Un-Sustainability. Who's fault is it really?

So, it's been a while since my last post (November 2008) I don't know if this blog even gets read. Anyways I'm writing now because I have nothing to do, and have realized something. I am not smart. I have realized this by conversing with co-workers and peers, and more, and more I am finding I really only hear what I want to hear. Usually if I'm in a debate or discussion it really helps to take a step back and write some of my thoughts down. In doing so I can bring up a good point or clarifying question, but if forced to think and speak on my head I can't put my thoughts together so well. What I am going to do is try to organize some things that have been on my mind.

While learning about sustainability and stuff that seems to be on every new-age-hippie's mind I have come back to my previous position on the issue. THERE ARE TO MANY PEOPLE. In short, environmentalists state that if communities used gardens and the like instead of going to the grocery store and contributing to big companies and the growing carbon footprint of the agricultural world, we can eventually become sustainable. The main problem with this "solution" is that the human population is only sustained by the huge business that is agriculture. The human population is so huge now that huge quantities of food is needed. And only naturally companies are going to try to increase their products for as little money as possible while losing the least amount possible. They do this by using (blank)icides (pesticides and herbicides) and GMO's (genetically modified organisms). By killing pests and modifying plants "farmers" can maximize product (and profit) while minimizing loss. This is the business model of all businesses.

So who really is to blame? The companies? For trying to keep up with the population which is growing more unsustainable literally every minute? Or ourselves for so stupidly increasing our own numbers while we bitch and whine about what the state of the world is.

Overpopulation The Root of all Evil

The other day as I was working my route I arrived at a conclusion about what may be the cause of all problems the earth is facing right now. Or to be more exact the problems the human race is facing.

As I hefted my noticeably heavier mail bag I grumbled to myself: "why are there so many dang people" as I muttered these resentful words I stopped. I thought about it, and realized that, that was the answer. There are to many people. Reliable sources say that as of November 2008 the world population is an estimated 6.72 billion. With this many people on one earth with the concept of the conservation of energy as I will explain below, it can not be expected for the human race to expand this fast and not die out soon.

The concept of Conservation of Energy is that there is a certain amount of matter and there can never be more or less. if you took anything a city for example put it into a completely closed environment and burned it, you would end up with the same exact amount of matter. This ties directly into the dwindling resources issue. Because humans need fuel for locamotion as well as fuel for the body. While we consume we need to create as well.

Because there are so many people we can not create enough to fees the new mouths that humans are always producing. There was a balance once. The right amount of everything and there is an equal amount of consumption and creation. Now humans are consuming faster than the world can recycle the humans waste into a fuel source for either us or our cars.

The answer is stunningly simple. There are to many people. And we are depleting the world's sources of fuel. The human race is long overdue for downsizing. Over the years there have been natural disasters. Things I see as mother nature keeping us in check. With the introduction of modern medicine the population of humans has grown by leaps and bounds and has no intintion of slowing down. Something must be done. The human race must be cut down and held down.

President OBAMA. My reactions, fears and hopes.

Watching with my buddies from work as the electoral votes piled up in Obama's favor, I cheered and watched as he pulled away from McCain with his measly hundred or so electorals. My first reaction to Obama being elected Prez was joy. I liked Obama through-out his campaign because he was very open, non-secretive and strait forward. I once saw one of his ads reading "read Obama's plan on (I forget what) at obama.com" This really just makes me respect him for his own personal drive to respect the social contract within all classes (even if he does focus on the middle class).

Having missed McCain's speech, I had to catch up on it at home, but as I watched it I found new-found respect for McCain rising within me. I was surprised. During the campaign McCain was the one who was the most nasty in my opinion. Especially during the debates, also I never really herd him say a lot about what he was actually going to do, from what I herd he was always just bashing Obama. He really came out and displayed what I saw to be his true self in his speech on electiong night.

One of the biggest things that scared me about this election was Sarah Palin. The mere thought of her being a "heartbeat away" from the president of the united states was a shocking one. With her strong religious beliefs she would have certainly have brought religion into the white house and it would have influenced her decisions. This in my opinion is unacceptable. I have nothing against you using religion in your personal life to help sort out anything you might need help with, but the president must be able to "not blink" and use logic and political know-how to choose what would be best for the entire country. If religion was mandatory and everyone was of one faith it would be entirely different.

I hope that Obama will be able to pull our country out of the hole that Bush has dug us into. I feel that Obama has the determination, and the drive I just hope he can do it. One of McCain's ads rang a bell of truth with me despite my mind-set. It said that "Presidents are elected to lead us. They are elected to guide us through the storm. Obama is in-experienced" or something close to that. Anyway it made me think, that even though Obama has been in the political spotlight before, with his 2004 speech The Audacity of Hope to quote another of McCain's ads; "This will be Obama's first Crisis."

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Jack Emmerson

Term Limits. What you should know.

    I was going through the mail a while back and came across a couple main-in ballots, as I corrected them I noticed a couple things about term limits, not knowing as much as I would like to about the subject I went out and educated myself, here is what I found.

            A term limit is basically exactly what it says; a limit on how many terms an elected official can serve before he/she is subject to re-election or resignation. Term limits are somewhat complex. A term limit can consist of two or more terms and each term is 4 years long in the case of the president or can extend to life terms in the case of Supreme Court justices. Terms are a number of years that an official can be in office, term limits, limit the number of terms a person can serve, thus limiting the amount of time the official is under the influence of power. A lot of limits huh?

            As the marvelous movie The Dark Night states; “You either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” which is true to this case. If you are in office to long with somebody else's power you are bound to abuse it sooner or later. Term limits are a level in the separation of powers which keeps our government from becoming corrupt.

Separation of power happens on 5 major levels; 1. Popular Sovereignty; basically this means that the people created the gov. so they can destroy it or rebuild it however they see fit. 2. Limited Government; this means that the actual government is divided into three parts Legislative (congress, senate and House of Representatives), Judicial (makes the laws) and Executive (which is the president and vp) 4. Federalism; is the government of the separate states. 5. Checks and Balances; this means that each branch of gov. has the power to override the others if they make a bad of stupid decision. It’s a lot of waffle but that is what makes our government tick.

            Term limits help officials from becoming corrupt with their borrowed power. Governments were instated among men to guarantee certain rights; life, liberty and property. To create these governments men give up some of their own power and give it to the government so they can create laws to ensure the public have their life, liberty and property. Term limits limit the amount of time officials are held subject to essentially more power than they can handle, thus prohibiting them from becoming tainted by prolonged exposure to said power.

            The term limit for president of the United States is 4 years. And the president can run for a second term of 4 more years. All in all one person can act as the president for 2 terms each consisting of 4 years per term. Term limits for representatives are different; a representative's term is 2 years, and there is no limit on how many terms you can serve as long as you are re-elected. A senator serves an 8 year long term and there is no limit on how many times he/she can be elected/re-elected. Supreme court justices serve for life. Sometimes a justice will die, in which case they have fulfilled their life term, and in other cases they will resign because their health is failing. When a justice does die or resign the president is the one who picks a new one.

            Term limits are very important to our version of democracy, because they are yet another level of the separation of powers that keep the balance. I would disagree with somebody who wants to abolish term limits I would not disagree however if somebody suggests that term limits are revised. Revision may be a healthy addition to the system seeing as times change, perhaps if term limits were looked at every 8 years or so we could adjust them to match whatever complications have come up. We should keep the term limits in place in no case should they be abolished. Term limits are part of the separation of powers, they keep our government in check and they help balance power by not letting only a few people have all the power all the time. Term limits insure a chance for other people to be in governmental positions, sort of like being on a sports team we have to have “fresh” legs to keep other people from becoming tired and making stupid decisions. If you want to read another view of term limits you can read about it at Term Limits Voter's Guide and you will see the author has a few good points but overall is wrong. If you agree, your just as stupid as he is. He says things like "tall people get elected, so vote for the short guy" he is an idiot who doesnt really know what he's talking about, and just has a little to much free time.

    I now know all I need to, to continue correcting. Until next time Jack Emmerson signing off.

State/Laws of Nature.

John Locke explained that in a "state of nature" that people would have the right to 3 things; Life, Liberty and Property. Locke knew that all people are not good, and so the rights of  good people in a state of nature would always be in danger of being harmed or taken away. This is how government is created. The "good" people give up some of their own power to instate a government that is dedicated to protecting the people's rights to life, liberty and property. This illustrates the "social contract" between the government and the governed.

"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." -- Declaration of Independence

This quote from the declaration of Independence directly explains the "social contract" between the people and the government. Governments are instated by the people to guarantee protection of life liberty and property. Which are the things that all people want/need. If a government becomes corrupt or destructive to the purposes for which it was created the people have the power to destroy or correct their government.

The Declaration of Independence includes 6 points of note due to relevance to this topic. Here I will explain what they mean.

1. "All men are created equal."

This means that all men/women are created with the same rights.

2. "People have certain rights that are unalienable."

This means that the rights we were created with can never be taken away.

3. "Rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

These are the rights that we are born with and that are unalienable.

4. "Governments are made to secure these rights."

This states the purpose of government. Which is to protect our unalienable rights from the baddies.

5. "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed."

The power government has depends on how much power the public/governed gives.

6. "People have the right to alter or abolish their government if it becomes destructive of the purposes for which it was created."

If the people don't like the way their government is headed, they can destroy/change it.

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Jack Emmerson