Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Against Nature by John G. Nelson Quotations about the Environment. But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself. *Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintances who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal? — Rachel Carson (1907-1964), * Silent Spring , 1962. The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. — Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), former governor of Wisconsin, founder of Earth Day. It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), Christmas Eve sermon, 1967. A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear. — President Joseph R. Biden (1942-), Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021. The Congress, the Administration and the public all share a profound commitment to the rescue of our natural environment, and the preservation of the Earth as a place both habitable by and hospitable to man. — President Richard Nixon (1913-1994), "Reorganization Plan No. 3," message to Congress about establishing EPA, July 1970. More about the origins of EPA. Good stewardship of the environment is not just a personal responsibility, it is a public value. Our duty is to use the land well, and sometimes not to use it at all. This is our responsibility as citizens, but more than that, it is our calling as stewards of the earth. — President George W. Bush (1946-), remarks, National Parks Legacy Project, May 30, 2001. Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge; it's common sense. — President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), State of the Union address, 1984. It is time for us now as a nation to exercise the same reasonable foresight in dealing with our great natural resources that would be shown by any prudent man in conserving and widely using the property which contains the assurance of well-being for himself and his children. — President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), remarks at the Conference on Conservation of Natural Resources, 1908. Scientists may depict the problems that will affect the environment based on available evidence, but their solution is not the responsibility of scientists but of society as a whole. Los científicos pueden describir los problemas que afectarán el medio ambiente basándose en la evidencia disponible, sin embargo, su solución no es la responsabilidad de los científicos sino de la sociedad en su totalidad. — Mario Molina (1943- ). There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. — Mother Teresa (1910-1997), A Gift for God , 1975. A healthy ecology is the basis for a healthy economy. — Claudine Schneider , U.S. Representative, The Green Lifestyle Handbook , 1990. You cannot affirm the power plant and condemn the smokestack, or affirm the smoke and condemn the cough. — Wendell Berry, The Gift of the Good Land , 1981. Environmentally friendly cars will soon cease to be an option . they will become a necessity. — Fujio Cho (1937- ), honorary Chairman of Toyota Motors; North American International Auto Show, 2004. Sustainable development - development that does not destroy or undermine the ecological, economic, or social basis on which continued development depends - is the only viable pathway to a more secure and hopeful future for rich and poor alike. — Maurice Strong (1925-2015), Opening Statement to the Rio Summit , 1992. The Truly Healthy environment is not merely safe but stimulating. — William H. Stewart (1913-1993), Environmental Science and Technology , February 1968. The Silence of a shut park does not sound like the country silence: it is tense and confirmed. — Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), The Death of the Heart, 1938. He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Essays, Second Series , 1844. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Troilus and Cressida . Let the clean air blow the cobwebs from your body. Air is medicine. — Lillian Russell (1862-1922), quoted in Reader's Digest , March 1922. I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. — Langston Hughes (1902-1967), "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," 1926. The belief that we can manage the Earth and improve Nature is probably the biggest expression of human pride, but it has deep roots in the past and is almost universal. — René Dubos (1901-1982), The Wooing of the Earth , 1980. We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do. — Barbara Ward (1914-1981), Only One Earth, 1972. I know that our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found. — John Muir (1838-1914), journal. Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. — Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), Sand Country Alamanac, 1949. Nature provides exceptions to every rule. — Margaret Fuller (1810-1850), The Dial , July 1843. Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. — Thomas Edison (1847-1931) Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise. — George Washington Carver (1860-1934). ¡Verde de Puerto Rico, hablador y salvaje! Que parece que piensas tal si fueras humano; que hablas, como si fueras la lengua del paisaje, de los estados de alma del escarpe y del llano. Green Puerto Rico, talkative and wild! That you seem to think as if you were human; You talk as if you were the expression of the landscape, Of the moods of the rolling hills and of the plains. — José Antonio Dávila (1898-1941), Apóstrofe al Verde , 1940. All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child. — Marie Curie (1867-1934), Pierre Curie, 1923. Our task must be to free ourselves . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. — Albert Einstein (1879-1955). The use of sea and air is common to all; neither can a title to the ocean belong to any people or private persons, forasmuch as neither nature nor public use and custom permit any possession therof. — Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603). For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river, for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports. — Sandra Postel, Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity , 2003. If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in Water. — Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey , 1957. High quality water is more than the dream of the conservationists, more than a political slogan; high quality water, in the right quantity at the right place at the right time, is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth. — Edmund S. Muskie (1914-1996), former US Secretary of State; Senator from Maine; and introduced the Clean Water Act bill in Congress in 1971. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. — Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), quoted in EF Schumacher, Small is Beautiful. To halt the decline of an ecosystem, it is necessary to think like an ecosystem. — Douglas P. Wheeler , EPA Journal, September-October 1990. The weight of our civilization has become so great, it now ranks as a global force and a significant wild card in the human future along with the Ice Ages and other vicissitudes of a volatile and changeable planetary system. — Dianne Dumanoski (1932- ), Rethinking Environmentalism , December 13, 1998. We will look upon the earth and her sister planets as being with us, not for us. — Mary Daly, "Beyond God the Father," 1973. Before the breathin' air is gone, Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime. — Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, "Out in the Country", 1970. To make the changes we need to make and to reach a safer future, we will need the resources of everybody here — the scientists, the policy makers, and the industrialists — all working together towards a common goal. And that goal is a planet that can continue to support life. — Dr. Piers Sellers (1955-2016), American astronaut. Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. — Carl Sagan (1934-1996). I am a passenger on the spaceship Earth. — R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983). Test your knowledge! Try this fun quiz about a few environmental quotations. Yes, it's OK to peek back at the quotations on this page. John G. Nelson. The U.S. is ground-zero for a mysterious global pandemic. The disease is highly infectious and kills it’s victims within two weeks of exposure. It’s neither bacteria nor a virus and all traditional treatment regiments have failed. Serena Salus, a radical scientist, discovers the organism is an extraterrestrial dust mite brought to earth by a shuttle astronaut. The government contends it’s a genetically-engineered organism created on earth by enemies of freedom. Dr. Salus uncovers a vile plan for distributing her experimental antitoxin and finds herself in a deadly confrontation with powerful forces that’ll stop at nothing to control the distribution of her vaccine. Wow! Sounds like a page turner! I can't wait to read it. When and where can I get a copy? Creativity Movement. Creativity , formerly known as Church of the Creator , then as World Church of the Creator , is a white supremacist, Neo-Nazi, anti-Christian religion founded by electrical engineer and former Florida state legislator Ben Klassen. Klassen led the movement from 1973 until his death by suicide in 1993. Creativity is recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States, as per a federal court decision in Wisconsin. [1] Contents. In a nutshell [ edit ] The ideology and practices of Creativity are outlined in Klassen’s numerous written works, including Nature’s Eternal Religion and The White Man’s Bible . The religion is, essentially, pantheism but with racism. Klassen expressed disdain for the supernatural and, especially, Christianity, because of its perceived Jewish roots. Klassen urged his followers to prepare for a “racial holy war” against Jews and “mud races” (aka Rahowa) and included frequent warnings in his speeches and his writing of impending white extinction caused by population growth in the Third World, population decline in Europe and the West, and forced integration leading to miscegenation. The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies Creativity as a Neo-Nazi movement, [2] a designation Klassen disputed. However, Klassen did attempt to recruit Neo-Nazis into the church, and cultivated a relationship with National Alliance leader William Luther Pierce, most famous as author of The Turner Diaries . April Gaede, mother of the formerly [3] Neo-Nazi musical twins Prussian Blue, was also associated with the organization, as is Neo-Nazi podcaster and activist Craig Cobb [4] . Core beliefs [ edit ] Creativity has a set of principles called The Sixteen Commandments which outline every basic aspect and idea of the religion. [5] The Sixteen Commandments are similar to "The Ten Commandments" in Christianity and Judaism but only more racist. Among these founding principles and ideas are: I. It is the avowed duty and holy responsibility of each generation to secure and assure for all the time the existence of the White Race upon the face of the planet (read: 14 Words). II. Be faithful and multiply. Do your part in helping to populate the world with your own kind. It is our sacred goal to populate the lands of this earth with White people exclusively (read: Make white babies and get rid of mudbloods "mud race" people off the face of Earth). III. Remember that the inferior colored races are our deadly enemies and that the most dangerous of all is the Jewish race. It is our immediate objective to relentlessly expand the White Race, and keep shrinking our enemies (read: non-whites and Jews are our enemies, we should reproduce like rabbits and commit genocide against them). IV. The guiding principle of your actions shall be: What is best for the White Race? (read: Do any actions that are in favor of White supremacy and Creativity) V. You shall keep your race pure. Pollution of the White Race is a heinous crime against Nature and against your own race (read: No racemixing) VI. Your first loyalty belongs to the White race (read: Follow orders by Pontifax Maximus of Creativity obediently and without question) VII. Show preferential treatment in business dealings with members of your own race. Phase out all dealings with Jews as soon as possible. Do not niggers or other coloreds. Have social contacts only with members of your own race (read: Don't trust non-whites and Jews, only trust whites) VIII. Destroy all Jewish thought and influence from society. Work hard to bring about a White world as soon as possible (read: Fight against the Jewish conspiracy and fight for a all-white world) IX. Work and Creativity are our genius. We regard work as a noble pursuit and our willingness to work as a blessing to our race (read: Our beliefs and goals are right) X. Decide in early youth that during your lifetime you will make at least one lasting contribution to the White Race (read: Make contributions that benefit Creativity) XI. Uphold the honor of the White Race (read: Serve Creativity and the White race) XII. It is our duty and our privilege to further Nature's plan by striving towards the advancement and improvement of our future generations (read: Follow Creativity's plan) XIII. You shall honor, venerate, and protect the sanctity of the family unit, and hold it sacred. It is the present link in the golden chain of our White Race (read: Advocate traditional Nuclear family) XIV. Throughout your life you shall faithfully uphold our pivotal creed of Blood, Soil and Honor. Practice it diligently, for it is the heart of our faith (read: Blood and Soil) [But I thought mud was bad? See II.) XV. As a proud member of the White Race, think and act positively, be courageous, confident, and aggressive. Utilize constructively your creative ability (read: Be aggressive towards others in a courageous and confident way. Use your ability against others) XVI. We, the Racial Comrades of the White Race[,] are determined to regain complete and unconditional control of our destiny (read: We"ll murder every person of color and Jewish person whatever means necessary) In addition to Sixteen Commandments, Creativity has another set of core beliefs called Five Fundamental Beliefs which like the commandments also outline the beliefs of the religion which Creativity claims are "Based on the Eternal Laws of Nature, History, Logic and Common Sense" [6] : 1. We BELIEVE that our Race is our religion 2. We BELIEVE that the White Race is Nature's Finest 3. We BELIEVE that Racial Loyalty is the greatest of all honors, and racial treason is the worst of crimes 4. We BELIEVE that what is good for the White Race is the highest virtue, and what is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin 5. We BELIEVE that the one and only, true and revolutionary White Racial Religion -Creativity- is the only salvation for the White Race. To the fulfillment of these religious beliefs we Creators forever pledge our Lives, our Sacred Honor and our Religious Zeal. Declaration of the Women's Frontier [ edit ] Creativity also has written a declaration called Declaration of the Women's Frontier [7] which outlines how the religion views women and what women in Creativity should do. These beliefs are: 1. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we pledge to fulfill the 16 Commandments of the Creativity Movement, as set forth by our founder Ben Klassen, never forgetting "what is good for the White Race is the highest virtue, and what is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin". 2. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which White Men and Women are empowered to fulfill their racial destines, liberated once and for all from the stranglehold of Jewish tyranny and oppression 3. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which White Women can once again safely walk the streets of our cities and towns, no longer the victims of mud murder, rape, torture and pornography! 4. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which the Laws of Nature are understood and followed, with the recognition that Men and Women are not "equal" but each have their own special roles to carry out as part of Nature's plan 5. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which our beautiful White children will grow up free and strong with their heads held high, and be powerful and noble warriors Nature intended. 6. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which we will lovingly work as devoted wives, mothers, Sisters, helpers, friends, and comrades-in-Arms by the side of our Male Comrades, with respect and honor, to maintain for all eternity the purity of our Race 7. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which we will link our White Sisters worldwide as a mental, spiritual, and if necessary, physical fighting force against the invasion of Jew/mud women and their inferior racial influence 8. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which health, cleanliness, discipline, efficiency, and orderly family life are restored and held in the highest esteem. 9. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which RACE rather than greedy, materialistic behaviors and pursuits, is the all-important factor in our lives. 9. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which we can fully express our true natures as White women, and we shall oppose with every breath in our bodies the twisted, unnatural Jewish feminist concept of womanhood 10. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which the arts (literature, music, dance, painting) are appreciated and recognized as beautiful and life-affirming values, and that we as women have a role to play in advancing the arts in our community to enhance the aesthetic values in White society. 11. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which White women's achievements, contributions and impassioned, devoted racial loyalty will always be remembered at utmost respect and honor at all times and in all circumstances. The names of our glorious White heroines and martyrs of past and present history who fought and died alongside their Male Comrades shall be forever emblazoned in our memories and hearts. 12. AS PROUD, WHITE WOMEN, we shall create and build a world in which White girls are growing up today will be guaranteed a joyful and radiant future in which they will be able to flourish as proud White WOMEN, secure in the knowledge that their lives and their children's lives will be free from Jewish pollution and mud inferiority. Yeah so in other words, Creativity is opposed to feminism (like most conservatives, Neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and white supremacists) and wants traditional gender roles. The flag [ edit ] So you've got a red field with a white circle in the middle (and triangle on the left end). In the circle is a is a black W, a red and black crown, and a gold halo. All of this has racist symbolism, most of it pretty obvious. It's like a super-tacky version of the Nazi flag. Name lawsuit [ edit ] In 2000, Oregon-based Church of the Creator (a non-racist, relatively mainstream Christian movement) sued World Church of the Creator over rights to the name, and won, forcing the organization to change its name to “Creativity Movement.” [8] Many Nelson laughs ensued. Terrorism and acts of violence [ edit ] Despite the organization’s disavowal of violence and illegal behavior, numerous Creativity Movement members have been convicted of various offenses in US courts. In 2004, Matthew F. Hale, a leader in the organization, was convicted of soliciting the murder of federal judge Joan Lefkow, who presided over the above-mentioned naming dispute. [9] He is serving a 40-year sentence in federal prison in Colorado. [10] Creativity Movement member Bill White was also convicted of threatening a juror in the same case, and was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison. Racial Holy War [ edit ] Racial Holy War (RaHoWa) is an attempt at making a tabletop RPG by Creativity Reverend Kenneth Molyneaux. More of a series of racist rants loosely held together by a vestigial rules system than an actually playable game, it depicts a post-apocalyptic Earth in which non-white people have almost eliminated the white race. The players would then play as "White Warriors" and fight the classic enemies of white supremacists: Jews, latinos, black people, the works; generally those outside of their "Aryan ideal". Essentially, it would've been a playable version of The Turner Diaries . Emphasis is on would , as Rev. Molyneaux didn't actually finish the game and minor things like combat are incomplete and totally unusable as a result. In fact, the "game" PDF file cuts off abruptly without a proper ending and many pages seem to be missing. RaHoWa instantly achieved extreme infamy in the tabletop RPG community and is commonly held to be one of the three worst, if not the worst, RPGs ever created. [note 1] It is incoherent, stupid and extremely offensive. It can't even get white supremacy right; the Rev. Molyneaux was so inept at making a game that white player characters were inferior in every way to the supposedly inferior non-white NPCs (in a "game" where promoting white supremacist ideals was the whole point). But the actual point of the whole thing may have been just to shove as much racism and slurs into 100 or so pages and the Rev. quit when he got bored. BOOK REVIEW: 'Against Nature' eBook Thriller Depicts a Dystopian America That's All Too Possible. What would happen if the United States became ground zero for a mysterious global pandemic, caused by an extraterrestrial dust mite brought back by an international team of astronauts? Brought back to a country run by a maniacal, Darth Vader-like vice president, who treats President Montgomery like a frat boy figurehead. That's the premise of an eBook thriller -- think "1984", " Animal Farm ", "The Road," the Russian sci-fi novel "We" or the movie "Brazil" -- by John G. Nelson called "Against Nature" (Wild Child Publishing.com , Culver City, CA., 317 pages, $6.95, available as a Kindle eBook from amazon.com , or in other eBook formats from www.wildchildpublishing.com ). You want dystopia? Nelson provides it in spades in "Against Nature." In addition to Vice President Birch (as in John Birch?), there's a Mad Man type named Vince Captionis who channels George Creel , President Woodrow Wilson's Goebbels , who organized a brilliant campaign to drag the pacifist U.S. into the European war of 1914-18. It's a brilliant touch by author Nelson, to have an ad man who admires Creel (1876-1953), who headed the deceptively named United States Committee on Public Information . Creel, who began his career as a journalist in Kansas City, Mo, said of himself that "an open mind is not part of my inheritance. I took in prejudices with mother's milk and was weaned on partisanship." Hardly an dispassionate, objective journalist, but just the kind of guy the devious Wilson (who campaigned with the slogan "He Kept Us Out of War" in his re-election race in 1916) needed to drag America kicking and screaming into WWI, then known as the Great War. The use of Creel, an active Democrat who ran against the novelist Upton Sinclair ("The Jungle") in the 1934 primary election for governor of California -- Sinclair won and was defeated by Republican incumbent Frank Merriam in the fall general election -- is a brilliant touch. In his last years Creel was a fervent anti-Communist, working with Sen. Joe McCarthy , R-WI and Rep. Richard Nixon , R-CA during the Red Scare of the late 1940s. Countering the bad guys in "Against Nature" is a good guy team assembled by Assistant Director of the CDC Dr. Danielle Santos that includes the beautiful so-called " Black Widow " scientist Dr. (both an M.D. and a PhD) Serena Salus, who quickly determines that crazed Islamic scientists in Pakistan haven't developed the virus, that it developed from an extraterrestrial dust mite brought to earth by a shuttle astronaut. The evidence is backed up when the shuttle's team of American, Finnish, Israeli and Japanese astronauts die within days of returning to earth. When Serena Salus' treatment plan cures her journalist friend Adam Spinoza, who has friends in high places in Latin America , the powers in Washington, DC go after those who don't buy into the "official" explanation, including Dr. Santos, forcing Salus and Spinoza go on the lam. The novel is fast paced in the extreme: I read it in one sitting from a print-out provided by Nelson. The author makes the interesting and to me believable point that Giant Pharma isn't interested in curing anything, just treating it. There's nothing like repeat business! If you groove on thrillers by Robin Cook or the late, great Michael Crichton (think " The Andromeda Strain ") "Against Nature" is for you. Given the paranoia of the past decade (Nelson said he was inspired to write the book by the Bush Administration's actions), nothing seems impossible any more. TRANSCEND MEDIA SERVICE. TMS Is Independent Media. No Government Grants. No Advertising. 2021, Week 22. TMS Weekly Digest. Search TMS. To find articles by the same author, please click on the name. Music Video of the Week. In Original Languages. Featured Research Paper. Book recommendation. Galtung’s Corner. TRANSCEND Highlights. TRANSCEND Links. Explore TMS by tags. Categories. Recent Comments. Alberto Portugheis on A Permanent Structure of Peace Weekly News Update, May 7, 2021 – Spars Wars on Killing Democracy Once and for All: The Global Elite’s Coup d’état That Is Destroying Life as We Know It La Norvegia e il Premio Nobel per la Pace: Fama o onta? - Centro Studi Sereno Regis on Fame or Shame? Norway and the Nobel Peace Prize Suryanath Prasad on Encoding Coherent Topic Transformation in Global Dialogue Piero P. Giorgi on The Accelerating Destruction of Earth’s Biodiversity: When Will We Act? Extras. Follow TMS. Our Suicidal War against Nature. Ceasefire in Our Suicidal War against Nature. Here are some quotations from a December 2, 2020 article by Justin Rowlatt entitled “Humans waging suicidal war on nature – UN chief Antonio Guterres”: “Humanity is waging what he describes as a suicidal war on the natural world. “Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury, he told a BBC special event on the environment. “Mr Guterres wants to put tackling climate change at the heart of the UN’s global mission. “In a speech entitled State of the Planet, he announced that its central objective next year will be to build a global coalition around the need to reduce emissions to net zero. “Net zero refers to cutting greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible and balancing any further releases by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. “Mr Guterres said that every country, city, financial institution and company should adopt plans for a transition to net zero emissions by 2050. In his view, they will also need to take decisive action now to put themselves on the path towards achieving this vision. “The objective, said the UN secretary general, will be to cut global emissions by 45% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. “Here’s what Mr Guterres demanded the nations of the world do: Put a price on carbon. Phase out fossil fuel finance and end fossil fuel subsidies. Shift the tax burden from income to carbon and from tax payers to polluters. Integrate the goal of carbon neutrality (a similar concept to net zero) into all economic and fiscal policies and decisions. Help those around the world who are already facing the dire impacts of climate change. “It is an ambitious agenda, as Mr Guterres acknowledged, but he said that radical action is needed now. “The science is clear, Mr Guterres told the BBC, unless the world cuts fossil fuel production by 6% every year between now and 2030, things will get worse. Much worse. “Climate policies have yet to rise to the challenge, the UN chief said, adding that `without concerted action, we may be headed for a catastrophic three to five-degree temperature rise this century. “The impact is already being felt around the world. Apocalyptic fires and floods, cyclones and hurricanes are the new normal. Biodiversity is collapsing. Deserts are spreading. Oceans are choking with plastic waste. “Mr Guterres said the nations of the world must bring ambitious commitments to cut emissions to the international climate conference the UK and Italy are hosting in Glasgow in November next year. As well as pressing for action on the climate crisis, he urged nations to tackle the extinction crisis that is destroying biodiversity and to step up efforts to reduce pollution. We face, he said, a moment of truth. “But he does discern some glimmers of hope. `He acknowledged that the European Union, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and more than 110 other countries have committed to become carbon neutral by the middle of this century. He said he wants to see this momentum turned into a movement. Technology will help us to reach these targets, Mr Guterres said he believes. The coal business is going up in smoke’ because it costs more to run most of today’s coal plants than it does to build new renewable plants from scratch, he told the BBC. “We must forge a safer, more sustainable and equitable path, the UN chief concluded. He said it is time for this war against the planet to end, adding: We must declare a permanent ceasefire and reconcile with nature.” The Danger of a Catastrophic Global Famine. As glaciers melt in the Himalayas, depriving India and China of summer water supplies; as sea levels rise, drowning the fertile rice fields of Vietnam and Bangladesh; as drought threatens the productivity of grain-producing regions of North America; and as the end of the fossil fuel era impacts modern high-yield agriculture, there is a threat of wide-spread famine involving billions rather than millions of people. People threatened with famine will become refugees, desperately seeking entry into countries where food shortages are less acute. Wars, such as those currently waged in the Middle East, will add to the problem. What can we do to avoid this crisis, or at least to reduce its severity? We must urgently address the problem of climate change; and we must shift money from military expenditure to the support of birth control programs and agricultural research. We must also replace the institution of war by a system of effective global governance and enforceable international laws. Optimum Population in the Distant Future. What is the optimum population of the world? It is certainly not the maximum number that can be squeezed onto the globe by eradicating every species of plant and +animal that cannot be eaten. The optimum global population is one that can be supported in comfort, equality and dignity – and with respect for the environment. In 1848 (when there were just over one billion people in the world), John Stuart Mill described the optimal global population in the following words: “ The density of population necessary to enable mankind to obtain, in the greatest degree, all the advantages of cooperation and social intercourse, has, in the most populous countries, been attained. A population may be too crowded, although all be amply supplied with food and raiment. “ … Nor is there much satisfaction in contemplating the world with nothing left to the spontaneous activity of nature; with every rood of land brought into cultivation, which is capable of growing food for human beings; every flowery waste or natural pasture plowed up, all quadrupeds or birds which are not domesticated for man’s use exterminated as his rivals for food, every hedgerow or superfluous tree rooted out, and scarcely a place left where a wild shrub or flower could grow without being eradicated as a weed in the name of improved agriculture. If the earth must lose that great portion of its pleasantness which it owes to things that the unlimited increase of wealth and population would extirpate from it, for the mere purpose of enabling it to support a larger, but not better or happier population, I sincerely hope, for the sake of posterity, that they will be content to be stationary, long before necessity compels them to it.” A New Freely Downloadable Book. I would like to announce the publication of a new book, which discusses the exponentially increasing stress that humans are placing on their natural environment. The book may be downloaded free of charge from the following link: Other Books and Articles about Global Problems Are on These Links: I hope that you will circulate the links in this article to friends and contacts who might be interested. John Scales Avery, Ph.D., who was part of a group that shared the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for their work in organizing the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, is a member of the TRANSCEND Network and Associate Professor Emeritus at the H.C. Ørsted Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is chairman of both the Danish National Pugwash Group and the Danish Peace Academy and received his training in theoretical physics and theoretical chemistry at M.I.T., the University of Chicago and the University of London. He is the author of numerous books and articles both on scientific topics and on broader social questions. His most recent books are Information Theory and Evolution and Civilization’s Crisis in the 21st Century (pdf). Website: https://www.johnavery.info/ This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 11 Jan 2021. Anticopyright : Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: Our Suicidal War against Nature, is included. Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.