Nelson Mandela Inaugural Speech

[Bootie]

"[SIZE=+3]Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."[/SIZE]

 

[Michael Clarke]

Great post, thanks for sharing Bootie.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

That we are powerful beyond measure is true in the strictest scientific sense.

The direction rivers run, the intensity of the sun, the density of fish in the sea, the productivity of crops, the composition of soil, etc... These once natural processes are now longer under the Earth's control...

Jeffrey Sachs, UN advisor, said it well:

“We’re in the age of this planet where human activity dominates the earth's processes. Humanity has become so large in absolute number and in economic activity that we have overtaken earth processes in vital ways to the point of changing the climate, the hydrologic cycle,”

taken from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32074&Cr=climate+change&Cr1=.

Who said comics were for kids? ;-)

 

[Bidermann]

The trouble is that China, USA, India,and multi national corporations show no sign of changing their ways in the destruction of the planet.It is a sad thing to say but the earth would be a better place with out humans on it, we are a cancer on the face of the earth and one day will be removed .
In the Uk we get taxed through the nose to save the planet ,but our CO foot print is small.One way I think to stop China building more and more coal fired power stations is to stop buying their products.But that is easy to say but impossible to do.So we as a species are doomed to fail.

 

[Hedgehog]

I am beginning to think that Global warming is a excuse for a natural change in the world's climate, after the winter we have just had, I wouldn't say it was getting warmer, just a normal as it should be winter for us

 

[PoorOldSpike]

..the earth would be a better place with out humans on it, we are a cancer on the face of the earth and one day will be removed..

The writings on the wall-
"The time has come for judging the dead.. and for destroying those who destroy the earth"- Revelation 11:18

 

[ACSpectre]

I am beginning to think that Global warming is a excuse for a natural change in the world's climate, after the winter we have just had, I wouldn't say it was getting warmer, just a normal as it should be winter for us

While I am in favor of trying to live in as sustainable and earth friendly way as possible, I believe all the hue and cry over climate change is just another way for someone to cash in. The doomsday profits preach their dire predictions and the Pavlovian horde rush out and gladly fork over their hard earned for any product that claims to be "eco-friendly".

Of course the climate is changing, it's been changing since the earth was born and will continue to change long after we humans have gone the way of the Dodo. The earth has been around for billions of years, we have been keeping climatological data for a couple hundred. To think we can use the data from such a tiny amount of time to predict the future of the planet is blatantly absurd. Of course our existence here is affecting the climate, I just don't believe that our impact is as great as many would lead us to believe.

 

[PoorOldSpike]

There are 600 million cars in the world, plus millions more vans and trucks all pumping out nasty emissions day after day, so surely that must be doing something to the atmosphere?
PS- I don't drive, never have..

 

[ACSpectre]

There are 600 million cars in the world, plus millions more vans and trucks all pumping out nasty emissions day after day, so surely that must be doing something to the atmosphere?
PS- I don't drive, never have..

One major volcanic eruption puts more carbon biproducts into the atmosphere than all of the automobiles in history have. The internal combustion engine more than likely has some effect on the atmosphere, but natural factors make this pale in comparison.

 

[Bidermann]

but one of the things not mentioned is the destruction of the Rain Forests and other environments these have an important factor in Global warming.We as a race can not just carry on with the rape of the world with out some come back.Look at Bio fuels in one way they are good, but the rain forest is pulled down to grow them!! just mad.

 

[PoorOldSpike]

 

[ACSpectre]

but one of the things not mentioned is the destruction of the Rain Forests and other environments these have an important factor in Global warming.We as a race can not just carry on with the rape of the world with out some come back.Look at Bio fuels in one way they are good, but the rain forest is pulled down to grow them!! just mad.

I'm not at all saying that human existence has no impact on our environment. I'm just saying that many of those decrying humans destruction of the planet use hyperbole and scare tactics in order to advance their cause and that often their cause is more about lining their own pockets than protecting the environment. Your example of bio-fuels backs up my point. It is a simple exercise in mathematics to figure out that based on current demand, if we switched completely to bio-fuels, we would have to plow up every square inch of tillable soil in the world to grow enough oil producing bio matter to even come close to meeting that demand. Those in the bio-fuel camp know this, so why do they continue to advance their cause? Follow the money, ALWAYS, follow the money.

What none of the enviro-lobby tell you is that the earth has remarkable recuperative powers. It is widely believed that a massive meteor strike is what led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Science has discovered that there have been many other major meteor impacts with the earth throughout history. Just about 100 years ago it is believed a large meteor hit Siberia. These impacts caused cataclysmic devastation here on earth, yet now there is very little evidence of the event. The earth continues to grow and change and the wounds left by these events have healed. In the short time since the Chernobyl disaster the earth has nearly reclaimed all of the deserted areas around the site. While it may take hundreds of thousands of years for the radiation in the area to disappear, this is really a blink of an eye in terms of the Earth's history.

I believe that real environmentalism starts individually. Decrease your own energy demand by simple measures like turning off lights when you leave the room, dry your laundry in the open air, use public transportation when possible, and a multitude of other seemingly small actions we can all take.