November 17, 2009
Vertical Secession
We commonly think of secession as a horizontal, territorial phenomenon –
The secession of the United States from Britain (1776),
Belgium from the Netherlands (1831), Pakistan from India (1947),
Bangladesh from Pakistan (1971).
But secession can also have a vertical direction,
As when a tiny, upper layer of the population
Stops belonging to the planet which most of us inhabit.
They are embedded in their own world, within gated communities
And private schools, using filtered water and filtered ideas.
I do not mean that they live amid the necessary illusions
To which wage-workers retreat after 8-hour days of functioning
As machines, the buttons of which are controlled by another.
Sports, pornography, celebrities, images of violence, and self-help advice provide
Indispensable relief for lives
dependent on exploitative, profit-driven employers. 1
I mean rather that the elite live within a matrix of illusions sealed off from
The massive pain, misery, frustration, anger and despair experienced by most of humanity.
They live in a self-contained fantasy world, its edges only needing securing –
By means of security guards, prisons cells, “defense shields,” prolonged “drug wars,”
Myths of “No Alternative,” unmanned drones, and occasional invasions of other countries.
Indian author Arundhati Roy explains how to reach this tranquility:
“You only have to close your ears to the
sickening crunch of the policeman’s boot on someone’s ribs, you only have to raise
your eyes from the squalor, the slums, the ragged, broken people on the
streets, and seek a friendly TV monitor, and you will be in that other
beautiful world . . . [You can then]
switch off the poor, the troublesome, the unwanted.” 2
It is not a problem if global warming promises chaos for millions.
The earth can be “shaded” from the sun. The “Pinatubo option”
(Named after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, in the Philippines,
Which injected 17 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere)
Would only cost $100 billion dollars a year, and can be implemented unilaterally. 3
Glaciers may be melting, threatening the lives of billions
Who depend on them for part or all of their water needs,
But artificial snow will come to the rescue of serene skiers:
“[Artificial snow] is thicker and firmer,
and, therefore, better for carving,”
Says Ulrich Strasser, Geographer at Ludwig Maximilian University, in Munich. 4
Just when large parts of the earth are likely soon to turn into deserts,
As if by miracle, water has been discovered on the moon:
“[We found] a significant amount of water .
. . We are ecstatic . . .
Along with water, there are hints of other
intriguing substances,”
Says Anthony Colaprete, Principal Investigator of the NASA LCROSS mission. 5
And if natural trees are unable to “restitute” our atmosphere, rapidly being “enriched”
With carbon dioxide by the well-heeled, there are artificial ones:
“These
synthetic trees are about a thousand times faster in collecting carbon dioxide
from the wind passing over them than their natural counterpart,”
Says Klaus Lackner, Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering
at Columbia University. 6
In any case, it is a waste of water to let rivers empty into
the ocean.
Dry countries can convert their rivers into a set canals
which never reach the sea,
Says B. N. Kirpal, Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court,
who, in 2002, ordered
The Government to interlink India’s rivers – much like a
railway or road network.
The project is being implemented, with 2012 as its target
date for completion. 7
Let us not forget that extracting oil from the ground is a
green activity.
As carbon dioxide is injected into aging oil fields to
enhance extraction,
Companies claim carbon offsets, highly lucrative in “cap-and-trade”
systems:
“The
process currently enables oil companies to make money out of storing CO2,”
Says the Climate Change Corporation, which counsels
businesses around the world. 8
And, surely, if anti-personnel land mines make natural limbs
scarce in Africa,
The Middle East and Central Asia, artificial ones can be
produced cheaply and efficiently,
With re-cycled materials, using renewable sources of energy,
At bargain prices for two or more limbs, with satisfaction
or money back guarantee,
Economies of scale, and the creation of new jobs for the
starving to boot. 9
. . .
When the witches said to Macbeth:
“Macbeth
shall never vanquished be
Until
Great Burnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall
come against him.”
Macbeth answered:
“That
will never be.
Who
can impress the forest,
Bid
the tree unfix his earth-bound root?” 10
But the trees did move.
And now also, they are moving. Plant, animal and insect species
Are migrating pole-ward at an average of 0.6 kilometers a
year –
Too slow for survival.
Climatic zones are moving pole-ward at 4.0 kilometers a year.
11
. . .
In 1,500 B.C.E., the ancients who spoke Sanskrit greeted
each other with
“Namaste”
[There is no mind (nothing) between us].
How foreign the concept!
References
1. Hedges, Chris. 2009. Empire of illusion – the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle. New York, N.Y.: Nation Books.
[See particularly Chapter I (“The Illusion of Literacy”), Chapter II (“The Illusion of Love”), and Chapter IV (the Illusion of Happiness)].
2. Roy, Arundhati. 2009. Field notes on democracy – listening to grasshoppers. Chicago, IL: Haymarket. Quote page 56.
Hedges, Chris. 2009. Empire of illusion – the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle. New York, N.Y.: Nation Books.
[See particularly Chapter III (“The Illusion of Wisdom”)].
3. Hall, Francoise. 2009b. “Killing Life – while possessing the Freedom to choose. September 16 (113 pages, unpublished). Pages 51 and 54. (This is the summary of several sources).
4. Spiegel Online International, 2008. “A slippery Slope – Artificial Snow harming Alpine Environment, Researchers warn.” (Holger Dambeck). Vienna, Austria. April 18. Pages 1-2.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,548104,00.html. Accessed November 12, 2009.
5. Brisbane Times, 2009. “NASA finds Water on the Moon.” November 14.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/sci-tech/nasa. Accessed November 14, 2009. Pages 1-3.
6. United Kingdom Government, 2009. Engineering – turning ideas into reality.
Chapter 4: “Geo-engineering – a new Policy Area.” House of Commons, March. Page
6.
http://www.public. Accessed October 10,
2009.
http://royalsociety.org/news.asp?id=8085
(Reference given by Wikipedia 2009 “Geo-engineering,” pp. 4 and 17).
Summarized in Hall, Francoise. 2009b. “Killing Life – while possessing the Freedom to choose. September 16 (113 pages, unpublished). Page 62.
7. Roy, Arundhati. 2009. Field notes on democracy – listening to grasshoppers. Chicago, IL: Haymarket. Pages 7-8.
Mirza, M. Monirul Qader, Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, and Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Editors. 2008. The interlinking of rivers in India – issues and concerns. Boca Raton, FL: Informa/Taylor & Francis Group/CRC. Pages 5-8.
(In order to achieve the desired results, it is necessary to transfer 334 billion cubic meters of water through 30 constructed inter-river links, 36 big dams, 94 tunnels, and 10,876 kilometers of canals).
Dayafterindia. Undated. “River Network by 2012.” (Arabinda Ghose).
http://www.dayafterindia.com/dec2/river.html. Accessed November 17, 2009. Pages 1-3.
8. ClimateChangeCorp,
2007. “Carbon Capture – Geology’s
Answer to the Climate Conundrum.” (News desk). London, UK. May 6.
http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4791.
Accessed October 7, 2009. Page 1.
Undated. “ClimateChangeCorp.com.”
London, UK.
http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4790.
Accessed October 14, 2009.
(The Climate Change Corporation is an
independent news website which provides news and analyses on climate change to
companies around the world).
The above two sources summarized in Francoise Hall, 2009b. “Killing Life – while possessing the Freedom to choose. September 16 (113 pages, unpublished). Page 59.
9. Columbia International Affairs Online, 2000. “Landmines – Africa’s Stake, global Initiatives.” (Africa Policy Information Center, Background Paper, April 1997). September.
http://www.ciao. Accessed November 17, 2009. Pages 1-9.
(Columbia International Affairs Online is a collaborative effort of the Columbia University libraries and Columbia University Press, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation).
de Smet, Johan and Meynadier, Jacques. 1998. “Pain and Rehabilitation from Landmine Injury.” Pain – Clinical Updates, Volume VI, Issue 2. July. (International Association for the Study of Pain).
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:nj4XQknI0VMJ: Accessed November 18, 2009. Pages 1-9.
James, Cassandra. 2008. “Cambodia’s Landmine Tragedy – Cambodia has almost 50,000 Amputees, their Limbs blown off by Landmines.” Associated Content. January 29.
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:uTSocPZJg-QJ: www.asso. Accessed November 18, 2009.
(Associated Content is an online publisher and distributor of original content. It enables anyone to publish on any topic, pays them for their work, and distributes it through its website and content partners).
jonieu.wordpress.com. 2009. “Unchained Sorrow – Landmines.” June 29. Page 1.
http//jonieu.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/landmines. Accessed November 18, 2009.
(Jonieu is the website of the private individual, “Jonie U.”).
United Nations, 1999. Human Development Report 1999. United Nations Development Programme. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University. (Page 200: Population of Angola, 1997: 11.7 million).
United Nations, 2007. Human Development Report 2007/2008. United Nations Development Programme. New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan. (Page 245: Population of Cambodia, 2005: 14.0 million).
Summary from the six above References: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 1997, there were more than 100 million anti-personnel landmines scattered around the globe.
These mines were causing an estimated 15,000 deaths and 22,500 injuries per year – a total of 37,500 casualties per year. Of these casualties, 80 percent were civilian.
At the current rate of removal, it will require more than 1,000 years to remove the 100 million landmines now in the ground globally. Yet, for every mine cleared (at a cost of $300 each), 20 are being laid (at a cost of $3 each).
Landmines are increasingly becoming cheaper, harder to detect, easier to disseminate, and more effective in killing and maiming.
As of 2008, 54 countries retained stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines, totaling between them 180 million mines.
Africa: In 1993, Africa was the most heavily mined region in the world, with 18-30 million mines scattered in 18 of its countries. Worldwide, of the 17 countries most heavily mined, 7 were in Africa. Angola was the most severely affected, with an estimate of 9-20 million mines, and 100,000 amputees – one amputee per 117 inhabitants. Next was Mozambique, with one million mines (7 mines per square mile). Next were four countries in the Horn of Africa – Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan, with 0.5 to one million mines each. Rwanda had 250,000 mines. Western Sahara and Liberia also had significant numbers of mines.
The Middle East: The Middle East was the next most heavily mined region.
Central Asia: Central Asia was the next most heavily mined region
(particularly Afghanistan, with 40 mines per square mile).
East Asia: East Asia was next [particularly Cambodia, with 6 million mines (142 mines per square mile), and 50,000 amputees – one amputee per 290 inhabitants, one of the highest rates in the world; and Vietnam].
Europe: In Europe, Yugoslavia was the most mined country, Bosnia having 152 mines per square mile.
10. Shakespeare (1554-1616), “Macbeth” (1623, posthumously). Quoted in Roy, Arundhati. 2009. Field notes on democracy – listening to grasshoppers. Chicago, IL: Haymarket. Pages 207-208.
11. Hall, Francoise. 2009a. “Global Warming – pre-Copenhagen.” June 21 (108 pages, unpublished). Page 52. This is the summary of several sources.
(During the period 1950-2000, 1,700 plant, animal and insect species migrated pole-ward at an average rate of 0.6 kilometers (0.4 miles) per year. This is painfully slow compared to the movement of isotherms (lines of average temperature, a measure of climatic zones). During the period 1975-2005, isotherms moved pole-ward at about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) per year).
***