…climate reality
Well now that Irma tore up the West Indian “Greater Antilles” – especially some outcroppings like Barbuda – are we finally going to get some serious rethinking about the connection between these intensified storms, global warming and our carbon pollution? The short answer is NO!! And why is your usually non-committal Eyewitness being so adamant in his answer? Well just that the real Irma didn’t really hit Florida – just a tired, exhausted version!
Now don’t think your Eyewitness WANTED Irma to do more damage… but if it had, especially after Harvey in Texas, then there definitely would’ve been some reflection by the Southern Bible Belters who form the core of Trump’s climate-change deniers. So while China and India will be going green, Trump and America will be pumping ever more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by fracking shale oil – and even coal.
Now the East convinced us natives – in what’s now the “Third World” – that we were just ignorant sods because we didn’t do things “scientifically”. Using cow dung and other waste as manure?! Backward – not to mention disgusting! Artificial fertilisers like urea which is made from petroleum gas is better. Living in harmony with forests? Eweuuu! That’s for uncivilised pygmies and Indigenous Indians! Burn the forests down!
But suddenly even though their own science and scientists assert conclusively that climate change is connected with the increasingly higher temperatures created by higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels – and that’s causing havoc with our climate – the cry by Trump is “What Climate Change and carbon emissions?” And the yokels follow their piper!
Now one can say the truth was hidden from them by companies like Exxon, which we know hid the real data, their studies revealed – confirming the connection between carbon dioxide levels and climate change. But that’s not the whole truth, is it? The Americans that follow Trump don’t believe the scientists because to do so would force them to accept that five per cent of the world’s population shouldn’t be using us 25 per cent of the world’s resources including burning up nearly 25 per cent of the coal, 26 per cent of the oil, and 27 per cent of the world’s natural gas.
This obviously would mean taking a cut in the ever-rising standard of living it takes to be number one in the world…and that’s a no no!! But while some may feel this is all academic to us Guyanese since hurricanes and such like will literally pass over our heads, there’s still that small matter of rising seas.
With our mudland already five feet BELOW sea level, it wouldn’t take much to wash away those sea walls!
…the ducks
Your Eyewitness’ ears literally perked up when he read about the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) producing 408,000 ducklings last year. Now in the interest of fair disclosure, your Eyewitness has to admit he loves duck in any of the myriad forms it can be prepared – fried, curried, baked, bunjal, stewed, and most of all – roasted “Peking Duck” style. Ahhh…he has to sop up his salivation as he remembers those crisp, crackling paper-like skin of that roasted duck he had in China Town last month!!
But he didn’t know the GLDA was not only selling the ducklings – that was but a mere seven per cent of what they sold to farmers, but the rest – amounting to over 1 MILLION pounds they sold off @ $250/lb!! Your Eyewitness’ better half nearly had a fit when she heard that. Here it was, she’d been buying WHOLE ducks at her local market – with feathers and all – @ $580 per scrawny lb!!
So who’s been getting this MILLION pounds of duck practically free?
…crime
The Police reported there was a 41 per cent INCREASE in robbery with violence, but the Chronic decided to headline an 18 per cent DECREASE in murder.
Looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses or propagating propaganda?