Al Gore- We might go the way of the Mayans…
November 20, 2008 by PUMA Pundit
Al Gore is a man I actually respect, he had my support in 2000, and I would have voted for him in 2004 if he had chosen to run for office. However, this whole global warming thing of his has left the realm of sanity and crossed into the realm of absurdity.
Check his latest blog posting out:
A new study suggests the Mayan civilization might have collapsed due to environmental disasters:
“‘These models suggest that as ecosystems were destroyed by mismanagement or were transformed by global climatic shifts, the depletion of agricultural and wild foods eventually contributed to the failure of the Maya sociopolitical system,’ writes environmental archaeologist Kitty Emery of the Florida Museum of Natural History in the current Human Ecology journal.”
As we move towards solving the climate crisis, we need to remember the consequences to civilizations that refused to take environmental concerns seriously.
If you haven’t read already read it, take a look at Jared Diamond’s book, Collapse.
I am no expert on the environment, but I think the biggest crisis facing most of the people in the world is economic, not environmental. When people live on less than $1 a day, their biggest concern is putting food in their stomach, and not the effect of pollution on the Andes Mountains…
Posted by PUMA Pundit
You cannot separate economics from the environment. You know, the Peruvians grow potatoes on the hillsides of the Andes Mountains. If the environment is polluted, then how do we grow our food and expect to get healthy crops? When the grape crops in California are affected by heat waves and global warming, the wineries can’t make wine which affects us both locally and globally as CA wines are exported world wide. When the tomatoes are affected by drought, then we don’t have tomato products. When the oranges are destroyed in Florida … well, you get my drift. The point is pollution and global warming DOES affect economics. And yes, the Mayans were wiped out by drought and slash-and-burn techniques that destroyed future crops. Although peaceful peoples, in their latter years, they became desperate and began to implode by civil wars and killings, following the practices of the Aztecs. Why do I know–I am half Mayan and have done lots of research on this and have lived in Guatemala and Belize. Yes, they are poor in Guatemala, but they are so rich in wisdom and skills so many of us couldn’t even fathom like textile weaving. Belize has certainly developed in the last couple of years, and Guatemala is improving their roads and infrastructure. Africa is the richest continent (and note I said continent–not country
in the world in terms of minerals and resources, but it has been almost destroyed by outsiders and environmental practices that will destroy its future. And political leaders in Africa such as Mugabe have not helped their peoples.
I could go on and on but the bottom line is that economics and the environment are NOT inseparable. This is why we need to be smart before we start doing the “drill baby drill” dance, ruining our own environment. Not to say we can’t do some drilling but certainly not the way that Palin has proposed. Thank god that ticket wasn’t voted into office. Whew!!!!
Gojoebo,
The Mayan disappeared because of sociologico-political causes, not environmental causes. These great ancient civilizations:Aztecs, Incas, Mayas, etc. were absorbed, not by the melting of the polar circle, but by the gravitate of their own social cultural isolation.
PUMA pundit is noting that even when environmental talk is “in vogue”, (and it might give you some “talk show time” or even a Nobel prize), does not really do anything for the advancement of our economic status, which depends on the market behavior not on the polar bear.