--- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@...> wrote: > > On 08/05/2013 01:33 PM, Susan wrote: > > > > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > >>>> On 08/04/2013 08:18 PM, Susan wrote: > >>>>> I just saw Pandora's Promise, by Robert Stone, an environmentalist who > >>>>> has in the past been active in anti-nuclear energy protests. He got > >>>>> convinced otherwise and has made this docu. It features info and also > >>>>> interviews with several environmentalists who have educated themselves > >>>>> and changed their minds about nuclear energy. Stuart Brand (Whole > >>>>> Earth catalogue) is one and so is Mark Lynas, who wrote the book Six > >>>>> Degrees in 2007. I have mentioned that book here several times - > >>>>> terrific and accessible read about climate change. Lynas was anti > >>>>> nuclear for years - and now changed his mind. A worthwhile movie to > >>>>> see - and while I am not at all an expert on nuclear power, it made a > >>>>> really good case for the positives. It also seems that there is a type > >>>>> of nuclear power (IFR) that produces waste that is recyclable by the > >>>>> nuclear plant itself. The safeguards on these are also incredible. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> I grew up near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation which is now having a > >>>> terrible time with all the waste that facility generated. Nuclear energy > >>>> is NOT a very good idea. And when you let profit hungry big > >>>> corporations run the show the problem gets worse. > >>>> > >>>> Right now the problems facing this world are from one thing: too large a > >>>> human population. This needs to be addressed humanly through one child > >>>> programs etc. We could probably survive and enjoy life with a much > >>>> lower supply of electrical energy and still keep a lot of the technology > >>>> we have today. The problem is the every man for himself atmosphere that > >>>> laissez faire capitalism promotes. That keeps excessive consumption > >>>> alive just so some bunch can keep making money. How insane! > >>>> > >>> And can you actually imagine western nations enforcing a one child > >>> policy? This is wishful thinking, even if a terrific solution. On a long > >>> drive recently I listened to Dan Brown's new novel, Inferno. Not a very > >>> well written book. But......Plot spoiler alert from this point on: The > >>> plot is about a scientist and others who feel that they must do something > >>> drastic to reduce earth's population or else we are going to be extinct > >>> due to damage to the planet. Via terrorist means, they plan to introduce > >>> into the atmosphere a virus that renders about 1/3 of the people who > >>> breathe it infertile. > >>> In real life, there are apparently groups out there who are hoping for > >>> some event or epidemic or something to reduce our numbers and save us > >>> from ourselves. > >> OK, spoiler here.... > >
> >> And I have other friends who have chosen not to have children at all in > >> spite of the fact that they are very bright people. It's the religious > >> fundamentalists who have still having large families obviously because > >> their emotions drive them more than reason. > > And also the billions of people in other countries who have many children. > > And they do that because they want at least one child to survive to take > care of them in old life. Do some kind of program like Social Security > for the and the problem goes away. Also more education for women in > developing countries is essential for keeping the birth rate down. > > > > > My soon to be married son is seriously considering not having children due > > to what he expects the future to be like. I would love grandchildren and we > > humans seem to be pack animals, but I can understand his concerns. This is > > not something we thought of back in the 70's and 80's. > >> BTW, a few months back I found a copy of a Chinese newspaper delivered > >> here and to all houses in the neighborhood. The ad on the front page > >> celebrated the single child policy. Of course folks from China are > >> coming over on tours to buy houses in the US. > > More details on folks from China coming here to buy homes, please. So they > > can have more children? Due to pollution in China? It is not easy to > > become a citizen here for them, is it? > > More money. It's the rich Chinese buying houses and in some cases > businesses. You can probably look up details via search. One such article: > http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/08/real_estate/chinese-homebuyers/index.html The article mentions that 70% of the Chinese home purchases here are all in cash. In a related topic, a friend of mine is up on the latest education info for high school prep schools and Ivy League colleges. He says that the most selective prep schools and colleges have tons of Asian applicants, enough to fill the entire freshmen classes. And the students are all high scoring and extremely capable. Finally, their parents are willing to pay all cash - no grants or scholarships or loans! Our schools obviously do not accept them all.......but that is our competition. There are just so many many Chinese and so there are many very talented people coming along. Let's hope they can be part of a generation that solves some serious problems. > > I also notice the increase in price of food and have heard that some of > our food is being shipped to China because they will pay more for it. > Ain't capitalism grand? > > > B, do you agree with James Kelleher's predictions about the 2019-20 > > timeframe and that dharma might be leaving the earth for a while beginning > > then? If so, when is dharma supposed to return, anyway? > > Not familiar with that prediction. You can observe the collective > consciousness of society by being alert and keeping your memory in good > shape. Then you'll notice the trends. Right now the collective > consciousness is not in great shape. >
