These days am having trouble trying to figure out the collective logic of Western "civilised" society.
How long can a human being exist without Oxygen? Five minutes? Ten?
How long without water? Two weeks? Five?
How long without a motor vehicle; an electric toothbrush, wide-screen plasma TV etc?
Have been watching the squeals of annoyance about the "high price of oil" with interest. (haven't we all?) Prices generally work on the theory of "Supply and Demand" .. don't they? (well, they would if 'stock market speculators' were taken out of the equation); But Wait…
Went into the local "service station" (a misnomer these days. They are mostly "mini marts" with a cashier) for the weekly 'fill-up' of the Work Wagon. Runs on AutoGas, 47 litresX$0.47 = $21.90. (1 US gallon = [slightly more than] 4 litres)
So, roughly, 12.4 US gallons = $AU 22.00
Petrol retails for $AU 1.30/ litre or roughly $AU 5.20/US gallon..
But here's the interesting bit. Self glances across and sees .. rack upon rack of BOTTLED WATER. $2.70/500ml. That's $5.40/ litre OR $21.60/US gallon.
My, my .. we ARE happy little brainwashed consumers. $5.40/ per litre for something that comes out of a TAP for FREE!!!!. (OK, almost free)
AND THIS IS FOR "PLAIN" WATER. How much money do we waste on "flavoured" and "coloured" water??
Not, of course, counting the COST of manufacturing or trying to "dispose" of the BILLIONS of Petrochemical "containers".
Something is rotten in the State of Consumerism.
OK, don't take my words as gospel .. do yer own research.
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp
http://infochangeindia.org/WaterResourceItop.jsp?section_idv=17 (PS. this link seems to have suddenly become 'unavailable' to me during the writing of this post. Paranoia is a peculiar perception.)
This post prompted by a beautiful series of photographs by Rauf.
Who gives a shit about "oil" wars. The PetroChemical Industry and its sick, psychotic "Marketeers" is small bikkies.
As Western Society continues to defile, desecrate, pollute and COMMERCIALISE the second most precious commodity that this planet has given us .. can feel "water wars" in the offing.
(PS. The current central Australian 'leadership' has 'upped' the bidding by proposing to 'sell off' the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric complex. Oy arseholes, it doesn't 'belong' to you. As the ORIGINAL 'headwater' and main feed supply for the entire Murray-Darling river system, it also 'belongs' to the 'downstream' people. )
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18181209-28737,00.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Snowy-scheme-sale-signed-off-by-Senate/2006/03/29/1143441191918.html
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/natint/stories/s1572539.htm
How far will a politician go .. to find a dollar to feed a vote??
Fromwww.polmar.com/pollution/petrole_e.htm
8 comments:
Who gives a shit about "oil" wars. The PetroChemical Industry and its sick, psychotic "Marketeers" is small bikkies.
Wrong...
In three to five years The Mother Of All Economic Collapses (read that as The Mother Of All Depressions) will hit the developed world. It will take ten years at least for the world to recover. In the mean time, many millions will starve (including a few lmillion in this country) and slavery will be entrenched in the new economic system which rises from the ashes.
THEN water will be an issue. And the issue will be a simple one. If you are in the elite, you will have water. If you offer yourself as a slave, you will get just enough water to keep you working. The rest will be hunted down and become "meat product" in manufactured food for the workers.
Y'all have a nice day now...
..and the roman empire marched on..(?)
Gerry, have just watched a documentary on SBS about Shanghai circa 1920-45. Interesting. Names such as Chiang kai Chk, Sun yat sen, Mao Tse Tng, were mentioned, along with one or two "criminals" who actually ran the mafia within the city.
If I had the time .. heh.
"How far will a politician go .. to find a dollar to feed a vote??"
Dunno Gerry, am running out of the 'technical expertise' t say, well, that's what it took some wrds and a photograph to say... heh.
this is a puzzle. people are so inconsistant. don't recognize that oil is much too valuable to waste on plastic shopping bags that then pose litter hazard (and death hazard to water critters) as you say - no worries to spend silly amounts of $$ on water bottled by coca-cola - but the water has become a status symbol. we drink from plastic and won't be caught drinking from the tap. At work everyone sits with a small bottle of water on their desk and yet in the kitchenette there is a large bottled water dispenser that they could fill their glass from free. At least the large bottle is reuseable/refillable plastic (and takes less oil to produce than the zillion little ones that are the equivelant) sigh. expensive, wasteful, silly.
ya got it Hayden. fuck off an' do something about in yer own country. Us little pixies in Oz are drowning in strident 'YEE HAR' crap.
oops, Hayden, did not intend the F off toward You specifically.
The 'lower case' was a surprise..
I drink bottled water. I bottle it myself using (and reusing and reusing) plastic jugs. I get my water from a warm spring, and it's loaded with extra minerals that make it good for the system. Otherwise I drink out of the tap. It's like taking a mouthful of swimming pool. But I generally have enough of my self-bottled water to get me through.
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