Like Bison, humans form groups to maximize the chances of survival and propagation. As do bacteria and other life forms. In most species these bonds are largely instinctive, but in humans there is a conscious intellectual element as well, because of the nature of our brains. In a peaceful and ordered society this tendency is channelled into team sports, among other things and is generally considered to be positive. In a troubled society, the energy goes into supporting opposing political factions with potential for actual violence as we have witnessed in the US lately. When things turn really nasty, the opposing group is de-humanized and made ready for slaughter in a confrontational war, or by way of 'ethnic cleansing'. In the last few years we have been slowly slipping down this greasy totem pole, driven by an accelerating pace of wealth finding its way into fewer and fewer hands, at the expense of people at large, with very predictable results. Because it has happened so many...
Today is Easter Sunday in the English calendar, a time for renewal, new life and the challenges and rewards of spring and summer. And layered on top of that are ongoing long lasting changes, driven by humans and forces beyond our control. The era of overt colonialism changed last century, as former colonies became states under the illusion of having gained independence. Kwame Nkrumah, an African nationalist, was instrumental in creating the state of Ghana in Africa in 1957. He was overthrown in a coup in 1966, largely facilitated by the former colonizers, but with popular support. Nkrumah had grand visions of a United Africa, akin to the United States, where he spent quite a bit of time. But alas, he turned into another little dictator using the tribal governance model to suppress any opposition to himself. And Africa generally, has reverted back to the tribal governance model, within the confines of former colonial borders. Now, as for Klaus Schwab and his grand vision of a new world ...
I’m not talking about what happens when old farts like me have problems discharging their personal water. No, this is about enabling Mother Earth to retain the fresh water that comes down in the form of rain. The key is intact vegetation with root systems that penetrate deep into the earth and provide a universe for microbial life. Regrettably, most human practices on the land, achieve exactly the opposite result as land is cleared and used for innumerable reasons. Overgrazing with livestock does the same thing, as humans sacrifice their future for short term gain. Here in Canada, we have a great land engineer at our service that can help restore damaged ecosystems: Bertie Beaver, a much maligned rodent that builds dams on water courses, slowing down runoff after storms and so making water available to underground life forms of all kinds. And that results in above ground life flourishing as well, including ourselves. All Bertie needs are some nice trees to feed on and build his dams fr...
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