When in the course of human events, it becomes evident that we have erred, it should be easy to change our ways and move on in light of our new awareness. The knowledge, for instance, that fly ash from coal burning power stations in the US have the same impact on public health as adding 100,000 new smokers to our population each year, might give us pause to reconsider the incredibly wasteful practices, energetically speaking, that we have become accustomed to. The insidious nature of so many ills that we face make it difficult to precisely quantify the damage that they create, or identify the populations that will most likely be affected by our dangerous behavior. No matter how difficult it may be, we must take stock of where we are if we are to take positive steps to eradicating many of the ills that now face society and individuals that we recognize as friends, neighbors and loved ones. I have been painfully aware of the impact of local business and industry practices on health since childhood because the Doctors in Green Bay identified my nearly constant bouts with strep throat as "Green Bay Throat". We lived along the river where many hundreds of tons of toxic compounds were released into the atmosphere each year and many hundreds of tons more were discharged into the river with no sewage treatment. Times have changed somewhat, but for the most part the poisoning continues, just at a lower rate. The last time I sat down with the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data, it came to four hundred tons of toxic compounds per year released within a two-mile radius of my house. This cannot be acceptable.
The whole crashing of the economy has coincided nicely with the realization, by many, that we are on a road to ruin as long as we do not make substantive changes to the ways business is done. Even John Adams recognized that there are only two ways to control a country, by military force or by debt. As long as we are told that there is no money for it, nothing has to change, ever. The current economic "uncertainty" is being caused by the wealthiest corporations in America holding their vast wealth out of circulation. As long as the outlook is allowed to be dictated by the 500 wealthiest corporations, nothing ever has to change. Even getting an idea of how many products and services fall under the dominion of those largest corporate entities can be difficult. What we all need to realize, however, is that without income from our spending, these corporations would have to dip into their money stash in order to keep up appearances for their stock holders. The nuclear energy industry has received hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare and yet, they are currently leaving the US taxpayers on the hook for their waste disposal which will be a very real cost for tens of thousands of years. But, hey, we all like the power that arrives with the flick of a switch, so the corporations asses are covered if we begin to complain too loudly, or even if we start asking too many questions.
So too, the Monsanto's of the world operate with relatively little regulation and a knowing wink from the government as they fleece the American Farmer and tell them that they are just not working hard enough, that's why they are failing in droves. With all the land coming on the market, look at who is buying. It is not unusual to have corporate farms as the largest land owners in any county that has arable land. a friend in New Zealand told me that anyone owning over twenty acres there has to have a part time land manager, someone with degrees in wildlife biology, forestry and hydrology. When your holdings go over 100 acres, you need a full time land manager and a conservation plan on file with local officials who can review it at any time. If we are to regain the high ground morally, ethically and spiritually, it will require us to relinquish our attitude that somehow freedom equates to doing whatever we want without responsibility or consequence. It makes me sick to think of the time we spend defending the ultra wealthy,no matter how vile their actions, yet when a small act of kindness, or heroism takes place, we often look with suspicion at the person who did the right thing, without thought of being paid back or how it might affect their "bottom line".
One thing is for sure, when you let go of the past, something good will come along to fill it's place.
The whole crashing of the economy has coincided nicely with the realization, by many, that we are on a road to ruin as long as we do not make substantive changes to the ways business is done. Even John Adams recognized that there are only two ways to control a country, by military force or by debt. As long as we are told that there is no money for it, nothing has to change, ever. The current economic "uncertainty" is being caused by the wealthiest corporations in America holding their vast wealth out of circulation. As long as the outlook is allowed to be dictated by the 500 wealthiest corporations, nothing ever has to change. Even getting an idea of how many products and services fall under the dominion of those largest corporate entities can be difficult. What we all need to realize, however, is that without income from our spending, these corporations would have to dip into their money stash in order to keep up appearances for their stock holders. The nuclear energy industry has received hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare and yet, they are currently leaving the US taxpayers on the hook for their waste disposal which will be a very real cost for tens of thousands of years. But, hey, we all like the power that arrives with the flick of a switch, so the corporations asses are covered if we begin to complain too loudly, or even if we start asking too many questions.
So too, the Monsanto's of the world operate with relatively little regulation and a knowing wink from the government as they fleece the American Farmer and tell them that they are just not working hard enough, that's why they are failing in droves. With all the land coming on the market, look at who is buying. It is not unusual to have corporate farms as the largest land owners in any county that has arable land. a friend in New Zealand told me that anyone owning over twenty acres there has to have a part time land manager, someone with degrees in wildlife biology, forestry and hydrology. When your holdings go over 100 acres, you need a full time land manager and a conservation plan on file with local officials who can review it at any time. If we are to regain the high ground morally, ethically and spiritually, it will require us to relinquish our attitude that somehow freedom equates to doing whatever we want without responsibility or consequence. It makes me sick to think of the time we spend defending the ultra wealthy,no matter how vile their actions, yet when a small act of kindness, or heroism takes place, we often look with suspicion at the person who did the right thing, without thought of being paid back or how it might affect their "bottom line".
One thing is for sure, when you let go of the past, something good will come along to fill it's place.
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