Fears for Every Taste and Inclination (Plus a Soupçon of Hope)

Here are two really interesting articles on environment-related issues. To make you shake in your boots (but I promise the more timorous of you I end on a good note).

You may ask me why I do this, post stuff that scares the living bejesus out of me. Well, I've always been of the opinion that fears have to be confronted, if only to be overcome. And let me tell you, being a Sun-Jupiter combo in Pisces, squared by Neptune, I tend to live - or "choose to experience" as the latest shrink rightly pointed out today - some of the biggest, juiciest, slaver-fanged nightmares of them all.

Firstly, an excellent article on the cost of China's economic growth from the boys and gals down at Mother Jones, which y'all can read here: www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/01/the-last-empire.html

My thanks to Lynn Hayes of the Astrodynamics blog (http://astrodynamics.blogspot.com/index.html) for alerting me to the article.

And if that doesn't give you night sweats, how about the following for yer readin' plesh? I came across it from the terrific WorldChanging site (which if you haven't checked out, you simply must) : http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/oct2000/poll-o06.shtml

That's fair, right? In the interests of balance, we mustn't forget the US when making a little list of uber-polluters.

DIGRESSION: At some point, I'll post some articles from the Cyprus Mail website, too, to bring in my own, humble island's contribution to this area.

But I promised you a slightly more upbeat ending to this post. So, here's an Agence France Presse piece regarding Beijing's decision to get hard data on the actual scale of environmental damage done to China in the course of economic growth trumping eco-respect: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6tJL7WXplzyQEqzZPxh-u4B0wgQ

Gathering hard data is a positive sign. It means the powers that be in this fast-developing nation are seeing the writing on the wall.

Also, for those of you versed in astrologese, Lynn Hayes had this to say:

"Remember that Pluto [planet associated in astrology with death and resurrection] rules over breakdown and destruction, followed by transformation. The elevation of Ceres to planet status has coincided with the eruption into mass consciousness of an acceptance (finally!!) of the need to protect the planet's resources. Capricorn is concerned with matters of business, factories, governments, anywhere things are made and commerce is conducted. The emergence of China as a world power, without the democracy that helps to put safeguards in place, is likely to be the focal point of the Pluto in Capricorn period. Already we are seeing the emergence of a deadly "people's revolution" to protest the devastation of the environment there that is likely to come to a head with the upcoming square of Uranus in Aries to Pluto in Capricorn."

Amen to that, say I. The sooner ordinary people join forces (and they are, amigo) to take their children's future security into their hands - since our slothful governments worldwide will ever drag their feet - the better.