Monday, June 02, 2003

New American Empire vs Roman Empire Walden Bello writes: After its successful invasion of Iraq, the US appears to be at the height of its power. One can understand why many feel the US is supreme and omnipotent. Indeed, this is precisely what Washington wants the world to think. No doubt, the US is very powerful militarily. There is good reason to think, however, that it is overextended. In fact, the main strategic result of the occupation of Iraq is to worsen this condition of overextension. Overextension refers to a mismatch between goals and means, with means referring not only to military resources but to political and ideological ones as well. Under the reigning neoconservatives, Washington's goal is to achieve overwhelming military dominance over any rival or coalition of rivals. This quest for even greater global dominance, however, inevitably generates opposition, and it is in this resistance that we see the roots of overextension. Overextension is relative—an overextended power may in fact be in a worse condition even with a significant increase in its military power if resistance to its power increases by an even greater degree. This point may sound surreal after the massive firepower that we witnessed on television night after night over the last month. But consider the following ... (06/02/03) Enmeshed in the Machine Dr. N. Arthur Coulter writes: Every human being is enmeshed in the vast and intricate world-wide system that I call the Machine. The Machine is a network consisting of a large number of social, political, military, economic and cultural components. I call it the Machine because its mode of operation is so very much like the smaller machines man has produced in such abundance. The essential characteristic of machine is repetition—it repeats a sequence of movements over and over again, always the same, though differing perhaps in speed or force produced. The pistons of an automobile engine move up and down, up and down, endlessly. The wheels of a locomotive turn around and around. A printing press goes through the same complex sequence of movements, over and over again. To mechanize a process is to organize it to repeat itself as exactly as possible. So it is with the World Machine. It imposes on each human being a variety of patterns that he or she is expected to follow repeatedly. Get up, make breakfast, wash the dishes, make the beds, go shopping, come home, fix dinner, wash the dishes, watch TV, go to bed, etc. etc. etc. —patterns we repeat again and again, patterns we follow exactly lest we be punished. The Machine rules us all. We are only cogs spinning around and around. (06/02/03) A Water Crisis? Who Knew? BBC Science -- If you want to induce mental meltdown, the statistics of the worsening global water crisis are a surefire winner. Two-fifths of the world's people already face serious shortages, and water-borne diseases fill half its hospital beds. People in rich countries use 10 times more water than those in poor ones. The present is dire: the future looks so grim it must be entirely unmanageable. Cut it how you will, the picture that emerges from today's data and tomorrow's forecasts is so complex and appalling it can leave you feeling powerless. The world cannot increase its supply of fresh water: all it can do is change the way it uses it. Its population is going to go on increasing for some time before there is any prospect it will stabilise. And water-borne diseases already kill one child every eight seconds, as day follows day. (06/02/03) Understanding the Fossil Fuel Crisis Dale Allen Pfeiffer writes: To understand the events of the past year, it is first necessary to set the scene. And the scene in which all of these events have played out is the approaching end of the oil age. This background has not been talked about in the mass media, or even in the alternative media. However, this knowledge is essential in order to understand not only what has transpired in the past year, but also the events to come. And we need this knowledge in order to consider what actions we should take to assure a positive future for all. The civilization we live in today is based entirely on hydrocarbons (by which term I mean both oil and natural gas). The energy which runs our technology is derived from hydrocarbons. The energy which does our work is derived from hydrocarbons. The energy which powers our homes, our transportation and which generates our electricity is all largely derived from hydrocarbons. All of the plastics which surround us with consumer goods are derived from hydrocarbons. Our produce is fed with hydrocarbon-based fertilizers and sprayed with hydrocarbon-based pesticides. Every person in the US has the energy equivalent of a dozen slaves working for him or her. Why this dependency on oil? Simply put, there is no other energy source which holds as much energy per unit. The only exception to this is uranium, which is dangerous, difficult to work with, and far too rare an element to ever provide for more than a small percentage of our energy needs. Even the highest grade of coal only holds about 50% as much energy as an equivalent quantity of hydrocarbons. Renewable energy resources can provide nowhere near enough energy to meet our current needs. Fusion remains, as ever, just beyond our grasp. The highly touted hydrogen fuel cells are not an energy source but a form of energy storage; the energy contained in the fuel cell must be generated from another source. In short, there is no other source which can provide for the energy needs of our present civilization. (06/02/03) Rich Nations Losing Popularity New York Times -- "Stop! Stop! Stop!" shouted demonstrators who were part of a huge protest against the G-8 economic summit that opened today in the nearby French Alpine town of Évian, Switzerland. But there were no police officers on the demonstration route. And the axe-wielding young man swiftly blended back into the marching crowd. Switzerland is not a country accustomed to demonstrations and crowd control and police struggled today to respond to protesters who blocked highways, roads and bridges; set fire to barricades; sprayed graffiti on buildings and cars; destroyed property and hurled rocks, bottles and insults at them. The most violent protests occurred in Geneva and in the city of Lausanne 30 miles away, where heads of state who are not part of the elite group of eight — France, the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia — are staying. Riot police wearing helmets and carrying shields, a common sight in France but certainly not in Switzerland, clashed at several points with protesters. The police, who were under orders not to use force against the protesters, tried to disperse them with masses of tear gas. In Lausanne, one man was seriously injured and six others, including two police officers, were wounded in a two-hour assault in which protesters smashed windows, destroyed three gas stations, looting one of them as well as a grocery. Vandals also uprooted parking signs, billboards, benches and threw them in the road. They spray painted slogans in four languages along office buildings, shops, bus stops and people's homes. (06/02/03) A Giant Falls BBC Science -- Standing at 260 feet (79m) the massive hardwood, known as El Grande, stood unharmed by man for almost four centuries. Forestry officials in the southern Australian state have admitted a routine burn-off went out of control. ... The destruction of El Grande - thought to be the world's largest hardwood tree and flowering plant - has intensified scrutiny of the burning of Tasmania's forests to provide wood chip for export, where fires are started to clear the undergrowth. The ancient tree was damaged in what was supposed to be a controlled burn-off. Forestry officials have insisted they are committed to safeguarding Tasmania's environment. They point to the state's giant tree protection policy which provides guidelines for national parks and other reserves. Tasmania has one of the most famous concentrations of tall trees in Australia. (06/02/03) Europe goes to Mars BBC Science -- The race to find life on Mars is set to begin on Monday with the launch of Europe's first voyage to another planet. Three probes are leaving Earth this summer, starting with the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission. It carries the Beagle 2 lander, which, if all goes well, will become the first British-built craft to touch down on another world. The launch marks the start of a new golden age in Mars exploration. The US space agency (Nasa) is sending two missions to the fourth planet. The first of its Mars Exploration Rovers should leave Earth in a week or so. Another Mars traveller is destined to arrive early next year. Japan's Nozomi craft should reach the planet early in 2004 after a long journey beset by mishaps. (06/02/03) 5:38:34 AM

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