Our consumerist society and a consequence of a “Throw away” Mentality

Our planet is seventy percent water, which takes the form of what we call oceans. In reality all our oceans are one big ocean, separated by currents. The currents are driven by wind, temperature, density (salinity), ocean floor topography, and the planets rotation.

As the ocean currents circulate water around the planet they form what are known as Gyres.
There are five main Gyres in our global ocean system.
The  Indian Ocean Gyre, North Atlantic Gyre, North Pacific Gyre, South Atlantic Gyre, and the South Pacific Gyre.

It is not only water that is transported around our planet through these ocean current systems. Currents also transport plankton, fish, heat, momentum, chemicals such as salts, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and trash.

Rubbish that falls from ships, that is carried down storm water, or is blown by wind, ends up in our ocean, and is transported through ocean currents. Transported where? When we see cast away objects floating down the side of the street with rainwater, or blowing across our path with the wind, where will it end up?

Gyres.
Perhaps one of the best documented Gyre is the North Pacific Gyre, or better known as The Garbage Patch.
An area twice the size of the state of Texas is a floating mass of our rubbish, made up mainly of plastics.

 As we know plastic never breaks down completely. Even after breaking down to the smallest particles, it is still plastic. In the ocean these very small plastic particles are eaten by sea life at the bottom of the food chain, such as Sandhoppers. These creatures are eaten by larger ones, and so on until finally we are eating the plastics in our food. It is important to keep in mind also that plastics are a petroleum based product; we will come back to this.

First let’s look at some other products found in our ocean.
Pesticide contaminates land and water when it escapes from production sites and storage tanks, when it runs off from fields, when it is discarded, when it is sprayed aerially, and when it is sprayed into water to kill algae. Fertilizer run off from farms and lawns is a huge problem for coastal areas. The extra nutrients cause eutrophication - flourishing of algal blooms that deplete the water's dissolved oxygen and suffocate other marine life. Eutrophication has created enormous dead zones in several parts of the world, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Baltic Sea. Oil spills cause huge damage to the marine environment - but in fact are responsible for only around 12% of the oil entering the seas each year. According to a study by the US National Research Council, 36% comes down drains and rivers as waste and run off from cities and industry.
 

Among the many chemical and biological toxins found floating in the ocean, scientists have identified a number of particularly harmful compounds called "persistent organic pollutants" or POPs, and exposure to them can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems. After a heavy rain, coastal rivers and streams carry many different pollutants to the sea. As rainwater washes into gutters and storm drains, it carries with it all that we humans have carelessly left behind.

Gasoline, motor oil, and anti-freeze from our cars, pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural operations, vast amounts of manure from stockyards and animal processing plants, and even human waste and pharmaceutical residue from faulty septic systems and overloaded sewage treatment plants.

Now remember all that pesky plastic in the ocean.

Most plastics in use today, excluding the few plant-based alternatives slowly reaching the market, are made of petroleum, and as a result they float like oil on or near the surface of the ocean. When exposed to sunlight over prolonged periods of time, these plastics break up into smaller and smaller particles until all that remains is a fine plastic dust. Unfortunately, this seemingly harmless plastic dust retains all its chemical components and will never biodegrade. In fact, unless it was incinerated, all of the plastic ever made remains in the environment to this day.

Researchers are now learning that floating plastic particles attract POPs from surrounding sea water like a magnet, and as these plastic particles make their way through the oceanic currents, they accumulate and transport them around the globe. Many of these pollutants are known carcinogens and are potentially harmful to animals when ingested. Studies have also shown that these plastic particles contain POP levels up to a million times higher than in surrounding sea water.

As plastic builds up in the food chain carrying with it increasing amounts of toxins, there is the potential that it could reach food organisms that are harvested by humans. We are the apex predator of the sea and when we consume fish and seafood, we consume everything that they have consumed. There is growing evidence that some of the toxins associated with plastic particles in the gyre are responsible for an increase in health problems in humans such as endocrine cancers and brain damage, as well as reproductive and cardiovascular damage.

It stands to reason that if plastics are found in the North Pacific Gyre in all probability they are present in every Gyre around our planet. Scientists recently announced the existence of a garbage patch in the Indian Ocean, and there is another in the North Atlantic Ocean.
 
As a society we produce and consume at an obscene rate, and very little thought if any at all is given to how and where these products are made. What social value do many of these products have? Sadly most of what we consume has zero social value, it is simply materialistic garbage we do not need at all, and by default will end up being thrown away almost immediately.

The Abstraction

Money is nothing more than a term which represents an abstract form of exchange of labour for purchasing power. This article will not investigate interest, loans, debt or the creation of money.
For in reality money could be gold, silver, match sticks or pine nuts. Here we will  concentrate on the direct result of defining a value to labour to use in exchange for purchasing power.

While it may be offered that the abstraction (money) simply allows for delayed trade to take place, such as;
Human x has some chocolate.
Human y wants some chocolate and has a chicken farm but at the time has no eggs to trade.
So human y offers an abstraction so that s/he can have some chocolate and when eggs are available human x can trade in the accepted abstraction in return for some eggs.

What we are actually seeing here is little more than what can be considered as the natural progression from barter to a more refined system of economics. For the idea of exchanging goods or services directly as a system of economics (barter) is still in and of itself an abstraction of the exchange of labour for purchasing power.

For through the exchange of an egg, or eggs, for some chocolate what is being agreed upon is that the consumption of labour to secure the eggs is in equilibrium with the labour required to procure the chocolate. As an example while it may be agreed that two eggs are a suitable exchange for some chocolate, those two same eggs would not be sufficient in exchange for a house. As the expressions of labour are not in equilibrium for that exchange.

No matter what is used to define the value of labour, the fundamental ramifications remain the same.

An employer must have a product or service to produce or distribute in order to turn a profit. An employee must take part in the production, distribution, or peddling of a product or service in order that the employer turn a profit, and can in turn pay the employee in exchange for labour.
Both the employer and employee must take part in the consumption of goods and services as consumers in order to perpetuate the entire system.

Due to this model of exchange the very products that are manufactured are strategically produced to sustain this form of economics. As it is a requirement that nothing produced outlasts the need for continual consumption. Even the most cursory of searches can identify a multitude of items that are either poorly manufactured, designed to break/fail within a given time frame, or that have small aesthetic changes made to them over time resulting in a need or desire to have that item replaced. For in this economic system it simply would not do to produce goods that would last, could be easily upgraded, or could have the external aesthetic manipulated with ease. As this would place insurmountable strain on the consumption model and would lead inevitably to ever growing levels of unemployment. For any decreasing need for consumption translates directly into a decreasing need for production, and as an inevitable result a reduction in humans employed. Thus creating a situation of poverty due to nothing more than the inability to exchange labour for purchasing power.

Stratification of not only the general population, but also of products is a direct result of the use of such an abstraction. As the value equated to labour changes in regards to a multitude of factors such as, complexity, technical and or physical skill sets, and of course abundance or scarcity of the labour pool to point out a few. As a result in order to allow for consumption of goods and services to continue, we as a species must produce a stratified range of products that will encourage all economic levels of our society to take part in the process of continual consumption that is required to sustain the system. This range of value for labour not only creates massive economic disparity, but also means that in order to have lower cost products for those of lesser socio-economic means to be able to purchase they must be made cheaper. This can be accomplished by use of poor materials, a reduction or complete disregard of employee working conditions, and or using off shore factories in countries where employees are paid next to nothing for a days work.

 Human trafficking in Nike's sweatshop factory in Malaysia 

As a society becomes increasingly technologically advanced and employment opportunities are replaced through machine automation, it becomes evident that a growing number of the population will have their purchasing power reduced. Resulting in increasing strain on the consumption model. As consumption slows further jobs are lost through a reduction in the need for production, resulting in a vicious circle of continual loss of purchasing power to the general populace.

World wide unemployment

There is also the insidious reckless waste of our planetary resources that goes hand in hand with the need to sustain the consume throw it away, consume throw it away economic environment we have all been so heavily indoctrinated into.
We have generated a multiplicity of product duplication. Some may be missing certain features in order to keep cost down, yet all of them use almost identical resources in the production process.
All of them will almost certainly fail or be outdated within the next ten to fifteen years. None of them will be capable of being easily upgraded, or having faulty parts simply removed and replaced. Instead when the time comes and the product either fails or is outmoded, it will just be thrown away.
Thrown away....? Like these objects simply disappear into some great empty void never to be seen again. Unfortunately this is not the case, these products fill landfills, end up in our oceans, and create piles of toxic e-waste.

The great pacific garbage patch article

E-waste hell

We have reached a point as a species that implores us to ask the hard questions about the economic environment we have created. No politician is going to seriously address the issues that arise due to the exchange of labour for purchasing power. It is up to us together, as one unified species to stand up and find solutions to endless waste, the misuse of finite resources, social stratification, disparity, war, needless pollution, and cyclical consumption.
Whether we like it or not the future of our species demands that we outgrow this outmoded, antiquated way of living and find a way to work together, for our mutual benefit. We have the technological ability and the scientific understandings to create a new social model, but do we have the will and intellectual tenacity to think beyond our primitive reptilian brain?
It is up to us, the future is now.

Solar radiation and its impacts

As solar radiation reaches our planet it does so as short wave radiation.
About 30 percent of short wave radiation is reflected back into space, while the remaining short wave radiation at the top of the atmosphere is absorbed by the Earth's surface and re-radiated as long wave radiation. Incoming solar radiation that strikes the earth's surface is partially reflected and partially absorbed, in proportion to surface reflectivity (albedo).

Newly fallen snow has an albedo of approximately 0.90, meaning that it reflects about 90 percent of incoming radiation. In contrast, melting snow has an average albedo of 0.50, meaning that it absorbs 50 percent and reflects 50 percent of the incoming radiation. Because a darker surface absorbs more solar radiation, snow covered by dust (dirty snow) melts faster than clean snow. The albedo of sea ice varies with ice age, but when snow covered is on the order of 0.70. Open water absorbs the most radiation of all Arctic surfaces. With an albedo of about 0.08, it reflects only 8 percent of the incoming radiation. The albedo of a water surface increases with decreasing solar altitude and approaches a mirror-like 100 percent near sunrise and sunset, or when the sun is low in the Arctic sky. Solar radiation that is not absorbed by the earth's surface is reflected back into the atmosphere as short wave radiation. Absorbed solar radiation is then re-radiated as long wave radiation.

Arctic sea ice is melting, that is a fact. There are those that would debate that this is part of earth's natural climate cycle, others that would argue it is anthropogenic. Yet as the debate goes on the ice continues to melt.
Sea ice will not directly contribute to sea level rise, as the water displacement caused by the ice is in equilibrium with the water locked into the ice. However as stated above sea ice has an albedo of 0.70 and as such reflects large amounts of short wave radiation up and away from the earth. On the other hand water has an albedo of 0.08 and retains most short wave radiation that it receives. Thus the water warms,  in turn sea ice melt increases, and as a result there is an increase in the amount of long wave radiation re-radiated back into the atmosphere.Long wave radiation is then captured by gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane. It is then re-radiated again this time in all directions, including back down towards the earth.

One of earth's natural cycles is the carbon cycle. Billions of tons of atmospheric CO2 are removed from the atmosphere by oceans and growing plants, also known as ‘sinks,’ and are emitted back into the atmosphere annually through natural processes also known as ‘sources.’ When in balance, the total carbon dioxide emissions and removals from the entire carbon cycle are roughly equal.
Balance being the operative word here.
If we as a species add even one percent of global carbon to the carbon cycle we are adding a percent that not only can not be dealt with by the Natural cycle, but that will remain and be added to each year. So if we have been adding say one percent to the cycle each year for the past ten years, we would now have increased the level of carbon by ten percent.

The Sceptics full video from SBS Insight

As carbon levels in the atmosphere increase more and more long wave radiation is trapped and re-radiated, slowly increasing temperatures, causing further melt. Early in December of 2012 it was reported by scientists in Russia that they had witnessed plumes of methane escaping form the sea floor, and into the atmosphere as a direct result of ice at the sea floor melting. These plumes cover thousands of square kilometres.

'Fountains' of methane 1,000m across erupt from Arctic ice

 Methane (CH4) is a gas that remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years. Methane is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat (long wave radiation) in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2).
As greater amounts of long wave radiation are trapped in earth's atmosphere global temperatures begin to rise. This not only increases the rate of sea ice melt but also impacts on ocean temperatures and influences glacial ice melt.Earth’s average ocean surface temperature in July 2009 was the warmest since record keeping began in 1880, breaking the previous high mark established in 1998, according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Centre.
A NASA/University study published online on February 14th 2010 in Nature Geoscience finds that glaciers in West Greenland are melting one hundred times faster at their end point than at the surface. The melting of glaciers beneath the ocean surface causes deep, warm, salty water to be drawn up toward the glacier's face, where it mixes turbulently with the glacier's cold, fresh water. The water then rises along the glacier face, melting its ice along the way, then reaches the ocean surface and flows away from the glacier in a plume. An ocean temperature of 3 degrees Celsius can melt glacial ice at a rate of several meters per day, or hundreds of meters over the course of a summer.
Melting of the current Greenland ice sheet would result in a sea-level rise of about 6.5 meters.

If the Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, sea level would rise by about 60 meters.

Failure to make fundamental changes to the way our society operates will result in catastrophic changes to our environment. We can reconsider how we generate, and distribute energy. We have the technological capability to generate enough energy to run our own homes from our own homes. Through the use of solar and wind power generation, no more burning of coal, no more unsafe nuclear power. Then there is geothermal, wave, tidal,solar, and wind on an industrial scale, that would result in an abundance of energy. Even making only this change would result massive economic changes, but that is another subject.

We do not want your money, we are here to help.

In an age where so many of us have had our eyes opened to the
fraudulent financial system, it amazes me that the majority is of the
opinion that by the deconstruction of one small portion of the
problem a solution will be reached. This would seem to stem from
a lack of understanding in relation to the depth and scope of the
actual problems the human species is facing.
It would appear that many have come to the opinion that through
the end of the Federal Reserve Bank, the problems of inflation and
perpetual debt will be resolved.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Federal Reserve bank although a major player in the entire
system, is only one portion of that corrupt and fraudulent system.
The practice of fractional reserve banking will continue, thus the
inflation, or expansion of the money supply will be perpetuated.
Interest will still be charged on so called outstanding debts, and the
human species as a whole will still be enslaved through perpetuating
debt. Major corporations will still control global governments, and
policies will continue to ensure the control of the global population
through wage slavery.
The newest and most advanced technologies will continue to be
held back. Poverty will not be averted simply by bringing an end to
one portion of an outmoded financial system. Social stratification will
continue unhindered, recessions and depressions will occur
unhindered. Wars will still be raged in the name of capturing resources.
How many times will the human species have to go through great loss
at the hands of a fraudulent outdated financial system, before we will
all open our eyes to the natural truth of the world.
We have but one planet to live on together, and that planet and
everything contained on and within it are the common heritage of all
the human species.
If every human on the planet requires clean fresh water, a reliable
source of sustainable food, and shelter in order to live a healthy life,
why would these things not be the common heritage of our entire
family.
Through putting some abstract financial value on these things are we
not saying that a certain percentage of our species do not deserve to
live a healthy life?
If we implemented a global plan of hydroponic based food production
we could feed every human on the planet many many times over. The
instant reaction by many is to say "We do not have enough of our
fraudulent money to pay for such a venture."
When the only real question is, "Do we have the technological
understanding and the resources to do it?"
Of course, we do.
Let us think about our precious financial system this way. If a giant
meteor, or comet was heading toward earth, that would result in an
extinction level event, how much time would we spend ,in our current
financial mind set, debating who would fit the monetary bill in
relation to solving this problem.
It is of interest to note that work in this field has already begun.
A committee has been established through the United Nations, not
only to investigate how such an event could be averted, but to also
stipulate who would pay and how.
This in itself is ludicrous, for if a solution was not reached we would
ALL be dead.
Who would pay for that?
The human race as a whole needs to grow up, and fast.
We are so capable, we have the ability to solve every problem we
face, all we need do is abandon our current financial system, and
beliefs that any one country is somehow better than any other. We
need to come to the understanding that we are all one, and have
much more in common with each other, than what we have been
lead to believe.
There is nothing scary about sharing with each other, what is scary
is what we have now. One human being not only being willing to
take from another, but being educated that to do so is in fact all we
have. Solving the human races problems may not be a quick fix,
and it may take many many years of re-education for the masses to
understand a new social design.
This is in no way saying it can not be done.
The reality of the situation is that we have very little choice in the
matter. If we are to continue our existence on this planet, we most
certainly need to start thinking more about each other and  less
about our own selfish wants.
The time of finger pointing and playing the blame game has long
since past. It is now time to wake up, and accept responsibility for
the state we find our society in. Looking critically at our global
society and pin pointing the root cause to the many symptoms that
have manifested themselves due to the continued use of an
antiquated anachronistic institutionalized modes of thinking.
It is a brave new world we stand ready to enter.
The question remains, is the human race ready to move forward?
Do we have what it takes as a species to move in this brave new
directionof global responsibility?
I cannot answer that question for anyone apart from myself.
This will be the most difficult test the human species has had to
pass to date.
Can we change?
Upon investigation and self education the solution becomes clear.
Are you willing to take the first steps toward true global freedom?

The Zeitgeist Movement 

Green Living

One World, this planet, Earth.
It is all we have.
Our actions on this planet are not always worthy of praise, not when as a species we choose to act in a less than symbiotic manner.
As we choose to live and promote unsustainable living, and ignore the problems we as a species face.
The issues are too big, or things are not really that bad.
Is this the legacy we feel is acceptable to leave behind?
Should we choose not to make things better because they are not bad enough just yet?
I would like to think we can change anything and everything, simply because we can make things better than they currently are.
I believe that being green means coming together as one race, understanding that we share this planet not only with each other but with every species on this planet.
That our current industrial production systems are not only counter productive to a sustainable future for our children but life in general on this planet.
The continued pollution of our home is by no means to be viewed as or explained away as progress.
It is time for us all to come together, to get to know the people we coexist with and to share our thoughts and ideas.
To help each other, not for some sort of false financial gain, but for the benefit of our lives and future together.
To engage in open discussion, willing to grow from what we learn form each other and not hold stringently to what we think is true and correct. To accept as time moves forward we must as a unified species learn to evolve our ways of thinking to become more in line with sustainability.
Unlike any other species on this planet we have the ability to alter our environment on a global scale, perhaps we should consider that in our daily actions.
Together we can achieve anything, maybe it is time anything became the promotion of an altruistic movement toward green, peaceful living.
It is up to each and everyone of us.
Lets stand up together and demand change.
Peace and love will set us free.