Saw an off-putting programme on the television last night, about the world, the environment, and agricultural practices. Curiouly the USA didn’t come out too well, due in part to the fact many Americans like to drive enormously large cars, live in vast houses, and never turn a lightbulb off whan they can turn two on instead.
But it was the agricultural practices that were most interesting to me.
Here in France the farming is still (mostly) small scale, fields and hedgerows, cows munching grass, dandelions growing between the fruit trees and so on. It seems that there is a more efficient approach.
First take an enormous plot of land and remove all trace of life and vegetation. Then squeeze in millions of cows and feed them with completely artificial products. Why use an acre of land for every couple of cows when you can keep 100 in the same plot of land?
Alternatively if that doesn’t take your fancy, plant thousands of rows of fruit trees – but remember the ground must remain completely bare, otherwise there is a risk of biological diversity – and pests.
Or venture to Brazil, where a few years with a few chain-saws and you can clear enough land to grow enough sugar cane to power 50% of the cars. Less exhaust emissions – good – but no more forest. Not so good.
The aerial views of the planet were, frankly, a miserable site. Mile after mile of bleak and barren landscape, given over to oil drilling or destructive farming.
OK so Brazil and China and the US are big countries, who can cause a few hundred square miles of destruction without it being too noticeable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea.
There were signs of a slight improvement – having destroyed much of the Everglades, for example, they are now trying to get them back again. And research into wind-power seems to be making some progress. But the expression ‘too little too late’ springs to mind.
It seems that within 20-40 years you’ll be able to get a suntan in Alaska in January, if you’re not being blown through the air by an ever-increasing number of violent tornadoes. Of course, if you live further south you’ll be baked to a crisp if you go outside during daylight hours. This could become tricky when the oil (and the air-conditioning) runs out.
But hey as long as we can drive big cars now, who cares.
It really is shameful what people do to the planet in the name of bigger profits. It’s possible to make money and be ecologically responsible at the same time… but screw the environment when you can up profit margins right?
Good post.
I guess people might think it’s easy for me to be critical, sat here in the French countryside, and in truth I’m not a hard-line environmentalist.
All the same I don’t see a big problem in introducing the equivalent of an ‘environment tax’ – here in France (elsewhere in Europe? I’m not sure) we now pay a couple of euros for ‘environmental cost’ when we buy an electrical appliance etc.
I’m a big enthusiast that any company making profits by using up natural resources or destroying the environment or the atmosphere should pay the ‘true cost’ of their production, even if it means they go out of business, or petrol prices go up 50% etc
End of rant, thanks for stopping by!