COP26

Small Recap & My Thoughts on COP26 which stands for: Conference of the Parties – specifically, the signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which held its first meeting in 1995 in Berlin, Germany. Twenty-six years ago! Very few people, including myself, had heard much about it until it became a big To-do this year! World Leaders flying in to schmooze and rub shoulders; to meet away from the cameras and whisper sweet nothings? to each other? Not only were the Political Leaders there, but they were joined by Tech Giants, Billionaires, Celebrities and other Connected Nabobs! Whether it is COP26, G20, G7, G8, Davos or Any of these World Get-Togethers we Listen to the Speeches and the Promises, Hear the Interviews, Watch the Proceedings, Gasp at the Billions Pledged and . . . at the end of the day we realize that the Show was nothing but my definition of what COP really stands for: Colonialism Ongoing to the Present, because the Biggest Price for the ravages of Climate Change is going to be paid for by the so-called “Developing World,” and Not by the so-called First World of Runaway Capitalism! I am not kidding! Because, it is now one minute to midnight on our Planet and, as if suddenly, all those Brainiacs realized that Something Must Be Done RIGHT NOW, Or It Might Be Too Late To Save The Planet! Seriously? So during the past 26 years all that was achieved were Cosmetic Band-Aids and Panaceas? How Utterly Incompetent, Reckless, Sinister! It doesn’t seem as if they really care, probably because they would be dead and gone by the time the Planet starts really biting and Apres Moi Le Deluge! Scientists have been sounding the Alarm Bells for over 26 years, and, yet, they were not taken seriously enough to demand immediate action until Now? Seriously? And during all these years they guilted you and me to recycle and to conserve water? They, and the Corporations producing the Worst Pollutants, Sullying the Rivers, the Oceans, our Food and the Atmosphere, Lying and Obfuscating were teaching children in school to come home and yell at their parents that they should close off the faucet in between brushing their teeth and gargling!? Seriously? Nevertheless, we must admit that all of Us – You, Me and All of Us – have been the consumers contributing to the destruction of our Planet, each in our own way ranging from the Least Harmful to the Most Depraved. However, OUR incongruous behavior – yours and mine – was not going to Save the Planet as Corporations, Manufacturers and Producers continued to Pollute Indiscriminately while being supported by the Corporate Media and all that Advertising Money that bought their Silence on this, and many other subjects that pose a threat to the Wealth of the Corporations that pad their wallets handsomely. FOR THE PAST TWENTY SIX YEARS? And, Now, This Year, at One Minute to Midnight they are having Convulsions about this? And Ringing all the Alarms? With the Secretary General of the UN, Guterres, saying: We Are Digging Our Own Graves! Seriously? How could they be taken seriously Now? However, the Protestors got it right as they waved posters that said: Hot Air! Hot Air! And, Greta was right when she said: Blah! Blah! Blah! Do I sound furious? Yes, you bet I am! And do you want to know my biggest concern? It is that I, and my generation especially, are leaving this Planet in a Much, Much Worse Situation than when we came into it from every aspect and all considering! So discombobulating!

Jeff Bezos pledged Two Billion Dollars for Restoring Nature, and Elon Musk challenged the UN to come up with a Plan to End World Hunger and he would Donate Six Billion Dollars towards that Goal! Good luck with that, Elon! Billionaires such as them realize that they can afford to pump oxygen into their mansions, while those most affected by Climate Change will be gasping for air! Does anyone in their right mind believe that World Leaders, Corporate Executives, the Connected and the Wealthy will suffer, or lose any sleep if/when Several Million People – or More –  should be displaced, sickened or dead due to this belated action? Not One Bit! Not One Bit!

Moreover, and of the Utmost and Vital Importance where I am concerned is the fact that not one of the attendees spoke about INDUSTRIAL FOOD PRODUCTION and how that is ruining people’s Physical, as well as Mental health, because all those additives, hormones, antibiotics, Monsanto herbicides and re-engineered everything they can mess with, coloring agents, stuff that allows for the longest shelf-life possible, fruits and vegetables picked green and stored in warehouses until they ripen rendering them tasteless, odorless and nutrient-less and succeeding in creating abnormalities and deviations in our genes, etc. etc. For what good is it to save the Physical Planet if we are not going to Save Its Human and Animal Inhabitants? You tell me!

Some days after listening and reading about how much Corruption and Evil there is out there and all across the World, I wonder if there is any sense in trying to save ourselves? Perhaps our self-destruction as Humans is the only avenue left to save the Planet? I truly wonder about that knowing that it sounds defeatist and pessimistic. However, The Powerful do not seem to desire fundamentally changing any of their corrupt, avaricious, self-indulgent and arrogant ways. They do not impart any indication that they are willing, or even able to change their Behavior in any way at all, and, unless we all do – All Of Us – we are heading for Self-Destruction and Extinction! Pretty disgusting, as much as it is possible to avoid that Fate if we are really and truly willing! It makes me very sad even though I won’t be around to witness any of this! However, my children and grandchildren will be, as well as all the other children! Ach! Ach!