Ascending The Globe Series: Part 1(Intro. section): A Revelation for Mankind By Edward D.R. James

Introduction:

In the next 30 to 60 years, our children will die or live through a full blown “Mad Max” scenario, which was a movie depicting life in a post-apocalyptic dystopia.  This isn’t just my view, nor does it border on the fringes of conspiracy, as some mainstream analysists may suggest.  No.  In fact, the alarm bells are and have been sounding for decades by highly esteemed experts in their respective fields; more notably in the environmental sciences and through a great number of economists.  Even politicians, like the acclaimed Vice President Al Gore, have been warning us of this “inconvenient truth”; as well as sports icons, entertainment moguls, and “A-list” celebs, like Leonardo DiCaprio have been pleading for our action in this “11^th hour” of humanity.

The Global Water Security Report from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence in 2012 stated that the, “Water demand is set to outstrip sustainable current supplies by 40% by 2030”.  This quote aired in the documentary Breath of Life, which also claimed that, “By 2050 food demand will increase by 70%.”[i]

“(The) world population will likely peak at around 9.4 billion around 2070 and then decline to around 9 billion by 2100”, according to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.[ii]  As if overpopulation wasn’t enough, the stresses on the food demand will be further exacerbated by a dwindling food supply, a nutrient deficient soil, and the exposed risks of our monoculture farming practices.

Cynthia Matzke, a marine biologist interviewed in Breath of Life said, “the fossil fuel that we burn as they settle out into the oceans, are changing the chemistry to the point that within the next 50 years, the ocean may not be able to sustain plankton, the very base of the food chain; because the acidity eats away at the exoskeletons of a lot of the different types of plankton.”¹

I suppose we can all agree that “as the plankton goes, so goes the marine wildlife.”

Our oceans absorb 25 times more heat than our atmosphere; and the documentary showed a table of atmospheric CO2 levels in parts per million (ppm) according to the year.  In 1990, the atmospheric CO2 levels were 350ppm; in 2014 it was 400ppm; and in the year 2100 it is projected to be 800ppm.  The big problem is—coral reefs stop growing at 450ppm and will begin to dissolve at 550ppm.  This table was included in a report for the World Bank Potsdam Institute.¹

Coral reefs and a multitude of other ecosystems attract some of the most dense populations of life and biodiversity in the world; and our current economic and political systems have devastated them so much that it baffles me when someone can see pictures of: bleached coral reefs, or toxic dumping dead zones with rotting carcasses of fish and fowl, or seemingly endless tracks of oil spills, or trash and plastic gyros floating about, or hear of mass species extinction, and still not be moved to demand change.

The problems with food sources on land are likewise severe.  The documentary stated that, “there is no city more than 3 days away from a revolution.  And that’s because of food supply.  Our industries have perfected just in time delivery, so that everything is produced and delivered to industries and to your stores just as it’s needed.  No one keeps stockpiles anymore because it’s too expensive…and it’s inefficient; but what this means is that our production and delivery systems are highly vulnerable to disruption.”¹

When it comes to soil, the nostalgia of that nursery rhyme “Ole MacDonald Had a Farm” no longer applies.  Mia MacDonald, Executive Director of Brighter Green, was interviewed in the brilliant documentary Time to Choose.  MacDonald said, “In America, less than 4% total of farm acres are dedicated to either fruits, or vegetables, or tree nuts, it’s a tiny proportion…This system has become unsustainable; it takes up to 10X more land to feed ourselves with meat, as it does to feed ourselves with plants.  As a result, 30% of the earth’s land is now being used for the production of livestock, the giant lagoons that store their waste, and the vast areas needed to grow their food.”[iii]

In my opinion that 30% land use going to livestock is important, because there are those who believe we need more earths to sustain ourselves, however, if the majority of us commit to a vegan lifestyle, where we avoid the consumption of animal products, or commit to a vegetarian lifestyle, where dairy and eggs are acceptable; then we will transition that land use to diversify our crops for direct human consumption.  That way we won’t need to look for other planets to plunder, exploit, or terraform.  Besides, if we wanted to practice terraforming, I say we refocus on Earth and mitigate, if not eliminate the entirety of pollution itself.

Flowing into a different discussion, Dr. Russell Mittermeier, President of Conservation International proclaimed, “A forest generates its own rainfall.”  As the documentary points out, “Much of the water supply in Southern Brazil depends on the forests in the north.  As those forests disappear, so does the water…Since 2014, Brazil has experienced severe water shortages for the first time in its history.  For Sao Paulo, a city of 20 million, this has become a crisis…another interviewee said, ‘There are places where they don’t have water half of the week.  We are seeing tensions between Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro (population 12 million) because Rio needs the water to produce the energy, but Sao Paulo needs the water for the people.  And they are fighting (on) how to use the water—something we couldn’t imagine 10 years ago.”³

Another excellent documentary The Corporation discussed Bolivia’s fight against the privatization of their water, a condition imposed by the World Bank, in order for the Bolivian government to receive financing.  There on the streets of Cochabamba the unthinkable happened, the Bechtel Corporation attempted to expand its privatization of water to prohibit people from collecting rainwater.  The Bolivian government tried to defend the corporation’s right to charge people living on $2 a day, up to a quarter of their income for water.  Interviewee, Oscar Olivera, from the Coalition in Defense of Water and Life commented on the protesters, “There were hundreds of young people, 16 or 17 years old, who lost their arms or legs, or who were left handicapped for life by brain injuries, and Victor Hugo Daza was killed.”[iv]  In the end the Bolivian people were able to defeat the corporate goliath, and rightfully so.

Here in the United States, lakes and reservoirs that provide municipal drinking water to the people of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are now at risk for fracking contamination, just as the fossil fuel companies have exposed risks and allegedly poisoned the private wells of homeowners all across America and, no doubt, the world.[v]  But, not to worry about your pensions, folks, these corporations will settle out of court, only to deny any wrong doing.  Our water tables are also drying out, especially in the west.  However in Florida, salt water intrusion is threatening the fresh water aquafers due to the rising sea levels.  Clearly, this obsolete economic and political system has done nothing to overcome the challenges of maintaining and expanding our supply of drinking water.

Unfortunately, the rising sea waters provide buoyancy to other problems contributing to future “Mad Max” movie scenarios.  Or should I use a more fitting historical analogy of Noah’s Great Flood?  In today’s modern world, though, the entity NOAA spells its name N-O-A-A the acronym for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Scientists here project the global sea level will rise up to 6.6 feet (2.0 meters) by end of the this century; affecting almost 40% of the people here in the United States, who live in coastal areas.[vi]  As the tides roll in on global coastlines, another estimate has over 600 million people’s homes being flooded, or dragged out to sea.³

South Florida political leaders have adopted a unified sea level rise projection calculated by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, which project a 3-7 inch rise by 2030, and a 9-24 inch rise by 2060.[vii]  Whether or not you believe in climate change, one cannot deny that in recent years, the city of Miami Beach has suffered flooding without any rain, which had never happened decades prior.  Miami Beach Mayor, Philip Levine stated that the governor of Florida and the department of transportation, unfortunately, don’t believe in sea level rise, even if they are shown some fish on the street.  Mayor Levine later said that they have a $400 million city wide plan to install one-way storm drain valves and pumps, raise the sea walls, and raise the height of their roads; so they need the state and federal funding.[viii]

In comparing water drenched wallets, CNN reported that according to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the total damages for Hurricane Katrina alone estimated at $108 billion, while other sources estimate over $200 billion.[ix][x]  The rising cost of damages and rebuilding systems like the sewer and fresh water supply systems, power systems and the other risks attached to it, like Fukushima’s nuclear material spreading into the oceans are not the only problems that come with the rising seas.  Other than the obvious change in climate patterns, there are population displacement challenges, the physical and psychological trauma associated with it, and increased tensions that build between different groups of people due to scarce resources, just to name a few.

Suffice to say, the obstacles ahead of us in the coming decades are just the tip of the iceberg…so to speak.  Underneath it all is this behemoth infrastructure of an obsolete economic and political paradigm, where the rules are for the most part rigged, and the wealth is unfairly distributed to the established few.

Nobel Laureate and Economic Guru, Joseph Stiglitz, once stated, “…the average cow in Europe receives a subsidy of close to $2 a day, that’s the number that resonates, because the World Bank defines poverty as living under $2 a day; 40% of the People in the world live on less than $2 a day. It is better to be a cow in Europe, than to be an average person in the developing world.”  When I first heard this statement, it sent chills down my spine.  I thought to myself, in part, this is why some of the ultra-wealthy treat those with little money with so little compassion.  The rules of the money game make it easy for them to regard people as animals…animals who are even lower than the cattle they own.  So I ask you, who are listening or reading this message—can you honestly say that the current economy has improved the lives of the poor by leaps and bounds, in-between its cycle of booms and busts?

“Before the financial crisis of 2008/09 there had been no less than 71 systemic banking crises in the past 140 years (1870-2009) in the 14 countries for which we have a detailed body of historical financial data,”—reads a grim statement by Moritz Schularick, a Professor of Economics at the Free University of Berlin.[xi]  That averages out to about one economic crisis every two years!

Unfortunately, as we move forward…past is prelude.  In May 2017, CNBC.com posted an article claiming, “Future generations are on course to become enveloped in the biggest pension crisis in history, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), unless policymakers from the world’s leading economies take urgent action.  Analysis from WEF showed six countries with the biggest pensions, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Netherlands, Japan and Australia, as well as the two most densely populated countries in the world – China and India – would face a retirement savings gap in excess of $400 trillion in 2050, up from around $70 trillion in 2015…Increase in longevity and rapidly ageing populations around the world is the ‘financial equivalent to climate change’.”[xii]

The Standard & Poor’s report “Global Aging 2010” announced key findings regarding the effects of population aging on public expenditure programs (like Social Security and Medicare) and interest payments.  It estimated that, “By 2030, the net debt burden is projected to be at almost 90% of GDP, and will be on [an] explosive path to almost 245% of GDP by 2050.”[xiii]

That being said, I must say that I disagree with the tone of these reports.  I would not be so hard on the elderly—they are our parents and grandparents.  They’ve made their sacrifices, performed to the best of their abilities, and deserve all our love and respect.  The seniors helped advance our society to the levels we have today; and as the younger generations take up the mantle, may we learn from their experiences and elevate our lives and culture to heights that would make them proud.

Going back to these mind-blowing numbers, for 2016 the World Bank reported our collective global GDP, otherwise known as Gross World Product (GWP) was $75.8 trillion; with the U.S. touting the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at $18.6 trillion[xiv], albeit exposing a national debt of over $13 trillion, back then.

Of course, what good is a world GDP if not compared to a world debt?  This past January, while referring to the Institute of International Finance, businessinsider.com wrote that, “[The] global debt soared to a record $233 trillion in the third quarter of 2017… That marked a $16.5 trillion — or 8% — increase from the end of 2016… the global ratio of debt to gross domestic product…now sits at 318%…(the) global indebtedness, sorted by sector (reads): Government-$63 Trillion, Non-financial Corporates-$68 Trillion, Financial Sector-$58 Trillion, Household $44 Trillion…It also reflected record highs for private nonfinancial sector debt in Canada, France, Hong Kong, Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey.”[xv]

Perhaps our paychecks have been looking quite jaundice lately, coupled with inflating health insurance premiums, deductibles, tuition, municipal and property taxes, and so on…leaving us little choice but to charge our credit cards on many purchases.  In early January, nydailynews.com posted “Credit card debt in the United States hit an all-time high…the $1.023 trillion in revolving credit as of November 2017 is slightly higher than the previous benchmark set right before the Great Recession in 2008 …Debt such as student and car loans — otherwise known as non-revolving credit — also ticked up…during the one-month period to $2.804 trillion, according the Fed data.”[xvi]

We know all too well—how stagnant our wages have been, fortunately though, there are a number of economists who aren’t taking this lightly.  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has a Nominal Wage Tracker webpage claiming that, “…it will take (a) wage growth of at least 3.5 to 4 percent for workers to begin to reap the benefits of economic growth–and to achieve a genuine recovery from the Great Recession…(however) Nominal wage growth has been far below target in the recovery…”  The EPI’s chart regarding the “Year-over-year change in private-sector nominal average hourly earnings, 2007–2017” showed 2.3% in Dec 2017 for production/ nonsupervisory workers, and 2.5% for all nonfarm employees; which has gyrated sideways from August of 2009’s data of 2.6% for production/ nonsupervisory workers, and 2.4% for all nonfarm employees.  That’s over a ridiculous eight years of stagnant wages.[xvii]

If that’s not depressing enough for you—indicators say we’re saving a lot less these days.  In Dec. 2012, our personal savings was 11%, it has dropped to the lowest it’s been since then, down to 2.9% last November; according to FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  Interestingly, the last time we saved in the two percent range was late 2007—just as the Great Recession was beginning to rumble.[xviii]

But hey, I guess we have to count our blessings, right???  Thank our luck stars that we still have a job, and just not ask for that raise…or fear we’ll be next on the chopping block when the boss decides that payroll needs to lose some dead weight.  After all, who knows when the next bubble might burst?  The next financial spectre could be in bold print on tomorrow’s front pages—probably, when we least expect it.

Already, the news cycle a plethora of headlines regarding people gaming the money system by hook or by crook: the hacking of Equifax resulting in the theft of 145 million social security numbers, Wells Fargo Bank’s forgery of creating millions of accounts, Barclays’ and USB’s manipulation of the Libor rates, money laundering allegations from HSBC and Standard Chartered, drug companies price gauging its patients like Mylan Pharmaceuticals inflating the price of EpiPen from $100 in 2009 to over $600, and Turing Pharmaceuticals jacking up the price of Daraprim from $13.50 per tablet to $750.  How about the insider trading scandals like former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta leaking tips to hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, or the infamous Bernie Madoff’s $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme, or the accounting scams of WorldCom, Enron, and Arthur Andersen, to name a few?

More recently, articles have been riddled with impending store closings and job losses.  USA Today reported “General Electric to cut 12,000 jobs in its power division”.  CNN Money said, “Walmart spokesperson, Greg Hitt, estimated that roughly 9,450 people are employed across the 63 stores (they are planning to close).”  “Retail giant Macy’s will cut 5,000 jobs and close seven more stores in Florida, California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont. The moves are part of a plan announced in August 2016 to close 100 stores,” according to NBC.  The Washington Post reported that, “The Limited has posted a message on its website saying it is closing all of its 250 stores nationwide… the closures would result in about 4,000 job cuts…PacSun, Aeropostale and American Apparel each have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past year and are aiming to reorganize…”

Last month, Business Insider published an article stating, “The mall crisis is secretly morphing into a full-on Armageddon…Some retailers are choosing to let leases expire instead of closing stores, and that number is not accounted for in store closure numbers.  This could mean that the retail apocalypse is worse than previously thought… A Business Insider analysis of announcements from 2017 found that an estimated 8,000 stores either closed that year or were slated to close in the near future.”[xix]

Other terrifying threats in the news are foreign and ghastly.  Early this January, a New York Times headline read, “Trump Says His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than North Korea’s.’”  Last December a Newsweek headline read. “Middle East War: Iran’s Allies Are Secretly Launching Missiles at Saudi Arabia as Tehran Takes Control in the Battle for Dominance.”  More and more, it appears to be a race between potty-mouthed presidents and allies clutching hair-triggered treaties, as to who will be fool enough to step off the threshold, and deliver us all to the horseman of war.

Even if we wipe off our war paint, foreign challengers may reframe the portrait of the American economy.  A Money Morning headline reads, “This ‘One Belt, One Road’ Map Shows China’s Unstoppable Global Growth.”  This past January Bloomberg News published an article claiming that, “Senior government officials in Beijing reviewing the nation’s foreign-exchange holdings have recommended slowing or halting purchases of U.S. Treasuries…China holds the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves, at $3.1 trillion, and regularly assesses its strategy for investing them…”[xx]  An oilprice.com headline reads, “Will The Dollar Survive The Petro-Yuan?”  If China has their way and stifles the U.S. Treasury bonds as well as the petro-dollar, then their influence will have far reaching negative effects.

For instance, Pakistan’s central bank recently announced that it has allowed the Chinese yuan to be used for bilateral trade and investment activities, a move which could replace the US dollar for transactions in the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).[xxi]

As we witness China’s initiative for global dominance hitting its stride, to some degree I can appreciate President Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” campaign, however, to an even greater degree I could not understand, nor could I ever endorse a TPP- policy that would allow the transfer of immense power over to the corporations.  The lack of transparency in the details of such a policy, and the urgency to cram it down congress’ throat was particularly nauseating to observe.

However, nothing smells more putrefying than the Supreme Court’s 2010 campaign finance ruling for Citizens United.  It allowed well financed corporations and lesser funded unions to donate unlimited sums of money to their candidate’s political action committees.[xxii]  During an interview with The New Republic, when asked, “What’s the worst ruling the current Court has produced?” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg answered, “If there was one decision I would overrule, it would be Citizens United. I think the notion that we have all the democracy that money can buy strays so far from what our democracy is supposed to be.”[xxiii]

I believe this heinous ruling was a complete distortion of Republican virtues which lead to a TPP-like-tightening of the corporation’s grip over the three branches of our government—essentially confirming the ultra-wealthy as the hidden fourth branch of our government.  To attain the fifth branch, they must acquire the complete control over the news media.

For decades, they’ve been chipping away at our First Amendment’s Freedom of the Press—when investigative journalists have been fired and expose’s canceled because they stepped on the toes, or got too close to the truth of corporate sponsors, partners, or power structures.  So for the most part, abuses of the “Corporatocracy” are watered down and sanitized from mainstream media’s narrative—when the higher ups do allow such exposure.  Consider the influence of the top five to twenty five multimedia corporations—some suggest they control the majority of information (possibly up to 90%) that most Americans tune in to.[xxiv][xxv]  Realize this: when the wealth of information is controlled by the hands of the few, they effectively control our perceptions, due diligence, and decisions.  Ultimately, they control the culture that we’d like to thing we shape.  Given the modus operandi of news narratives, healthy doses of skepticism taken with your regular meal of network and alternative news, is the best discipline to prescribe.

It must feel real cozy, though, for the multinational megalomaniacs to sit atop their gold-plated bidets, and watch the Trump Administration represent them: deregulating our agencies like the FCC repealing Net Neutrality, rewriting environmental rules to permit more pollution and less penalties, overhauling public-lands for his loyal friends in the energy sector (not unlike former Vice President Dick Cheney)…How about contracting projects to “build a wall” for a well-connected real estate mogul?  Are there “no bids” on this probability?  Additionally, odds are, the Republican Congress is colluding to gut out consumer protections from the Dodd-Frank Act; handing more “get out of jail” cards to financial board members, bracing them for the next economic crash—one can speculate that they’re all “banking” on Trump!

But one of the biggest victories Trump delivered to the “Corporate Deep State” was that devious December tax bill.  The Washington Post wrote, “Thirty-seven of 38 experts surveyed by the University of Chicago’s Initiative on Global Markets agreed that the GOP tax bills in Congress would cause U.S. debt to increase “substantially” faster than the economy…The 38th misread the question.”[xxvi]

Remember: under President Eisenhower’s administration the ultra-rich paid over 90% in taxes, keeping the debt low.  In part, that helped to make America great…that tax policy kept America first…that helped spur the American economy to be the best in the world.[xxvii]  Certainly, other factors were involved back then that aren’t now, but in comparison with this new tax bill—Of Course Our National Debt Will Skyrocket!!!

What else can you expect, if you cut off $1.5 trillion of revenue, 14% off your revenue from the corporate tax, enact a more lax estate tax, and so on?[xxviii]  What else can you expect, when Trump approved spending $700 billion on the military a few months prior?  What else can you expect, when the cost of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA keep inflating?  Well, if you are the “Establishment” you’d probably expect for the debt to be in the stratosphere—securing the central banks at the seat of power; you’d expect that there’d be enough pandemonium on “The Wall St.—Washington Corridor” that, finally, you’ll be able to privatize and own Social Security, Medicare, and other coveted federal assets…right?  Well then Establishment—if you haven’t already done so—you’d better put your money on Trump, the Republicans, and corporate Democrats to get it all done for you!

So who else felt like they purposely snuck that tax bill under the “Establishment’s” Christmas tree, just before the holiday break?

Reminds me of an old poem:

Twas the nightmare before Christmas, when all through the abode,

Not a creature was tweeting, not even a toad.

The adults were all worried, restless in bed;

With flashbacks of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act lingering in our heads.

…Yes, folks, our dear leaders gifted the FED to the “Establishment” just before Christmas over a hundred years ago—Ahhh, Tradition—Gotta Love It.

With large permanent tax cuts for the already wealthy, and a minor temporary one for the rest of us, the corporations can once again play the numbers.  They’ll raise some wages here, but close some stores there.  They’ll give some bonuses here, then cut some jobs, hours, and benefits there.  They’ll inject us with just enough payroll juice to catch a quick high, until we’re yanked back down by our household debts.  And God forbid corporate board members drop their own salaries to increase profits for shareholders.  No, they’ll do just enough so they have some proof when tell us “they tried to fix things”; yet all the while, have plenty left over to fatten their portfolios, hedge their bets, and stack their chips for “pay-to-play-politics”—at least to get them through the next financial disaster…the next boom and bust cycle.

(Continue on…)