Land Clearing And Pollution

All across the world trees are being cut down at a fantastic rate and it will never end. In the Amazon, and all across the world, the forests are being decimated as mankind ignores the fact that we rely on trees for oxygen to breathe. The oceans of the world also give us the essential oxygen, but they are so polluted that we can no longer rely on them.

Huge swathes of the Amazon have disappeared due to farmers wanting more land for their cattle, and to grow crops. In the Far East large areas of forest have disappeared completely for the purpose of getting more farming land. If this continues we will be starved of oxygen within decades.

We are polluting the atmosphere with more than a billion vehicles on our roads and and they increase year by year, and soon we will have no clean air left the breathe. When you look at the traffic jams around the world you see that most cars have only the driver and no-one else. Very few have more than one occupant. Perhaps we should introduce pick-up points where drivers can travel with someone else instead of all taking their own cars to work. It was tried many years ago but failed.

Electric vehicles are slowly being introduced, but will take tens of years to fulfil before we see all petrol and diesel vehicles disappear from our roads. But what of the supply of electricity? With millions of electric vehicles on our roads we will be hard pushed for power stations to supply enough energy, and what of the domestic supplies that are required to power our homes and gadgets. This will be another big problem for mankind.

We humans are slowly but surely destroying our world, but nobody seems to care except the scientists. They tell us we are heading for big trouble in our world but no-one takes any notice. We all go on with our daily lives and do not care what our children and their children will face in the coming years. Without a doubt they will face hard times as the pollution gets worse and worse.

We have to think of our children and what sort of life they will inherit, for if we do not, they will suffer greatly. Mankind must wake up to the dangers we are putting our lives into, and prevent the end of the world.

Roy.

Is The World Going Mad!

 

For years now the the world has been getting worse, and this year the scientists have told us that the carbon dioxide contamination of the atmosphere is at its highest level in history. Of course no-one believes this and they go on polluting the world with their cars and factories.

If mankind is to survive on this planet some drastic measures will have to be taken. You might think that all this is bullshit, for we as individuals  are surviving quite well, but you have to think that the rate of cancer is rising rapidly among us humans, and its all due to the pollution levels in our atmosphere.

We are polluting the air and the seas as never before with our modern culture, and it has to stop otherwise we will cease to exist on this planet.

You have to think what will our planet be like in fifty or sixty years in the future? Will we still be here? By that time everybody may be going around wearing gas masks as they venture outside and the world population will dwindle to a few hundred thousand.

There are plans to ban all diesel and petrol vehicles in twenty years time, but will that save us all. There can be little doubt that urgent action is required if we are to survive on this Earth.

Even now there are millions of people in Africa who are dying from disease and starvation, and pretty soon there will be none left. The world is overpopulated to a great extent and we have to do something to stop this. For years China allowed only one child per family, but that ended a couple of years ago. Perhaps we should make this a world-wide law to cut down on the overpopulation.

We are destroying the world’s forests that provide us with oxygen and contaminating the seas as never before. Unless something is done to stop this I can see the end of mankind of this planet. We also have to drastically cut down the number of vehicles on our roads for they are poisoning the atmosphere to the extent of which has never been seen in our history.

Already people in cities in China go around around wearing masks that shield them from the vehicle pollution, and as it gets worse it will spread all across the world.

Nobody takes notice of the scientists predictions, and they go about their own lives as if it is all bullshit. But as time progresses they will see that they spoke the truth and it will hit us hard.

There is no doubt that the population of the world must do something if we are to survive on the planet. Already the summer temperatures in very many countries have been much higher than in the past. Even in winter the snowfall is massive in some parts of the world, and temperatures are well below what they were in the 1950’s. We have so many hurricanes and typhoons that we have never seen before. Look at the damage that was caused in America by the five or six hurricanes that struck the coast. Huge floods devastated many of the American counties in the south, and it will take millions of dollars to repair this.

All the Caribbean Islands have had most of there houses destroyed and the people have no-where to live. This again will take millions of dollars to repair. But what of next year? Will the same thing happen next year and in the future all because of climate change. It saddens me to see so many people suffer when such a thing happens.

There can be little doubt that as we continue to poison our atmosphere, this type of thing will happen year on year and the weather will get worse. It’s OK to shrug it off and say nothing will happen to us, but the fact of the matter is, it will!

Mankind has to make some difficult decisions regarding how we live, for if not, we will see the end of humans on this planet at some time in the future.

It’s alright to say, but we will find other planets to live on, but how will we get to them, and what will life be like on these far off planets? No-one knows what life will be like on these planets for they are a great unknown. Will man be able to survive on them or will they die?

If we do find another planet to live on how many will go there. It is for sure that the greater majority will be left behind to die on Earth. Just a small portion of human beings will travel to another planet, for there will be no way we can transport them all.

I am glad I am old and will never see much more of the future for mankind, for I think it will be very difficult.

Roy.

Save Our Planet

The weather this year has been the worst in history, and I am afraid we are heading for more of the same next year. The number of hurricanes to hit the the south of the United States and the Caribbean islands has been the worst on record. Who knows if this will be repeated next year and in the years to come. Not only has the Caribbean been hit by these tremendous storms, but other parts of the world have been too, and its not over yet.

An analysis of the past 167 years has found that we have never had such a year as this.  No 30-year period in history has seen this many major hurricanes, this many days of those huge hurricanes spinning in the Atlantic, or this much overall energy generated by those powerful storms. But who will say what the future holds? Scientists expect to see planet climate changes because warmer ocean water is fuel for hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season was more intense than normal in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016. The 2005 season, which included Katrina, Rita and Wilma caused major havoc in coastal towns in the Caribbean and the southern United States.

Fuelled by warmer than normal ocean temperatures and ideal wind conditions, September 2017 had more days with major hurricanes spinning and more overall hurricane energy expelled than any month on record, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. Harvey spawned record rainfall. Irma had record high winds in the open Atlantic. And Maria hit the U.S. stronger than the earlier two.

All this is due, according to the scientists, because of our continued contamination of the planet’s atmosphere. We have created a cloud of contaminates that circle the globe and stop the heat from dissipating into space. This is one of the reasons the Earth is getting warmer and temperatures are souring. In certain areas of the globe the temperatures are exceeding 50 centigrade, and as we continue to contaminate the atmosphere with our cars and lorries it will get even worse.

If we do not stop using diesel and petrol engines, and cut down the emissions from factories, we will be in dire straits. As the air gets more and more contaminated mankind will cease to exists on this planet.

Roy.

What To Do About The Weather

In the last few years we have seen drastic weather changes all across the world. Flooding, drought, heat waves and huge storms have hit our planet as never before. These have all been caused by us humans, for we have contaminated the atmosphere as never before. This is all due to the massive amount of traffic on our roads, and factories that pump out carbon dioxide all of which poison the atmosphere. Instead of allowing the heat to dissipate in space it is trapped in our atmosphere by the pollution. This causes temperatures around the globe to rise as never before. All life on the planet is suffering because of this.

The trouble is the majority of people just don’t care about it, for if they did they would stop buying diesel engined cars for a start and begin reducing the amount of traffic on our roads. Some families have three and four cars, one for father, one for mother, and at least one for the grown-up children. They just do not see that so many cars on our roads are causing this atmospheric problem.

As we look into the future we see that electric cars may eventually take over. But the one problem with this is we do not have enough power stations across the world to carry this extra load. Already we are getting close to overloading our power stations, what with all the gadgets we own. So the introduction of electric cars will cause a total collapse of the power generation system. We have to find another way!

The British government is trying to outlaw all diesel vehicles by 2040, but to me that is far too late. We must start taking action now! Even if we stop contaminating our atmosphere it will take tens of years, maybe hundreds before the world gets back to normal. In the meantime many hundreds of thousands will die from our poisonous atmosphere. Lung cancer is steadily on the rise, and they are people who do not smoke but live in heavily contaminated cities like London, Shanghai and Riyad. You only have to look at photo’s of these cities, and many more, to see the cloud of contamination that covers them.

If we do not start acting now mankind will be almost extinct on this planet, for our world, for the most part, will become unlivable. Would you really want to go about your daily business wearing a gas mask? No, I thought not!

The sad thing is, most people do not think of the future but are content to live their lives as they do, and to hell with the future. But what sort of life are we leaving our children and their children? We all love our children, but we have no thought about the situation we are leaving them. You may not have to go around wearing a gas mask but what if they do?

A quote: “According to experts, by 2100 weather-related disasters could affect two thirds of Europe’s population per year, with yearly deaths caused by extreme weather predicted to soar 50 times from 3,000 between 1981 and 2010 to 152,000 between 2071 and 2100.” Currently people are living well into their eighties but that figure will drop like a stone in the years to come, and all because of the way we are polluting our atmosphere.

You may well read this and brush it off as nonsense because it doesn’t affect you, but there is no getting away from the problems we will face in the near future. Unless every single one of us starts to make changes in the way we live, we will see in years to come major problems for mankind. But it won’t affect us, it will affect your children and theirs.

 A quote: Lead scientist Dr Giovanni Forzieri, from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest global threats to human health of the 21st century, and its peril to society will be increasingly connected to weather-driven hazards. Unless global warming is curbed as a matter of urgency and appropriate measures are taken, about 350 million Europeans could be exposed to harmful climate extremes on an annual basis by the end of the century.”

It is said by scientists that Spain will become a desert because of its lack of rain which is getting worse by the year. It is not the only country that will see such a future, but it could also apply to all Mediterranean countries too. Huge swathes of Africa will no longer be livable as the temperatures increase and the Sahara Desert will take over much of the continent. We are not only talking about Africa and Europe, but America will see much the same in its middle regions.

No matter how much warning we get from scientists the people brush it off as nonsense and that is dangerous. We have to do something to stop this climate change, and that means all of us!

Roy.

No More Renewable Resources for This Year

A True Statement

The time when the Earth’s natural renewable resources are used up is rapidly shrinking as year on year it happens earlier than the year before. Scientists say that we have already used up all the Earth’s renewable resources this month – August, just 221 days after the beginning of the year. This means that for the rest of the year we are adding to the pollutants in our atmosphere.

What this means is that now in August, over-fishing, over foresting and dumping more carbon emissions into the atmosphere than can be absorbed has reached its climax, and for the rest of the year we are adding more than the Earth can absorb. On average, it has moved up only one day a year over the past five years, compared to an average of three days a year since it started being tracked in the early 1970s. The future of life on this planet is steadily getting more and more dangerous as we continue to destroy that which we call home.

Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of GFN and Balakrishna Pisupati, head of the biodiversity, land and governance programme with the United Nations Environment Programme, said “If humans continue to use the Earth’s resources at this rate it could have “disastrous consequences” in terms of climate change, the erosion of topsoil through the conversion of grasslands and forests into farmlands, and an overall loss of biodiversity. The longer we continue viewing natural resources as unlimited, the faster we are jeopardizing the very capacity of our planet to provide us with the renewable resources that we need to feed, clothe and shelter ourselves.”

I know that most people will just cast this off as nonsense because they do not see any changes in their daily lives, and think, “I don’t see any changes. What are they on about.” If the scientists are correct, our children and their children will suffer horrendously. That is something for everyone to think about.

With the amount of pollution that we pump into the atmosphere daily from cars, lorries, and factories, we are adding more than the atmosphere can absorb, so you really should start thinking about where we are headed.

Our continued reliance on fossil fuels is killing the Earth and we have no viable substitute. CO2 is steadily clogging our atmosphere, and there can be no doubt that average temperatures are rising year on year. I know because even where I live it has been much hotter than last year, and is set to increase even more next year.

It has been clearly recorded that temperatures are steadily on the rise on our planet which can be seen by the massive ice melt at places like the North Pole where most of it has disappeared. We are even losing our mountain glaciers at a fast rate. But there again, it is not affecting me at the moment so who cares they say. 

What happens when our planets resources finally run out, as they must do at some time in the future? We give them no time to regenerate, for we just take take take!

What happens when the oil runs out? No more cars, no more factories, no more gadgets because the factories had to close. Please don’t be so naive as to think that mankind will come up with an alternative source of power sufficient to power our world and industries, because it just will not happen in time.

We destroy forests at an ever increasing rate knowing full well that they are the number one oxygen suppliers to our planet. We rape the seas of fish to the extent that stocks are steadily decreasing,  and we poison the ground with chemicals just to get crops to grow because we have used up all the natural resources in the ground.

The think tank lauded the goals outlined in the Paris climate agreement which was adopted by nearly 200 countries in April. The GFN said “there is nothing holding back these nations from achieving the goal becoming carbon neutral by 2050 except for political will. Such a new way of living comes with many advantages, and making it happen takes effort.The good news is that it is possible with current technology, and financially advantageous with overall benefits exceeding costs,” he said, adding that the transition will stimulate emerging sectors like renewable energy while preventing the risk and costs tied to adapting infrastructure to the impact of climate change.

One thing is for sure, this cannot continue, for humanity will be in dire straits if we carry on as we are. I sincerely hope this hits home with at least some people, and they make changes to their daily lives to help save our world.

Roy.

Self Drive/Electric Cars? – No I Don’t Think So!

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the main accent seems to be on driverless cars as people become more and more fascinated by them. We are hearing pundits say that they are the transport of the future, but to be honest I doubt it, at least not in the form currently envisaged. It’s just like the electric car that many people say will be the main mode of transport in the coming years. Sorry but I don’t believe a word of it.

Survey

First of all, let us take the driverless car that is supposed to revolutionize our future transport system. Can you honestly believe that in cities like New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Beijing and all the other major cities in the world known for their massive traffic jams, that people will travel around these cities in a driverless car. Not a chance.

With a human at the wheel a vehicle will get through dense traffic far quicker than if it is automated. All such cars must have certain safeguards built into the system to prevent us humans from being hurt in an accident, so you will never see an automated vehicle pushing its nose into a stream of traffic at a junction for example. To get through traffic jams today you have to be cheeky, or you will never reach your destination, and that is something automated cars are not good at.

They may be fine for travelling from Madrid to Paris or from New York to Las Vegas for example, but that is not something the majority of people do every day. In cities and towns most people use the car to get to and from work so it is clear that will be the main usage, and I just don’t see the driverless cars catching on for this purpose.

To me what is far more likely is a completely automated system of  passenger transport with no cars on the road at all. It would be like an automated taxi service where you call up a small automated vehicle, give it a destination and it takes you there. Just like in the sci-fi movies.

Charging

When it comes to electric vehicles I think they are even more unlikely in great numbers. The electricity generating companies in many parts of the world are currently struggling to satisfy the power requirements of major cities across the globe, and yet, people think that electric vehicles as a mode of transport will take off. I can tell you now that ain’t likely to happen folks.

Even if we had only fifty thousand electric vehicles in London the power companies would not be able to keep pace with the demand, and that applies across the world. As we all know, electric cars are severely limited in their range due to the necessity of recharging the batteries, and the simple fact is we do not have sufficient power generation resources to have millions of electric vehicles charging every day.

But this is not all, for what do we do with the car batteries when they are no longer needed? They are not exactly environmentally friendly are they, and as electric cars have accidents or get scrapped what do we do with the batteries?

Last but not least, has anyone worked out the pitfalls with car insurance in these scenarios? No! I thought not!!!

I’m afraid that when it comes to the all-electric vehicle the demands will be too much, and don’t forget the massive electricity bills you will have to pay each month.

There is just one more mode of transport that is circling in the background, and that is the flying car. This I find totally impractical for the simple reason that every owner would be required to follow a course to obtain a flying licence. But more to the point, such a thing would be very dangerous. Can you imagine cars taking off and landing on roads and flying willy-nilly across the skies. It would be impossible to maintain a flight plan system for car drivers which would mean chaos, and they would be falling out of the skies like leaves from a tree.

It all sounds very fine, but none of this will come to proper fruition now or in the future. The future will be a lot different. Who knows, we may run out of oil first, and then we will end up back in the Middle Ages.

Roy.

A Muslim’s View Of Muslims – And It Explains A Lot!

I came across this in my e-mail folder yesterday and thought to pass it on because it explains an awful lot about Muslims and their behaviour. It sheds light on why they are so close-minded, and why they behave the way they do. After reading this it was like someone switched on a light when you try to understand the Muslim mind. In his comparisons the writer opens up a whole host of knowledge that I certainly did not know, and I suspect that you will not either.

It was written by Farrukh Saleem PhD who is a Muslim political scientist and economic theorist, financial analyst, writer and television personality. He was born in Pakistan and educated in The United States, and after investing in the New York Stock Exchange he began writing for various newspapers before returning to Pakistan where he became a writer for such newspapers as The News International, Pakistan’s largest English-language daily newspaper among others.

He has often written about the Jews and Israel, and in this recent article, published in the Muslim Times in 2013, Saleem advocates directing a friendly foreign policy towards Israel. When he draws comparisons between Muslims and Jews, he explains that the main Muslim problem is a failure to pass on knowledge:

Why are Jews so powerful? There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas, five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa. For every single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims. Yet, Jews are more than a hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered why?

Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine’s ‘Person of the Century’, was a Jew. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.

Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole humanity: Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine. Albert Sabin developed the improved live polio vaccine. Gertrude Elion gave us a leukaemia fighting drug. Baruch Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B. Paul Ehrlich discovered a treatment for syphilis. Elie Metchnikoff won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases. Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuromuscular transmission. Andrew Schally won a Nobel in endocrinology. Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy. Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive pill. George Wald won a Nobel for our understanding of the human eye. Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology. Willem Kolff came up with the kidney dialysis machine.

Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other than Peace Prizes for Arafat). Why are Jews so powerful? Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor; Peter Schultz, optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, stainless steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone; Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.

Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include Ralph Lauren (Polo), Levis Strauss (Levi’s Jeans), Howard Schultz (Starbuck’s), Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts). Richard Levin, President of Yale University, is a Jew. So are Henry Kissinger (American Secretary of State), Alan Greenspan (Fed. Chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman (US Senator), Madeleine Albright (American Secretary of State), Casper Weinberger (American Secretary of Defence), Maxim Litvinov (USSR Foreign Minister), David Marshal ( Singapore’s First Chief Minister), Issac Isaacs (Governor-General of Australia), Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian PM), Barry Goldwater (US Senator), Jorge Sampaio (President of Portugal), John Deutsch (CIA Director), Herb Gray (Canadian Deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM), Michael Howard (British Home Secretary), Bruno Kreisky (Chancellor of Austria ) and Robert Rubin (American Secretary of Treasury).

In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer (CNN), Barbara Walters (ABC News), Eugene Meyer (Washington Post), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief of Time Magazine), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post), Joseph Lelyveld (Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).

The most beneficent philanthropist in the history of the world is George Soros, a Jew, who has so far donated a colossal $4 billion most of which has gone as aid to scientists and universities around the world. Second to George Soros is Walter Annenberg, another Jew, who has built a hundred libraries by donating an estimated $2 billion.

At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by winning seven gold medals; Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medallist. Spitz, Krayzelburg and Boris Becker (Tennis) are all Jewish.

Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Goldie Hawn, Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish?

As a matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling (Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo 1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The Thief of Baghdad ) and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.

So, why are Jews so powerful? Answer : EDUCATION

Why are Muslims so powerless? There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet: one billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million in the Americas. Every fifth human being is a Muslim; for every single Hindu there are two Muslims, for every Buddhist there are two Muslims and for every Jew there are one hundred Muslims.

Ever wondered why Muslims are so powerless? Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities; one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758 universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University compiled an ‘Academic Ranking of World Universities’, and intriguingly, not one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500.

As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of 100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world attended university while no more than two per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the entire Arab world, the total number of full-time researchers is 35,000 and there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs. (in the Christian world there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP. Conclusion: The Muslim world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge!

Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In Pakistan, there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK, the number of book titles per million stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge.

Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan’s export of high technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent. The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait, Morocco, and Algeria are all at 0.3 per cent, while Singapore is at 58 per cent. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge.

Why are Muslims powerless.? …..Because we aren’t producing knowledge,…..Because we aren’t diffusing knowledge.,…..Because we aren’t applying knowledge. And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies .

Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2 trillion. America, just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12 trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion (purchasing power parity basis). Oil rich Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion; Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist Thailand $545 billion. ….. (Muslim GDP as a percentage of world GDP is fast declining). So, why are Muslims so powerless? Answer: Lack of education. All we do is shout to Allah the whole day! And blame everyone else for our multiple failures!

I guess that when you look at it this way, it does explain a lot of the problems with the Muslim world. Having viewed the points put forward by Farrukh Saleem I can find no fault with his logic. He is obviously a learned man who understands the Muslim world very well and everything he puts forward makes sense. No race can advance in today’s world without a certain level of education. A fact that is becoming more obvious as time goes by, and we see the changes that are being made in our daily lives with more and more technology.

Roy.

Mars Madness

If someone had told me five years ago that people would be lining up to commit suicide by going on a one way trip to Mars I would have called them daft. It seems inconceivable that around 200,000 people world-wide signed up for this mad idea, and now after careful selection we are down to the final 100 candidates – 50 men and 50 women. More selection processes will be carried out until we get to the final 24 who will make the one way trip to the red planet.

The whole process of getting the Mars inhabitants to their destination are complex, and will, according to the planning, continue from the initial launch of equipment in 2020. Crew One will follow in 2024 and a second in 2026. It is anticipated that more people will be sent every two years.

Mars Rover Due For Launch In 2020

Before the launch of Crew One in 2024 there will be four years of preparation starting with the launch of a Rover and a trailer which will, supposedly, search the area for a suitable site and  generally prepare the chosen site for the landing of the first habitats. The Rover will move the equipment to the chosen site using the trailer and begin erecting them.

According to the plan, the site should be operational in 2023 and ready for the arrival of the first astronauts in 2024. When they arrive they should find the habitats erected with a good supply of oxygen, water and food, all completed by the Rovers.

It all sounds like science fiction to me and the fact that normally sane people would volunteer for such a trip astounds me, especially when you consider that most of the volunteers are young with the prospect of a long life ahead of them. It seems that for some at least, the idea of going down in history as the first humans to inhabit another planet is the deciding factor.

Bas Landsdorp – CEO Of Mars One

This whole venture is the brainchild of a group of Dutchmen who formed the company ‘Mars One’, and according to them the whole project will cost around $6 Billion. They are hoping to raise this amount from donations. The company has said that it wishes to film all elements of the adventure and screen it across the globe. They state that it is not for profit, but is intended to be the ultimate TV ‘reality show’. I am not sure I would be willing to sacrifice my life for such a venture, but there is no accounting for taste!

Since my last post on this subject i.e. (https://floroy1942.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/mars-anyone/) a lot more information has come to light, but none of it convinces me that it is a feasible venture. Even NASA has stated that the people involved could not be expected to live beyond 68 days, for the risks involved in getting the astronauts to the red planet are enormous. Even so, there are plans by NASA to send a mission to Mars in 2030. It is interesting to note that even Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reckon settlers on Mars would all be dead within a few months. Like I said, suicide, but at least they would get their name in the papers.

Mars One Habitats

To begin with, it seems that Mars One are putting an awful lot of faith in the robotic rover that is intended to not only scout the terrain for a suitable site, but will also have to work for a minimum of four years to move and erect the habitats when they arrive. It is also presuming that everything arrives on time and at the right place on the planet. In 2022 a second Rover along with two living units, two life support systems, and a supply unit will be sent to Mars. A problem with these Rovers would be catastrophic for the whole venture.

Not only do they rely on these robots to prepare the housing for the people, but they will also have to provide the water and oxygen for a breathable atmosphere in the habitats. The water will be extracted from the Martian soil by evaporating the subsurface ice particles in an oven. Following this the evaporated water is condensed back to its liquid form and stored. Part of the water is used for producing oxygen. Nitrogen and Argon will be filtered from the Martian atmosphere to make up the other components of the breathable air inside the habitat. Whichever way you look at it, this is a complicated process, and one can only hope that everything goes according to plan.

Earth To Mars

As mentioned in my previous post, the continued health of these astronauts comes into question, for such are the conditions in space they may not even reach the planet. Travelling time between the Earth and Mars can vary between six and eight months depending on the orbit alignment. In deep space there is cosmic radiation that is deadly to the human body. Prolonged exposure will lead to cancer and osteoporosis. Here on Earth we are protected by the magnetic field around the planet. In space there is no such shield.

Another worry for the people in their capsule is the prolonged lack of gravity which can lead to bone and muscle wastage and loss of eyesight as the ISS occupants have already encountered. One would presume that the astronauts would have a strict regime of exercises but these are difficult in a non-gravity situation. If they finally get there one can only hope they have the necessary strength to exit the capsule and gain entry to the habitats.

Exercise On The ISS

Once established, exercise will be paramount to survival because the gravity on Mars is 62% less than on Earth so the astronauts will have a very tough time keeping their bodies in sufficient shape to retain their muscle power. Should they fail in this their bodies will steadily get weaker.

ISS astronauts lose a maximum of 30% muscle performance and maximum loss of 15% muscle mass after only 4-5 months on the station, so you can imagine what will happen to our brave young people on the way to Mars, and particularly when they get there.

On top of that the habitats will need to be fully insulated, for the average temperature on the planet is -63C compared to Earth’s average of 14C. Can you imagine living in a permanent -63C, plus or minus a bit, for the rest of your life? It will be worse than living in a freezer.

Three Mars One Team Members

Among the 50 hopefuls are 5 Brits, the oldest being 35. They are Ryan MacDonald, a 21-year-old masters student from Derby, Maggie Lieu, 24, a PhD student in astrophysics at the University of Birmingham, Hannah Earnshaw, 23, a PhD student in astronomy at Durham University, Alison Rigby, 35, a science laboratory technician, from Beckenham, Kent, and Clare Weedon, 27, a systems integration manager for Virgin Media, from Addlestone, in Surrey.

Ryan MacDonald

In an interview Ryan MacDonald said,  “The most important thing to do in life is to leave a legacy. A lot of people do that by having a child, having a family. For me this would be my legacy. Hundreds of years down the line who is going to know who was the President of the United States? Everyone will remember who were the first four people who stepped onto Mars.”

Apart from the British contenders there are 39 from the Americas, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa and seven from Oceania. From these fifty finalists twenty-four will be chosen to go in either 2024 or 2026 with the rest supposedly following on later flights.

Why Would Anyone Want To Leave This Behind?

There can be little doubt that the psychological strain of being away from family and friends and everything that one accepts as normal here on Earth will be a major problem. The participants will be imprisoned in their habitats with only their compatriots for company. It will be akin to being in prison, for you cannot go outside without a space suit, and what do you do when you are outside? No more parks for a nice stroll or a beach on which to lay in the sun. No more interaction with people other than your fellow astronauts so perhaps it is a good thing their lives will be short.

There can be little doubt that this is a very risky venture and a thousand things can go wrong. A small error can cost the lives of the people even before they reach the planet, and when they get there, their chances of living past a few short weeks is very small. We shall have to wait and see if the contestants for the subsequent flights still want to go if the first crew die after only a few short days or weeks.

Mother Earth – I Love You!

As for me, I am not going anywhere. I am staying right here on good old Mother Earth and I would advise you to do the same!

Roy.

Science Is Getting More Laughable!

I sometimes get the impression these days that science has lost its way! Some of the experiments, and the results that come from them, seem to bear no relationship to intelligent and rational thinking whatsoever. This week I came across some ‘scientific results’ that seem to test the limits of basic intelligence.

The first one concerns shipping, and a bunch of scientists from Leeds University have come up with the idea that we should have all ships ‘generate smaller bubbles in their wake to reflect more of the sunlight back into space’.

Make The Bubbles Smaller?

Their hypothesis is that the bubbles created by the turning propellers of a ship as it passes through the water should be made smaller. By doing this, the white froth left behind by all moving ships could last up to 24 hours instead of the normal few minutes, and thereby reflect more sunlight. It would seem to me that we need to increase the number of ships on the world’s oceans by a few million for this idea to work.

Naturally, this is part of the Global Warming Project and is part of an effort to reduce the rising temperature of the planet. Leeds’ Prof Piers Forster said the bubbles idea was a plausible scheme. “A lot of these technologies are completely hypothetical, but “The one advantage about this technology – of trying to generate these tiny ‘micro-bubbles’ – is that the technology does already exist.”

Part of Leeds University UK

Julia Crook, also from Leeds, explained: “The technology required for other forms of solar radiation management is a long way off being ready, whereas micro-bubble generators already exist. The Japanese are already experimenting with micro-bubbles under ships’ hulls to make them more streamlined and more fuel-efficient. This could have a double benefit.”

She added: “This form of solar radiation management has the advantage over stratospheric aerosol injection, in that one could move ships with bubble generators to different parts of the ocean, providing more control on the regional temperature and precipitation changes induced.”

The Last Time Many Ships Sailed Together Was In WW2 Convoys

A quick search showed me that there are roughly 104,304 ships in the world including fishing boats and pleasure craft. This number, if all sailing the sea together would not even cover the area of the Black Sea. When you consider they are spread all across the globe their impact would be negligible, and the amount of reflected sunlight would be so small as to be unmeasurable. Not even worth the effort of converting a single ship never mind over 100,000, although the scientists consider such technology has ‘the potential’ to reduce temperatures by 0.5C. The one thing they did say was that there is a distinct possibility this measure could increase rainfall in some areas, as if we don’t get enough in many parts with massive flooding!

The second scientific report concerns of all things, Arctic Ground Squirrels! According to the Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, US, we can blame the the humble Arctic ground squirrel for increasing world temperatures too. For it seems their burrowing into the permafrost at these northern latitudes is releasing large amounts of CO2 that is normally trapped in the frozen ground. These findings were presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

Killing Our Planet?

Dr Sue Natali, from Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, US, said, “Carbon has been accumulating in permafrost for tens of thousands of years. The temperature is very cold, the soils are saturated, so that when plants and animals die, rather than decompose, the carbon has been slowly, slowly building up. Right now the carbon storage is about 1,500 pentagrams (1,500 billion tonnes). To put that in perspective, that’s about twice as much as is contained in the atmosphere.”

Nigel Golden, from the University of Wisconsin, looked at ground squirrels: small, fluffy rodents that are found across the Arctic. He said:, “They are soil engineers. They break down the soil when they are digging their burrows, they mix the top layer with the bottom layer, they are bringing oxygen to the soil and they are fertilizing the soil with their urine and their faeces. We saw an increase in soil temperature in the soils the Arctic ground squirrels were occupying.”

To me these ideas are about as crazy as sowing the clouds with salt so as to reflect more sunlight. I am no scientist, but it seems to me that if we do that we end up with salt water rain and a fat lot of good that will do anyone.

But at least we can, in part, blame the Arctic ground squirrels for our current climate problems. Ah Well! At least its not all our fault (sigh of relief)!

Roy.

Weird Science – And Scientists!

The Red Planet

I have always considered scientists to be very smart and a notch above the rest of us, but occasionally something pops up to make me wonder if I should. That happened a few days ago when a respected physicist and author named John Brandenberg came out with something that defies the imagination.

John Brandenberg

He is of the opinion that there was once intelligent life on Mars that was annihilated by a nuclear war that left the planet “cold and lifeless.” In his opinion, a mission to Mars should be undertaken at the earliest possibility to investigate “if we are in danger from the attackers who ‘killed’ Mars.” According to him many of the nuclear isotopes found on the planet are similar to those from hydrogen bombs here on Earth.

Mars Crater – Bomb Or Asteroid?

This all comes from his new book in which he says, “This Martian civilization apparently perished due to a planet-wide catastrophe of unknown origin,” and poses the question “Was it a massive nuclear attack?” He points to the many craters on Mars and suggests they could be the result of nuclear bombs. The more usual theory by other physicists is that Mars was struck by asteroids the eventually robbed it of its magnetic field, and thereby its atmosphere.

Brandenberg however is of the opinion that the Mars people were annihilated by “another civilization or a rogue artificial intelligence.” In his opinion we could be next! Food for thought!

Sci-Fi Version Of Artificial Intelligence

According to him, the reason we have not had replies to the signals we beam into space in our search for intelligent life, is because these life-forms are being destroyed by whatever force destroyed the Martians. In his view, we are close to being noticed and following the same fate. In his book he says, “The Astronomer Edward Harrison suggested, one major factor cutting short the lifetime of civilizations was older predatory civilizations who would wipe out young civilizations once they became detectable through radio broadcasts. The motivation for such genocidal actions would be to avoid later competition. It is possible that our interstellar neighbourhood contains forces hostile to young, noisy, civilizations such as ourselves. Such hostile forces could range from things as alien as AI (Artificial Intelligence) ‘with a grudge’ against flesh and blood.”

Oh no! We’re all going to die!!!!!

Structures? I doubt it!

Brandenberg thinks that the appearance of ‘structures’ on the surface of Mars seen by satellites and the Mars Rover enforce his theory of an ancient civilization on the Red Planet. Well, looking at the photo I would be hesitant in calling those structures, but its a free world and each can think what they will.

Is This What Awaits Us?

It is an undeniable fact that human life will not exist on Earth forever, for being the way we are, we could end up destroying ourselves in a catastrophic war. On the other hand we could well be discovered by some alien race that takes a fancy to Earth but not its occupants, and therefore wipes us all out.

Asteroid Belt Or The Remains Of Maldek?

When it comes to space and the universe there are indeed some strange ideas out there. Some people actually believe there was a planet called Maldek orbiting between Mars and Jupiter that was totally destroyed by a hydrogen bomb. Supposedly, all that remains of this planet is the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

According to the Aetherius Society: “They exploded a hydrogen bomb and completely destroyed the planet Maldek and murdered the whole populace in one blinding flash of searing flame. All that is now left of that beautiful planet is the asteroid belt.”

The Aetherius Society

On Brandenberg’s theory they said, “Although Brandenburg’s theory is on more solid ground, it still amounts to speculation based on our present day awareness of the power of nuclear weapons and our fear of its misuse. It is a warning that we could do the same to our own planet, and underlines the belief of many scientists that we have not detected intelligent life elsewhere in the universe because at some point civilisations will become extinct either through catastrophe or self-destruction.”  Well, I have to say I do agree with the closing statement.

Of course you may wonder who these crackpots are, well I’ll tell you. The Aetherius Society is a UFO based religion that was founded in 1955 by the late George King and operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and three African nations.

The Earth’s Future Is For A Great Part In Our Hands

If you take a look at our world today with its political tensions, over-population, terrorism and economic problems there can be no doubt that pretty soon something has to go bang. What with national pride, greed, corruption and fanaticism there seems little likelihood of everyone sitting around the table and solving these issues to everyone’s satisfaction in the near future.

So it makes me wonder what an alien species will find here if they eventually pick up the radio messages we beam into space and decide to visit. All I know is, I won’t be around, but good luck to those who will!

Roy.

Obama Caught Out By Advanced Technology

Its true what they say, you cannot stop the advances in technology that hit us from all sides on a daily basis. This time it seems that the President of the USA was caught out.

Air Force One

For decades the safety of the President has been in the hands of the Secret Service who are tasked with protecting him. But it would seem that now a new measure has been introduced thanks to advanced technology.

It concerns the safety surrounding Air Force One, the Boeing VC-25 that currently takes Obama around the world to various meetings, conferences and on diplomatic visits. Normally the aircraft always has a military escort but this is soon to be replaced.

New scientific advances have allowed the aircraft to become totally invisible, which will give the President and his entourage complete protection from terrorist attacks because you cannot shoot down what you cannot see.

The aircraft was ready for its maiden flight and an Air Force General asked Obama if he would like to fly on the test flight. Obama immediately agreed that he would and they proceeded to the airport. The following photo was taken as the President boarded the plane.

 

 

 

President Boards The New Invisible Air Force One

Roy.

The Next Generation Of Car?

Innovation is not dead thank goodness, for there are people out there who continue to advance the world of science, especially in areas where advancement is essential. This is very true when searching for ways to fight the continuing contamination of our atmosphere that is causing global warming, especially considering the grave warnings given out by scientists this last week (see my last post).

Apart from industry, one of the biggest pollutants on the planet are cars and trucks that leave in their wake clouds of CO2 and other pollutants because we use oil by-products to fuel them. So what is all the fuss about?

It would seem that Tata Motors of India have come up with a solution you will never have believed possible. A car that runs on air! That’s right you read it correctly – Air!

The Air-Fuelled Engine

This is a car engine that runs not on polluting gas or diesel, or even batteries, but just the air around us. Tata Motors of India has scheduled the Air Car to hit Indian streets next year.

The CAT – The First Car NOT To Need Oil Products!

The vehicle was developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for the Luxembourg-based company MDI and uses compressed air to push its engine’s pistons and make the car go. The Air Car, called the “Mini CAT” could cost around 365,757 rupees in India or $8,177 US.

Guy Nègre – A Very Clever Man

The CAT is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis, a body of fibreglass that is glued not welded and powered by compressed air.  A microprocessor is used to control all electrical functions of the car.  One tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, turn signals and every other electrical device on the car.  Which are not many. The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

The Catmobile – Just What The World Needs

There are no keys, just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.  According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees (80c) per 100 KM, that’s about a tenth the cost of a car running on petrol or diesel.  It’s mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car, a factor which makes it a perfect choice for city motorists.  The car has a top speed of 105 km per hour or 60 mph and would have a range of around 300 km or 185 miles between refuels.  Refilling the car will take place at adapted gas stations with special air compressors.  A fill up will only take two to three minutes and costs approximately 100 rupees ($1.78) and the car will be ready to go another 300 kilometres.

This car can also be filled at home with it’s on board compressor.  It will take 3-4 hours to refill the tank, but it can be done while you sleep.  Because there is no combustion in the engine, changing the 1 litre of vegetable oil is only necessary every 50,000 km or 30,000 miles. Due to its simplicity, there is very little maintenance to be done on this car. This Air Car almost sounds too good to be true.

As you  can imagine, this invention is not going to be popular with the oil companies if the world switches over to this technology, because they will see their bulging profits fall radically as the demand for oil slumps. If this idea really does take off they will be doing everything they can to sabotage the product, for they do not give a damn that their product is driving the human race to extinction,  just so long as they continue to make huge profits.

If Mr Tata and Mr Nègre  succumb to a mysterious illness or die in an accident, then you know how the the oil companies have reacted, as they have done in the past when faced with the prospect of sudden diminished demand for their oil.

Like you, I will await the outcome of this brave new idea, which will be good for the planet if it succeeds.

Roy.