decisions amok

Billions of people are making a multitude of decisions about physical activities every day. Some are the mundane associated with every day life. Others have a significant impact on the future behavior of communities and of systems. Some decisions are good and some are bad. In combination they have a tremendous influence of what is happening at a range of levels from how they affect the individual up to the global impact.The range and weight of the impact depends on many circumstances. Listing some of these provides insight into what humans are arranging with their decisions.

• when and what to eat - smart people stick to a routine and eat reasonable amounts of good food - unwise people over eat of fast food - however, many people have little choice and have to make do
• when and what to drink - smart people ensure they consume adequate amounts of a mix of liquids appropriate to the occasions - unwise people too often go overboard on alcoholic beverages - however, many people find it hard to get potable water
• what drugs to take - smart people take them only when deemed necessary by medical advisers - unwise people take them because they like the short term benefits and discount the long term side effects - however, many people are not in the position to be tempted
• what housing - smart people live in reasonable homes in convenient locations  - the elite show off their position by living in McMansions that they cannot really afford or manage - however, many billions around the globe get by as best they can with unsatisfactory shelter
• what facilities to have in the home - many people take water supply, cooking facilities, toilets, heating, air-conditioning, communication and entertainment facilities for granted - however, many people have access to few of the facilitators of a comfortable life style
• how to cope with diseases - inoculations and medications help many people overcome natural diseases - however, there is no means to overcome the insidious disease affecting many people, too much money 

Aircrat technology chasing its tail

The Red Baron adroitly used his Fokker in downing many Sopwith Camels in the Great War. Spitfires and Hurricanes repelled the German bombers in the Battle of Britain while matching the Focke-Wulf. The Germans were too late in introducing jet fighters. The Japanese Zero was too maneuverable for the Yankee fighters in the Pacific air war until the Lightning entered the scene. The American Sabre jet was not only compared to the Russian MiG on paper as they met over Korea. The F-15 Eagle has added to the potential air power of numerous countries for many years.The Mirage was a useful mirage in the Australian defence capabilities for decades. The Hornet has not had to prove its sting but looks good in air shows. The F-35 Lightning II lights up the eyes of the PM as it is expected to add to our defence capabilities in due course even though it may not be a match for the Chinese J-20 or J-31 or the Russian/Indian Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

These developments in fighter aircraft over the years are an example of technology chasing its tail in an unsustainable process.  Unfortunately it has not been matched by a revolutionary way of providing aircraft fuel (because that is not physically possible) or of creating the materials irrevocably used up (because that is also not possible) . This example of biased unsustainable technology development has fostered the aircraft industry and has contributed to airliner development but at great ecological and natural resource (but not yet financial, social and political) cost.

Society will be bewildered as this era comes to an end due to the declining availability of the energy and materials used in building and operating these insatiable mechanistic monstrosities. Politicians, business people and tourists will rue the associated loss of airline travel. The aviation, defense and airline industries will vainly try to maintain their ravishing in an attempt to made money for their investors and prolong the careers for their specialists. And governments will belatedly adopt defensive policies. 

Progonosis of a failing organism

We have understanding of how organisms, including human beings, operate as they grow to maturity then senescence leads to inevitable demise. Of course, medical people have much greater understanding of the detail including the role of the multitude of cells that control operations in the organism. The mechanism is an extraordinary extremely complex operation that has evolved naturally. It is a phenomenon that we tend to take for granted except in the relatively rare cases when the program goes wrong to a small extent. Cancer is a localized mutation that causes a degree of concern while the vast majority of cells in the organism get on with their prescribed job during their short lifetimes.

This behavior of organic organisms is common knowledge. However, the existence of a vast inorganic organism having many similar characteristics is not widely help. James Lovelock has over the years provided sufficient argument to convince knowledgeable people that the ecosystem is a gigantic inorganic organism with operation controlled by the interaction of a host of organic and inorganic processes. It has been given the name, Gaia. Its operation is similar in some respects to that of natural biological organisms. A wide range of natural processes emulate the role of cells in biological organisms.

Civilization is also a vast organism we can call Tityas, the delinquent son of Gaia. It is growing rapidly as its multitude of human beings use a variety of tools to act like cells. But, unlike the cells in natural organisms, these cells are not programmed to carry out specialized constructive operations. Many of them do but there are sufficient rogues to foster irrevocable obesity of the organism. Intangible money flow is the life blood of this organism even though it is often contaminated by greed. The cells in under developed regions of this organism are vainly striving to attain healthy operations while those in over developed regions continue their cancerous malfeasance. The organism is entering its senescence with few cells operating benignly. The inevitable demise of civilization will entail a die off of much of the population coupled with disintegration of much of the infrastructure that provides them with goods and services.

The only treatment for the disease this organism is suffering from is for the Earth's Lodgers' Activity Management (ELAM) movement's large dose of understanding influencing the operation of a high proportion of the cells of Tityas. Is there hope of this treatment eventuating?

Wars - who are the enemies?

Wars have been disrupting and degrading society while damaging the infrastructure of civilization for millennia. It is one of the deleterious features of the operation of our society. This feature has been fostered by political, religious, racial and social animosity. But it also has also been fostered by those people and concerns that have gained by providing the implements of war and the postwar reconstruction. Ironically, countries and communities that have been bitter enemies at one time have often become friends at a later stage - and vice versa!

Societies have been very adroit in finding enemies (and friends) for a variety of reasons. Yet, ironically, society has never officially declared war on Mother Nature (Gaia) even though they have being do their utmost to ravish her for their selfish purposes for millennia. Money has been the tool for this divestment of the  natural material wealth of humanity's life support system. It has fostered the unsustainable growth of the population of parasitic humans. It has fostered the unsustainable growth of the technological infrastructure of civilization (Tityas) by the irreversible of some of Mother Nature's natural wealth.

But fiat money does not take into account the consequences of the ravishing that it has encouraged. So society will have the pay the price of treating Mother Nature as the enemy. She is slowly responding to the aggression of the parasites and the damage being done by their tools. She will win the undeclared war and the surviving parasites will find it hard to adapt as they lose the capabilities of Tityas (their aging infrastructure.)