STUPID or Not Stupid? The Age of STUPID (Worldwide event!)

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Message 931913 - Posted: 8 Sep 2009, 10:32:27 UTC
Last modified: 8 Sep 2009, 10:34:05 UTC

We've had the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Industrial Revolution.

Now we have:

The Age of STUPID

At a cinema near you. And all around you at present!

On September 21st / 22nd, on the eve of the UN General Assembly's climate session, The Age of Stupid will be launched internationally at the biggest simultaneous film event the world has ever seen*. We're planning a solar-powered cinema tent in downtown New York, linked by satellite to 700+ cinemas in 40+ countries...


It's your world.

Regards,
Martin


* Disclaimer: Probably the biggest, but hey, this is a "big first"! :-)

Disclaimer 2: I have nothing to do with the organisers!
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Message 931959 - Posted: 8 Sep 2009, 20:08:43 UTC

I may have to go watch this film


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Message 932185 - Posted: 10 Sep 2009, 1:28:15 UTC

One of my old favorite late night talk show hosts (now deceased) had a saying:

You can't fix stupid.
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Message 932218 - Posted: 10 Sep 2009, 5:24:20 UTC - in response to Message 932185.  

One of my old favorite late night talk show hosts (now deceased) had a saying:

You can't fix stupid.

That's what consultants are for.
me@rescam.org
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Message 932308 - Posted: 10 Sep 2009, 19:27:01 UTC
Last modified: 10 Sep 2009, 19:45:53 UTC

Another film very much worth watching is:

The End of The Line


Is a world without fish possible?

The Canadian farce with the Grand Banks and the consequent very rapid collapse of ALL the main fish stocks there (briefer summary here) looks set to happen elsewhere in the world.

Perhaps in that instance, the Canadians were the first to be "Stupid". Have we recklessly learnt nothing from that disaster? (Note that the fish there have not returned. You can't get any new baby fish from zero adult fish!)


See also various comments from Sea Shepherd:

(Note that some of the commentaries and articles are highly impassioned from someone that is very level headed but also very much on the "front line"...)


We Need to Stop Eating the Oceans
Today's industrial fishermen operate multi-million dollar vessels equipped with complex and expensive technological gear designed to hunt down and catch every fish they can find.

One manufacturer of electronic fish locators (Rayethon) even boasts that with their product, "the fish can run but they can't hide."



Sea Shepherd Sets Sights on a Mediterranean Campaign
Because of the avarice of companies like Nobu and Mitsubishi, worldwide populations of bluefin have been reduced by 90%, perhaps more.


What Will Happen to Us When the Oceans Die?
Once carbon dioxide hits the levels predicted for between 2030 and 2060, all the world’s coral reefs will be doomed to extinction… They would be the world’s first global ecosystem to collapse. I have the backing of every coral reef scientist, every research organization. I’ve spoken to them all. This is critical. This is reality. ...

What the great majority of people do not understand is this: unless we stop the degradation of our oceans, marine ecological systems will begin collapsing and when enough of them fail, the oceans will die.

And if the oceans die, then civilization collapses and we all die.

It’s as simple as that, and the choice is between committing mindless mass collective suicide i.e. the ultimate total homicide or standing up and fighting for survival.



Fish Farming in British Columbia- Destroying the Wild Salmon
It's not often one gets the chance to read a classical presentation but here is one. If you never read another word on fish farms please read this from two of the most eminent fish biologists in the nation, both of whom relate what has happened to our salmon fishery under the care of our governments, especially the federal department of fisheries and oceans.


Dr. Alexandra Morton Calls for Canadian Fisheries Minister's Resignation
On August 26 you sent duplicate letters to many people dismissing the impact of salmon farms on British Columbia. I can only imagine the response to collapse of the world's largest sockeye salmon river, the Fraser River, has come directly from Ottawa. Your letter provides stark insight into the Federal Conservative government's course of action.



So what next other than roll over and die or sink and drown?...

Regards,
Martin
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Message 934226 - Posted: 18 Sep 2009, 10:54:06 UTC - in response to Message 932308.  
Last modified: 18 Sep 2009, 10:55:45 UTC

Another film very much worth watching is:

The End of The Line


Is a world without fish possible?


[...]

Sea Shepherd Sets Sights on a Mediterranean Campaign
Because of the avarice of companies like Nobu and Mitsubishi, worldwide populations of bluefin have been reduced by 90%, perhaps more.

Some recent news on that one:

Measures to protect Mediterranean tuna are failing, report warns
... "This report speaks of the real situation of the fishery, more than any paper measures that remain largely unapplied. It is evident that the bluefin tuna fishery in the Mediterranean is still entirely out of control and illegal fishing continues unabated. Management measures adopted for the fishery are not only well below the standards requested by urgent scientific advice, but even so they are not even implemented in the field."...

Note: No young tuna in the Mediterranean means that there will be no mature tuna in the Atlantic... Yet another Grand Banks fiasco proceeding unabated?...

Very selfishly STUPID.

Regards,
Martin
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Message 934231 - Posted: 18 Sep 2009, 11:13:18 UTC - in response to Message 931913.  

We've had the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Industrial Revolution.

Now we have:

The Age of STUPID

At a cinema near you. And all around you at present!

On September 21st / 22nd, on the eve of the UN General Assembly's climate session, The Age of Stupid will be launched internationally at the biggest simultaneous film event the world has ever seen*. We're planning a solar-powered cinema tent in downtown New York, linked by satellite to 700+ cinemas in 40+ countries...


It's your world.

Regards,
Martin


* Disclaimer: Probably the biggest, but hey, this is a "big first"! :-)

Disclaimer 2: I have nothing to do with the organisers!


Almost 4 million Kenyans on food aid as drought deepens
Pictures of hundreds of cow carcasses being tipped into a mass grave near Nairobi highlight the scale of the natural disaster

...And that is just one (small) example of a small shift in the rain patterns and 'stupid'.

Regards,
Martin


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Message 935822 - Posted: 25 Sep 2009, 14:11:03 UTC
Last modified: 25 Sep 2009, 14:12:17 UTC

Hopefully the first signs of not-so-stupid?

The Global Wake-Up Call Is here!

On 21 September 2009, at more than 2600 events in 135 countries across the globe, we joined together to issue a deafening wake-up call to world leaders on climate change. The breadth and creativity of events is breathtaking, and our message broke through...

...together, we can keep it all going. This is just the beginning!



Stupid or not stupid?

Regards,
Martin
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Message 936979 - Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 20:52:35 UTC

A few positive technological ideas and developments that might just help, "if"...

Better world: Top tech for a cleaner planet

Regards,
Martin


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Message 936982 - Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 21:00:02 UTC - in response to Message 935822.  

Hopefully the first signs of not-so-stupid?

The Global Wake-Up Call Is here!

[...]

Stupid or not stupid?

And valiant efforts from another well known group:

Stop the Tar Sands


That's as good a place as any to make a start!

Regards,
Martin

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Message 937945 - Posted: 6 Oct 2009, 12:49:49 UTC

This has just got to be added to the list of irresponsibly blinkered and stupid:

Clarkson plays down dung dumping

... And he makes a lot of money out of what he says...

Regards,
Martin

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Message 939407 - Posted: 12 Oct 2009, 17:39:14 UTC

A call and some good action?

350 [ppm]


Politics? Or physics? Or The People?

It's your choice for our world.

Regards,
Martin

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Message 939568 - Posted: 13 Oct 2009, 5:29:33 UTC

Our Ocean Wonderland


N = R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
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Message 948244 - Posted: 19 Nov 2009, 15:14:12 UTC

See: tcktcktck.org

Copenhagen will be a turning point or a disastrous political quagmire until we start getting hit by the greater disasters from various climate tipping points...


It's our planet.

Regards,
Martin
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Message 948281 - Posted: 19 Nov 2009, 16:53:26 UTC
Last modified: 19 Nov 2009, 16:53:42 UTC

The politically possible: How to achieve success in Copenhagen

* Negotiators preparing for Copenhagen need to do two things if they hope to achieve comprehensive participation in a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol.

* First, they should pursue a set of multilaterally agreed-upon guidelines for countries that want to adopt import tariffs or other border measures against non-participating competitors.

* Second, they should agree on a specific mechanism for setting the actual numbers that future participants in a Copenhagen Protocol can adopt as their targets for greenhouse gas emissions.



There's going to be a lot of hot air generated to thrash out a plausible deal. Let's hope the reality pressures are real enough to make the breakthroughs...

Regards,
Martin
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Message 949308 - Posted: 23 Nov 2009, 19:53:31 UTC
Last modified: 23 Nov 2009, 19:58:03 UTC

Their Voices Must Be Heard

With the biggest climate summit in history just weeks away, leaders are backing off their promises for a deal to stop catastrophic climate change.

If they fail, it won't just mean less snow on ski slopes. Millions of families in Africa will see their farms turn to dust as the desert advances, many in Asia will die in worsening floods and storms, and whole island nations will be threatened by rising seas -- all within 10-15 years.

The climate issue can get lost in statistics. But at critical moments, voices of moral authority can cut through the noise.

So Avaaz is launching a critical effort to build the capacity of negotiating teams from vulnerable islands like Nauru and Palau at the Copenhagen climate talks -- and gearing up to support their message with intensive on-the-ground advocacy for a strong treaty. Even a contribution of $15US/€10 can cover photocopying for a press conference -- and more is needed for airfare, food, and training materials ... please chip in what you can:

Their Voices Must Be Heard

We know the power of voices from the front lines climate change. At the climate summit in Bali two years ago, a stunning speech by the negotiator from Papua New Guinea pushed the US to relent -- breaking a critical deadlock and rescuing the talks from collapse in the final hours. Island states continue to lead the world -- demanding bold action where others are timid.

The problem is that Europe, Canada, and the US typically send dozens of negotiators and support staff to these summits -- while most small island states have trouble sending more than two or three delegates. Multiple negotiations happen simultaneously. If a country has a tiny delegation, it literally has no seat at the table as decisions are made that will determine its survival.

What happens first to islands will one day happen to us all. We need the voices of island leaders in Copenhagen. And if each of us donates, even a small amount, we can help ensure that they will be heard -- at the climate talks and around the world. Let's do our part.

The time has come to stand with our brothers and sisters at the front lines of climate change. Their fight, and their fate, is ours as well.

With hope,

Ben, Taren, Iain, Sam, Ricken, Alice, Milena, Paul, Luis, Julius, and the whole Avaaz team



For families living in small, low-lying island states, a fair, ambitious and binding global climate treaty is necessary for their countries' very survival.


Their Voices Must Be Heard



Stupid or not stupid?

Regards,
Martin
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Message 949474 - Posted: 24 Nov 2009, 13:05:02 UTC
Last modified: 24 Nov 2009, 13:05:43 UTC

Does Marketing know no bounds? Or do they consider everyone Stupid?

Climate change denial adverts


An interesting human view is given in:

... a fascinating, if chilling, insight into human psychology

... Almost all my fiercest arguments over climate change, both in print and in person, have been with people in their 60s or 70s. Why might this be?

There are some obvious answers: they won't be around to see the results; they were brought up in a period of technological optimism; they feel entitled, having worked all their lives, to fly or cruise to wherever they wish. But there might also be a less intuitive reason, which shines a light into a fascinating corner of human psychology.



All very stupid?

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Message 949737 - Posted: 25 Nov 2009, 16:41:35 UTC - in response to Message 949308.  
Last modified: 25 Nov 2009, 16:42:23 UTC

Climate destroyer shut down by activists in Indonesian rainforest ahead of Copenhagen Climate Summit

With just 12 days before the critical UN Copenhagen Climate Summit, we are taking direct action again today - blocking one of the world's largest pulp mills, in the heart of Indonesia's rainforests. The export facilities have been shutdown by our activists for 9 hours already.


Rising sea levels: A tale of two cities (Introduction)

Rising sea levels: A tale of two cities (Maputo)

Rising sea levels: A tale of two cities (Rotterdam)

Rising sea levels: A tale of two cities (Adaptation)

When people talk about the impact of rising sea levels, they often think of small island states that risk being submerged if global warming continues unchecked.

But it's not only those on low-lying islands who are in danger. Millions of people live by the sea - and are dependent on it for their livelihoods - and many of the world's largest cities are on the coast.




For families living in small, low-lying island states, a fair, ambitious and binding global climate treaty is necessary for their countries' very survival.

Their Voices Must Be Heard




Stupid or not stupid?

Regards,
Martin
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Message 957081 - Posted: 18 Dec 2009, 10:58:20 UTC
Last modified: 18 Dec 2009, 11:11:23 UTC

The meetings in Copenhagen needs help urgently.

Hopefully, the various world leaders are feeling the heat a little but it looks like more 'help' is needed and every petition entry counts. Hopefully to stir a real and useful result.

If you have not done so already, please go to tcktcktck to sign the petition requesting the World Leaders to sign a Global Climate Deal.

There's big petitions also from Avaaz and Greenpeace pushing for a useful result from the Copenhagen meeting:

Avaaz: Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!

and (the same petition?) from Greenpeace:

Greenpeace: Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!


The people at 350ppm are somewhat more scathing of progress so far at the talks:

Diagnosis: INADEQUATE

The presently negotiated 770ppm from the talks is way way OTT and goes far beyond "stupid"! Even for the most entrenched denialists...


We certainly need a clear and useful deal now rather than further political malaise and procrastination!

It is our only world.

Regards,
Martin
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Message 957147 - Posted: 18 Dec 2009, 17:08:05 UTC - in response to Message 957081.  

The meetings in Copenhagen needs help urgently.


Indeed so!

... time is running out to strike a deal at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

Addressing the summit on Friday, President Obama said: "While the science of climate change is not in doubt, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now, and it hangs in the balance."

He said he had come to Copenhagen "not to talk, but to act".

Unchecked, he said, climate change would pose "unacceptable risks" to international security, the world economy and the planet.


Other descriptive terms in there are "shambles" and "huge effort"...


Silly to trash the Earth for the sake of political brinkmanship.

... Except in this case it is far too late to back paddle once you're over the edge of the waterfall.


Hopefully, the various world leaders are feeling the heat a little but it looks like more 'help' is needed and every petition entry counts. Hopefully to stir a real and useful result.

If you have not done so already, please go to tcktcktck to sign the petition requesting the World Leaders to sign a Global Climate Deal.

There's big petitions also from Avaaz and Greenpeace pushing for a useful result from the Copenhagen meeting:

Avaaz: Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!

and (the same petition?) from Greenpeace:

Greenpeace: Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!


The people at 350ppm are somewhat more scathing of progress so far at the talks:

Diagnosis: INADEQUATE

The presently negotiated 770ppm from the talks is way way OTT and goes far beyond "stupid"! Even for the most entrenched denialists...


We certainly need a clear and useful deal now rather than further political malaise and procrastination!

It is our only world.


And so far it is all looking very stupid.

Regards,
Martin

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Message boards : Politics : STUPID or Not Stupid? The Age of STUPID (Worldwide event!)


 
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