Glastonbury festival reminds me that I am lucky. It opened my eyes to a whole new world outside the “Rat race”. I am the luckiest person in the world, Just being here.
Kindness won’t overthrow all bullies but it will make some think.
In between birth and death, is music (amongst other things!).
I wonder on the melting Arctic ice and the rising seas. It occurs that only land ice matters – Water ice is different - a glass of water with ice cubes doesn’t increase in volume when the ice melts, nor will the sea. Only land ice matters.
It’s already too late to stop global warming – 2007 saw record melts of the arctic ice shelf and 2008 has seen more. An area of ice in the arctic half the size of the USA has disappeared, far exceeding any climate model. This is of no consequence if the ice on Greenland stays intact, because it is on land, but! Move away from coastal areas – that’s the best advice now
Oxygen is a poisonous by product from the original respiration of plants on our planet. Over millions of years our earth allowed ancient forests and sea life to grow and die and let carbon get locked away in underground deposits –Carbon injections from locked away sources are being fed into our atmosphere.
Truth and facts are important - Rhetoric gets us nowhere.
If Greenland melts, it has enough ice to raise sea levels by several metres.
Beef causes more than 3 times the environmental impact to produce than chicken, plus the methane released as a by product of digesting grass.
Inuit babies in some areas have been born only girls – no boys at all! Research suggests chemicals in the embryo at conception are responsible. This is due to PCB’s in the food chain, feeding through from basic sea animals to fish then to seals and whales, the staple diet of the Inuit. We stopped using PCB’s in the 70’s, but still only girls are born to certain Inuit in certain areas!
Love and life is what count - It’s the bullies we hate.
Good will help us – not God (good exists!)
Apathy and religion will make things worse.
I believe mankind cannot kill the earth. We may be able to destroy ourselves and many of the creatures and vegetation we hold dear, but even we cannot destroy all life. Life will find a way – But maybe not our way!
We live in a social system that listens to money and aggression. The reality we face is that the future of our planet depends on us finding a utopia that sates everyone’s desires. Shouting will not stop the bullies and aggressors.
We are the product of billions of years of aggression and selfishness - Evolution will never be defeated, although in areas where there are no large predators and plenty of food etc, the native animals tend to be less aggressive and more docile (eg. Koala Bears). This possibly leads to the conclusion that we may, as a species, become less aggresive and less territorial if we do not feel threatened.
The global nature of communications, entertainment, finance and the modern family, hopefully will lead to exponential racial interbreeding and a better gene pool mix for the Human race. Lets face it natural selection in an age of medical advances and lengthening life spans is significantly reduced, which may lead to a general weakening of the Human population over time.
Innevitably we have embarked on an irreversable track towards gene manipulation. It is likely that future generations will pick their body type etc from a catalogue like clothes. Unfortunately the first results of this will be serious fashion victims. I mean who's gonna want that old body type in a few years time, oooh it's so 80's. It's certainly going to take hundreds of years to get the system working properly and safely and there will be many disasters alaong the way. Names are a good example, for instance Adulf was quite a popular name for children before (and during) the 2nd world war. Now it doesn't appear to be popular anywhere for understandable reasons. Imagine if genetic manipulation to make designer babies, was available before the 2nd world war. It is likely that there would have been a large queue of people going for the "Adulf" look. I can only suggest that if you are going to genetically design your own baby, then you should ensure it does not resemble any future dictators, despots or mad men.
It is hard to imagine a time when aggressive people are not the ones that have the power.
Overthrow Robert Mugabe. He is way down on my christmas list - if you ever get the chance to overthrow him then I, along with many others will support you.
The communications age is the strength – Words can be heard across continents now, right minded people can communicate, find allies and look for ways to make aggressors feel small and worthless. It all takes time, probably more than our lifetimes, but it is important to remember kindness, peace and respect is our best future.
With his 90th birthday in July, a trip into space scheduled for later in the year and a new book out next month, 2009 promises to be an exciting time for James Lovelock. But the originator of the Gaia theory, which describes Earth as a self-regulating planet, has a stark view of the future of humanity. He tells Gaia Vince we have one last chance to save ourselves - and it has nothing to do with nuclear power...
Motivational Speaker - Veraunda Jackson tells us it's ok to quit, shows us how and provides a dose of straight talking advice.
In honour of Douglas Adams memory, the transcript of his speech at Digital Biota 2, held at Magdelene College Cambridge, in September 1998. Douglas presented this ''off the cuff'' which only magnifies his true genius.
Glastonbury festival reminds me that I am lucky. It opened my eyes to a whole new world outside the “Rat race”. I am the luckiest person in the world, Just being here.
We all love and it's all recyclable. The end of the world seems to arrive as love ends. Winter closes in on a cold heart and flowers lose their colour as loneliness sets in. There will be a new world but it is too far away to see. In time we will be recycled and happy again.
My personal journal from Corsica, written over three arduous and challenging weeks on the "Grand Randonee 20" (GR20). Covering almost the whole length of the island and renown as one of the hardest of the "GR" routes, it follows a rugged and innaccessable line accross the highest peaks, never descending below 3000ft and reaching over 9000ft. Spectacular views and some awsome situations made it a must do on My wish list.
I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.
