Climate Change versus Employment

Climate change is not a new phenomenon. It is a weather condition that has been taking part in cycles over the millennia; and by all accounts, the next cycle has been 50 thousand years in the making.

The bottom line is that climate change is a natural ecological event that is going to happen irrespective of humanity’s effort to stave it off; stave being the operative word.

Global-warming is another kettle of fish altogether: besides it being a natural ecological occurrence that takes place every-so years, it is also an occurrence that is aggravated by human consumption and industrial activity.

On the natural side, volcanic activity, solar radiation and the earth’s cyclic movement through the Galaxy/Universe, et al, all play a role in keeping the environmental scales in fine equilibrium, or not.

On the human side, industrial growth, human green-house gas generation and fossil fuel usage all contribute to upsetting the fragile balance that encompasses the environment, atmosphere and the way the eco system deals with these eventualities.

Although the Industrial Age is lauded and praised for much of the technological development that is being experienced today, it has brought with it unforeseen (maybe) side-effects; side-effects that have malignantly contributed to the many environmental problem and human enslavement being experienced today.

Yes, medically, technologically and financially, humanity finds itself riding the waves of success and development (although the last one is debatable.) Humanity is at an all time high: lofty life-spans, healthy bank balances and prosperity. And now that the ‘east’ has caught up and surpassed western developments, life has accelerated to the next level faster than anticipated.

Humanity has become technologically and information hungry. It has huge wants-and-needs that are being met by extravagant usage of natural recourses and over capitalisation of available real estate, all drawing upon the human propensity for avarice to drive those wants-and-needs along.

The main challenge facing modern Governments is employment: how to create avenues that help foster employment versus creating avenues that produce profits, thus keeping the economic status-quo fresh, is the quandary? It may be argued that other systemic life issues are of more importance but without employment, the system will consume itself to the overall detriment of humanity – the money energy cycle needs to be maintained.

To my mind, all the talk of climate change and or global warming will come to naught if the employment factor is not fixed. A hungry person does not care about the environment. A dejected unemployed person does not care about the environment. As a matter of fact, both types of people are more given to fits of pack-rage and destructive tendencies than those that are gainfully employed.

The South African Minister of Energy Affairs recently stated that renewable energy initiatives will cut employment as renewable-energy power generating plants, besides being more energy efficient, are also human real-estate efficient e.g. wind farms require less human-power to keep the equipment operational than that of a coal fired power station. Solar farms face the same employment dilemma.

With the growth in the human population expected to reach nine billion by the year 2030 (by recent extrapolations,) the employment quandary increases with each passing year. A prospect that is going to place even greater stresses on the environment due to the logarithmic growth in energy demand, food requirements, and other natural resources. A prospect that is neither positive nor captivating for the coming generations of humans.

I am of the opinion that the existing democratic (or whatever other forms of Government there are around the world) and capitalistic energies are in dire need of an overall. These energies worked well during the birth of the Industrialisation age to about 20 years ago. Since then, they have been faltering and overwhelming humanity at a dizzying pace of consumption. Changes to both systemic energies will not be easy, but the alternatives are worse.

Carl Sagan once said that if humanity can survive past its puberty stage (speaking of human development in the greater scheme-of-time,) the future will be humanity’s oyster. Unfortunately, very little positivity is pointing in that direction.

“The needs and wants of the people need to be addressed and pacified. Workable solutions have to be constructed in such a way that either gainful employment is generally guaranteed or alternatively, that a new means of income generation is implemented i.e. doing away with the traditional capitalist way of doing things.” ~ Global Warming: A Growing Woe

But, it is always easier to talk about climate change and the positives of life when one is gainfully employed!?

Life should be Just and Fair!

It is said that the ideal behind civilisation is for humanity to continually grow and evolve by making life that little bit more just and fair with each passing generation.

How can that ideal be achieved when most of the information floating around is biased one way or the other?

If life is to be made that little bit more just and fairy with each passing generation, change is required, for that is what human progress is all about. History attests to that.

It is all very well and noble but the reality is not that simple.

Change to capitalism will mean that most will have to forego some of their material gains which mean that the governmental types will not get their due recompense through taxes and other clever manipulations of the fiscal system.

Change to Democracy also carries with it much risk. Loss of voter control being one of the major concerns. Control of the masses is paramount to enabling cash flow and continued existence and survival.

Both change scenarios form the vicious circle of everyday existence that prevents any virtuous progress from taking place.

It is for this reason that Governments spend millions in advertising initiatives trying to convince the populace that a certain way of action or thought is the best way forward. It is for this same reason that media moguls spend time and thought into shaping public onion. The same goes for the feel-good lobbyists who throw money at telling all and sundry that life will be ok if one just keeps a positive outlook on things.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French political philosopher, once stated that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”

The will to affect change, whether political, personal or financially, is paramount to our continued development and human progression.

Menial Work is Dignified

The below mentioned piece of counsel was caught transversing the ethereal space of the internet at the speed of light.

It relates to a point by point speech purportedly made by the multi-billionaire Bill Gates to a bunch of high school kids. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created (and continues to create) a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

The 11 Reality Checks are:


Reality 1:
Life is not fair - get used to it!

Reality 2:
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Reality 3:
You will NOT make vast amounts of money right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a company car until you earn both.

Reality 4:
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Reality 5:
Menial work is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for menial work: they called it opportunity.

Reality 6:
If you mess up, it’s not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Reality 7:
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Reality 8:
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Reality 9:
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Reality 10:
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to go to the office.

Reality 11:
Be nice to people. Chances are you'll end up working for one.


Interesting reality checks that are not in keeping with the new-age mentality of positive self esteem and constructive approbation. Yet, all real and glaringly hard.

To my mind, the stated reality checks should be read by all who perceive the democratic processes as being one where ‘take take take’ is the rule of thumb.