Disasters Leading to More Disasters

1997

Published in:

Technocracy Digest, 2nd quarter 1997, No. 324

The following is a list of what is fearful to contemplate -- these headlines and stories, available for everyone to read -- were all recounted by Canadian and U.S. newspapers and other media, in 1996/1997, which, when all added up, spell DISASTER. No need for any of this.

U.S. has worst murder rate for children in industrialized world.

Nation's capital, Washington, D.C., becoming forsaken city. Homeless wander the streets; school buildings fall apart for lack of funding; crime rate soars as people gunned down in the streets. City bankrupt. Deterioration a sample of things to come.

Going Dry -- Asian countries. Regions running short of water while population grows. Desalination is energy-intensive and expensive to buy. The same shortages apply to other countries, many of whom depend on neighboring countries' rivers which are also going to be short of water. Future wars fought over water?

Troubled Waters. For British Columbians, the Fraser River is a geographical fact of life. ``The river's treasures have been overharvested and contaminants washed into the Fraser from mills, farms, homes, and streets, causing serious damage.''

Even in British Columbia, the environment takes second place. Five years after Earth Watch, the world is a dirtier, uglier place.

Japanese mosquitos' arrival raises risk of disease spread. Scientists worry that global warming will allow virus-carrying insects and rodents to multiply.

Weapon of Doom or Instrument of Peace? About the book Angels Don't Play this HAARP. Modern misuse of space age technology. Disturbing uses to which this advanced technology can be applied by its present masters, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. HAAARP Research Station, Gakona, Alaska. The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program....``aims to learn how to exploit the ionosphere for Department of Defense purposes.''

Rare moose herd in peril -- white moose which locals in Northern Ontario worry that time may be runnning out for them. A herd of five had been seen roaming nearby since 1990. But this year three have been killed by freight trains, including a cow and her calf.

Common sense and increasing scientific evidence say all grizzly hunting should be stopped. Grizzly, now classified as vulnerable.

With several herds in danger, the need to study the Beluga whale is becoming more pressing. According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, belugas living in the St. Lawrence River, Ungava Bay and southeastern Baffin-Cumberland Sound are all endangered, meaning that they are threatened with imminent extinction.

Flooded Nechako River puts beavers at risk. Residents say poor management endangers the rodents. Caused by unusually high releases of water from Alcan's Kenney Dam reservoir, local residents say.

More ocean creatures to join endangered species.

Owls are expendable so golfers can play.

Scientists attack animal-protection act. A letter from 300 scientists deems the proposed Canadian Federal Endangered Species Act `weak and ineffective.'

Global Village -- Famine with all the trimmings. Movement aims to erase poverty with tiny loans. (Ed. That's going to be able to ``do it'' for the masses of starving people?)

Cash crunch has millions living in fear -- Poll finds a third of U.S. population in a constant scramble to pay their basic expenses.

The Fraser Institute's 5-year plan to influence the media -- and you. The plan was leaked to the media. ``Not meant for public consumption,'' said its executive director, Michael Walker. The Fraser Institute is usually described as a right-wing think-tank. ``It is the special interest group of choice, the mouthpiece, for corporate interests that crave deregulation, low taxes and lower public spending in every sphere of Canadian life. Relies on substantial corporate sponsorship from Canadian and multinational firms and boasts of its remarkable influence in Ottawa, in every provincial capital and in the national media.'' ``A central focus of our program during the next five years will be the expansion of our penetration of the national media,'' writes Walker.....(See further article in this magazine on the subject: Information Sources.

Feeding the multitudes. The future of the world hinges, above all, on whether or not we can curb, and then stop, the world's terrifying population explosion, which is ruining any chances there might have been of raising living standards in the great majority of poorer countries.

Immigration policies (of Canada) show a rate of diminishing returns. Not based on our capacity to absorb that flow.

Will our society survive corporate callousness? Ethics becomes a growth industry for the '90s. (Ed. One group can be callous and the other can try to make them become ethical -- and they both can make money.)

Bankrupcies soar in British Columbia. Largely personal debts. Economy on verge of collapse, reminiscent of the Great Depression, set off by improper bank speculation and misguided attempts to address the debt and deficit through downsizing. (Ed. Not the real reason for collapse. It has always been the obsolete Price System.)

The rich -- who happen also to be the politically powerful -- no longer need the poor. Nor do the rich need the poor for staying rich or getting richer -- in fact they reckon they would be better off if the poor weren't there at all, making claims on their riches. Neither are they consumers who must be tempted and cajoled into `giving the lead to economic recovery.' Whichever way you look at it, the poor are of no use.

Efforts to cut greenhouse gases failed in British Columbia.

Scientific lobby fails to keep Chalk River accelerator open. The head of research at the facility estimates five per cent of $70-million worth of equipment can be salvaged. Canada's atom accelerator, which attracted nuclear physicists from all over the world, is dead.

Corrosion plagues Candu reactors. The pipes in the hearts of several nuclear plants, including some of those sold to other countries, are wearing thin.

COMMENTARY:

Everyone must have been reading accounts of what steps have been taken, or what steps could be taken, to alleviate, or cure, or cease, all or many of the above problems. Many books are being written, all with a band-aid idea that would never solve anything -- in place of downsizing: Four-day weeks? Half-day work? Internet the salvation? Another example: the Fraser River, an author says, could be brought back to health because NOW people have been made aware of it.

However, the amount of money needed to clean up this river, along with all the other rivers, plus the landscapes, the air and the soil, would be astronomical, and just not possible under a Price System. None of the remedies suggested, or ideas, for any of these problems, laudable though they may be, stand up to scientific scrutiny as to their feasibility.

Technocracy, Technological Social Design does. It is the only system we know of that could possibly work. We are talking about an entirely new social system without money or political interference. Stand that up to your scientific scrutiny.