Disinformation and the Climate Crisis

Anyone reading independent news reports would be well aware of the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Predictions state the planet has only ten years within which we can enact significant change if we want to avoid devastating environmental consequences.

When does climate change become climate crisis?

The answer is, “decades ago.”

The Climate Covenant, Martin C. Frederiks IV

With wild disinformation on the climate crisis raging and short-term strategic planning so prevalent in business circles, it’s encouraging to read an independent perspective from an accomplished writer whose fundamental message is – if we actually start doing the right things now, we can make a difference so our children can enjoy a sustainable lifestyle on this planet.

IV Words Blogger Martin Fredericks, in his new book, The Climate Covenant, seeks not only to inspire real, unbiased discussions on climate change, but also seeks to motivate readers to become truly active in making non-violent demands for climate change. That is, by amplifying the message with elected officials and throughout the wider community, because the matter is urgent.

The Cost of Economic Development and Redefining Growth

Every time we build – every time we “grow” – there are cost to humanity. And the bill is coming due.

Martin C. Frederiks Iv, the climate covenant

Even before the great depression and monetarist economic theory, economic growth was seen as progressive and highly desirable. Nature, it was believed, was infinitely bountiful and was there for the use of mankind.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Martin Frederik reinforces that there will be a tipping point after which nature cannot recover from man’s activities and, therefore, economic growth and activities need to be reframed and perhaps, redefined.

Instead of analysing progress and growth in terms of G.D.P, new constructions, or interest rates, it is suggested society might rather measure, “growth,” in terms of improvements in water quality, or increases in re-forestation levels.

How different would an economically prosperous country be, in a nature-based growth scenario?

Is this possible under the current economic models? With new practices, attitudes and initiatives aimed at coping with changing conditions, Martin Frederiks believes it is.

Climate Change Obstacles and Initiatives

The Climate Covenant also comprehensively examines the latest debates on the contributions of clean coal, methane emissions, gas flares and other fossil fuel emissions, to global warming; the petroleum industry’s attitudes, policies and requests for pandemic bail-outs; the disinformation about greenwashing campaigns; Greta Thunberg’s climate activism and the environmental problems with ‘build back better,’ all with real-life examples.

Wind and Renewable Energy Solutions

The author explains how clean energy, from wind, can be part of a climate solution. A proven example: Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany derives a massive 40% of their energy from wind turbines, whilst Martin’s home state of North Dakota has 1.8%.

Dakota’s energy infrastructure can’t currently cope with moving wind-generated electricity, and the solving of this problem is complex. Building electrical infrastructure requires massive investment, business needs clarification from the Government on the tax implications for and of new technology, plus there’s widespread community opposition to the aesthetics of wind turbines and all that must be sorted.

But again, it is possible. The old energies are not without big problems, either. Contrast the Northern German successful transition with Texas:-

10-13% of power distribution failures in Texas were due to issues with solar or wind facilities, (the frozen wind turbine fallacy), while the other 87-90% was due to equipment malfunctions at coal and natural gas facilities and distribution networks.

Ref: The Climate Covenant

Disinformation on Climate Change and Weather Anomalies?

A salient point the author makes in the book, The Climate Covenant, is that reporters so often make decisions about how they pitch stories using value-based judgements rather than science, especially when it relates to an aberrant weather event that may, or may not be related, to the climate crisis.

Science has already debunked the populist opinions that if there’s no really hot weather, global warming can’t be real. Although all kinds of weather will be experienced with climate change, it is known wild weather and extreme weather events will be experienced more frequently as the atmosphere warms.

Personally, I have lost count of the number of times I have heard or read, “This is a once in a lifetime extreme weather event,” from a news report, in the last five years.

Therefore, The Climate Covenant’s intention is to motivate readers into NON-VIOLENT actions that reduce and eliminate negative environmental and planetary impacts.

Climate-Covenant

What We Can Do to Combat the Climate Crisis

According to the author, there is no time to wait. He believes we must:

• Think and act in situations so that how and what we do is about saving the planet and is ALWAYS part of the calculations
• Support locally grown and sustainable food producers
• Contact our political representative and insist they pass and enact legislation that addresses climate change
• Vote for the ones that have this goal
• Work on and contribute to campaigns for candidates who put the climate crisis at the top of their agenda

Plus, Martin gives us 25 more simple and effective ways we can all fight the climate crisis.

Be the change we want to see in the world

Further to his mission to increase knowledge and motivate action, Martin Frederiks has founded the Knights of the Climate Covenant, a nonprofit organisation with a global mission to increase the number of people who take nonviolent personal, community and political actions to address global warming and resulting climate change. (see below)

The more people who are informed, the closer Martin believes we are to reaching the critical 3.5% of climatic activists necessary to initiate and demand real sustainable and lasting positive change, not only for our planet but for our shared future.

I am very happy to recommend this book.

Information and knowledge is power.

https://theclimateknights.org/

The Future of Australia

This is Australia, a continent not ravaged by war, disease or famine.

A country rich in resources and a friendly open public.

It should be a vanguard for a successful democracy, shouldn’t it?

Australia in 2020

A wobbly renewable energy sector,

Over-reliance of exports of raw materials,

A powerful and corrupt financial sector,

A struggling research and tech industry.

Environmental devastation from natural disasters,

Bushfire, drought and cheap imports.

Declining export markets and competitiveness.

Decreasing full time unemployment and

increasing casualization of the workforce.

It all sounds like a bit like a third world country, but it isn’t.

This is Australia!

And it might be a recipe for economic and environmental disaster.

The Tyranny of Distance

Many companies find trading in Australia logistically difficult, due to the ‘tyranny of distance’. We are, after all, stuck right down the bottom of the planet, on the way to nowhere except perhaps New Zealand and Antarctica, and not too many companies head to the southern continent. (No offence there to my Kiwi rellies intended).

In order to stay competitive, Australian companies might decide to decrease production costs, and one popular method of achieving this is reducing staff. Any profits made via increased productivity, is then divided up amongst shareholders. So there is not much incentive to hold onto staff.

Offshore Corporate Relocation

Companies that formerly hired Australians in varying sectors of the economy have, in the last decade, moved company operations off-shore, to a cheaper labour market in Asia, Bangladesh or India.

The result: Lower quality control, poorer reliability and worst of all: – less jobs in Australia! Not only is there less job vacancies, there are less permanent full time jobs – with the end result being a workforce that is highly casualized and contractual. That sure doesn’t help economic stability.

The solar energy industry and the Green movements are not to blame, yet that seems to be the mantra from conservative politicians and mining companies magnates. The country has became so very much dependant on them, that it is their voices that now carry weight over any others.

Agricultural Industry

The agriculture and animal farming industries are in constant decline too, with perhaps the worst, yet to be experienced, as we feel the full brunt of the aftermath of the bushfires and the Chinese slowdown.

splitting the mob

Australia grew up on the “sheep’s back.” That is, we sold wool and wheat to the world. But as the third world develops along western lines, Australian products have become far too expensive, and we have to add in long and expensive hours of transport, from this corner of the planet. Thus, Aussie products are no longer selling well, and there is nothing yet to replace that.

Except mining.

This gives the mining companies so much power to influence public policy and push their own agenda, to politicians.

We have a non- existent manufacturing sector – what we did have already disappeared overseas. The banks and mines and perhaps, housing construction are the only thing keeping our economy going and thus, our current standard of living.

Is this enough to maintain our current standard of living into the future?

“… the old cargo cult mentality of Australia that she’ll be right.”

Paul Keating Former P.M and Treasurer

Education in the form of mostly Asian fee-paying students, is the only other small growth area in the economy, and wholly depends on Australia’s immigration policy towards foreigner students.

Universal Compulsory Voting

The outlook seems bleak, and even more so, as the majority of people do not realize the long term implications for our country. They appear easily swayed by sweet talking politicians.

Politicians with a complex and well thought through economic plan did not seem to find favor in the electorate at the last election.

Franking Credit Scheme

The Government pays out an enormous amount of money on public schooling in Australia, and an equivalent amount, is paid out by the Government to shareholder investors, in the form of franking credits for shares. The shareholders get paid a second time by the Government on top of the dividend itself, and the proposed scheme to rein this in, was complex.

Dividends are paid out of profits which have already been subject to Australian company tax which is currently 30%. This means that shareholders receive a rebate for the tax paid by the company on profits distributed as dividends.You are entitled to receive a credit for any tax the company has paid. If your top tax rate is less than the company’s tax rate, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will refund you the difference.

http://www.commsec.com.au/education/learn/managing-investments/how-do-franking-credits-work.html

With the Opposition not being able to communicate this properly to the electorate at the last election, meant the incumbent Government hoodwinked voters into believing money was going to be taken off their investments and another new tax imposed!

Emissions Initiatives

Suggestions of introducing Emissions trading schemes have ended many a politician’s career on both sides of politics. The media and oppositions have turned these suggestions in to the popular and false threat of a “new tax,” and the Australia public runs scared.

Voting in Australia

Compulsory voting means these folks who are ill-informed, or who might hear a mere headline or snippet of news from a tabloid source, vote with a knee-jerk reaction. In key electorates, this can make or break a good policy and Government, even though the majority of voters see through this charade.

Photo Credit: i.guim.co.uk

Another example of voter ignorance was the suggestion of introducing a subsidized Electric Car Initiatives to tackle Climate Change and Emissions, which was scoffed at by conservatives who believed, quite incorrectly, that if elected, the party with the Electric car proposal would destroy the Aussie weekend culture, that centres around activities, in the ‘Ute” – (pickup truck)

Solar Power Generation

A country bathed in perpetual sunlight should be the solar powerhouse of the world. We should have our own solar panels in endless production, but instead we import solar panels from colder countries like Canada, Germany and China.

Why?

Because Australia has alway relied heavily on Coal fired power. Dirty Coal. The current Prime Minister loves it so much he brought some into parliament. What a joke!

Apparently it is cheaper to pollute the planet, than support Australian jobs and industry. In fact, the coal mining lobby is so widespread and so powerful, it spreads so many lies and falsehoods about solar power generation, it is scandalous. And the naive voters lap this up and spit it back at backyard barbeques to other ignorant constituents, who don’t know any better. Closed minds and closed hearts. And these folks vote.

An initial scheme to subsidize the introduction of solar panels in residential homes was SO successful, the government put a stop to it, as the coal industry was feeling the financial pinch and the government was losing royalties paid by mining companies.

Notwithstanding a solution is urgently needed to dispose of used solar panels, why on earth would you not want free, clean, non-polluting energy, I ask?

I’m irritated by the incumbent government and the future of my country. I now question universal suffrage and the abilities of the opposition parties to communicate their policies with the electorate.

Is this where democracy is flawed?

The public votes for short term gains, and not long term benefits for all?

Australia – become informed and think about where your vote goes.

The Crime of Poverty

Berlioz has a post here that is crucial reading and is an entirely independent and refreshing view of the economic problems besieging the world.

Although the analogy with the natural world has some merit, I think that the natural world is far more ruthless than humanity. There is very little care for the sick and defective in the natural world, and the laws of nature and natural selection are tough but have meant survival of the species.

The very interesting parellel and commonality between nature and man’s world is the loss of land/habitat. This is the major reason for extinction of natural species and could also prove to be the reason for our extinction in the worst case scenario.

A worthwhile read. Thanks so much, Berlioz

Berlioz1935's Blog

The beautiful Hunter Valley NSW, Australia

We. my wife Uta and I, are members of the “Association for Good Government” and last Saturday they held a conference near Pokolbin in the Hunter Region  of NSW.

The association is propagating and teaching  the ideas and principles of the American economist and social philosopher Henry George.

The theme of the conference was  based on a speech Henry George gave on 1st of April 1885 at the  Opera House of Burlington. Iowa, USA.”The Crime of Poverty“.

Burlington Opera House in 1910

If you read the speech you will find it was no April fool’s joke. We learnt, that about four hundred people attended who each paid  a 50 cents entrance fee.

George suggests, it is not a crime to be poor but poverty is a social crime of which we, the whole society, are all guilty of. It…

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