, amongst climate scientists much as amongst bankers and theories were presented as definite facts and those that dissented were silenced. Most of science is not fact but theory and we all better begin to understand that. A lot is dependent on certain things coming to pass and it is all a case of “this might happen if...” but most of it is still unproven, regardless of how many scientists believe that this is so. Belief does not fact make.
Folks, if we could just have some honesty then people might just believe it. The climate is changing but it is not just “global warming” and aside from the changing climate there are many other problems – and that is an understatement – Mother Earth is afflicted with that we ignore at our peril.
However, in the so-called “fight against climate change” all the other problems are being sidelined and ignored nigh on. Even problem with soil and water are blamed on climate change when the truth is other kinds of pollution.
What good is a nice cool Planet when we can no longer drink the water, breathe the air and risk eating anything grown in the soil due to pollution?
The next year 2010 and the next decade will be a decisive one as far as cleaning up the Planet and trying to heal Mother Earth and in doing this we must apply a complete new set of priorities; priorities and technologies born out of the knowledges of the Indigenous Peoples and those that always had a close relationship with Mother Earth.
2010 will be the year, and the years immediately following, that will decide whether or not humankind is going to commit mass suicide or not.
Let us hope and pray that people will come back to Mother Earth and learn to interact with Her again instead of trying to fight Her.
© 2009
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