Saturday, December 15, 2012

Evan - Viti Levu spared?


Maybe!

The track has been moved further North, see above.
If so, the hurricane is anticipated to basically circumnavigate Viti Levu and then curve South over the Yasawas - bad for the North and parts of the West but much better for most of the main island. Mind you: there will still be gale winds and bucket loads of rain - but even then, that's a far cry from three days of a Cat 4 to 5 packing winds between 160 and 220 kmph!

And what about all those preparations?
I now find myself long one brand new generator (Stuart: it's a Yamaha, all those other gizmos look positively scary!), gigalitres of water in assorted containers and a new battery-operated radio but short a satellite dish and a plethora of stuff that is now packed away in waterproof containers; and everything at the dive base is now lashed down and securely stored away - and this maybe for naught!

Maybe - and maybe not!.
We have no choice on whether something will eventuate - but we do have a choice on whether we are going to take action!
Not only when it comes to cyclones but in respect to any major cataclysm that may or may not eventuate - including of Global Warming! Irrespective of the truth of those predictions: are we do something, or are yet another 17,000 delegates flock to yet another CoP conference only to decide nothing - and incidentally, what's the incremental carbon footprint of all those people taking a junket to Doha?

Yes I'm digressing as always.
But maybe not so much?
Watch this.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting video.

The ultimate concern of the matter discussed is really the death of us, the people, which live on the planet. Ironically, the solution to the problem may not be in snowshoes for cows or wide tires but more like a heavy depopulation program, for it is people in their large numbers who are killing the place and therein each other, not unlike what happens to any overpopulation condition of anything, like termites for instance.

That we are assuredly destroying the planet, our home, like how termites might do that to their home (your house) if left unchecked and allowed to carry on with their day to day termite way of life.

The proof we are running out of our life sustaining substances, or indication thereof (should one need more proof than what is widely bandied about) might be in the observation of the fact that in order to get oil now, companies are reduced to “fracking” which is an extremely expensive way to get what is left of this critical to life as we seem to require stuff. Drilling lower than airliners fly high and pumping pressurized water into crevices where small amounts of oil bound in like coal exist; is a sign of what the truth of the matter may well be—we are about out.

Unfortunately, the solution to slowing down to sustainable the using up of all of our natural resources requires forcing people to reduce their consumption, not adding wider tires. Just the plain near cessation of making tires and cars and all such things, and down to like there were less than one billion of us on the planet might be the answer, but that wouldn’t meet with most folks approval.

Therefore, consider that there are people in position of power that are as concerned as those of us who are the problem, (their problem) and they may be working on it right now. That would be reducing the demand on the planet and there are only a few ways to efficiently tend to that.
For the rest of the story, stay tuned.
 Food for thought…

DaShark said...

You are assuming that people in power plan further ahead than a) the next election b) their own lifespan.
Alas, in general, we have no indication of that happening - not by the people in power and not by the powerless!

In essence, wee are faced with twin Big Gorillas:
- population growth that will continue at least until we reach 9bn
- the growth of individual ecological footprints as populations of developing countries aspire to attain what they perceive to be a higher life standard = much more consumption of resources.

From that derive all other challenges - global warming, biodiversity loss, dwindling resources that leads to conflicts.

Solutions?
Start on a personal basis by reducing your ecological footprint, and then empower those (few) that offer credible long term strategies for mitigation and adaptation.