Keith Addison wrote:
Sympathies Robert (though we're all in the same lifeboat), but are
you sure you're figuring it right? Maybe the next sentence would be
"but I didn't die long go so it must all be nonsense".
No, that's not what I was thinking. The sheer volume of
environmental insult we're subjected to seems overwhelming, and
depressing. Someone posted an article here about water contamination in
the "pristine" lakes of various BC mountain ranges, due to airborne
pollutants. We simply can't get away from the problem anymore. The air
quality in Vancouver (right on the beach) is often marginal because of
smog blowing in from Asia.
Sigh . . .
But the fact that I HAVEN'T keeled over yet is a tribute to the
robust nature of the human body.
But are you
going to live as long and as healthily as your grandparents did, say?
Likely more. I've already outlived my father, and I've only a few
years remaining before I outlive my paternal grandmother. Recall,
however, that my family is from Brasil, and that life expectancy among
my grandparent's generation wasn't great . . . If I outlive my in-laws,
I'll be doing well!
How about your children?
That concerns me!
You still have some difficulty grasping the
Precautionary Principle eh? More than enough reason for at least
precaution in all thoise issues you mention. You'd rather have proof
beyond all possibility of denial while various corporate bottom-lines
get optimised even better and even more crap gets externalised your
way? Powerful stuff denial, especially considering the gigabuck
resources of the deniers. Downright pity about all the collateral in
the meantime though.
Indeed! But my take on this is a little bit more complicated than
you seem to grasp. I grew up in a subculture where taboos on food were
related to a person's spiritual condition and had to be accepted without
criticism. Cheese, for instance, was considered unfit for human
consumption. (I'm NOT kidding!) The consumption of meat was frowned
upon, and NOBODY ate pork or shellfish. We didn't drink alcohol, or
take drugs (unless prescribed by a physician, and then, only with great
reluctance). We didn't smoke cigarettes, or chew tobacco either. Some
of these things are clearly unhealthy, while the impact on health of the
prohibited foods is either scientifically unsupported or downright silly.
But I wouldn't have come to that conclusion had I not begun
questioning what had been presented to me as fact. As far as the
Precautionary Principle is concerned, you're right to point out that I'm
having trouble embracing it, but please bear in mind that it's a very
different way of thinking, and it takes time to assimilate what I learn
here. (I've already abandoned vegetarianism, and that was REALLY
tough!) It gets to the point where it seems EVERYTHING is bad for human
health, the sky is falling and we're all going to die horribly . . .
Now, as far as microwave ovens are concerned, my sweetheart uses
ours for reheating food and I use it when warming water for tea. If we
applied the Precautionary Principle to our society as a whole, we'd have
to get rid of electricity because of EMF concerns, fossil hydrocarbon
fuels because of cancer and global warming worries, mineral extraction
because of heavy metals leaching into groundwater, and on and on and on
. . .
Perhaps I'm overstating the case, and maybe this stems from the fact
that I really haven't wrapped my mind around the Precautionary Principle
yet. But where DOES it stop, Keith? (Air and water pollution are
pretty obvious candidates for broad based application of the
Precautionary Principle, but what about mineral extraction, or
forestry? Can we survive as a society without mining some of the
earth's dowry?) I can hear the extremists from my past screaming that
milk "is designed to grow a calf into a cow for a year," and that we
should never consume milk or milk products because of potential
deleterious impacts on human health. They too, cite studies to prove
their point and tell me that the arthritis in my joints stems from
drinking milk over such a long period of time.
Please forgive me for ranting about this. I'm TRYING to understand,
but I'm frustrated, too!
Some further bracingly cheerful news for you, from Acres USA:
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/microwave.html
The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking
Lovely!
I reheat most of my food in the toaster oven, and I've been trying
to get my longsuffering wife to do the same. I'm printing this article
for her to read.
(growing things again)
We're under snow right now but there's plenty still growing here,
different kinds of greens that can take the cold, Chinese cabbages,
ta sai, kometsuma, Swiss chard and so on, and turnips and stuff.
We're still digging new potatoes! We planted them much too late, I
didn't think we'd get anything, but there's quite a lot, nice! We'll
be harvesting winter-hardy onions soon, planted in September (or was
it October). We should be able to get us and the poultry through to
the spring on fresh food.
You're a model of self-sufficiency, Keith! Our ground is rock hard
right now.
Anyway, what makes you so sure there'll be a spring? :-)
I read a book by Michael Drosnin concerning equidistant letter
sequences in the Old Testament. (It's his second one on the subject,
and has to rank among the most rambling and ill-written things I've read
in a long time!) He advocates using this technique as a kind of
palantir to determine the future, and warned that we'd suffer a nuclear
holocaust in 2006, because the words "nuclear", "holocaust" and the
equivalent year of "2006" in the Hebrew calendar all cross one another.
Given that today is the last day of the year, if he's right, tomorrow is
going to be very different!
I'm either skeptical, or I've got my head in the sand. I want
spring to come. It'll be good to get out in the garden again.
Now, if I can just get that pesky truck of mine running . . .
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
"The Long Journey"
New Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.newadventure.ca
Ranger Supercharger Project Page
http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/
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