In Denial: We Pursue Endless Growth At Our Peril

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How NATO Deliberately Destroyed Libya's Water Infrastructure
By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed

The military targeting of civilian infrastructure, especially of water supplies, is a war crime under international law and the Geneva Conventions.

 

Yet this is what NATO did in Libya, and the results have worsened today.

Numerous reports comment on the water crisis that is escalating across Libya as consumption outpaces production. Some have noted the environmental context in regional water scarcity due to climate change.

But what they ignore is the fact that the complex national irrigation system that had been carefully built and maintained over decades to overcome this problem was targeted and disrupted by NATO.

 

During the 2011 military invasion, press reports surfaced, mostly citing pro-rebel sources, claiming that pro-Gaddafi loyalists had shut down the water supply system as a mechanism to win the war and punish civilians.

This is a lie.

But truth, after all, is the first casualty of war…

 

Critical water installations were bombed [by NATO] - then blamed on Gaddafi

For me (an INFJ) the significance of this type of article (and the hundreds like it) is that is cast light on the minds and hearts of the military leadership:

 

1.  We can observe their modus operandi

2.  The moral developmental level that they are coming from (what do they hold sacred, what principles guide their actions)

 

3.   Which permits some educated guesses about what kinds of actions to expect in the future.

When "the heart" of a person is known,  we can have a pretty good idea what they are up to. This is similar to the brilliant and intuitive detective (Sherlock Holmes, Silence of the Lambs, etc) who "gets into the head" of the suspect and can then guess his next move.

Or when we discover that an acquaintance is a compulsive liar.  It is no longer rational to give their next  statement "the benefit the doubt."  You know that they lie all the time and you can classify their next statement as a lie, a priori.  To trust a known liar is not virtuous, it is simply stupid.

 

It also allows us to see beyond the moral face used to hide the true heart.  Recall the motto of one of the greatest intelligence agencies:  "By deception we wage war."  Yet maintaining a moral "humanitarian" face pacifies the populous to not withdrawing support from their leadership.  What would happen if we all just admitted to ourselves that their morality is not our own and cannot be tolerated any longer?

Andrew Harvey (at 2:15) really speaks to my stage in processing all of this.

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There has been a general trend to representative government since the French Revolution which coincides with our increasing energy usage / rising living standards. To paraphrase the great man, democracy is " the worst form of government except for all the rest".
If the magnitude of changes discussed here at PP. Com come to pass, I don’t see universal suffrage surviving, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. Fixing the 3E’s won’t happen inside the narrow electoral cycles.
James Lovelock estimated a sustainable global carrying capacity of 500MM. It would be interesting to work out a model of how that huge change might play out in a non-violent way without mass starvation. Looking at both the macro level and the personal, as people adapt to not satisfying the drive for offspring.

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I knew I remembered that number from something I read a while ago.  Don't ask me how I got there, but I did.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones

Guideline #1 (of 10): Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

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If the general population is in the denial stage, what stage are we in here, anger, bargaining, depression?  Have any of us made it to the acceptance phase?  When we walk through a mature forest, do we weep for the thousands of species that were part of the process that allowed this thing to come to pass, but are no longer here?  Where are the grasses, briars and shrubs that first colonized the open and unfertile soil. The early colonizing trees that first dropped their leaves, but are now nowhere to be seen.  The field birds, Blue birds, mocking birds, doves, jays and robins, where have they all gone?
In this walk in  the forest, we can feel the soft rich soil beneath our feet, created by leaf, blade and bug over thousands of years.  We can feel the timelessness and peace of that place, even if we are agitated in mind, that peace sinks into our souls.  Yet we also feel the endless possibilities in that pregnant peace, life ready to tumble from the void, back into light.

Ahead, a "disaster" has taken down many mighty trees, and there in the heat and light, what wondrous life, bracken and fern and that woods edge, honey suckle, wild rose, autumn olive, blackberry, raspberry, pokeweed, grasses, goldenrod, swarms of insects, the hum of bees, all dancing in a tangled mess, vibrating.  Where did this all come from, there is not another clearing for miles.  A good ecologist can laboriously describe the details, but what about the rest of us, do we just see darkness?

What happens when the system is not just a forest clearing, but a whole planet.  What do we see? Will we be able to tear the whole thing down to little pieces and put it back again in time so that we can understand it, then explain it, or force the "right" understanding on everyone else?  Are we even conscious enough of our own small piece of reality to begin to embark on such a journey?  What have we taken on, what do we need to take on?  Do we even know who we are or what gift we have to give before we gasp for our last breath?

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" Wait, isn't that what the flouride is for"
Reminds me of the classic British film Dr Strangelove clip on flouridation

https://youtu.be/OcHNYenN7OY

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The correct response to the situation
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Court_of_the_Crimson_King#/media/File:In_the_Court_of_the_Crimson_King_-_40th_Anniversary_Box_Set_-_Front_cover.jpeg

 

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Excellent link sand_puppy and right on topic.  I watched 3 times. Andrew Harvey certainly seems to have his own unique perspective and takes no prisoners. Disillusion and rage eh? I know the feeling (even though I'm INTJ)
Right now I'm skewered on the spike of Love of comfort. Lots to work on.

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My faith tradition contends that even if you get the earth's population down to 500 million you will still have resource wars because mankind is not inherently altruistic. (E.g. A well fed tribe says "how come their land is nicer that ours? That's not fair! We want to control the beautiful ______" waterfall, beach, forest, …)
I just read this morning about the hawk-dove game, and perhaps it applies here. But game theory is out of my area of experience so feel free to tell me it doesn't.

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Read Dan Brown's "Inferno". I won't spoil any more than that.

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Great article Chris, I agree with every word of it, but being a scientist yourself you should be more careful about quoting your sources.  I have been unable to track down the source of the headline quote "Britain has only 100 harvests left".  The source you cite is the Independent newspaper, but they just quote an unnamed "study" for their source.  Numerous other articles (including yours) use the quote and cite the Independent as their source but without referring to the original source.  As far as I can tell, the study everyone is referring to is this one:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12254/full

which is a 2014 paper by Dr Jill Edmondson, but even she doesn't use the quote or say anything about how many harvests she thinks are left in the UK's soil.  Likewise, I drew a blank with Google.  So it's a catchy, attention grabbing quote, but I have no idea where it came from or how accurate it is.

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I found multiple sources all saying something similar.
Here's another from Scientific American:

Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues

Dec 5, 2014

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years, and if current rates of degradation continue all of the world's top soil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN official said on Friday.

Nearly every study I found recorded soil degradation and erosive losses that were far beyond the natural rates of replenishment...in pretty much every country.

 

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Question: I'm not trolling, I accept that resources are limited on the planet - coal, oil, metal, soil etc - but I don't understand why, in the space age, we are talking about limits to growth on a finite planet.
Isn't economic growth soon to go into the solar system - asteroid mining, moon mining and all that stuff ?

I understand all that may be hyped, and mixed with sci-fi, but do we really believe it will never come to fruition ?

Even solar and wind rely on the immediate input from the sun, so we have already gone beyond the Earth as a resource source, haven't we ?

Point:  re spirit - from Krishnamurti (chosen because it's written in a straightforward way, not because I'm a theosophist missionary)

"On the first day while I was in that state and more conscious of the things around me, I had the first most extraordinary experience. There was a man mending the road; that man was myself; the pickaxe he held was myself; they very stone which he was breaking up was a part of me; the tender blade of grass was my very being, and the tree beside the man was myself. I almost could feel and think like the roadmender, and I could feel the wind passing through the tree, and the little ant on the blade of grass I could feel. The birds, the dust, and the very noise were a part of me. Just then there was a car passing by at some distance; I was the driver, the engine, and the tyres; as the car went further away from me, I was going away from myself. I was in everything, or rather everything was in me, inanimate and animate, the mountain, the worm, and all breathing things. All day long I remained in this happy condition. "

Important takeaway for this context - humans can feel part of technology as much as they feel part of nature, technology is a part of nature is a part of human nature - at least from this perspective.

Granted this is something of a minority outlook, but this is a typical and oft repeated spiritual experience, and I think it would be a mistake to define spirituality only in the terms of "nature" spirituality.

 

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I think the arrow was fairly close to the target.  I found this at the Rothamsted Research Station website:
http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news-and-views/rothamsted-research-views-modern-farming-destroying-soil-read-prof-keith-goulding%E2%80%99s

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Thanks Chris.  The main reason I was looking for the source of this quote was not so much to challenge it, as to find something to help cure a difficult case of Reluctant Spouse Syndrome.  Having tried without success for several years to explain concepts like infinite growth and peak oil to her, I am hoping to find either a piece of evidence which is so authoritative that she will be convinced by it, or alternatively, I guess I just wait for the Universe to tell her. 

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Sign the most radical and encompassing call :

« I agree to live within a One-Earth Footprint even if it means changing my lifestyle radically, if everybody else also has to. »

« I agree that everyone on earth has a birth right to an equal share of the world’s resources and the total available gha’s (global hectares). "

« I agree that we must share the earth with all other species and respect their right to thrive on earth. »

« In the name of life and guided by the precautionary principle, I demand that all national and international leaders, present and future, would implement an equitable transition to a One-Earth Ecological Footprint for all by 2025 as THE top priority for mankind while assuring that the fundamental needs of all humans are met. »

On : http://1earthadmin.polldaddy.com/s/show-your-support-to-one-earth-footprint-manifesto-1

Visit us at : http://oneearthfootprint.org

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I'm a longtime reader/PP member, but have never commented before.
Just about everyone I know is in denial about the destruction being caused to our planet. So I greatly welcome the change in tone here on this site.

I have grieved and continue to grieve for the forests, the oceans, the animals. Very often I pass by what was until very recently a beautiful large wooded lot, that has now been completely razed for new development. When I saw what was done to it, I wept. I see huge piles of wood chips which used to be mature, majestic trees. I breathe in and out, recalling their lives and existence, as I pass by. Working with all of these difficult emotions, almost daily, for several years now, I have reached a place of tentative acceptance.

I have tried to talk to others about what is going on, but no one wants to hear it. I guess they will figure it out when they are ready. Until then, I hold space until their understanding catches up. In my view, we are here on earth to be witnesses to this age, to the destruction of the earth, to whatever happens.

I don't own gold, I don't have a homestead. I live in a condo with my husband in an urban area. I'm not depressed, but I am awake and aware and I grieve when necessary. I rejoice in the nature around me, for as long as it exists. Tending a plot at a community garden keeps me sane.

Chris interviewed Carolyn Baker several years ago: https://peakprosperity.com/blog/carolyn-baker-emotional-resilience-essential/63329

She does great work on grieving for our planet. How about another interview with her?

Tina

 

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Mankind or human nature isn't fixed but arrayed on innumerable and intersecting continuums and potentials. The most altruistic generally have the most social capital, and that has survival value. It is probably more successful as a survival strategy than the cold blooded competitive, adversarial approach to life. 

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It's so beyond awful. I'm not anti-human but as a species people seem like an out of control rodent problem. Rats with bulldozers. I've cried too. Deep deep grief. Why it doesn't bother some people, I just don't understand. 

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I am way too distracted with shifting my paradigm to notice the shift in the direction of this site from "slight optimism" to something- something pessimism.
This article as all the others before it outlines numerous points of data that I'm too busy compiling as i shift my profession from building Mc Mansions of the affluent Microsoft crowd, to a blueberry field, that will hopefully support my family through the obvious coming disasters we all see coming. 

You did not come to this site because you think "we are going to do better next time" or "It will just get better as the economy returns". You came here because you recognize a need for a new plan. A new idea that does not involve everlasting growth. 

As he definition of this becomes more clear (why I'm here) the details will become a ton more depressing. Its very clear that… We live in a country slipping into fascism, we deny everything until its too late, we pursue endless growth (if it means staying afloat or endless wealth), we are a horribly destructive species, ect, ect, ect. 

A large amount of things get my blood going. I am here to discuss, learn, debate and vent about all of these things. I think we all learn almost as much from the comments as the actual articles here. Or at least we should.

I say – Speak your mind. (within the PP discussion guidelines of course) but by all means speak it.

I am proud to be amidst the people who will. If we parish who will?

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter" ~MLK 

As always people good health, good luck and look up for craps sake wink

~Roan

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Carbon blob asked:
“Question: I’m not trolling, I accept that resources are limited on the planet - coal, oil, metal, soil etc - but I don’t understand why, in the space age, we are talking about limits to growth on a finite planet.”
Very simply, Carbon, any kind of flying by humans, let alone space travel is totally and utterly dependant on fossil energy. Once all our fossil fuels have been burnt, that is it. (Apart from paragliding and hand gliding)
ps. before you say renewable or nuclear energy is the answer, think again. It is very unlikely that they will even be able to renew themselves without fossil energy and in the case of nuclear be able to decommission and store their radio active waste without fossil energy.