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Sustainable Development
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
World leaders are meeting in Johannesburg at the moment to discuss sustainable development. So how do we help poor countries develop?
With regard to government-to-government aid, how can we expect 3rd world governments to use aid properly when they are full of corruption and run by crackpots like Robert Mugabe?
With regard to government-to-government aid, how can we expect 3rd world governments to use aid properly when they are full of corruption and run by crackpots like Robert Mugabe?
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The cancellation of debt for third world nations is a positive step forward, but must be aided by the promotion of stable government.
As for environmental aspects, there is no evidence that humans are the cause of global warming or the hole in the ozone layer. We've only known of the existence of the hole for 20 years, and global tempratures have fluctuated radically for millenia.
I know we have to start on damage control, cut down on somethings, but not for the reasons the greenies go on about.
The fact is that action has to be taken now. Fresh water is already running scarce and will become the earth's most valued resource during this century. We continue to overfish, to decimate the world's rainforests, to pollute indiscriminately and raise global temperature, to allow thousands of children in the third world to die every day from preventable causes. Shame on us.
The saddest thing is that many of these problems are preventable. OK so we can't do much to prevent climate change, but we have the technology to recycle much of what we use, provide desalination plants for countries with a poor water supply and to prevent many diseases. We just lack the political will to implement these changes.
If anyone saw the Scottish news last night, they might have seen a story about Alba resource recovery being refused planning permission for a huge recycling centre in Fife. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2230892.stm The same company also wants to build a similar centre at the Killoch Colliery in Ayrshire but again has come up against fierce opposition from local NIMBYs.
Alba says that recycling can only be viable if done on a commercial basis (and I agree), but the locals don't want hundreds of bin wagons cluttering up the already busy and dangerous local roads. What could be done to solve this kind of problem?
Reduced number of people without access to clean water by half, by 2015 :eek:
Even though to could do this by 2005, for all if they really wanted to.
and...er...that's about it really. That's all they agreed to so far.
60,000 delegates, nearly a week and that's yer lot. Nice to know that our money isn't being wasted then :rolleyes:
The US/OPEC still don't want to talk about renewables, so no surprise there, oh and Mugabe thinks that the reason his country is having problems at the moment is Tony Blair :eek:
Well, we could...
I thought it was hilarious, but for some reason he got applauded :eek: Now I know that TB has many things to answer for, but I don't think that Mugabe can really pin that one on him
Most of those who are mocking the conference are the usual Sun/Telegraph/Mail capitalist right-wingers who ultimately hate the word environment because they believe it interferes with their right to make as much profit as possible without having to worry about pollution/climate.
Ebb
I don't see the need to save the environemt, its not an eternal thing, the sun will pack up one day, what does it matter which is the last generation to inhabit the earth ? The next won't know anything about it.
but the more we look after our enviroment the longer we can stay on this planet, which is giving us more time to develope orbital elevators, Instant matter transferal and other things that mean we can get off this planet, and inhabit someplace else.
People say that they have a "natural urge" have babies, i disagree, i think the urge is actually telling them to preserve the human race, and having babies is the only way that most people see themselves able to do.
Just because the reasons that most of the stupid green crowd give are tosh, there is no reason to assume that the effect they are after is irrelevent.
Ebb
I don't see the need to save the environemt, its not an eternal thing, the sun will pack up one day, what does it matter which is the last generation to inhabit the earth ? The next won't know anything about it.
but the more we look after our enviroment the longer we can stay on this planet, which is giving us more time to develope orbital elevators, Instant matter transferal and other things that mean we can get off this planet, and inhabit someplace else.
People say that they have a "natural urge" have babies, i disagree, i think the urge is actually telling them to preserve the human race, and having babies is the only way that most people see themselves able to do.
Just because the reasons that most of the stupid green crowd give are tosh, there is no reason to assume that the effect they are after is irrelevent.
I wouldn't be so sure. I think what you actually see is their differing role. Powell has to play a diplomatic role. Just as Jack Sraw does over here. War is seen as a failure in diplomacy.
If you look into some of his speeches he can be just a "hawkish"
Excellent wasn't it. Just as he was condemning Zimbabwe (correctly I might add), the anti-US protesters started, thus giving the impression that actually they support Mugabe.
Talk about time and place.
Yes, I agree that the US should be comdemned for many of its actions, but that really wasn't the time to do it.
Later, when he was talking about US commitment to the eviroment (how he kept a straight face I'll never know) should have been used wider than it was. Unfortunately the short sighted anti group missed their opportunity because they had already left.
60,000 people there already, and they come to very few agreements. Do you honestly think his being there would make any realy difference?
Personally I think that most countries were over-represented. Look at the UK. Blair, Meacher, Prescott, Hodge...we sent four cabinet ministers FFS
With regard to Bush, considering that he and his predecessors have systematically boycotted, ignored or pulled out of every single environmental treaty in the last few years the least he could do is to show his face and explain how the U.S. can be committed to the environment when it's doing fuck all about it.