Wastes of lots of moneyHere's my rant... put on your seatbelts! Just a few things that would be wonderful to cure in this world - - with poverty, hunger and famine in the world, oppression in places like Algeria, China, Tibet, Afghanistan and all over Africa, why are people spending millions of dollars on ballooning around the world, breaking world records in mountaineering (also using tons of other countries' money to save them when they fall in the sea, get stuck on the mountain, etc...) and billions of dollars keeping huge "defensive" budgets for obsolete military problems (like the "new" extremely expensive fighter plane we came out with that is 20 years late in production and built for the Cold War, etc... )? Why are we rewarding people who are thinking only of self-glorification and nothing else? Why not look at the root of our problem, which is overconsumption of a finite resource? We have enough brilliant people to make NEW, GREEN industries out of our fossil-fuel-burning vehicles. We are just too rooted in what we know to change! Why do YOU not have a hybrid or electric car? Do you really need as big a car as you have? I haven't even started to mention all the resources in the USA that are wasted daily because of lack of recycling facilities, sheer laziness and a skewed sense of what is important in life. AMERICANS CONSUME X% OF THE WORLD'S RESOURCES, PUTTING IN X% OF THE WORLD'S INPUT, WITH X% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION. Can you fill in the blanks? The numbers are astounding. We consume WAY more than our "share" of resources, AND the percentage of GARBAGE and WASTE we put out in the world is also disastrously disproportionate. Americans have to rethink their consuming habits. It does not take much effort to use your consuming power to change industries: buying the most sustainable products, with the least packaging, made in the most non-impactive way. It only takes knowledge and bit of common sense. Write in to that manufacturer to tell him you USED to buy his products before they put them in such non-environmentally-friendly containers. Use a mop, not a swiffer, for example - quit thinking that just because you throw it away means it is GONE. It becomes needless waste in yet another overflowing garbage dump. We need to quit thinking about what is the "easiest," "most comfortable" or "most handy" way of doing everything, and wonder "what is the most sustainable way of getting that done?" Reward environmentally conscious, socially conscious and thoughtful products with your patronage. Spend that extra 5 cents to buy recycled toilet paper... If we, the consumers, ask for it, the market will respond. Is bigger, more, cheaper, really better ?? Or is it just making us even more megalomanic, fat, and forcing the rest of the world to take on this destructive mindset of out-of-control consumption, too? Quit thinking about what's easy and comfortable, and think about what is good for our world! It's not some grainy-crunchy vegetarian Californian idea - - it is vital to our world that we start now with conservation and sustainable habits. Are we saving the world for democracy or for capitalism?? There is nothing sacreligious about questioning capitalism as it exists today - - we, the people of the United States, did not create the mold for this system - it was some economists with their theories - only theories... If these paradigms aren't working (which rampant protests about globalization pretty much prove), then why not soften it with a pragmatic look on things? We do not live in a purely capitalist system, in any case*, (*remember subsidies for agriculture, internationally illegal tariffs on steel, etc..?), so why the bugaboo about having any kind of major social services provided by our government? If you look at the percentage of people's income put toward health insurance, pensions and taxes in the U.S. and then look at the percentage that Europeans pay in straight taxes that cover those services, you will see that the Americans are actually paying more! And getting less. Look at the bigger picture. "Lower taxes" sounds great on paper, but when giving you $200 in a rebate to spend on a couple of pair of shoes means our government can not fulfill its duties, there is something majorly wrong. Let your congressmen and women know how you feel - write them! Stay up to date on the world's real problems, not all the stupid small stuff we find ourselves constantly whining about and our own little small-minded protectionist problems. (Why did we spend so much time debating a bill on SPAM and "the no-call list" instead of things that are killing people all over the world every day?) And why insist that all these third-world poor countries open their markets to our products, when our country is not open to their products?? Look at the bigger picture, please! If people the world over are able to live, be educated, eat, and think freely, they will be less likely to want to cause wars, be terrorists, become part of a fanatical religious movement, or leave their country of origin to try and seek opportunity in the U.S.... This world is actually SO small, we can all make a difference just by being aware and doing each our little bit: helping out our neighbors and opening our hearts to new things. It only takes a little change from everyone to make a huge difference in our world. Remember - change in itself is not bad. It may be a bit scary at first, but not necessarily bad. Get over "what you're used to" and develop new, healthy habits for you, your children and your world. But most of all, be aware! Inform yourself!! Information is power! Don't just read the funnies in your local newspaper. Ask them why they aren't reporting on poverty and famine in the rest of the world. They probably have ONE page for "world news" and don't report on the dire situation in many foreign countries because nothing about that has changed, so it's not NEW! Instead, they have a big 5-page spread on gardening. We are hiding our heads in the sand. The information is out there. Find it and interest yourself in more than your little life on this earth. Sponsor a child, read, vote, travel; open your eyes!!! There is a lot more inspiration in this world than desperation, and you will be surprised that even in the midst of chaos and horror, man still strives for beauty and betterment. Be a part of it.
HUNGER - POPULATION CONTROL -HEALTH
HUMANS BEHAVING BADLY
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Last updated April 2004
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