Screw Africa and Climate Change

[Al Khalifah]

Now is it me or prior to 9 o'clock on 7/7/05 was all that could be seen in British news programmes articles about Africa and Climate Change. They were our two major obsessions and we heard very little about anything but. We were also all getting very excited about the G8 summit and the exciting developments that were going to occur there...

And then what? These two stories seem to have completely disapeared on off the mainstream media map. You really have to dig to find information about either of them from the British media. These were the two most important media stories around and now they are at the same level as stories about old ladies doing tai-chi and the progress of Blyth tiddley-winks team.

While I appreciate that the London Bombings are closer to home and require urgent reporting, surely we should not completely lose focus on these two other issues. Are we so ignorant as viewers that we cannot handle more than one main story at once? Or is it that Africa is once again, no longer the flavour of the month and now we've had our little rock concert we don't care anymore.

52 people died in the London bombings. That many people die every 156 seconds from preventable disease in Africa - thats 28,800 people a day.
Predicted maps based on climate change data suggest that much of England will be flooded in 100 years if the issue is not tackled now.

I'm not marginalising this terrorist attack, but come on, do not lose sight of the big picture when we have this much momentum.

[Idaho]

I think we will only think long term as a species when we sort out longevity treatments. I mean if we know we are going to be a round in 300 years time we might just take climate projections seriously rather than happily go along with the 2% of scientists who tell us what we think we want to hear and are sponsored by the very companies who benefit from the status quo.

[Al Khalifah]

I think we will only think long term as a species when we sort out longevity treatments.Whatever happened to the classical ideal of etching your name in eternity? When we are gone and our flesh is dust, how will people speek our names in the future?
For the very reason we are not immortal we should seek to ensure our legacy for the future. How will the World of the future regard our generation? What has our generation achieved? Why not make it this.

[Red Harvest]

Too many of my countrymen don't even care what they leave to their kids in the way of a world. How else do you explain a $7 trillion dollar deficit and continued large deficits every year? It is generational politics in action. Tax ourselves less now, so our kids and grandkids can pay our bill later. We are stealing money from our children and grandchildren. I won't even call it borrowing, because there is no intent or ability to repay.

Same with CO2, energy, and ozone issues I'm afraid. Wait unitl we are trying to use shale for oil. The recovery is energy intensive and only about 40% with the remainder being lost as CO2 from the recovery process. CO2 release levels will effectively double.

[PanzerJaeger]

Screw Africa and Climate Change

Sounds good to me. As Red Harvest said, weve got bigger problems to deal with over here. ~;)

[Red Harvest]

Sounds good to me. As Red Harvest said, weve got bigger problems to deal with over here. ~;)

Ones that those in power seem to be "dealing with" by making them worse.

[Al Khalifah]

As Red Harvest said, weve got bigger problems to deal with over here.
Like the fact that a rise in sea levels of just 3m would sink half of Florida?

[Xiahou]

I read this (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050718/bs_afp/africaustradeagoa_050718194411) just yesterday.


Ministers, entrepreneurs and trade experts from 35 African countries and the United States began to plot ways to give African goods a better shot at US markets and find means to boost non-oil exports from the poorest continent. Sounds at least like the US is doing something worthwhile.