As the world’s media is caught up in an economic free fall frenzy, share prices are dropping dramatically and financial stability is ever so fragile I ask myself one question; So ****ing what?
So what that the FTSE, ISEQ, Wall Street is down the tubes. So what that our banks and financial institutions are in crisis.
I ask myself- are these the stories that really matter? As we slide dramatically back to the days of 1929 and The ‘Great Depression’ looms large- Do I really care? The answer my pocket fumbling friends is NO, I don’t.
You may ask yourself- well, what should be making the world’s headlines while I’m flicking through my paper this morning? As I read about economic forecasts for 2009 I can’t help but wonder where are the things that really matter?
What I’m talking about are the news stories that actually affect not only every single one of us on the planet but our animal friends and our environment. While people are worrying about monetary instability what the hell does it matter if there isn’t fresh air to breath, clean water to drink or any trees left to give us oxygen to live.? What does the slide in the markets matter when I watch the destruction of the globe happen in front of my very eyes?
The stories that really matter are not the finanical crisis. The stories that matter are the environmental crises. The apathy to environmental issues by the media and the public at large disturbs me. As capitalism is in crisis why do our leaders and media moguls not seize the opportunity to once and for all change the focus to what really affects us?
As I breath into my inhaler and I struggle with the adverse weather conditions on my way to the hospital to visit my uncle dying from cancer. I can no longer deny that climate change, our sedentary ‘first world’ lifestyles as well as environmental destruction doesn’t affect me. It affects all of us and why aren’t we in a frenzy about it? Because we are too worried about the bank balance and the change in our pockets.
I’ll include a little example of the type of disaster I am talking about. It’s about the melting of Europe’s largest glacier in Iceland. No big deal…
http://player.kamera.com/irishtimes/index.html?serialid=40101
Tags: 1929, Environment, environmental disasters, Iceland, Media reports, Melting Glaciers, Monetary and financial crisis, stock market crash, Wall Street
October 8, 2008 at 3:37 am |
as you know i have been thumping that particular tub for a long while
here is a controversial one monbiot wrote about it, wonder what you make of it..
funnily engouhg he wrote it a year ago tomorrow…
http://tinyurl.com/3b8spm
October 8, 2008 at 1:52 pm |
very well written piece by monbiot. I think we’re all singing off the same hymnsheet.
October 13, 2008 at 7:24 am |
My grandfather said “everything is always about money”. I think it may be pathetic, but it is true.
October 13, 2008 at 9:55 am |
Unfortunately the economic crisis will affect you and everyone of us. Paying for the banks meltdown will not only be borne by us, but maybe generations. It will also mean less money for people who need it (welfare cuts) and more taxes on individuals through income and VAT. I’m not saying we should ignore environmental issues, the sad reality is that people only take note when you dip into their pockets….maybe people would be more environmentally responsible if they paid tax on how green they were or were not?
October 13, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
Flimsy You may be right.
Aidan- I do sympathise with people who will suffer as a result of the economic crisis. I am aware of the cuts that will affect the poor, but the point is the poor are the ones who always suffer in good times or in bad.
The fact is the economic crisis and environmental crisis are not two different issues. Using renewable energy, harvesting the fruits mother nature gives us and utilizing the earth in a way that protects it for future generations makes more sound economic sense than our current system of doing things.
If people can’t get that- They will have to.