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- Obmutescent, obedible, omphaloskeptic ovines...
- Ongoing ocean observations II...
- Ocean observation of opaque octopus...
- Older opium outlook...
- Ocean observation; orarian oblectation...
- More Recent Articles
Silent, docile navel-gazing sheep (OK, not sure sheep can do that easily!). We are become...nothing.
All very depressing. The Naked Emperor's latest "A Picture is worth a Thousand Words": Or a survey result...yes, polls are notoriously more shite then ever but this definitely rings true, and in such a short time (2016-22):
Look at the wording, "definitely should...". We are lost. 'To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.' Robert Louis Stevenson
Source: Ocean Clean-up Paper: Science (Advances) Hat-tip: bad cat
"and this is why i find the issues raised by so many of the self-described “greens” today who have been so subsumed and outright eaten by the “anthropogenic global warming” story so problematic:
because they have become the enemies of actual environmentalism and ecology by setting their goals and demands in opposition to that which actually supports the environment.
and this has become absurd and malformed to the point of being truly dangerous and counterproductive."
...or more accurately glass octopus. Ah nostalgia! Saw this Massimo* tweet and immediately thought of Paul (nearly 13 years ago!).
"scientists made two rare sightings of a glass octopus, a nearly transparent species whose only visible features are its optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract. Before this expedition, there has been limited live footage of the glass octopus, forcing scientists to learn about the animal by studying specimens found in the gut contents of predators."
* proof that Twitter isn't only a raging troll infested bear-pit free-for-all.
Interesting insights into the Afghanistan government's (AKA The Taliban) successful ban on opium production. William Byrd [ Link to article] writing at The United States Institute of Peace [ About] says " The ban is not a counter-narcotics victory and will have negative economic and humanitarian consequences, potentially leading to a refugee crisis."
This isn't the first time; the previous successful ban was in 2000/01 (and we all know what happened just afterwards and Helmand is 'by far Afghanistan's largest opium-producing province'...complete coincidence though).
Banning opium production sounds like it is a noble cause right, especially as "Unlike the Taliban's previous opium ban, the current ban encompasses trade and processing of opiates, not just poppy cultivation." BUT the cultivated and harvest bumper crop from last year is not only exempted from destruction but also the trade of it can carry on. That said it does mean they are aware that bankrupting much of the rural population isn't a good thing either, so again, they've learnt from last time!
Also, the noble cause is further tainted by the possibility that it is an economic ruse to restrict supply to allow the market price to rise and they can cash in on their large stock (super simplified and not wholly accurate, as discussed in links below).
The article sheds more light on the whole situation and is definitely worth a read, with many references and info from David Mansfield reports at Alcis, (" Truly Unprecedented") and the Chapter ' Repositioning a Pariah Regime' from Mansfield's book A State Built on Sand is excellent [ PDF]
The war/s, COVID crises and intermittently closed borders cause -and have caused- much hardship over the years (you don't say) and 'although numerous eradication programmes have been underway for several years' (from picture link), Afghanistan has continued to be the world's main producer of opium (over 80% of total), so any ban is very likely to be temporary...ahem.
Today is World Ocean Day, something I fully support* [Ocean Conservancy]. "If you are lucky enough to be an orarian (coastal dweller) I hope you appreciate your circumstances; if you are lucky or rich enough to ever get into outer-space and you look down at The Earth, most of what you see will be the blue of water: over 70% of the planet's surface is covered by ocean and it is because of this that the Earth is sometimes called "the water planet" - less than three-tenths (maths was always a strong point) of our globe is covered with land." just looked at that from my Our Ocean obligation...post in 2006. Hope it's still true ;-)
Another interesting stat: How much water is there on the planet? Less than 3% of that is freshwater. Of that, nearly 70% is in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow, and 30% sits in ground water.
"95% to 98% of the biomass in the ocean is in microbes, which produce about half of the oxygen on the planet." There are more than 1030 viruses on Earth and the oceans are...er, An Ocean of Viruses. "The sheer number of viruses and their intimate relationship with microbial life suggest that viruses play a critical role in the planet’s biosphere."
"Ocean viruses may turn over as much as 150 gigatons of carbon per year... " Good info from NASA: " The story of oceans is the story of life. Oceans define our home planet, covering the majority of Earth’s surface and driving the water cycle that dominates our land and atmosphere. But more profound still, the story of our oceans envelops our home in a far larger context that reaches deep into the universe and places us in a rich family of ocean worlds that span our solar system and beyond." (well, it is NASA!)
* unlike many other 'name Days' and despite the fact that the climate change hysteria has affected ALL such institutions and charities. Also World Water Day, World Toilet Day and World Water Monitoring Day are up there and worth a mention. More Recent Articles
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