EARTH MANIFESTO
“Imagine if tomorrow the
CIA and MI6 discover that Osama bin Laden has invented an incredible new
weapon. This machine – stashed away in some dusty Afghan cave – doubles the
intensity of hurricanes, causing them to drown a US city and kill nearly 2,000
people. It turns Spain and Australia dry in the worst droughts on record. It
makes the oceans acidic, killing essential parts of the food chain. It causes
these acidic seas to rise and wash away whole nations like Bangladesh and
Tuvalu. And if the machine is left switched on for too long, it will drown
London and New York and Lagos and Kinshasa too.
This machine exists. It is called global warming
– and we are our own Bin Laden. The world's scientists say our greenhouse gas
emissions are causing this planetary cooking as surely as HIV causes Aids or
smoking causes lung cancer.
If al-Qa'ida was unleashing this weather of mass destruction, we would do
anything – anything – to stop them. But because the enemy is inside each one of
us, we stagger on, building more airports and coal power stations and shrieking
for cheaper oil. We are suffering from what psychologists call an
"external context problem": this is so far outside anything we have
experienced before, it instinctively seems it cannot possibly be true, no
matter how much evidence washes at our feet.” Johann Hari, The Independent, 4
August 2008
As we enter and embrace the hi-technology based
consumer age it has become necessary to lay down basic laws to curb consumption
of the world's resources. Our
planet, Earth, is becoming more and more crowded everyday. Coupled with ever increasing levels of
consumption we are depleting our planet of all forms of life. By the time our grandchildren have
grown up our planet will have lost thousands if not tens of thousands of
species of animals and plants, unless we act today. This manifesto aims to tackle the major global environmental
issues of the day.
POPULATION earth
manifesto
Population levels must be stabilised as
soon as possible, and eventually reduced.
An ever increasing population will lead to greater conflicts between
people and animals for land and resources. This is an obvious fact. Therefore governments must introduce legislation encouraging
families of the future to be of a sustainable size, which can be done through
tax incentives. There are some
exceptions to this relating to remote areas and small ethnic groups. Once the population has been stabilised
it must be reduced to a sustainable level, i.e.1950 levels (3 billion).
ENERGY
& TRANSPORT earth manifesto
Put tax on aviation fuel. Planes cause more pollution than cars,
yet people can fly to the other side of the world for next for nothing. Global warming is happening now and
will lead to catastrophic consequences unless CO2 emissions are reduced today.
Over consumption is common in the automobile
industry. Cars must become small
and economical. No more
4x4s/SUVs unless they are entirely necessary for the local environment. Start the change to alternatives
including compressed gas
and hydrogen. Bio-fuels are
not recommended as there in not enough land to grow crops for energy and
food. Demand for bio-fuels is
resulting in massive rainforest clearance especially in the threatened
rainforests of South-east Asia where palm nut is grown extensively.
FOOD earth
manifesto
Organic
food must be promoted as the norm. Genetically modified/engineered foods are
not beneficial for people or planet.
The arguments used by bio-tech corporations are seriously flawed. They argue that we can feed the third
world with their drought/pest resistant varieities. Organic food has been shown to produce similar yields to the
latest Monsanto GM crops whilst maintaining a rich bio-diversity of
organisms. GM food can also
negative effects on the health of people who consume it. Recent research by the Russians into GM
soya has shown that GM food can have detrimental effects on the immune systems
of rats, resulting in higher mortality rates at birth. Whether this can be transferred to
humans is questionable but it certainly reinforces instinctive fears about
altering the genetics of food.
Meat consumption has to be reduced to ease
pressure on the limited amounts of fertile land, because meat requires much
larger tracts of land than vegetables.
It is because of the large amounts of soya protein required to feed
beef, pork and chicken that huge tracts of Amazonian rainforest are being
destroyed to make way for soya plantations.
ECONOMY earth manifesto
Modern economists cannot subtract! The GDP is not a good way to measure a
country by; it only looks at a tiny part of a very large picture. Bhutan’s GNH (Gross National
Happiness) is a better measurement of a countries’ ‘productivity’. We should be measuring air quality,
bio-diversity, green space, traffic, and noise levels.
The market economy can only work if it is
regulated. It will not work if it
is a ‘free market’ because a ‘free market’ results in full scale plunder of
resources by the ‘haves’. The
biggest corporations must be broken down into smaller units. Large corporations exert too much
influence on governments and create homogenity. Take for example the monopolisation of Rupert Murdoch’s
media companies. It is well known
that the Murdoch media companies including News International are routinely
telling lies through their media outlets, e.g. Fox news claimed on numerous
occasions leading up to the Iraq war that Saddam Hussain was responsible for
9/11. We all know that this is false,
in fact Bin laden and his devious network were responsible. Such news reporting contributed to
American public support for a totally unacceptable war against Iraq. It is therefore necessary to regulate
against excessive ownership of media companies to produce a more balanced
media.
GLOBALISATION earth
manifesto
Localisation is preferable to globalisation because it reduces
energy consumption and increases social cohesion. Wherever possible food and other goods must come from local
sources (subsidiarity).
There are some exceptions such as some fruits, e.g. bananas and
oranges. Shipping produce
by boat is preferable to air.
Air freight must be taxed according to its environmental impact, not by
how much profit can be made by supermarkets. Ideally food should be eaten according to the seasons,
so that we can reduce unsustainable energy consumption.
HOMES earth
manifesto
One
family should only have one house. In an increasingly densely populated
world it makes no sense that the more well off can own more than one house when
some people do not have any sort of house at all. As more people live by themselves and are living for longer
it is now no longer feasible for people to own more than one home.
TRIBES earth
manifesto
Where ever possible tribal peoples and
those who live alternative life styles must be left alone, unless they
are depleting their environment severely.
For example the tribes of the Andaman Islands including the Onge and
Jarawa are disappearing due to poaching and habitat destruction. Encroachment from the ‘developing’
world is spreading disease and wiping out an ancient and unique people. Ancient tribes should be treated as
sovereign peoples and given land reserves with no disturbance from the
‘developed’ world.
WATER earth manifesto
Water
is our most precious resource. It
is likely that there will be major disputes over water supplies in the future,
perhaps resulting in world wars.
Global warming and intensification of farming methods are contributing
to desert expansion. China is
already planning to divert rivers flowing from Tibet into its territory as
opposed to India. To minimise
water consumption gardens should not be watered unless there are vegetables and
fruits for human/animal consumption.
Likewise energy is also wasted on keeping grass short. Natural gardens with native
species which are drought resistant should be encouraged.
GOVERNMENT earth
manifesto
Democracy seems to be failing us at
present. There just does not seem
to be the political will to make effective changes in legislation. Whether this is to do with the
implementation of democracy is debateable. What is clear at this stage is that countries must work
together to make necessary changes in government policy. If nothing is accomplished in the next
few years then perhaps a world government based on the United Nations
is our only hope of making real progress in creating a harmonious world for
all.
