Archive for December 2011
Don’t Panic ! – Oh okay panic.
I do wonder about the human race sometimes, A walk, or should I say jostle through the centre of Inverness during Christmas week, raises a wry smile as I watch the animal instinct within us scurrying about, It’s as if the very survival of the next generation depends on our actions here and now.
People buying Stuff for people, most of which has had little or no thought, as to whether this person actually needs, or even wants the said item. It will probably end up being taken back to the shop at best, or just stuffed into a draw somewhere until that person moves house, where upon the local charity shop will have the unenviable task of trying to resell it, again only to find out that Primark (other discount stores available), were selling them at three for a fiver in the first place.
Then there’s the food. When I was a boy (Yes I know it was a long time ago) My mother used to buy enough food to get us through the next five days. She did this with some Justification, as that’s how long the shops were shut. Now however they only close for a few hours not even days, but still the hunter gatherer goes ballistic, and fills the car to bursting point with enough food, to feed a complete african village for a week, a large proportion of which will end up heading to the nearest landfill.
Now I can here you shouting – “Ba Humbug” but nothing could be further from the truth. Christmas is a time of celebration. but do you really need 140 Satsuma’s to feed 8 people (unless of course your going on a satsuma diet, or planing to eat turkey el orang’e, with that bird which is one down from an ostrich, and has been contributing to climate change in your oven for the last seventeen hours)
I know there are some slight exaggerations here, but it’s not that far from the truth. It is not Christmas I’m having a jibe at. Its our over consumption of just about everything to do with it.
Nice meal drink, good company and laughter (not necessarily in that order) are things that matter, and of course, despite our moaning, life is not to bad here in our western world. Lets be thankful for what we have and give a thought to those who don’t have that choice.
Over consumption for no reason other than we can, Cannot be good for our well-being.
Merry Christmas all and a Healthy and Happy New Year.
Where did 2011 go.
2011 just seems to have been a blur. As I grow older life seems to go faster. Seasons come and go and best laid plans get pushed aside. Some of the years planned images for one reason or another are still to be shot, mainly due though to the unusually dreary weather we have endured here in the north of Scotland.
Frozen Planet series has finished in a blaze of controversy whipped up no doubt by the media press trying to sell papers. Most of you will already know the story, the press calling the BBC for filming new-born polar bear cubs in captive conditions. Filming in this manner is not a new thing and if any thing is more open now than it has ever been. For me this excellent series, made headway into presenting and informing, bringing the frozen worlds of north and south into the living rooms of many who will never see the beauty, feel the extreme cold, or smell the crystal clear air.
Climate change is now only denied by the few, however there are still many that believe that human intervention is not to blame. That I personally doubt, but apportioning blame is both pointless and futile. Understanding the problem and finding a solution however is vitally important, as our world population is set to increase. With the world climate change summit eventually coming to an agreement and with many small but none the less important schemes in which to capture carbon, on the rise. I believe in that whilst not being able to stop climate change we can at least slow its rate.
Bears are have to spend more time in the water to move around make life harder and using up vital energy whilst swimming
Key to that in what seems to be a taboo subject (at least by governments) is our ability to control Population. At current trends this is set to increase by another 3 billion people worldwide during the next 18 years.
The U.K. alone is set to increase to 70 million during that time. The sustainable development group Forum For The Future in a report said, Britain would struggle to handle such growth. This large increase in population would be ‘catastrophic’ and put unsustainable pressure on housing, schools and hospitals as well as natural resources. If we fail to tackle the problem soon, then the longer its left the harder the task will be.
Of course there are some that say that nature will do the job for us, and that we will reach the point, when we are not able to provide life’s basic essentials for a large part of the world’s population, but do we really want to go down that route.
I am optimistic that we are not that stupid but only time will tell.
I’ll leave it there before being accused of going off on a rant, (who shouted to late) but I wonder who we will apportion blame to, when explaining to our grandkids in 20 or 30 years time.
I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
