[Mind's Eye] Re: When is a natural disaster a natural disaster?

We have been purposely distracted. :-) I would add a few things to
your diagnosis- like advances in medicine which has spared lives
formerly lost; industrial food production and distribution (with a new
set of problems); and the leisure of the middle class- many sub-
topics, here.

Yes- the swing to a youth culture tends to cloud reveries. Education-
too huge for my morning brain. And shopping cart shopping and
warehouse stores- I think that has encouraged binge-like consumerism.
Monotonous shopping malls. Our freeway/highway system chopping through
cities.

There is a difference between human stupidity/cupidity and natural
disasters.

On Aug 1, 11:38 pm, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The world population has nearly tripled in my lifetime.  I don't think
> we have done anything sensible as a collective during my time.
> Economics is barking mad stuff.  There is a lot of technology we could
> have used to sensible ends, but even with agriculture we have just let
> it feed over-breeding.  I think we do need a scientific fix, but some
> scientists are revolting - we've just had a case of one keeping a
> slave.  We may be lucky to shuffle off before some really revolting
> war Rigsby.
> The question as to what is a 'natural disaster' is interesting Para.
> I guess a comet coming out of 'left field' would count, or a super-
> volcano or two.  Much of the rest, like massive flooding because trees
> have been eradicated or rivers diverted, all of Africa and so on have
> our fingerprints all over.
>
> I sort of like the notion of of a radical swing to technocracy - but
> this clearly can't be anything like what we see under the weird
> enforcement of the interests of the rich through democracy.  Veblen
> argued on this in the early 20th century - with a kind of 'open your
> minds irony' rather than recommendations.  My grandson (13) shows
> occasional interest in the world, but is quickly diverted into
> trinkets and teenage matehood.  I find much of the world and many of
> the people around me like this - the anarchist perspective of people
> trapped in a society of perpetual childhood.  Paradox and I 'doing
> cricket' is a bit of an example - I still have a bit of an image of me
> digging out his in-swinger with my very late back-foot play!  Nothing
> wrong with this, until all seems rendered trivial.  I particularly
> despise 'Blue Peter' (Sesame Street) reporting for adults.
>
> We should now lapse into euphoria as England rise to number one Para!
> Let's get the whites cleaned up in case we get the call from Lords!
>
> Not much is 'natural' in human affairs, and a technocratic approach
> would need economics and banking stripped away to something primitive
> enough for us to understand relations between work and reward, yet
> also provide the means for us to include many more costs than we do
> now.  I favour doing this through higher wages to take capital out of
> the hands of a rich few and away from centralised government, but also
> see no point in this if it would just fund breeding or the idiot
> consumption society.
>
> From the Gaia perspective one can call pretty much all disasters
> natural - she will survive our idiot behaviour, including climate
> change.
>
> On Aug 1, 1:46 pm, rigsy03 <rigs...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > To fix what, paradox? Yes- there have been strides in science and
> > applications but there have been terrible goofs, as well, plus lack of
> > understanding and poor stewardship of the planet. I really don't agree
> > that man can conquer Mother Nature to his own needs or whims- look at
> > dams and the redirecting of rivers, instance, or the wearing-out of
> > agricultural lands or the dumping of waste and contamination. I am
> > wondering if all these wind turbines are causing the problems in
> > Texas- heat + fires as they alter the pattern of wind...and wave the
> > rain clouds away, alas. Somalia is mostly a political catastrophe and
> > charity will not alter its climate or poor land- in fact, the long
> > term damage to those starving children may have already happened
> > though their lives may be saved. What lives?
>
> > On Jul 31, 3:13 am, paradox <eadohe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Lol. Not if the science of longevity has anything to do with it :)
>
> > > Dont be pessimistic, rigsy; nature does it's thing, as does man; but
> > > it takes the capacity and the will of man to fix.
>
> > > On Jul 31, 8:38 am, rigsy03 <rigs...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > When Nature is to blame vs rotten governments/economics? I read the
> > > > population of Africa will rise 49% by 2050 and world population will
> > > > be 9 billion. I'll be dead. :-)
>
> > > > On Jul 30, 7:43 am, paradox <eadohe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > > Listening to some tv coverage of the humanitarian disaster (yet again)
> > > > > unfolding in the Horn of Africa, i learnt from a knowledgeable
> > > > > commentator that in order to respond appropriately, global aid and
> > > > > humanitarian quasi-governmental organisations actually have to
> > > > > classify a disaster by a fatality ratio; which got me thinking. When
> > > > > is a natural disaster a natural disaster?- Hide quoted text -
>
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