James Delingpole’s November roundup of posts in the UK Telegraph is hilarious Telegraph. If you have a chance to read these pre-holiday treasures you won’t regret it. Those unfamiliar with Delingpole’s style might want to steer clear if sarcastic wit threaded into the truth bothers you. The comments section is as always with his columns another major source of amusement.
The only problem I have with this kind of commentary is that it seems to engage in the greatest magical thinking of all time, that 1) we'll never run out of any natural resource no matter how we use it, and 2) humans will always solve the problems that threaten them. To such comments I have one thing to say: "Mayans."
ReplyDeleteWe're not going to agree on this topic most likely, but that's OK. While I don't see us as being on the edge of destruction, it only makes good sense to work on ways to conserve energy resources and to seek out alternate fuels. One of his major points seems to be that governments shouldn't be given carte blanche to control all these kinds of things, and I agree with that. Encouraging the private sector is important. But it's perfectly clear historically that civilizations have fallen due to lack of resources.
Actually, Charles, civilizations fall because they lose their moral compass. With hedonism comes deterioration and eventually complete decay. Like the historians, say the Mayans didn't disappear, they moved.
ReplyDeleteDelingpole has never been an advocate of wasting resources. He has always been a strident adversary of thieves in government stealing money to pay for failure. Governments taxing (stealing) money while claiming to do it in the name of saving resources is the oldest con in history. Government IS waste.
Governments are certainly wasteful. I'll agree with that. Civilizations fall for a variety of reasons. Many fall and have fallen because of problems with resources. Easter Island and the Mayans are examples. Others fall because they become decadent and turn over defense of the civilization to those who don't care about it. As happened, at least in part, to Rome. Some even fall due to disease, and many are brought down from outside even though they are strong within themselves, such as the Aztecs.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayans not only faced a long drought period but also a deranged monarchy and barbarians at the gates. Easter Island - small place, growing population, power mad chiefs and priests, invasion, doom. Where ancient civilizations are concerned decadence destroys and Mother Nature was a harsh mistress. I believe we got off track here, Charles.
ReplyDeleteDelingpole, nor any other anti-global warming scam opponent denies earth goes through heating and cooling periods. He and the majority of real climate scientists know it's the sun and not our SUV's warming and cooling the planet. World governments and UN puppets stealing our money to stop the unstoppable is simple thievery not grandiose resource conservation. Blaming our recent warming period on humans when an even longer and warmer period is documented centuries ago defies logic. Freezing people to death in the UK under the new taxation plan to fight 'Climate Disruption' is absurd and government decadence at its worst.