The Ice Is Melting! – Quicker Shipping!

9th October 2007

I was somewhat dismayed after reading several recent bbc news articles, I’ve realized how focused on business and economy the word is really getting. Since the 1980’s, the northwest passage, which links the pacific ocean to the atlantic ocean via the north coast of canada has been getting clearer and clearer thanks to global warming.

So, why is it that the most important thing about this catastrophic melting seems to be ‘quicker’ and ‘cheaper’ shipping from and to the far-east?
Isn’t it disgusting that with such a huge climate problem, which could-well turn millions of people into refugees, is turned around into ‘good news’.

Will it really matter much that our already-cheap far-eastern made goods are now even cheaper, if we’re spending billions on aid for those who’ve had to abandon their homes due to huge shifts in climate?

Floods filling massive areas of previously populated areas such as along the gangees river. More hurricanes like Katrina. More heat-waves killing thousands.

But hey… our cheap electronic gadgets are now even cheaper right? – Awesome!

The arctic and antartic should be set as world heritage sites. The antartic is the largest desert on earth, and both the arctic and antartic are home to species which cannot simply relocate.

Our carbon emissions are actually fueling the problem even more. The more carbon we put in the air, the more the ice melts. The more the ice melts, the more we can move towards a true globalization and have even more goods transported huge distances. Costing more carbon.

We need to force huge taxes on large-engine cars. I mean, there really is no point to have a vehicle of over 2.0 litre engine capacity, it’s just overkill! Forcing more people to public transport, and educating people to buy locally made products is where our solutions truly lie.

Has the world gone mad to see this ice-melting as good news? – Will this mean cheaper product from the far-east? – No, just more money in companies’ pockets.
This situation is really stupid. We were put here (I believe) to be stewards of this planet. To look after it, and maintain it.

News like this should make us wake up and smell the carbon, not get all excited about quicker shipping.

No related posts.

Eric B.

I love the image. Of course for 2008 you need to just have two cloths pins holding nothing. :-)

Thanks for the great CI posts!

Abi

Hi, I thought I’d jump in on this and put in my thoughts, for what its worth (about tuppence I believe.)

There are loads of arguments for and against the whole global warming issue - is it a conspiracy? Isn’t it natural for there to be fluxes in the atmosphere? But the truth is I don’t know enough about it to start debating about whether it’s happening or not (it’s good to be balanced not biased).
Let’s face it, of course we all care, it’s just that doing stuff about caring isn’t always fun, in fact it’s pretty time consuming, often boring and we’ve all got *better* things to do with our time like having a life…

So, here are 5 really easy things you can do to help which take no time at all. And if you believe Al Gore or not, there are other reasons to do them too, it’s not just to save the fluffy little bear-cubs (however this is ALSO important as they make excellent coats for when fur makes its big comeback to the catwalk.)

Here we go…

1) Unplug anything that you’re not using… did you know that your phone charger still uses electricity if its in the socket even if your phone isn’t plugged into it? – That’s crazy! You’re getting charged for that! Save money!

2) Do your weekly shopping in a single trip… you’ll spend less AND save money on petrol. Or, better still (and if it’s not a crazy distance away) walk! Et voila! No need for that gym membership you hardly use anyway! You’ll work up a sweat (the ladies love that shit!) you’ll work on your ab’s and arms esp. if you’ve got the 6 packs of wife-beater in there - and don’t forget RE-USE the plastic bags! Re-cycling’ is HOT!*

*this is yet to be scientifically proven - but you will help save the world, so what’s the worst that could happen?

3) Buy low energy light bulbs… OK. They may be a bit more expensive and a bit dimmer (have you never heard of mood lighting?!) but they last for AGES and you can off-set the cost with all that money you’re saving by unplugging everything you’re not using – mmmm. Clever.

4) Turn down your heating / boiler by 2 degrees - jobs-a-good’n! You probably won’t even notice it that much, plus, if you do get cold think of all the fun you can have keeping warm – now that’s not an effort is it!

5) Put a brick in your cistern... it uses less water when you flush (unless you have one of those eco-loos, in which case, it’s probably best you don’t mess with a good thing) and plus just think of how manly you’ll feel doing something with bricks – there’s nothing that gets the testosterone pumping round the body like a good brick! I feel it; and last time I checked I was very much a woman. Ooooooh yeah baby, BRICKS!

Mmmm, well that’s it, there’s loads more but quite frankly I really should be working.

If you want to see more, check out www.crapattheenvironment.co.uk that’s quite groovy (other web sites are available) and I hope the picture works because I know nowt about computers! (I REALLY don’t belong here!)

Take care, love to your mothers!
Abi x

Elliot Haughin