Selfsufficientish.com

You gotta see this, but you need an hour and twnty minutes spare.

Nev

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?do ... 2478442170

I've not actually seen this documentary (it's playing on my 'puter now), but it was screened in the UK on Channel 4 a couple of months ago. Since then it has been almost universally rubbished. For example, I notice in the first few minutes that Dr Piers Corbyn gets a credit - if he is who I am thinking of, I'm pretty sure he is regarded as a bit of a snake-oil seller in the world of meteorology. But I'll watch it in full when I've got an hour and twenty to spare.

But even so, lets just suppose that global warming is neither a problem, nor attributable to human activity - this doesn't actually make much difference to my perspective on sustainability. I still think that economic growth is a disaster, that there are too many people on the planet, that we expect more that we are entitled to, that we use too much energy, that we throw too much away, that we exploit disadvantaged people too much, that we have wars for spurious reasons, that we pollute our rivers and seas unnecessarily, that we keep poor countries poor for our own advantage, that we destroy sea life with an alarming frenzy, that we have replaced viable humanist values with greed... etc., etc.

... I'm not sure that "we have replaced viable humanist values with greed" because my reading of history doesn't suggest too many periods when you can point to societies that have been based on people supporting and caring for one another. I think our ancestors were just as rapacious if not empowered to cause such widespread damage.

However, a sad amen to all the rest....

Wulf

Wikipedia has a great article on this documentary if you want to check it out.

Muddypause wrote: But even so, lets just suppose that global warming is neither a problem, nor attributable to human activity - this doesn't actually make much difference to my perspective on sustainability. I still think that economic growth is a disaster, that there are too many people on the planet, that we expect more that we are entitled to, that we use too much energy, that we throw too much away, that we exploit disadvantaged people too much, that we have wars for spurious reasons, that we pollute our rivers and seas unnecessarily, that we keep poor countries poor for our own advantage, that we destroy sea life with an alarming frenzy, that we have replaced viable humanist values with greed... etc., etc.

I'd like to argue with all of this.........................but I can't!

Yep agreed. If it turns out as these guys say, it does mean that we will not be squeezed between peak oil and gloabal warming, but it doesn't mean that the rest of the stuff Stew mentions goes away.

Nev

Thanks Cornelian,

Here is the link!

Nev

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_ ... ng_Swindle

Thanks Nev. I was too lazy to find it again.