Hello World
We have Earth Day again on 22 April.
What on earth is Earth Day?
Are we bothered about our planet Earth?
How many of us really care about our Earth?
Are we worried about our Earth’s future?
Are we busy campaigning to save the Earth
Are we big into saving the birds and the bees?
Are we on a mission to save the rain forest?
Are we wanting to save animals from extinction?
Why does the Earth have climate issues?
Is Mother Earth trying to tell us something?
Do we see the Earth as separate to us?
Do we feel connected to the Earth?
Do we think all this planet Earth stuff is just twaddle?
Do we wonder what on Earth we are doing here?
Do we know what Earth life is all about?
Do we ever question what we have created on Earth?
Do we understand our relationship with planet Earth?
So here is what the Earth Day website is saying –
Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world. (1)
Hello – what does that actually mean to us on the street?
Does anyone know what this is saying?
We are being asked to join Global Teach-Ins and the March for Science.
The campaign for this year is all about environmental and climate literacy.
We have a choice to stand up, join up and take action. (2)
Some of us may be a bit too busy with our overwhelming schedules, to attend a teaching session about environmental and climate knowledge.
Some of us may be wondering how knowledge in theory is going to make a difference to our planet.
Some of us may be thinking that we have enough going on in our own lives, so there is no time to worry about the planet.
Some of us may be too distracted by our earthly comforts, to be concerned about planet Earth.
Facts about Planet Earth
Did You Know –
4.54 billion years – age of planet Earth
1,000 miles per hour – rate we are moving on Earth
24,901 miles – Earth’s circumference
67,000 miles per hour – rate Earth moves around the Sun
8 minutes 19 seconds – time taken for sunlight to reach Earth
93 million miles away from the Sun – 3rd planet away (3)
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics
Without the action of these plate tectonics, our Earth would overheat as there would be no other way to recycle carbon
Earth is shaped like a flattened sphere
It has layers – an inner and outer core, the mantle and an outer crust (4)
Mantle is the most solid bulk of the Earth’s interior
It lies between the crust and the core
84% of Earth’s volume
1,800 miles thick (5)
Earth is made up of
32.1% Iron
30.1% Oxygen
15.1% Silicon
13.9% Magnesium
70% of Earth is covered with oceans (4)
10,000 km Earth’s atmosphere extends into space
The atmosphere is made up of 5 layers
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere
Earth is like a great big magnet – forming a region called the magnetosphere (4)
The magnetosphere moves the solar wind around the Earth
The magnetic field extends thousands of kilometres out from the Earth’s surface
Without the magnetosphere, particles from the Sun’s solar wind would hit the Earth directly, exposing the surface of the planet to significant amounts of radiation (4)
However, the magnetic field has been weakening (3)
Solar day – time taken for the Sun to return to the same point in the sky
Sidereal day – time taken for Earth to rotate on its axis (4)
Hottest temperature
136 degrees Fahrenheit – El Aziza, Libya. 13 September 1922
Coldest temperature
Minus 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit – Vostok Station, Russia. 21 July 1983 (3)
56,000 feet – Mauna Kea, Hawaii – tallest mountain
Coral Reefs – largest living structures on Earth
10,916 metres – deepest point on the Ocean floor below sea level
300,000,000 years ago there was just one continent
Earth’s 3 deadly lakes –
Nyos, Cameroon
Monoun, Cameroon
Kivu – border of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (3)
These crater lakes sit above volcanic earth
Magma below the surface releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the lakes
This leaves a deep CO2 rich layer right above the lakebed which can be released in an explosion, suffocating to death anyone passing by
54,000 degrees Fahrenheit – the heat generated from single stroke lightning
6,000 lightning flashes around the Earth every minute
2,000 years – most active – Stromboli Volcano has been erupting in Italy (3)
So here we have some fascinating facts about our planet Earth.
Do we go WOW, marvel at the NASA images and drift off in our fantasy galaxy world or do we stop and ask – how much is going on that we really have nothing to do with?
In other words, we are spinning at 1,000 miles an hour and yet we cannot feel it.
We live on this big enhousing planet that does a job with all this stuff and has an intelligence that we cannot quite work out.
However, we as humans have enough intelligence to have worked out all the above facts, so that in itself tells us something.
But how come we have not yet worked out WHY we have no cure for Diabetes or Cancer or WHY ill mental health is now showing up in our young children?
We like to think we are thee most intelligent species on Earth.
Does that mean we All KNOW that our Earth is in serious trouble?
Can we agree that our Earth – what we call the world, is in a mess.
Our global statistics on the following blogs confirm something is not right.
Diabetes
Mental Health
Suicide
Depression
Sleep Issues
Female Genital Mutilation
Human Trafficking
Youth
Independence Day
Asthma
Heartburn
Chronic Fatigue
Drug Abuse
Marijuana
Amphetamines
Alcohol
Cancer
Kidney Disease
Is it time to join the dots, stick our common sense hat on and start asking some serious questions?
WHY is our so called current Intelligence not cutting it when it comes to getting to the root cause of diseases like Diabetes?
WHY are we not listening when we are being told that lifestyle changes need to be made?
WHY are our kids’ losing the plot and showing signs of illness?
WHY is this Free Will thing a licence to do whatever we want?
WHY are we spending billions on solutions to function?
WHY are our health systems totally overwhelmed?
WHY are our social and welfare systems unable to cope?
WHY are our prison systems getting out of control?
WHY are we allowing so much abuse on our Internet?
WHY are we happy marvelling at our technological advances?
WHY are we loving our comfort life full of distractions?
WHY are we as a world addicted to our screens?
WHY are we not applying common sense to our everyday life?
WHY are we not putting a stop to our wayward behaviour?
WHY are we blaming the world and its brothers for anything and everything?
WHY are we so unwilling to take full Responsibility for the choices we are making every single day?
WHY are we dismissing those who are living another way that does make sense?
WHY are we waiting for the government and others to tell us what to do, when we have a choice – a hand in how to live our life?
WHY are we not stepping up and saying something is wrong and we need answers?
CO2 concentrations are heading towards values not seen in the past 200 million years. This, plus the Sun gradually getting stronger means that the climate may be heading towards warmth not seen in the past half a billion years. (6)
The current speed of climate change is ‘highly unusual’.
CO2 has not been added to the Earth’s atmosphere as rapidly as today for at least the past 66 million years.
If we continue on our current path and exploit all conventional fossil fuels, then as well as the rate of CO2 emissions, the absolute climate warming is also likely to be unprecedented in at least the past 420 million years. (6)
Natural disasters are expected to increase in frequency due to climate change. (7)
Isle de Jean Charles, USA has lost 98% of its land mass due to rising sea levels. It has been sinking since 1955.
2003 – a heatwave hit Europe killing more than 20,000 people.
15,000 of those were killed in France.
Climate change is predicted to bring –
Floods
Storms
Heatwaves
Sea level rises causing loss of land
Forced migration
Droughts affecting farmers and the agriculture produced (7)
As the climate changes glaciers are retreating and contributing to rising sea levels. (3)
Depression, worry, anxiety, substance abuse, aggression and suicide affect those that cannot cope with natural disasters. (7)
| Environmental Issue | Potential Outcome |
| Rise in temperature | Aggression and violent behaviour |
| More natural disasters | Depression, anxiety, PTSD |
| Rise in sea levels and land changes | Forced migration |
Drought is a very serious one and something we can all understand as the potential outcome is farmer suicide.
One of the major health effects of flooding seems to be the mental health aspects.
The worse the damage, the more likely a person is to have a mental health problem.
James Rubin, Psychologist, King’s College London (7)
Direct flood victims –
20% diagnosed with depression
28.3% diagnosed with anxiety
36% diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (7)
So here we have some facts and statements confirming there is a direct correlation between mental health and natural disasters. Our job on Earth seems to be towards fixing the problem but how on earth can you fix global natural disasters?
No amount of intelligence can change an “Act of God”.
This term is used by the insurance world to confirm a natural disaster, which no human can control.
That means we live with a constant unknowing if there is ever going to be a natural disaster that may wipe us out.
Do we care?
Are we worried?
Are we bothered?
Have we even thought about this?
Have we got better things to focus on?
Have we asked WHY we have natural disasters?
Could it be possible that Mother Earth is simply correcting what we have done?
Dear World,
What if the mess we have created on this Earth is coming from our own choices?
What if our Earth is reflecting something to us?
What if our Earth is very sensitive which is the same as we are in our essence?
What if our Earth is living in accordance with the natural laws of the Universe?
What if Mother Earth obeys all the natural laws and does not waiver from this?
In other words, she is not putting human needs before Truth.
What if the natural extinction of animals is part of the grand evolution?
What if we are all on a path of evolution on this Earth plane?
What if our Earth plane is aligned to the rest of the Universe and beyond?
What if we each have a hand in how our Earth is taken care of?
What if the War inside us is creating harm on the Earth?
What if Earthquakes have something to do with how we are choosing to live?
What if our Earth is correcting the harm we dump on it by natural disasters?
What if our precious Earth is telling us how we are living is harmfull?
What if we can learn from the Earth how to live in cycles and rhythms?
What if nature is reflecting to us about living in rhythms and cycles?
What if our planet Earth is showing us what is clearly not working?
What if our Earth is communicating it is time for real change?
What if deep down we know wearing a t-shirt, campaigning, championing and attending a climate change class is not really going to shift the mess on our Earth today?
What if we know that all the above is a form of Reductionism and whilst it has good intentions, it simply won’t get us out of the serious disaster we created on Earth?
What if there is another way to live on Earth that is in total and absolute respect to the ALL – in other words anything and everything?
What if Everything affects Everything, even if we can’t get our heads around this?
What if we each have a hand and a RESPONSIBILITY in this Earth life?
What if we are part of the great Laws of the Universe and the only reason we don’t want to align is because it means we have to take RESPONSIBILITY?
A great example is SLEEP – check our top article on sleep.
It talks about the hormone called Melatonin and its job is to regulate our night and day, sleep and wake cycles.
Bingo – here we have it confirmed!
Our body has cycles and what do we do? – go against these natural ways of living.
At three months old, levels of Melatonin enter a cyclical pattern that continues throughout our whole life. (8)
Caffeine, contraceptive pills, diabetes medication and anti-depressants affect the natural production of Melatonin.
Hello – is this spelling something out to us?
Are we joining the dots here?
We cannot ignore this fact of nature telling us we have this biological process recurring naturally on a 24-hour cycle, known as a circadian rhythm.
Even when our human body is kept away from ALL external light sources and time references, the body maintains a near perfect rhythm, typically relaxing into a natural rhythm of 24 hours and 11 minutes. (8)
Most recent and accurate results suggest the natural circadian rhythm is close to the length of a natural solar day. (8)
Hello – can we just re-read this again.
Even in the absence of light fluctuations, this natural internal process continues AND our natural circadian rhythm is close to the length of a natural solar day.
Next – a woman has a natural menstruation cycle of 28 days.
Note the moon takes 28 days to go around the Earth.
Is this all just a co-incidence or is there more?
Is the moon just reflecting light from the sun?
Is the moon just a dead thing out there that has no life?
Does the moon have a part to play for us on Earth?
Is there something more that we can pay attention to here?
Are we living in accordance with the cycles of the moon?
Does the app called Our Cycles offer us something?
Can we learn from the founder of Our Cycles what it is like to live our life in cycles?
So here we have two confirmations that cannot be ignored or dismissed because they exist. Our body lives in cycles and rhythms and so does our Earth.
That means there is a direct correlation to how the Earth moves every day and how we live every day.
Could it be possible we are not aware that the following directly affect our natural sleep cycle –
Caffeine
Sugar
Alcohol
Drugs
Over eating
Lying
TV
Internet
Perfect Life
Social Media addiction
Anti-depressants
Contraceptive pills
Diabetes medication
Can we join the dots here and apply some common sense?
Could it be possible that we have created many many illnesses and dis-eases in our body because we have not valued and appreciated the importance of the sleep wake cycle?
Could it be possible that we do not realise how important sleep is?
Could it be possible that our long list of women’s problems stems from not living in accordance to our natural menstruation cycle?
Could it be possible that the full moon cycle each month is offering men and women who do not menstruate, a period of cleansing and clearing?
Could it be possible that we cannot truly save our Earth unless we start with us? – In other words, looking at how we are choosing to live every single day and what impact this has on our Earth world.
Could it be possible that we have not chosen to apply the natural cycles that our body is offering us?
Could it be possible that we need to get back to living in cycles and rhythms so that we can stop all the harm we are contributing to our Earth?
Could it be possible that we do not currently live in a body that has the awareness about life on other planets?
Could it be possible that our current dense way of existence on Earth is not allowing us to see and feel beyond lineal perception?
Could it be possible that our current form of intelligence will not ever give us the answers about life beyond Earth?
Could it be possible that we each as individuals belong to a whole and in time, we will know more as our awareness develops?
Could it be possible that to increase our awareness, we need to live with the natural laws of the Universe?
Could this blog be another way to present Earth Day?
References
(1) (2017). The History of Earth Day. Earth Day Network. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/
(2) (2017). Earth Day. Earth Day Network. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://www.earthday.org/
(3) (2016, March). 50 Interesting Facts About Earth. Live Science. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://www.livescience.com/19102-amazing-facts-earth.html
(4) Williams, M. (2016, July 4). 10 Interesting Facts About Earth. Universe Today. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
https://www.universetoday.com/14382/10-interesting-facts-about-planet-earth/
(5) (n.d). Mantle. National Geographic. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/mantle/
(6) Foster, G., Royer, D. & Lunt, D. (2017, April 4). We Are Heading for the Warmest Climate in Half a Billion Years, Says New Study. The Conversation. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://theconversation.com/we-are-heading-for-the-warmest-climate-in-half-a-billion-years-says-new-study-73648
(7) Senthilingam, M. (2017, March 14). Depression, Anxiety, PTSD: The Mental Impact of Climate Change. CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/14/health/climate-change-mental-health-eprise/index.html
(8) Newman, T. (2016, January 21). Melatonin: Facts, What Does Melatonin Do? Medical News Today. Retrieved April 19, 2017 from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232138.php
Comments 50
This blog really is a game changer.
We spend so much time, energy and money trying to change things and campaign so that we can protect the Earth, but what I get from this blog and from this website is that it is the way that we live that actually makes a difference, not what we do or how much money we throw at any cause.
On a microcosmic level, if we live to our natural circadian rhythm, this puts us in sync with the rhythm of the Earth and in turn connects us with the Universe and the Cosmos and the Stars and beyond.
So it is very clear, if we take care of ourselves and our bodies, including valuing sleep and place this first and foremost above all else, we will naturally live on the Earth without harm and that in turn takes care of our environment.
Thank you so much Simple Living Global for bringing to us the simplicity of how we can practically live within the natural laws of nature in everyday life by living to rhythms and cycles.
One of my earliest memory’s in life is stuffing newspaper under a door to keep water from coming into the house and then walking away from my home in water up to my knees, holding on to my mom’s hand. This was from a hurricane in 1954.
Until now, I have never really felt what that must have been like for a 3 year old.
Lately I have noticed that when a storm passes I have felt uneasy and my sleep has been off. Could it be I am feeling some of this old trauma of being flooded out of my home?
It makes sense that Earth with its intricate balance of systems and rhythms has a living wisdom of which if we were to truly feel into and get honest with ourselves about, we have as a humanity, not been living in accordance with…
The answer to all the issues we have created is here, within and all around us; The Way is shown to us in everyday by our bodies and by the body of the Earth, both of which can not but adhere to the harmony and rhythms of the Universe.
Reading this blog hits home how truly stupendous Planet Earth actually is and how naturally aligned we are to that.
What would it be like to really LIVE in the rhythms and cycles of nature? To really listen to that and be in sync?
19th April 2017
Insurance company, Liberty reported that there was a 20% increase in suicide claims in 2016. Reason being – a sharp increase in the number of farmers’ aged 55 and over ending their lives through suicide on the Northern Cape, South Africa.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2017/04/19/Farmers-fatal-despair-Suicides-soar-as-worst-drought-in-decades-drives-them-to-ruin
The article refers to the fact that ‘farmers were living in the same difficult economy as everyone else, but on top of that they have drought to deal with.’ Henk Meintjes – Liberty insurance actuary
Living in an inner city area in London, I have never considered how environmental factors can affect farmers. Considering the economic loss of having a season of drought, I can understand the despair and eventual action of suicide if farmers’ do not have the support to deal emotionally and practically with what is going on.
I have to say it is only from reading this blog and this one for Earth Day https://simplelivingglobal.com/earth-day/ that I was able to stop and contemplate this and understand that the way that I live on the Earth and take care of myself has a profound effect both on others and on our environment.
Thank you Simple Living Global for consistently writing and making us all aware of what is happening in all four corners of the Earth.
Brilliantly well researched blog, makes absolute sense and raises questions for us all to consider in the world today.
We get on with life, yet rarely do we question what is going on around us and why it is the way it is.
On Earth Day this blog is a great wake up call for us all.
I have always felt Earth to be the same as a living body, with systems that work together in harmony and even a soul or consciousness…
I felt it too could get sick like we do from our disregard and yet I spent a long time not choosing to adhere to my own rhythms and living out-of-harmony made me sick in many ways.
I know that we have been collectively doing the same to the Earth that we do to ourselves and each other.
There is something about nature. Something deeply enriching.
I know it gives me a deep sense of connection and perspective.
A beautiful landscape. A walk in the woods. A dramatic sky. A pair of Jays in a tree near my office in the City. A fox in broad daylight.
And there is science on how it affects us. Access to trees and green spaces has been shown to reduce obesity and mental health issues.
What a precious thing this Earth is.
Here is a recent report by the Institute for European Environmental Policy, describing nature as a great healer:
http://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/biodiversity/2017/briefing_nature_health_equity_march2017.pdf
Connection to our earth is critical to living in a way that respects it amazingness. If you do not experience the earth, it is hard to feel and understand what it is all about.
If you have not seen a carrot growing, how would you know that it grows underground? Watching a child dig up a carrot for the first time is an amazing experience.
We had a Russian exchange student live with us and we brought her to the ocean for the first time. Watching her expression of awe was incredible. You can not experience an ocean on a computer or movie screen.
Every time I see and even think about the ancient redwood trees in California, the level of stillness and majesty they bring, brings tears to my eyes.
I feel if we can truly experience our earth, it is easy to live a way of life that honors it and everything on it.
Another superb blog, informative and educational. It seems to me our bodies are crying out through illness and disease for us to live in alignment with our natural rhythms and cycles.. and with our beautiful planet.
We have this incredible planet to live on, guiding us with it’s natural cycles and all of nature as a reflection as to how we can live harmoniously here on earth, with each other and in alignment with the universe.. our living ways cannot but affect our precious sentient earth so it has to correct and correct.. is it time for us to change our ways?
I was reading about a study in the journal Atmospheric Environment, recommending more hedges to help with pollution in cities.
Apparently, hedges soak up much more pollution at car level than trees.
How amazing that nature can be of such support to help us clear up our mess.
It makes me wonder, though – if we see this as a ‘solution’ that keeps the carbon particles out of our lungs, will we then relax and think we can ignore the mess we are making of the Earth?
Can we just think ‘oh great, we have hedges now, awesome’, instead of taking real responsibility for the pollution to which we are all contributing?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-microbes_us_590bdff9e4b0e7021e966892
5 May 2017 – As Ice Melts, Dangerous Diseases From The Past could Rise Again.
Are we scared?
Are we bothered?
Do news headlines like this get us concerned?
Is this way off or could it hold some truth?
Researchers have encountered complex “giant viruses” and there are concerns that some old enemies thought vanquished could reappear.
So what they are saying to us is with global warming scientists have expressed concerns that epidemics of the past centuries might come back.
This is not yet the case but what if it is and how do we feel as individuals about these viruses.
What we do know there is no medication when we get a virus and there are so may variations.
Do we ever consider that the way we choose to live may confirm whether or not we will contract these deadly viruses or any virus?
We all know that having a strong immune system has a direct correlation with our sleep quality and could this be a simple start to ensuring we are not at the mercy of what virus is going to come after us and possibly kill us?
Our Sleep blog is well worth reading or re-reading as it certainly presents another way.
https://simplelivingglobal.com/world-sleep-day/
I was looking up some facts on deforestation with my 6 year old and we found a website that counts down the destruction of the rainforest.
It tells us that if we continue on our current trajectory there will be no rainforests in 100 years.
Zero.
Losing our rainforests would literally be catastrophic. Half the planet’s animals and plants live there. But at a very basic level, 20% of the oxygen we breathe on Earth comes from the rainforests.
What will stop us?
http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Deforestation-Facts-for-Kids
Great blog Simple Living Global on a subject that most of us pay very little attention to, because after all, how can we, just by doing our day to day stuff, possibly harm Mother Earth?
If Albert Einstein’s equation of E=MC2 is correct and that everything is energy, then that means everything we do has an energetic quality to it and that energy has an effect on everything and everyone else.
That must mean everyone and everything is affected by our actions, deeds, thoughts and emotions. And we can be affected in a number of ways from: the many illnesses and diseases, mental issues, confidence issues, anger, sadness, frustration, etc.
If that is so, then the earth can be affected in the same way so is it possible then that Mother Earth will occasionally vent her issues?
Even when we think we are doing the right thing, we have the potential to harm.
There are many organisations that purport to ‘Save the Earth’ but is it possible that these organisations are using anger to get their message across and if so, is it possible that that anger is then going into the earth and they are doing the one thing that they are trying to stop others from doing, i.e. harming Mother Earth.
A very wise man, Serge Benhayon, says, in regards to the energetic truth, “in everything we do, we either heal or we harm.”
When we start to view everything as energy, we realise we have an even greater responsibility to make sure everything we do doesn’t harm anyone or anything else.
What humanity is doing to our earth is just a reflection of what we have been doing to ourselves.
It makes no sense to disrupt the support system that is keeping us alive.
So the question is why do we hurt our bodies and our Earth? Is it because we really do not know what is helpful?
I have tried to live my life with respect for our earth, but if I do not take responsibility for my life, I can not really take care of anything else.
I now understand that in order to know what anyone needs, I have to live in a way that supports me, so my life experience can give me the wisdom to truly help someone.
The developed countries of the world use a huge percentage of the earth’s resources. Why do we believe that we, (I live in the USA the king of consumption) the more developed countries, deserve more resources per capita than the so called underdeveloped countries?
Has our quality of life really improved with all this progress that the we have achieved?
Is all the climate change and pollution that we have caused really worth it, when you look at the increasing levels of disease, poverty and stress in the world?
It time to take responsibility for our effect on our earth. Is what we have created what we want?
Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine is presenting a way of Living that addresses all these issues.
It is about taking true responsibility for our individual lives, in the same way that our natural world works, everything that happens takes into consideration everything on our planet.
The Economist is sharing some home truths on the state of our oceans, here: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21722647-ocean-sustains-humanity-humanity-treats-it-contempt-how-improve-health
“The ocean sustains humanity. Humanity treats it with contempt.”
They question whether our complacency comes from a feeling that the ocean is so big we can treat it badly and it wont fail.
Yet is is failing. The projections say if we carry on as we are, by 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic than they contain fish and all the coral will be gone.
They describe information and awareness as the cure for ‘ocean blindness’. We already know our oceans are in a terrible state because of us – we know we are overfishing and polluting. This awareness is only going to increase as research and technology give more and more access to the details. It will become harder and harder to hide from the truth.
An interesting problem they cite is shared governance. The ocean belongs to everyone, it’s health is all our responsibility and yet we don’t treat it that way.
So where are we at with this?
Do we see this?
Do we care? Do we care enough to make changes?
Where do we think we’re going when we place our time, energy and financial resources on establishing colonies on other planets?
It makes no sense considering that as a human race on Earth we are struggling with mental illness including anxiety and stress which are going through the roof. Due to our current way of living most are not immune to this, even those involved in building the colonies on other planets – so what is going on?
Are we seeking to escape Planet Earth to build a better life on another planet because we dislike what we’ve got?
I learnt some years ago that whenever we leave a situation unresolved and move elsewhere the same issues come with us and it is not long before we start experiencing the same thing that we were trying to escape from. So what if changing jobs because we don’t like our boss, moving house because we are having problems with our landlord or neighbour, changing planets because we don’t like the one we’ve got is not the answer?
Living on Planet Earth and being responsible for how we choose to live and the imprint we leave behind for others is the key. No point leaving a mess behind, by escaping for others to clear up as that in no way takes care of Mother Earth.
Same goes for any situation, we need to clear up our mess first before we even think about moving on as in the end someone else will be stepping into the home or the job that we leave so what quality are we leaving behind for them?
I was reading about the floods in Texas.
Science shows that developing on wetland areas, prairies and flood plains massively contributes to flooding. Wetlands and the like are natural drainage areas and can soak up large amounts of flood water. Their urbanisation stops them doing their job.
Estimates are that development on Houston’s wetlands meant the area lost the ability to handle 4 billion gallons of storm water, which equates to $600 million of flood management construction.
Isn’t this just basic common sense for our Earth?
Why are we ignoring it?
Will we continue to ignore it when we re-build our cities after flood damage?
75% of all the honey on our planet is contaminated by pesticides.
That includes honey on remote islands.
These pesticides are apparently harmful to bees. It is not yet known how harmful they are to humans.
Bees are vital to our ecosystem and our crops and their population is in decline.
This has got me thinking about how much care we take over what we spray on our crops and about the legacy we are leaving for this planet and ourselves.
It also got me thinking about why the demand for honey is so high.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.independent.co.uk/environment/pesticides-bees-human-threat-found-in-honey-threat-danger-a7985281.html%3Famp
We have had 10 consecutive hurricanes in a single year.
In fact, the 10 hurricanes grew out of 10 Atlantic storms and they did so over just the last 10 weeks.
The last time 10 consecutive Atlantic storms grew into hurricanes was in 1893.
Do we reflect on the systems and cycles of our planet?
Do we reflect on its movements?
Do we reflect on the why?
https://qz.com/1103420/hurricane-ophelia-ireland-is-walloped-by-the-latest-recording-breaking-storm/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0702q6p/earths-greatest-spectacles-1-new-england
Watching a programme about the annual cycle of trees in America has tuned me in to the purpose of sugar.
Maple trees in particular produce a huge amount of sugar to support the processes of growth. The sugar gives the leaves the energy they need to grow when the seasons change. It’s a magical process.
This is the purpose of sugar.
Watching as certain birds harvest this sugar day after day, was a reflection of human behaviours around sugar. Going back for a short hit time and again.
That sugar is not for us – we don’t need it for our growth.
Coverage in the UK Metro newspaper on 6 November about the world’s forests being so severely shrunk by humans that 85% of species inside them have been affected.
This is affecting mammals in particular and we risk contributing to further extinction.
Apparently reptiles like the boa constrictor snake are benefiting because they like the drier conditions.
How do we feel about depleting the world in such a way that reptiles rather than warm blooded animals thrive?
Do we see the impact of our excess?
Daily Mail – 28 October 2017
Sir David Attenborough giving us an important message that we cannot ignore the terrible damage that is being done to our seas, and the appalling consequences to us all if this damage is left unchecked.
THE OCEANS ARE UNDER THREAT AS NEVER BEFORE IN OUR HISTORY.
One cause is the serious risk of plastic.
Every year 8,000,000 tonnes ends up in the ocean, even remote locations.
What are we doing as individuals and how are we choosing to live?
Is this a question we all need to be asking now, so we can understand more about how we are contributing to the collective whole?
Are we ready to read and assimilate what this man is spelling out to us here –
“Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to our planet – but never before have we had the power to do something about it. Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet. The future of humanity and, indeed all life on Earth, depends on us.”
Is it time to see everything on our precious planet as one and the same?
In others words, what we do in our private life does affect the whole planet and beyond and there is no getting away from that immutable fact.
Could it be possible that our disregard for our ‘blue planet’ is simply a reflection of how we choose to live in daily life?
What if we started to live that word Responsibility to care for our self first and foremost then it would, by the very essence of that LIVED way, ensure we care EQUALLY for everyone and everything else, including our ‘blue planet’?
The Week – 23 September 2017
Is the Sand Running Out?
The voracious industrial demand for sand has led to an improbable global shortage – and an environmental crisis.
These are the headlines on the article.
Did you know that sand is used to manufacture a number of things – from glass to electronics, and paint and tyres?
I did not know this until reading this article.
Sands main use is in construction as sand and gravel are the main ingredients in concrete and asphalt. The article states that “sand and gravel represent the highest volume of raw material used on Earth after water.” (United Nations Environment Programme Report 2014).
Sand is usually made out of silica or quartz.
But as the opening lines state we have a crisis with sand. All types of habitats are being destroyed as producers struggle to meet demand. Producers are now turning to marine resources to obtain sand, even though dredging can be very harmfull to sea life and fisheries. In the developing world dredging is usually unregulated, or if it is regulated it is deeply corrupt.
50% of all of the sand used in construction in Morocco comes from illegal mining of beaches and coastal areas.
There is a sand mafia in India who run an illegal trade worth $2.3 billion each year.
In Tamil Nadu (India), 50,000 lorry loads of sand are mined every day and smuggled to nearby states.
In Kenya, illegal sand dredging is disrupting river courses and leaving communities without water.
In Sierra Leone, extensive mining of beaches is blamed for coastal erosion of up to 6 metres per year.
Singapore has grown in size by over 20% since its independence in 1965 by importing and sometimes actually taking sand from its neighbours to build on. Singaporean dredgers have been blamed for the disappearance of 24 Indonesian sand islands!
Then we have sand miners lives that are being put at risk –
In Vasai Creek, North of Mumbai, about 75,000 men many from India’s poorest areas work as miners to meet the countries booming construction industry. The miners dive up to 40ft into pitch black waters whilst holding onto metal buckets. They fill the buckets on the sea bottom and then are hauled up to the surface via ropes by colleagues. Two deaths have been reported this year.
A small boat filled with sand will go for 1,000 rupees on the black market; the average Indian wage is 270 rupees.
In Thane Creek, Southern Mumbai, sand mining has removed much of the food for smaller fish, which is disrupting the food chain and destroying the livelihoods of local fishermen.
One miner told the BBC that he dived 150 – 200 times a day. He said that he does not have any safety equipment and that they have just learnt to hold their breath, adding that there is raw sewage and chemical waste in the water but “we’re used to it now.”
The article is summed up with the following –
As the construction industry in Asia continues to grow over the next decade, sand and gravel reserves will be depleted at a rapid rate.
So in effect this says it all. Our desire for MORE: higher buildings, more luxurious houses, more office space, etc is all contributing to the depletion of sand.
Imagine if we all just used, bought and had what we needed, would we see a fundamental difference in sand reserves? Would they be abundant rather than depleted as they are today?
I have been noticing the level of disregard many people have for our earth. Even with the increasing level of intensity of weather around the world and the knowledge that in some way we are responsible, their is a sense insolence about it all.
There was an amazing powerful storm that swept up the east coast of the USA, breaking all sorts of snow and temperature records. A storm like I have never seen in my 66 years. This has been happening regularly in past years, each storm gets more powerful.
Yet there seems to be no response to what is happening. We just carry on, even though the devastation and hardships from these storms are intense.
Most people would agree, that Mother Earth is talking to us.
What will it take for us to listen?
Is this what is going on with Illness, violence, drug abuse, and generally our quality of life?
How much suffering will it take for us wake up?
Daily Mail – 5th August 2017
Extreme weather could kill up to 7,500 Britons a year within 70 years. 50 times more than today.
The number of people exposed to storms, flooding and heatwaves will rise dramatically from 1 in 20 in the early 2000s to 1 in 3 by 2100.
Scientists have claimed that an average of 2,515 Britons will be killed each year by extreme weather by the 2080s. Currently the death rate is 90.
More than 80,000 people per year could be affected by disasters like flooding or severe heat. Today the figure is 2,984.
The European Commission Joint Research Centre in Italy, analysed 30 years of disaster data from the 28 EU countries to come to these figures.
Heatwaves are predicted to most likely kill Britons, with rising temperatures potentially causing 7,358 deaths a year in the UK by the 2080s. The number of people dying today is 66.
The next biggest threat to Britain will be coastal and river flooding – predicted to cost 102 lives per year and severe wind storms which could kill 34 people.
Is there something that we need to take notice of in this blog by Simple Living Global in understanding WHY all of this is happening?
The answers we have so far are not cutting it and so the question arises –
Is there MORE to these severe weather changes as to why they are happening?
In the UK talking about the weather is what most people do especially on the street, the bus, train or the shops.
I was in the launderette and as I entered I was told how cold it was outside and did I know we got really bad weather next week and snow on Monday and Siberia weather from Tuesday. Others were joining in and I said I was aware of this.
What I noticed is how the weather really does not bother me as I feel the same inside – warm and snuggy and this just helps.
Having travelled to a warmer climate last week, I noticed again how many people go on about the weather in some way.
What if the weather has something to do with us – the inhabitants on this planet?
What if snow is giving us a message right now?
What if there are countries that are always cold and that supports other countries in some way?
What if there is a lot more to the weather that we have yet to connect to and feel?
I used to be hooked on the ‘just incase syndrome’ what to wear and what to take and these days it is a choice to plug in and connect to my body and I know just what I need and that is for the day or the week, if I am going away.
I am certain Mother Earth is communicating and it is up to each of us to connect to what is being expressed in all climates.
Metro News – 3 May 2018
Clifftop homes in Norfolk, England are on the verge of falling into the sea. This is due to coastal erosion. High tides have recently washed away the cliff face.
What is it about us that wants to live literally on top of the sea or as close to nature as we can?
I can speak from lived experience, as once upon a time that was my dream and I wanted that at any cost. We moved to a green area outside London where we were surrounded by acres of green fields, forests and land. The coast was very close by.
What I have come to realise now is that we were seeking nature to balance us inside as we felt the stress of life overwhelming to say the least.
Nature has a way of self medicating us and is a much needed get away for so many.
Today I live a minute away from a busy high street and know that I no longer need any green or sea to have a steady internal state of being.
I wonder if man was ever supposed to live at the top of a cliff and mother nature is just letting us know that with her movements, when she brings correction in the form of a tsunami or a cliff face erosion.
Most of us are not open to even thinking that there could be a bigger picture here, as to why nature does these so called random things.
Maybe we are being supported to evolve even if it does not seem like it at the time.
The Week Issue 1161 – 3 February 2018
A man has started recruiting for people to go to Mars.
This is not for a round trip but a one-way ticket.
It is expected that people will start travelling in 2031 with the view to setting up permanent human residence in Mars.
200,000 people have applied.
Psychological tests will be applied to determine whether participants can ‘ handle the enormity of the challenge’.
Conditions are said to be harsh, with the first crew there alone and confined to cramp pod-like units indefinitely.
Water supply will be limited and it is unlikely that they will be able to shower for two years.
What is it about us as human beings that we are never satisfied with where we are and what we have?
Why on earth would we want to leave one planet for another and then live in such conditions?
What is the purpose?
Is life on Earth so bad that we need to escape?
What will anyone do on Mars?
What happens to work?
What would one do all day?
Could it be possible that we are seeking ways to escape planet Earth as we do not want to take Responsibility for ourselves and our lives?
Are we in illusion to think that all of our problems will go away by going to Mars?
200,000 people applying says a lot about where we are as a human race and our commitment or lack of it to life.
BBC News – Radio 2 today just reported an official speaking about the typhoon in the Phillipines and he says he does not understand why it is an “Act of God” which is the term used by insurance companies for natural disasters.
When I worked in this industry a long time ago, the same term was used and at the time we were told to just give out insurance claim forms. I was so aware of the amount of fraudulent claims where people realised that no one was going to come and check the loss or damage.
It was a licence for all to just take the money on offer and many did.
Back to the news today – WHY did insurers come up with those words?
So many have lost faith and have no connection to God.
Others are lost and blindly follow what they feel, is a movement with God supposedly at the centre of the preachings and teachings.
How does one settle with the knowing that God creates these huge disasters and takes the lives and homes and towns and cities to utter devastation?
How do we explain something like this to our kids or those who have lost someone in a natural disaster?
What if we changed the words to NATURAL CORRECTION?
Would that get us asking more questions and digging deep until we could settle with the answers.
I for one no longer see it or think that it is an Act of God.
God is easy to blame like some almighty thing up above, waving his wand and doing things that we cannot explain or even comprehend.
What if these natural disasters are simply about Mother Earth bringing a correction to a part of the world that needs a real stop from the momentum they are in, which is far far away from our natural way of living?
Could this be possible or even something we could start talking about at every dinner table conversation and look at how we as individuals are contributing to the ill of the planet we enhouse?
What if our planet, just like our body suffers the consequences of your choices and then the dis-ease that follows is nothing more than what we have created?
This blog is worth re-reading every time we have a natural disaster.
The Earthquakes blog on this website is worth reading every time we hear about another earthquake, because we really do not have any answers and whilst many may think this is all way off, whacky and not science based, it may just hold the answers humanity is seeking.
https://simplelivingglobal.com/earthquakes-ground-breaking-news/
On a Norfolk beach today was a colony of seals.
They were resting on the sand, minding their own business. Hanging out as a team.
The place is well known as a resting and mating location for grey seals and seeing them is amazing.
The signage clearly instructs watchers to keep their distance and not disturb them.
Nonetheless, some of the watchers do disturb them, standing too close, being noisy, trying to get the perfect picture.
It was offensive to see this. How little regard we can have for nature.
One of my sons commented on this too: observing how the planet would be if there were no humans on it.
It reminded me how important harmony is on Earth: not just for humanity, but for all living things.
We have a long way to go to that, but raising our standards in all things to a basic level of respect, would be a great place to start.
University of Wollongong Australia – 29 July 2019
https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2019/increasing-tree-cover-may-be-like-a-superfood-for-community-mental-health.php
Increasing tree cover may be like a ‘superfood’ for community mental health.
A study of 46,000 adults found the type of green space does matter for our mental health.
Those with 30% or more of their neighbourhood covered in some form of tree canopy had 31% lower odds of developing psychological distress. The same amount of tree cover was linked to 33% lower odds of developing fair to poor general health.
The results also state that poorer mental and general health was found among adults in areas with higher percentages of bare grass nearby.
Studies have shown that walking through green space can reduce blood pressure, improve mental acuity, boost memory recall and reduce feelings of anxiety.
This link gives you heaps more for those who are interested to read further.
What is of interest to note is that studies in the United States found higher death rates were found in greener American cities.
Enough said – for the purposes of this blog about Earth.
Could it be possible that trees live in a natural cycle that is totally in sync with mother earth – regardless of what we humans do or don’t do? In other words they stick to what their job is and that in itself is a reflection of the vibration – the quality of nature.
What if we want that natural way of living inside us and trees and nature can help and support when we are in their space, to align and attune us to our natural rhythms and cycles?
This could be way off and whacky sounding but what if there is something here to consider?
Mother nature continues to stay in cycles with the seasons, cycles and all the other planetary cycles and we humans have our cycles to live within those cycles, but most of us don’t as we have deviated from them a long time ago and have no intention of going back to basics, like how our ancestors lived way back, honouring what there was on offer from the reflection of the earth and all its kingdoms including the plant kingdom.
Back to real life and it would be true to say that most of us may never get the green spaces that we long for to live with because our personal situation means we have no trees or green grass or any natural local forest to visit.
So where does it leave us with our own mental health and well-being for the future?
Is there another way?
Is the superfood for our community mental health to be found in meeting our neighbours and caring for our neighbourhood and those in our community, as if they were our true family and not some separate being over there or across the street?
Is the superfood for our community going to come from our individual responsibility to engage with all others that we know and meet daily with an open heart and no judgement?
Is the superfood of our community available to us ALL now equally so, if we are willing to commit back into life and invest in humanity and that means giving people a chance to express how they feel, being open to listening and not barking out advice or nonsense chit chat, but having meaningfull conversations about what is really going on?
Could this good old fashioned way be brought back to life again in the modern 21st century, as if we are honest, our current way is not working and there are not going to be enough green spaces for all of us to migrate to in the coming years?
The Guardian – 24th August 2019
Burning Questions – Why Forest Fires are Damaging our Planet.
Brazil has had more than 72,000 fire outbreaks so far this year, an 84% increase on the same period in 2018.
Thousands of fires are burning in Brazil, many of them in the world’s biggest rainforest, which is sending clouds of smoke across the region and pumping alarming quantities of carbon into the world’s atmosphere.
Fires happen every year but some areas have suffered far more than usual. In the worst affected state, the peak day this month was 700% higher than the average for the same date over the past 15 years.
Most of the fires are agricultural, either smallholders burning stubble after harvest or farmers clearing forest for cropland. Illegal land grabbers also destroy trees so they can raise the value of the property they seize. But they are man made and mostly deliberate.
The fires are mostly illegal and are degrading the world’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink and most important home for biodiversity. The fires also contribute to an alarming rise in deforestation. Scientists say the Amazon is approaching a tipping point, after which it will irreversibly degrade into a dry savannah.
In July, deforestation spiked to a level not seen in more than a decade. According to data from Brazil’s space agency, trees were being cleared at the rate of five football pitches every minute. Over the single month, 870 sq miles were lost. For scale, over that month, an area larger than Greater London was deforested.
There has been a lot of blame on the Brazilian president for weakening the environment agency, attacking conservation NGO’s (Non-Government Organisation), and promoting the opening of the Amazon to mining, farming and logging. But he is not alone. The agricultural lobby is powerful in Brazil and it has steadily eroded the protection system that was so successful from 2005-2014.
Because of what is considered a failure to protect the Amazon by the Brazilian president, there have been worldwide protests of Brazilian embassies.
But we can’t just blame the Brazilian president or the lobby groups. We are all responsible here. We all want our products and we want them as cheaply as possible.
Countries such as the UK spend small sums on overseas conservation, then promote billions of pounds worth of trade in beef, soy, timber, minerals and other products that undermine Amazon protection efforts. Brazil is now the world’s largest beef exporter and is also the second largest producer of soybeans in the world.
As reported, most of these fires are man made which confirms WE are responsible.
We can either start asking questions as to why this is going on or we can do what we normally do when something happens in our world, but is not on our doorstep and choose to dismiss it and leave it to someone else to sort the problem out.
Daily Telegraph – 4th January 2020
Indonesia Takes Flooding Fight into the Clouds.
Indonesia’s air force seeded clouds with salt, to try to stop rain reaching the slowly sinking capital, after flash floods and landslides were triggered by some of the heaviest rain ever recorded.
The death toll in Jakarta and surrounding areas rose to 43, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced. Indonesia’s technology agency and the air force carried out three rounds of cloud seeding on 3 January 2020.
The seeding – shooting salt flares to trigger rainfall – is aimed at breaking up clouds before they reach Jakarta.
Is it possible that, as a race of people, we are very good at coming up with solutions to our problems but not once ever considering that our problems are because of how we live our lives on this Earth everyday?
Is it possible that this is just a solution?
Is it possible that Mother Earth has a reason for the amount of rainwater in Indonesia at this present time?
Why do we have these incidents that we call ‘natural disasters’?
Is it possible that we have earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tornados, floods, fires, cyclones, etc. because Mother Earth is giving us a message?
Why do these natural disasters occur where they do and when they do?
Is it possible that any natural disaster is Mother Earth’s way of rebalancing?
Is it possible that Mother Earth has to ‘rebalance’ herself because of how we have been treating her?
Is it possible that it would be quite ignorant, not to mention arrogant of us, to simply just dismiss these events as ‘something that just happens’ or just ‘fate’?
In 1905, Albert Einstein presented his famous equation – E=MC2 – ‘everything is energy’.
In 1999, Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon expounded that equation and added: “therefore, everything is because of energy”.
If everything is energy and everything is because of energy – which it is – that means, everything from the smallest particle to the whole universe, and beyond, is made up of energy.
Doesn’t that mean, therefore, if we put an ill energy into Mother Earth, then Mother Earth has to purge that ill energy?
Is it possible that Mother Earth is a living being just like us and just as we have to clear our bodies of any ill energies, so too does Mother Earth?
Is it possible then, the purging that Mother Earth has to do, translates into what we call ‘natural disasters’?
Could it be possible then, that our everyday choices have an affect on Mother Earth?
Could it be possible that the truth of this revelation is a game changer?
Is it possible that this awareness brings with it a whole new level of responsibility, so the question is – Are we ready for it?
The Atlantic – January 2020 issue
History’s Largest Mining Operation is About to Begin
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/20000-feet-under-the-sea/603040/
Many of us imagine the seabed to be a vast expanse of sand, but it’s a jagged and dynamic landscape with as much variation as any place onshore. Mountains surge from underwater plains, canyons go miles deep, hot springs billow through fissures in rock and streams of heavy brine ooze down hillsides, pooling into undersea lakes.
These peaks and valleys are laced with most of the same minerals found on land.
Scientists have documented their deposits since at least 1868, when a dredging ship pulled a chunk of iron ore from the seabed north of Russia. Five years after that, another ship found similar nuggets at the bottom of the Atlantic, and two years after that, it discovered a field of the same objects in the Pacific.
For more than a century, oceanographers continued to identify new minerals on the seafloor – copper, nickel, silver, platinum, gold and even gemstones – while mining companies searched for a practical way to dig them up.
Today, many of the largest mineral corporations in the world have launched mining programs. One group is using a fleet of specialized ships to drag machinery across the seabed in search of diamonds. In 2018, those ships extracted 1.4 million carats from the coastal waters of Namibia. In 2019, the same company commissioned a new ship that will scrape the bottom twice as quickly as any other vessel.
Other companies and countries have embarked on national projects to exploit their own offshore deposits but the biggest prize for mining companies will be access to international waters, which cover more than half of the global seafloor and contain more valuable minerals than all the continents combined.
The problem here is that regulations for ocean mining have never been formally established. The UN has given that task to an organisation known as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and unlike most UN bodies, the ISA receives little oversight. The general secretary of the ISA convenes his own general assembly once a year. For about a week, delegates from 168 member states come together. Their assignment is not to prevent mining on the seafloor, but to mitigate its damage. They will also be issuing licences to mining companies and drafting the technical and environmental standards of an underwater mining code.
The ISA have already granted companies with exploratory permits and these companies have raised breathtaking sums of venture capital. They have designed and built experimental vehicles and begun testing methods of dredging and extraction while they wait for the ISA to complete the mining code, which will open the floodgates to commercial extraction.
At full capacity, these companies expect to dredge thousands of square miles a year. Their collection vehicles will scrape through the top five inches of the ocean floor. Ships above will draw thousands of pounds of sediment through a hose to the surface, remove the metallic objects and then flush the rest back into the water.
Some of that slurry will contain toxins such as mercury and lead, which could poison the surrounding ocean for hundreds of miles. The rest will drift in the current until it settles in nearby ecosystems.
An early study by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences predicted that each mining ship will release about 2 million cubic feet of discharge every day. The authors called this a “conservative estimate’ since other projections had been three times as high. By any measure, they concluded, “a very large area will be blanketed by sediment to such an extent that many animals will not be able to cope with the impact and whole communities will be severely affected by the loss of individuals and species.”
The scale of this operation has never been seen before, there is no frame of reference, and although the experts have assumptions and projections, there is no telling what the true consequences will be until it has happened.
Humans have ravaged and wasted this earth for centuries in the pursuit of wealth and riches via digging for oil, iron ore, natural gas, gold, diamonds, pearls, rubies and other valuable metals and gemstones.
Now we are setting our sights on areas that have the potential to cause even more damage.
Why are we willing to bring damage and destruction to so many habitats?
Is it possible that we, as a race of beings, will never learn from our mistakes?
And what is the reason for this – is it because it has never been done before, the last frontier of human exploration or is it a case of wanting financial gain?
In either case, is it possible that we simply want more?
But the problem with wanting more, is that nothing will ever satisfy us and then we will want even more.
The only place to go after this will be different planets and further into space.
We would never consider trashing our own home.
Mother Earth is also our home – so why are we always looking for ways to destroy it?
The Conversation – 6th March 2020
Rainforests are Losing their Power to Help Humanity
https://theconversation.com/we-tracked-300-000-trees-only-to-find-that-rainforests-are-losing-their-power-to-help-humanity
Tropical forests matter to each and every one of us. They suck colossal quantities of carbon out of the atmosphere, providing a crucial break on the rate of climate change. Yet, new research just published in Nature shows that intact tropical forests are removing far less carbon dioxide than they used to.
A professor of Global Change Science at University of Leeds and UCL, along with 181 scientists from 36 countries have spent years tracking over 300,000 individual trees deep in the world’s rainforests and have come to an alarming conclusion.
The change is staggering. Across the 1990’s, intact tropical forests – those unaffected by logging or fires – removed roughly 46 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This diminished to an estimated 25 billion tonnes in the 2010’s. The lost sink capacity is 21 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to a decade of fossil fuel emissions from the UK, Germany, France and Canada combined.
They do this by identifying the tree species and measure the diameter and height of every individual tree in an area of forest. Then a few years later they return to the same forest and re-measure all the trees again. We can see which grew, which died and if any new trees have grown.
These measurements allow us to calculate how much carbon is stored in a forest, and how it changes over time. By repeating the measurements enough times and in enough places, we can reveal long-term trends in carbon uptake.
The final part of their analysis looked to the future. They used a statistical model and estimates of future environmental change to estimate that by 2030 the African forests’ capacity to remove carbon will decrease by 14%, while Amazonian forests may stop removing carbon dioxide altogether by 2035. Scientists have long feared that one of Earth’s large carbon sinks would switch to become a source – meaning that instead of removing carbon dioxide, it will start to produce the gas.
This process has, unfortunately, begun.
A carbon sink is a natural system that sucks up and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The main natural carbon sinks are plants, the ocean and the soil with the ocean being the major carbon storage system for carbon dioxide – marine animals also take up carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, while some carbon dioxide simply dissolves in the seawater.
https://www.livescience.com/32354-what-is-a-carbon-sink.html
As a race of people we have a lot to answer for.
Whatever our way of thinking on how climate change is being affected, the one thing that cannot be disputed is the fact that it is we humans, that are creating this change.
We are the ones who are responsible for the deforestation of these amazing, essential tropical forests.
We are the ones responsible for all of the forest fires that contribute to the loss of these forests.
We are the ones responsible for our behaviours and neglect of Mother Earth.
Whether it is from deforestation, forest fires, the way we live our lives or anything else, we are the ones that are doing all of this to these areas.
The title of this article is about how the rainforests are losing their ability to help humanity.
On reflection I would say that this title is wrong.
The rainforests have done everything they could possibly have done. Humanity has done nothing to help these rainforests.
Is it possible that a truer statement would be that “Humanity is Losing their Power to Help Humanity”?
I like to see it as Mother Earth saying ‘enough is enough and to start to take responsibility for our actions’.
The scientists say that the process of a natural carbon sink has already started to reverse into an area that will now start to produce carbon dioxide.
Is it possible that, we, can only abuse something for so long before, we, in turn, start to be abused?
Daily Mail – 4 April 2020
An interesting bit of news for those who are interested in the impact of how we as humans impact our planet.
Isolation measures can be felt far, wide and very deep according to Earthquake experts.
Our earth is shaking less as we are not creating the vibrations that are caused by cars, trains, buses and the public going about their day outside their homes.
Our outside world seems to have a new stillness and calm.
A seismologist published a graph showing a huge drop in noise in West London, after schools and social venues were closed.
What is this telling us about our movements on Earth and what the consequences are?
Could it be possible that mankind – us humans are creating and causing a disturbance to our gentle and precious Earth by the way we move in our daily lives?
Is there a way to live that does not pound the Earth in any way and is this something we have chosen to forget with our current lifestyles?
Next –
May sound a bit way off and whacky, but what if a numerologist in the future was studying this and realised this news story is published on the 4th day of the 4th month in 2020 and that means another 4?
ALL the 4’s – what if there is more here for us to learn just by applying the numbers and knowing what they represent?
The Guardian – 30th April 2020
Microplastics Found in Greater Quantities Than Ever Before on Seabed
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/microplastics-found-in-greater-quantities-than-ever-before-on-seabed-currents-hotspots
Scientists have discovered microplastics in greater quantities on the seabed and gathered clues as to how ocean currents and deep-sea circulation have carried them there before.
Microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size – are likely to accumulate most densely on the ocean floor in areas that are also biodiversity hotspots, intensifying the damage they may do to marine ecosystems.
The international research team found up to 1.9 million pieces in a thin layer near the seafloor covering just 1 sq metre. The discovery suggests that deep-sea currents act as conveyor belts that concentrate microplastics in hotspots, similar to the “garbage patches” visible on the surface in parts of the pacific.
Those same hotspots are also key breeding grounds for marine life, such as filter-feeding ascidians, or “sea-squirts”, which are particularly prone to microplastic ingestion, along with sponges and cold-water corals.
The lead author of the study, published in the journal Science, said that fragile ecosystems fed on nutrients and oxygenated water brought by the same ocean currents that carried microplastics. He said: “The real problem is plastics that are sat around in the environment, which can accumulate various pollutants and toxins on their surfaces. There’s evidence that some of these toxins may be released when in the guts of organisms and then you have the effect of the food chain, whereby small creatures are eaten by bigger creatures, and eventually you get to our fish stocks and you are eating a nice piece of tuna containing decades-old microplastics contaminated with all sorts of nastiness.”
Little research has been done so far on the impacts of microplastics on marine life but there have been some concerning findings. For instance, a recent study found hermit crabs exposed to microplastics seemed less able to select new shells to live in.
Most of the microplastic found in the study came not from the breakdown of larger pieces of plastic material, which previous thinking has suggested as the leading source of microplastics, but from textiles and clothing and according to the lead study author, it shows that much more can be done to prevent these tiny particles making it into the sea.
The most powerful interventions, however, would need to come from the government and waste and water treatment industries, such as using filtration to prevent microplastics reaching the sea in the first place. He said: “These filters exist, for example graphene filters developed at the University of Manchester and new nanocellulose filter developed in Finland…..But it’s really at the governmental policy level that these need to be implemented.”
So, we already know that to some degree, there are microplastics in the fish we eat.
We also know that we wouldn’t voluntarily choose to eat plastic, because we know that it would be toxic to our bodies.
How long will it be before measures are put in place to stop us from being poisoned by the fish we eat?
Will those in the government, the water treatment industries, health officials and anyone else concerned about this issue only act when it becomes too late and people are getting ill or dying?
Of course, WE, the human race, have a lot to answer here.
Plastics do not get into our waterways, streams, rivers and oceans by themselves.
It takes one of us to make this happen either, deliberately or irresponsibly.
Mother Earth has been suffering at the hands of humankind for far too long now
When will we stop polluting her?
When will we stop harming her?
When will we stop abusing her?
Like any living being, Mother Earth can only take so much before she has to ‘cleanse’ herself in the form of corrections like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornados, hurricanes, fires, floods, snow blizzards, etc.
And what do we do when Mother Earth has to correct herself?
We put the blame at the feet of God, of climate change or anyone else except ourselves.
Is it possible that the way we behave on Earth affects Mother Earth more than we will ever know?
Dear World
Reading “The Good News Guide” in our local supermarket weekend supplement, it mentioned researchers have found a 25% reduction in ocean noise levels in some areas compared to the same period last year. Experts say the crisis is good news for whales and sea mammals.
Previous research tells us that noise from cruise and container ships is linked to higher stress levels in whales. When it gets noisy, whales call less. When there is less noise, whales have the opportunity to have more conversations says marine acoustician Michelle Fournet.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00606/full
The above article is about the effects of ship noise on marine mammals as marine watercraft is on the rise. Given the important role sound plays in the life functions of marine mammals, research on the potential effects of vessel noise has grown – in particular since 2000.
It has been easier to access dolphins and whales so little is known about the potential effects of ship noise on pelagic and deep-diving marine mammals.
Concern about the potential effects of ship noise on marine mammals has been raised for decades – eg. Payne and Webb, 1971; Myrberg, 1978; Geraci and St Aubin, 1980.
This review sites numerous studies including noise from small boats which peaks at higher frequencies and the different variations of sound and their impact on marine life.
For the purposes of this comment – was our earth created with animals in the water for a reason?
Could it be possible that we are land animals and our job was not to go far afield on a luxury cruise ship because we can and have no concern about the impact of our choice to do so.
Have our whales adapted to the disturbance that humans – the so-called most intelligent species on earth have created by our lifestyle choices?
What if our whales are super sensitive, highly intelligent and play a huge part in the natural underwater life?
What if dolphins are equally sensitive and are affected by our man made noise and pollution in their water world?
WHY is research telling us that some underwater animals actually change their movements, in other words their behavior when vessels approach or are in their way. Another research states that underwater noise from watercraft has the potential to mask or alter the communication of a particular seal.
Enough said – the point of this comment is we are currently in a global pandemic, which means serious travel restrictions and our whales experience less stress.
Going forward, is this something we all need to consider before booking our next getaway?
What impact our choices, our movements – our behaviour has on the earth.
Many of us bang on about saving the earths resources but are we looking at it through our selective lense that gives us the licence to do what we want and at the same time champion areas of ‘saving the earth’ where it suits us? Makes no sense if we look at it with common sense.
The Conversation – 30th June 2020
Gold Mining Leaves Deforested Amazon Land Barren for Years
https://theconversation.com/gold-mining-leaves-deforested-amazon-land-barren-for-years-find-scientists-141639#
Gold mining has rapidly increased across the wider Amazon region in recent years, especially along the Guiana Shield, where it is responsible for as much as 90% of total deforestation.
The Shield encompasses Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela and small parts of Colombia and northern Brazil, and its forests hold roughly 20 billion tonnes of above-ground carbon.
Much of the forest loss is cause by artisanal and small-scale miners who respond quickly to increases in international gold prices. Often, they leave in their wake extensive soil erosion and rivers and streams contaminated with mercury. In the mines, mercury is used to separate the gold that is mixed in soil and sediments, forming a fusion called an amalgam. The mercury is then burned over an open flame to retrieve the gold.
Travel through the rainforest in Guyana, in northern South America, and you will often hear the indigenous adage: “A forest has no end and no beginning” to explain the natural cycle of disturbance and recovery. For the people who live in these forests, their experiences are based on decades of slash and burn cultivation, from which forests are generally able to recover well. But does the adage hold true for forests abandoned after more intense land uses?
Scientists have previously looked at how forests regrow after being cut down and converted into fields and pasture, and then abandoned. They found these recovering “secondary forests” were able to maintain biodiversity and accumulate carbon, among a range of other “ecosystem services”. But none of these studies had compared forest recovery after farming with what happens after gold mining.
The research, now published in the journal of Applied Ecology found that gold mining significantly limits the regrowth of Amazonian forests, and greatly reduces their ability to accumulate carbon. Recovery rates on abandoned mining pits and tailing ponds (body of water that contained deposits of material left over after the gold had been separated from the ore) were among the lowest ever recorded for tropical forests, compared to recovery from agriculture and pasture. At some sites, there was no woody tree regeneration even three to four years after mining stopped, leaving either bare Earth or grasses.
The study estimates that across the Amazon, gold mining causes about 2 million tons of forest carbon to be lost each year. The lack of regrowth observed shows that this lost carbon may not be recoverable, within what would be considered normal regeneration time frames, simply by leaving these abandoned mines to nature.
It was found that the recovery process is primarily dependent on the availability of nitrogen, a critical component that trees need in order to grow, and less on the level of mercury contamination. Nitrogen is found in the topsoil which is stripped away during the mining process, and was significantly lacking in mining pits and tailing ponds, making it difficult for forests to re-establish themselves.
It was also observed that active mining sites had on average 250 times more mercury concentrations than abandoned sites, indicating that once a mine is closed down most of the mercury leaches into neighbouring forests and rivers. Mercury pollution is especially harmful to fish, which are an integral part of local and indigenous communities’ diet in this part of the world.
The slower recovery due to mining is particularly concerning given mining is an increasingly important driver of Amazon deforestation, with more than 1 million square kilometres that could potentially be set aside for mining of gold and other minerals.
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving an economic crisis, and such crises tend to significantly increase the demand for gold, given its perceived role as an economic stabiliser. With gold currently priced at more than US$1,700 an ounce, an increase of 25% so far this year, many small-scale miners are keen to get involved. As environmental laws in Brazil and Venezuela are weakened, this could lead to further deforestation in the Amazon.
Is it possible that the increase in mining and the consequent devastation of the forests, all boils down to one thing and one thing only – money, or more precisely – the security that money provides?
Is it possible that Mother Earth is being decimated simply for the comfortable lives we want – and need – to live and to have that life of comfort sustained?
These huge rainforests are slowly being destroyed and the wildlife and the surrounding areas are being poisoned.
And for what – for something that we have decreed important and of value and for us to get richer?
It stands to reason that this sort of abuse to Mother Earth, if continued, will have consequences.
Is it possible that Mother Earth, like the human body, can only take so much abuse before she starts to break down?
Will we take note of these consequences and look at the harm we are causing or will we do what we have always done and simply ignore it until we can’t ignore it anymore?
BBC News – Science & Environment
18 August 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53786555
The video link tells us that this is one of the biggest studies of Atlantic microplastics.
The load of plastic in the entire Atlantic is much larger than previously estimated. The authors of the study estimate inputs over 65 years because microplastics have been flooding into the oceans for many decades.
A professor in plastic pollution is saying that we now need to understand the ecological implacts of this contamination in all parts of the ocean.
The biggest use of plastics is in packaging.
Landfill sites near the sea are being eroded and the plastic is seeping into the sea.
Amid the current pandemic, the disposable face masks are now creating more litter on beaches and are the most common items of plastic litter.
What if we brought this type of education into schools from day dot and that means our kids learn what harm we do to the planet we live on? They can be educated about the consequences of each and every choice they make and to consider that when they finish eating what they eat – where will the wrapping/packaging end up?
What if this form of education had the word RESPONSIBILITY running through the teachings and then the word ACCOUNTABILITY?
Without real education about human life and the consequences of every choice we make – how are we going to make real changes that shift the paradigm from here on?
Imagine children growing up knowing that it is not ok or acceptable to create excess waste and have no responsibility regarding recycling or where it will end up.
Imagine our beaches, our streets and our neighbourhoods with no litter because the new generations have no concept of doing that.
This simple way of education is a game changer because it instills from day one that our abusive way of behaving towards our environment is not ok or acceptable in any way.
This is merely a few what if type questions from Simple Living Global as it is time to get real and start with a dose of honesty – nothing is working thus far and our solutions are not cutting it.
Time we looked at the bigger picture and how we can turn the tides (pun intended) so that we do not add more waste into our oceans or pollute mother earth in anyway.
A polar bear was shot dead because a man died after being attacked by the bear.
Firstly – do we need to ask the question –
What purpose is there for a human being to be camping on a site 500 miles from the Norwegian mainland?
There is a great risk of harm from these wild animals and yet we allow it to continue with advice on websites that sell these adventures or explorations, telling us to stay away to avoid situations that can be dangerous and carry firearms if we choose to sleep outdoors.
Our world seems to have suppliers for almost anything we desire but let us for one moment consider the whole of mother earth and ALL who enhouse this planet. We are the so-called intelligent species and yet our choices expose this not so intelligent behaviour. WHY is that?
WHY do we override the bigger picture – in other words not follow through where our one ill choice could lead or end up, so to speak?
If we are making choices to take risks, then who gives us the authority to kill an animal as if they have no right to do what they done?
In other words, a wild animal has certain behaviours and one we all know is if they feel fear or danger their instinct is to harm or kill.
What right do we have, because a human was attacked by a wild animal living on their territory, to kill them “on the spot”?
Where is our responsibility and where is our common sense when we make these choices to reside close to dangerous animals who seem cute and harmless on a TV screen but not in real life?
No doubt animal activists will be campaigning and up in arms about this but we all know any form of fighting will never work or bring about real change.
We need real education and real understanding that this earth is not about I, me and myself but a place we have come to for evolution. That means we need to evolve and yet our behaviours for modern 21st century man seem to be lacking in almost every sense.
EARTH.ORG – 24 November 2020
https://earth.org/microplastics-found-near-mount-everest-summit/
Study published in the journal One Earth, found microplastics in the snow, close to the peak of Mount Everest.
It is now official that humanity has polluted every corner of the world from the highest mountain to the deepest point on Earth – see link https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/20/plastic-pollution-mariana-trench-deepest-point-ocean
Are we surprised at our behaviour or are we ok with doing what we want because we can?
Are we using mother Earth in a way that supports us or are we too busy wanting something for our Self, so others can marvel at our summit achievements or do we really care deeply?
Does our care for the planet we reside on link in with our own self care?
In other words, if we take deep care of ourself and that means we have a sense of deep respect and regard for the vehicle we enhouse – call that our body, would we then EQUALLY be taking care of our environment and that includes this Earth plane we live on?
Is this making sense?
What if we pay little attention to our body and the drive to seek outer success, like climbing the highest mountain or any mountain is some kind of trophy we want to be recognised by? It is like we are not interested in the human frame and all that it entails so losing a few fingers to frost bite is worth it, whilst climbing the highest summit out there, because at least the world will remember us for our achievements. But at what cost is the real question here?
Back to the microplastics – do we deeply value and care about the spaces left on Earth that are generally not trashed by humans or is our desire to get what we want an over-riding factor?
Time we got real and super honest – which one is it?
We cannot champion, foster and endorse those that dump on mother earth, be it microplastics or litter in our seas and then become a campaigner for saving the earth and our environment suddenly because it suits us to vent and rant and bring a voice to what we think is a good cause.
What if we all started to become decent members of society and that means looking at the whole of our life and our living ways – not just pockets or compartments. This means our waste and how we dispose of it on this Earth is EQUAL to everything else in our life. This is worth pondering on.
The Guardian – 2 July 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/02/canadian-inferno-northern-heat-exceeds-worst-case-climate-models
Rising temperatures can be seen across the world now.
Scientists are now fearing that heat domes in North America and Siberia indicate a new dimension to the global crisis.
Recently, a small mountain village in Canada had prolonged and intense temperature spike that turned into an inferno.
The Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said the recent extreme weather anomalies were not represented in global computer models that are used to project how the world might change with more emissions.
The fear is that the weather systems might be more frequently blocked as a result of human emissions. “It is a risk of serious regional weather impact triggered by global warming that we have underestimated so far.” he said.
Police stations and hospitals reported a surge in heat related deaths – 486 in British Columbia and more south of the border.
The Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service said there was a clear human fingerprint on this ‘very freakish’ event. Without emissions from cars, farms and industry, the record temperatures in the western North Americas would be expected only once in tens of thousands of years.
Human influence is estimated to have increased the likelihood of a new record several thousand times.
Scientists are in agreement that the simple solution is to reduce the risk by cutting fossil fuel emissions and halt de-forestation.
Great we could say but will the governments of all our countries on the planet be jumping on the bandwagon?
Will there be delay or is there more, we the masses, the general public can do as individuals to support the plane of life we live on called Mother Earth?
The purpose of this comment is that we as humans are leaving our mark on the earth with every choice, every movement we make. So if we want to purchase big gas guzzlers, as that is the latest model of car we want, then we go ahead without any focus on what impact this might have on the earth.
Next – have we considered looking outside the box, so to speak? In other words – another angle, another dimension?
What if this planet, let’s call her Mother Earth is by way of “correction” re-balancing with the extreme weather that we are seeing and the reason it is more often now is because we really are trashing it with our footprints?
What if walking in anger or checked out and not even connected ensures more harmfull footprints on this earth plane?
There is much to consider how we as human beings are living on this earth. Without the need for perfection, standing up and campaigning and fighting to be heard, we could just take stock and do a report card, with a big dose of honesty on how we are contributing in every move we make, every choice we take, that then leaves the Earth no option but to bring correction.
Those of us that are concerned about our Earth are better off changing the focus to our own lives and seeing where we can make long lasting and consistent changes, like taking Responsibility for the fuels we use, our form of transport, the foods we eat and the way we conduct ourselves and operate in daily life, before we try and set the world right as it is not working.
No point banging on about carbon emissions when we need our holidays and forget they are flights and there are multiple of them in one year.
The Guardian – 16 July 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/16/what-is-causing-floods-europe-climate-change
The title is saying “What is Causing Floods in Europe”
Scientists believe climate disruption will bring more extreme weather and humans are making things worse.
Apparently scientists have long predicted not just extreme weather but heatwaves, droughts and floods. Human emissions from engine exhaust fumes, forest burning and other activities are heating the planet. We are then told that as the atmosphere gets warmer, it holds more moisture and this then brings more rain. Bit like saying we do something we should not be doing and the rain has to come and wash away all those imprints that we made that were not coming from our natural state of being.
Recent flooding has been experienced in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, London, Edinburgh, Tokyo and elsewhere.
What is happening now more than ever – records are being broken more often. For example – the world’s hottest 7 years have all come since 2014.
Next we go scientists that can use statistical analysis and computer models to calculate stuff – for example human emissions made the deadly heat dome in Canada and North America last month.
See link for the news story –
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/28/portland-seattle-heatwave-heat-dome-temperatures
And the prolonged heatwave in Siberia last year – 600 times more likely by human caused climate change.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/15/climate-change-made-siberian-heatwave-600-times-more-likely-study
ADD to this what we all know about the recent and ongoing wildfires in California and the earthquakes that keep happening all over the world as they all seem to be more often.
So what signs is nature giving us through mother Earth?
Is this a communication to us humans that something is not right?
Are we going to ignore the science experts who are now saying we, yes we humans are contributing to the extreme climate conditions that are not going away?
What will our world be like next month if we are going to just look at weather, heatwaves, wildfires, earthquakes and floods to name a few disasters?
What next and how are we equipped, because natural disasters are so huge in size that our man made machinery and know how is no where near on the front foot to deal with this at a fast pace? Whole communities and towns are destroyed, as we have seen in the past and it takes years for those affected to get back to some kind of normality. It is well known how natural disasters, where extreme devastation occurs, affects the mental health of those that survived. Imagine the trauma of losing your home, your very foundation what we call the basic fundamental needs of human life.
So Dear World, what and how are we choosing to live every single day that may be having an affect on our weather?
What if every footstep we make that is not from our natural state leaves an imprint on mother earth and weather like rain comes and cleanses it and washes it away?
What if areas in the world need correction and that means bigger and more extreme conditions like floods and wildfires?
What if the corrections are needed to bring balance back to the planet as how we live takes away the naturalness, the harmony that is needed for all the cycles to work. In other words, our planet has cycles and we live in a way that takes it off sync and so the corrections are a form of adjustment?
We could dismiss the what if’s above or we could consider them now that scientists are saying that humans are creating and causing this.
We seem to be a long shot from the real answers, but without questioning how we are living and contributing to this plane of life, we can expect more of this un-natural freak weather and natural disasters.
In the past this type of stuff was quite rare and now it is almost daily reporting on the news. We hear of some natural disaster and before we know it things escalate and it just gets worse.
Is there a clue here ?
We are living very different to how our previous generations and ancestors lived, when there were very few natural disasters. Is this something we need to explore now as it may direct us to admit that our current way of living is not it, as it is causing more calamities on mother earth than ever before?
Mongabay News – 1 September 2021
https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/toxic-spill-at-angola-diamond-mine-pollutes-congo-river-tributary-in-drc/
August 2021 – a toxic spill from 3 diamond processing facilities polluted the Congo river.
The Kasai river had turned red and witnesses had seen bodies of hippos and dead fish.
Researchers are concerned about major consequences as there is a potential for lasting contamination of groundwater. The health of the people living on the banks of these rivers is also a danger.
The environment ministry reported over 400 people reported diarrhoea after using the contaminated water. 13 of the 18 province’s health districts have been affected, potentially exposing 950,000 people.
We can speculate or say that these are not actual facts and we need concrete evidence before this news story is taken seriously.
Regardless of our personal take – how about we question diamond mining, which is a multi multi billion dollar industry because we put them there. Yes we, people that want their bling or want to use their wealth to buy diamonds or those that save up and buy a precious stone to wear everyday or whatever our reason is. We have a demand that was created by us and we purchase, with little or no regard to how it actually got there and then on our finger, neck or wrist.
Our insatiable demand to want more more more is having a knock on effect and it’s high time we woke up and became aware that there is a real cost – a consequence to our choices. For example, we have a diamond ring or bracelet but it’s not enough and we want a necklace and earrings to match or we want another few items as they are rare, expensive and we can have it ‘because we deserve it’. So what’s the problem we could say?
No problem other than asking – how did it get here and what was involved?
We ought to have diamond mining documentaries aired out globally and used in school education so that we are exposed to the hazards and sheer dangers of what it involves for those that do the mining and the rest that are part of this huge industry. Then we can also see the impact on Mother Earth and the local inhabitants like the people who live on the banks of the river Congo, close to the diamond mines.
Insider – 15 September 2021
https://www.insider.com/beach-slain-dolphins-mass-hunt-footage-faroe-islands-2021-9
Video footage shows a sea of blood after 1,428 dolphins were killed in a traditional mass hunt in the Faroe Islands.
For those of us that don’t know these islands are between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The dolphins are driven into shallow waters and killed by hunters who stab the dolphins while they writhe on the beach. This is a hunting tradition that dates back hundreds of years. For the record these are remote islands but it is interesting that we are only now becoming aware of what goes on there.
The legal mass hunting takes place every summer and involves sea mammals like pilot whales and dolphins being killed by hand, using a knife or spinal lance. Their meat is harvested for human consumption.
Do we as humans really have the right to decide the fate of migrating whales and dolphins, knowing they belong to the animal kingdom and have their own evolutionary cycle here on the planet we share with them?
What if there is a purpose for these 2 animals mentioned?
We can all agree that there is something very playfull and Joy-full when we see a dolphin?
We may also agree that whales are like the biggest and most steady in our waters and have a purpose that we may not be aware of.
Campaigning, fighting and trying to vent our anger, frustration or absolute distress of what is going on in our world today, like this news story will get us nowhere. History has shown us this.
What if we start by simply saying SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT and bring this to the attention and awareness of the masses by writing about it, like this comment or talking about it in our everyday conversations? Bring it to the attention of social media – not with judgement or criticism but a “Did you know this?”. Then let the world as a collective make the decision on whether this age old practice benefits mankind in truth.
In the meantime, ponder on all the other ‘age old traditions’ that still get away with killing animals in the name of Sport Hunting.
Where is our Responsibility as humans as we are supposedly known as the most intelligent species on this planet?
How are we treating the Earth and all of its inhabitants and that includes animals?
Independent News – 14 January 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/elephants-sri-lankan-colombo-garbage-european-union-b1992984.html
In Sri Lanka 20 elephants have died after consuming plastic trash over the past 8 years.
Examinations show they had swallowed large amounts of nondegradable plastic found at the landfill site in eastern Sri Lanka.
Polythene, food wrappers, plastic and other non-digestibles were found in post mortems.
We know they have become an endangered species and elephants have become vulnerable because of the loss and degradation of their natural habitat. They venture out to human settlements in search of food and some are killed by poachers and some by farmers who are angry over damage to their crops.
According to officials, there are 54 waste sites in wildlife zones in the country.
Despite their large size and tough strong exterior, what we all know is that these animals are sensitive creatures and deserve their natural space on earth. However, we as a collective – a supposedly advanced intelligent species has interfered with our way of living. Yes we create the trash and never follow through with where is it going to end up.
Why are the public not demanding more from the authorities that govern and control our waste so that we can end something like this?
Our solutions continue to fail us as they never work because it never ever goes to address the root cause of the matter. Fixing the problem would be like a band aid to a bullet wound, so again this will not work. Blaming the government for cutting back on resources, ignoring our call for action and waiting for them is also not the answer.
We ALL as a world, need to take a look at our own individual waste and how we dispose of it.
Imagine if we ALL for one week changed our irresponsible ways when it comes to waste?
What would happen and what would the knock on effect be?
Worth Considering.
The Guardian – 21 January 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/21/nanoplastic-pollution-found-at-both-of-earths-poles-for-first-time
Nanoplastic Pollution found at both of Earth’s poles for the first time.
Tiny particles including tyre dust found in ice cores stretching back 50 years, showing global plastic contamination.
Nanoplastic pollution has been detected in polar regions for the first time, indicating that the tiny particles are now pervasive around the world.
Nanoparticles are smaller and more toxic than microplastics, which have already been found across the globe and the impact of both on human health is unknown.
Researchers were surprised to find that 25% of the particles were from vehicle tyres.
They are also surprised that nanoplastics were detected in the Greenland ice core, 14 metres deep, representing snowfall dating back to 1965.
In Greenland, 50% of the nanoplastics were polyethylene used in single use plastic bags and packaging, which is used in drinks bottles.
Nanoparticles are very light and thought to have travelled by winds blown from cities in North America and Asia.
We have a study alerting us to the fact that microplastics cause damage to human cells.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/08/microplastics-damage-human-cells-study-plastic
Dear World
While we all wait for more research to confirm what we now know is not necessary –
The question we ALL need to be asking is WHAT are we planning to do or not do?
Campaigning, jumping on the ‘poor planet got to save it’ band wagon is not needed.
What is needed is taking a look at our lifestyle choices with a big dose of honesty and wearing our Responsibility costume going forward.
Nothing else will change until we wear our outfit of Responsibility day in and day out. It is then that we can collectively discuss and bring about some much needed real change like what on earth are we going to do about single plastic use and car tyre particles?