Hello Rambling Masses,
Here's my rather simple take on the economy, be it a local, national or global one. Apart from the occasional injection of currency from various countries' mints, money is not created or destroyed. What makes a successful economy is merely the constant movement of money. A recession or depression is merely the stagnation of this natural movement of money.
Phew! What a mind-blow! Now that we've got that out of the way, I would like to apply this rather simple philosophy to the current problem of the environment. The Federal Government of Australia has continually postulated that the reason for its foot-dragging regarding the environment is purely economic - we don't want to do anything that risks jobs or puts us at a competitive disadvantage to the rest of the world.
Erm, yeah, okay. The absolutely revolutionary concept that I want to put forward is that if you show leadership and invest in an industry, then the money will follow. If the government had anything other than glass balls in their scrotum, they would invest some of that $20 billion they are sitting on, and push to become one of the world leaders in renewable energy research and development. The long-term gains would far outweigh the initial investment, and that's just looking at it from an economic point of view.
I have incredible respect for the amount of investment that Germany is engaging in, mostly in the solar and wind sectors of renewable energy research and implementation. Imagine that - Germany, which gets a tiny percentage of the amount of sunlight that Australia gets, investing hugely in solar technology. Now, that's balls for you.
What is our excuse? None that I can see. To borrow from a rather forgettable Hollywood movie - "If you build it, they will come". Instead of renewable energy companies shutting down their operations here in Australia and moving elsewhere (where the political will is stronger), they would flock to our shores and help to build a powerful industry that would provide jobs, business investment and a future for us all, instead of the fossil fuel graveyard that we are currently building for ourselves.
It takes only a cursory dip into my somewhat feeble intellect to come up with further suggestions for sustainable industries that could yield incredible profits, whilst still providing much smaller ecological footprints than current destructive practices. For example, non-THC hemp plantations (THC is the psychoactive constituent of hemp that gives the "high" when smoked or otherwise ingested, but non-THC varieties of hemp are available) could replace all wood-pulp industries currently in operation. The growth rate of hemp is such that it yields much greater fiber returns per square metre with much less irrigation requirements than any tree plantations in operation. The fiber can be used to make clothing, rope, paper, even particle board and other manufactured wood products. The cost involved in migrating current manufacturing and processing equipment to hemp fiber instead of wood is minimal when the big picture is considered, and timber industry workers could be reskilled with no loss of Beige Howard's precious jobs-figures that he likes to tout as one of his government's great achievements.
One of the big problems associated with solar and wind power technologies is that they cannot provide base load power - when the sun isn't shining and when the wind isn't blowing, there's no power, right? Well, all it takes is a little bit of innovative thinking, and that's something that Australians have always prided themselves on. Battery technology is not at the point where power can be usefully stored for later consumption. However, batteries are not the only method of energy storage. For example, pumps could be run off solar/wind power during the day, pumping water up to a reservoir at the top of a hill. The water could then be released during the evenings to run turbines, thereby generating power at night. This isn't rocket science, you know, just simple engineering and application of the conservation of energy principles.
Tidal power and geothermal power are other technologies that warrant much more research because of their great potential.
For God's sake, Australia, wake up and see the sun shine. Investment in sustainable industries now will not put us at a competitive disadvantage or risk job security. To think that is pure folly, unless you are a recalcitrant backward-thinking slug whose head is still stuck back in the 1950's somewhere. The challenges of the future await us, and they should be met with the ingenuity and hard work ethic that our forefathers used to get us all to where we are now. We have been slumbering lately, and it's time to realise that the fossil fuel honeymoon is over. It is only through environmentally sustainable practices and sound judgement that we will survive it with anywhere near our current levels of wealth and ease.
I have faith in the human race to overcome the obstacles that are looming. However, without political leaders who have the will, the guts and the determination to make the hard decisions, we will be lost. The world will slowly slip into ruin, as we listen to the latest Pop Idol tune on our iPods or watch the latest tax-payer funded advertising campaign on our plasma screens, telling us that the government is "really serious" about the environment.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Environmental Issues Closer To Home
Hi Ramblers,
And just in case you were wondering, because of my rather anti-Liberal government leanings of late, no - I am not a Labor man. This counts especially for you Dad, just in case you read it.
It's not like Labor has much of a track record. Let's face it - it's the Labor governments of WA, and now NSW, who have made the monumentally idiotic decision to build desalination plants as a supposed fix to our water shortages.
How the building of a $4.5 billion plant that will require almost the total output of a whole power station, and cause irreparable damage to the marine ecology in the area, is going to be in the best interests of the planet is something that I haven't quite figured out yet, but I am obviously a simpleton that doesn't have access to the incredible depths of scientific knowledge that our esteemed state leaders have.
So, what is the political solution to our woes? Neither Liberal nor Labor have had much of a stab at anything dangerous like actual policies, preferring instead to stick with tried-and-tested spin, waffling and hyperbole. The Greens, as rather well described by someone whom I forget, used to be like a watermelon - green on the outside and red on the inside, but now they are more like an avocado - hard green on the outside, soft green on the inside, with a Brown nut in the middle.
I guess the only thing we can do is to try to communicate to the leading contenders in this upcoming election that we will no longer stand for delaying tactics, smokescreens and total disregard for the ramifications of our current destructive ways. Through organisations like GetUp!, we have a chance to be part of a groundswell of popular lobbying, so I would urge that you all get up from your comfortable seats and spend a few minutes of your valuable time in contemplation and investigation of how you can empower yourself to make a difference.
I personally have had an absolute gutfull of these self-serving muppets who try to tiptoe through their terms in office, avoiding policies, decisions and controversy, letting our country slowly gurgle down the drain. Enough is enough! I am doing my small bit, in the hope that a whole lotta small bits will add up to make a big enough bit to be noticed. If I stand by and do nothing, I am as bad as those ineffective assholes who should be running our country.
Harumph!
And just in case you were wondering, because of my rather anti-Liberal government leanings of late, no - I am not a Labor man. This counts especially for you Dad, just in case you read it.
It's not like Labor has much of a track record. Let's face it - it's the Labor governments of WA, and now NSW, who have made the monumentally idiotic decision to build desalination plants as a supposed fix to our water shortages.
How the building of a $4.5 billion plant that will require almost the total output of a whole power station, and cause irreparable damage to the marine ecology in the area, is going to be in the best interests of the planet is something that I haven't quite figured out yet, but I am obviously a simpleton that doesn't have access to the incredible depths of scientific knowledge that our esteemed state leaders have.
So, what is the political solution to our woes? Neither Liberal nor Labor have had much of a stab at anything dangerous like actual policies, preferring instead to stick with tried-and-tested spin, waffling and hyperbole. The Greens, as rather well described by someone whom I forget, used to be like a watermelon - green on the outside and red on the inside, but now they are more like an avocado - hard green on the outside, soft green on the inside, with a Brown nut in the middle.
I guess the only thing we can do is to try to communicate to the leading contenders in this upcoming election that we will no longer stand for delaying tactics, smokescreens and total disregard for the ramifications of our current destructive ways. Through organisations like GetUp!, we have a chance to be part of a groundswell of popular lobbying, so I would urge that you all get up from your comfortable seats and spend a few minutes of your valuable time in contemplation and investigation of how you can empower yourself to make a difference.
I personally have had an absolute gutfull of these self-serving muppets who try to tiptoe through their terms in office, avoiding policies, decisions and controversy, letting our country slowly gurgle down the drain. Enough is enough! I am doing my small bit, in the hope that a whole lotta small bits will add up to make a big enough bit to be noticed. If I stand by and do nothing, I am as bad as those ineffective assholes who should be running our country.
Harumph!
Tas-Mania & The Art Of Pretending To Be Environmentally Responsible
Greets Oh Rambling Masses,
Once again, the Federal Government of Australia has proved to be at least 100 years out of touch with the need to be environmentally sustainable and responsible in this modern age of mass consumption and destruction. I sometimes think that Beige Howard and his cronies are trying their darnedest to win the how-to-screw-the-planet-up-most award.
It's wonderful to see that the government will spend $23 million of our taxpayer dollars on an advertising blitz to show how in touch with environmental concerns they are, and then cave in to big business in one of the few unspoiled corners of the planet (Tasmania), agreeing to build a delightfully destructive pollution-machine in the shape of a pulp mill.
"Oh, but we have put safeguards in place, ensuring that it is world's best practice." Yeah, I guess that's right when you compare it to the strip-logging of Amazonian forests or the clubbing of seals, but in the broad scheme of things, it's about as anti-environmentally aware as you could possibly get. This government is one of the most out-of-touch, anachronistic dinosaurs that has ever had the incredible good fortune, due to voter ignorance and/or apathy, of leading a supposedly progressive nation in the modern age.
The decision by the environment minister Malcolm Turncoat to back the Gunns pulp mill in northern Tasmania is nothing short of environmental terrorism. I am sure that he will defend his decision by quoting "Australia's chief scientist" Dr. Jim Peacock, whose terms of reference were limited to a mere pinprick of ecological ramifications.
And to all of those proponents of the Timber Industry (Forest Rapers Inc) who claim that the pulp mill is an essential injection of jobs for hard-pressed timber workers, I have only one word for you - reskilling. Use your not-insubstantial lobbying power to suggest to the government that a modest investment in the renewable energy industry and reskilling of timber workers to be part of it will reap incredible rewards, as well as the respect of this and future generations.
Once again, thank you Beige Howard for shortsightedly considering business and the economy above everything else. In the dim, dark, smog-filled future, I must remember to track down your grandchildren and remind them that you were the asshole that fucked up our last great wilderness.
Until the next time that I breathe the acrid, pollution-filled smog that passes for air, I remain your ever-faithful ranter, oh Rambling Masses.
Don't forget to vote when the cowardly miscreant finally decides to pull an election date out of his Beige you-know-what.
Once again, the Federal Government of Australia has proved to be at least 100 years out of touch with the need to be environmentally sustainable and responsible in this modern age of mass consumption and destruction. I sometimes think that Beige Howard and his cronies are trying their darnedest to win the how-to-screw-the-planet-up-most award.
It's wonderful to see that the government will spend $23 million of our taxpayer dollars on an advertising blitz to show how in touch with environmental concerns they are, and then cave in to big business in one of the few unspoiled corners of the planet (Tasmania), agreeing to build a delightfully destructive pollution-machine in the shape of a pulp mill.
"Oh, but we have put safeguards in place, ensuring that it is world's best practice." Yeah, I guess that's right when you compare it to the strip-logging of Amazonian forests or the clubbing of seals, but in the broad scheme of things, it's about as anti-environmentally aware as you could possibly get. This government is one of the most out-of-touch, anachronistic dinosaurs that has ever had the incredible good fortune, due to voter ignorance and/or apathy, of leading a supposedly progressive nation in the modern age.
The decision by the environment minister Malcolm Turncoat to back the Gunns pulp mill in northern Tasmania is nothing short of environmental terrorism. I am sure that he will defend his decision by quoting "Australia's chief scientist" Dr. Jim Peacock, whose terms of reference were limited to a mere pinprick of ecological ramifications.
And to all of those proponents of the Timber Industry (Forest Rapers Inc) who claim that the pulp mill is an essential injection of jobs for hard-pressed timber workers, I have only one word for you - reskilling. Use your not-insubstantial lobbying power to suggest to the government that a modest investment in the renewable energy industry and reskilling of timber workers to be part of it will reap incredible rewards, as well as the respect of this and future generations.
Once again, thank you Beige Howard for shortsightedly considering business and the economy above everything else. In the dim, dark, smog-filled future, I must remember to track down your grandchildren and remind them that you were the asshole that fucked up our last great wilderness.
Until the next time that I breathe the acrid, pollution-filled smog that passes for air, I remain your ever-faithful ranter, oh Rambling Masses.
Don't forget to vote when the cowardly miscreant finally decides to pull an election date out of his Beige you-know-what.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ani DiFranco - This Sums It Up Pretty Well
Hi Rambling Masses,
Ani DiFranco, an American independent singer/songwriter/guitarist, is an inspiration to many feminists. To me, however, she is an inspiration because of her views concerning artistic freedom. She has consistently refused to sign to a major label, instead building (with help from friends) a small indie label of her own.
She wrote the following open letter to Ms. Magazine (an American-based feminist magazine), pointing out that her success should not be viewed in purely financial terms, but rather in artistic terms. She says it very eloquently, and I have taken the liberty of reproducing her open letter without alteration below. It rings true to much that I believe about art, capitalism and integrity.
Ani DiFranco, an American independent singer/songwriter/guitarist, is an inspiration to many feminists. To me, however, she is an inspiration because of her views concerning artistic freedom. She has consistently refused to sign to a major label, instead building (with help from friends) a small indie label of her own.
She wrote the following open letter to Ms. Magazine (an American-based feminist magazine), pointing out that her success should not be viewed in purely financial terms, but rather in artistic terms. She says it very eloquently, and I have taken the liberty of reproducing her open letter without alteration below. It rings true to much that I believe about art, capitalism and integrity.
November 5, 1997I doff my hat to you Ani. Thank you for your sanity in this world at-times-gone-mad.
Marcia Ann Gillespie
Editor in Chief
Ms. Magazine
135 W. 50th Street
16th Floor
New York, NY 10020
So I'm poring through the 25th anniversary issue of Ms. (on some
airplane going somewhere in the amorphous blur that amounts to my
life) and I'm finding it endlessly enlightening and stimulating as
always, when, whaddaya know, I come across a little picture of little
me. I was flattered to be included in that issue's "21 feminists for
the 21st century" thingybob. I think ya'll are runnin the most bold
and babe-olishious magazine around, after all.
Problem is, I couldn't help but be a little weirded out by the
paragraph next to my head that summed up her me-ness and my
relationship to the feminist continuum. What got me was that it
largely detailed my financial successes and sales statistics. My
achievements were represented by the fact that I "make more money per
album sold than Hootie and the Blowfish," and that my catalogue sales
exceed 3/4 of a million. It was specified that I don't just have my
own record company but my own "profitable" record company. Still, the
ironic conclusion of the aforementioned blurb is a quote from me
insisting "it's not about the money." Why then, I ask myself, must
"the money" be the focus of so much of the media that surrounds me?
Why can't I escape it, even in the hallowed pages of Ms.?
Firstly, this "Hootie and the Blowfish" business was not my
doing. The LA Times financial section wrote an article about my record
label, Righteous Babe Records, in which they raved about the business
savvy of a singer (me) who thwarted the corporate overhead by choosing
to remain independent, thereby pocketing $4.25 per unit, as opposed to
the $1.25 made by Hootie or the $2.00 made by Michael Jackson. This
story was then picked up and reprinted by The New York Times, Forbes
magazine, the Financial News Network, and (lo and behold) Ms.
So here I am, publicly morphing into some kinda Fortune
500-young-entrepreneur-from-hell, and all along I thought I was just a
folksinger !
Ok, it's true. I do make a much larger profit (percentage-wise)
than the Hootster. What's even more astounding is that there are
thousands of musicians out there who make an even higher profit
percentage than me! How many local, musicians are there in your
community who play gigs in bars and coffee shops about town? I bet
lots of them have made cassettes or CDS which they'll happily sell to
you with a personal smile from the edge of the stage or back at the
bar after their set. Would you believe these shrewd, profit-minded
wheeler-dealers are pocketing a whopping _100%_ of the profits on the
sales of those puppies?! Wait till the Financial News Network gets a
whiff of _them_!
I sell approximately 2.5% of the albums that a Joan Jewelanis
Morrisette sells and get about .05% of the airplay royalties, so
obviously if it all comes down to dollars and cents, I've led a wholly
unremarkable life. Yet I choose relative statistical mediocrity over
fame and fortune because I have a bigger purpose in mind. Imagine how
strange it must be for a girl who has spent 10 years fighting as hard
as she could against the lure of the corporate carrot and the almighty
forces of capital, only to be eventually recognized by the power
structure as a business pioneer.
I have indeed sold enough records to open a small office on the
half-abandoned main street in the dilapidated urban center of my
hometown, Buffalo, N.Y. I am able to hire 15 or so folks to run and
constantly reinvent the place while I drive around and play music for
people. I am able to give stimulating business to local printers and
manufacturers and to employ the services of independent distributors,
promoters, booking agents and publicists. I was able to quit my day
job and devote myself to what I love.
And yes, we are enjoying modest profits these days, affording us
the opportunity to reinvest in innumerable political and artistic
endeavors. RBR is no Warner Bros. But it is a going concern, and for
me, it is a vehicle for redefining the relationship between art and
commerce in my own life. It is a record company which is the product
not just of my own imagination, but that of my friend and manager Scot
Fisher and of all the people who work there. People who incorporate
and coordinate politics, art and media every day into a
people-friendly, sub-corporate, woman-informed, queer-happy small
business that puts music before rock stardom and ideology before
profit.
And me. I'm just a folksinger, not an entrepreneur. My hope is
that my music and poetry will be enjoyable and/or meaningful to
someone, somewhere, not that I maximize my profit margins. It was 15
years and 11 albums getting to this place of notoriety and, if
anything, I think I was happier way back when. Not that I regret any
of my decisions, mind you. I'm glad I didn't sign on to the corporate
army. I mourn the commodification and homogenization of music by the
music industry, and I fear the manufacture of consent by the
corporately-controlled media. Last thing I want to do is feed the
machine.
I was recently mortified while waiting in the dressing room
before one of my own shows. Some putz suddenly takes the stage to
announce me and exclaim excitedly that this was my "largest sold-out
crowd to date!" "Oh, really?," I'm thinking to myself, "that's
interesting...too bad it's not the point." All of my achievements are
artistic, as are all of my failures.
That's just the way I see it. Statistical plateau or no. I'll
bust ass for 60 people, or 6,000, watch me.
I have so much respect for Ms. magazine. If I couldn't pick it
up at newsstands my brain probably would've atrophied by now on some
trans-Atlantic flight and I would be lying limp and twitchy in a bed
of constant travel, staring blankly into the abyss of the gossip
magazines. Ms. is a structure of media wherein women are able to
define themselves, and articulate for themselves those definitions.
We wouldn't point to 21 of the feminists moving into the 21st century
and define them in terms of "Here's Becky Ballbuster from Iowa City,
she's got a great ass and a cute little button nose..." No ma'am.
We've gone beyond the limited perceptions of sexism and so we should
move beyond the language and perspective of the corporate patriarchy.
The Financial News Network may be ultimately impressed with me now
that I've proven to them that there's a life beyond the auspices of
papa Sony, but do I really have to prove this to _you_?
We have the ability and the opportunity to recognize women not
just for the financial successes of their work but for the work
itself. We have the facility to judge each other by entirely
different criteria than those is imposed upon us by the superstructure
of society. We have a view which reaches beyond profit margins into
poetry, and a vocabulary to articulate the difference.
Thanks for including me, Ms., really. But just promise me one
thing; if I drop dead tomorrow, tell me my grave stone won't read:
ani d.
CEO.
Please let it read:
songwriter
musicmaker
storyteller
freak.
-Ani DiFranco
APEC On The Cheek Part II
Greets, Ramblers,
Having said what I said about APEC and the value of its achievements, I must provide a postscript that does shine a positive light on the whole thing.
Paul, Laura, Mick, Stewie, Ceals and I headed up to the Hunter Valley winery region for a rather spiffy concert - Steely Dan were playing, supported by Gangajang and World Party. A magnificent time was had by all, with much consumption of cheese, olives and goon (in white, red and sparkling varieties). The music was awesome, the weather was kind, and the picnic blanket on the grassy fields of a winery was a perfect vantage point to enjoy all of our hedonistic pleasures.
Those of us into that sort of thing went for a few wine tastings both before and after the concert, and the general consensus amongst the wineries up there was that APEC provided a much-needed injection of money to the local economy, as Sydney-siders scrambled to escape the sound of police boots and temporary fencing. In fact, it just about managed to get the region back on track after the rather devastating floods of a short while back.
So, for that, if for nothing else, APEC is to be applauded.
'Till next time.
Having said what I said about APEC and the value of its achievements, I must provide a postscript that does shine a positive light on the whole thing.
Paul, Laura, Mick, Stewie, Ceals and I headed up to the Hunter Valley winery region for a rather spiffy concert - Steely Dan were playing, supported by Gangajang and World Party. A magnificent time was had by all, with much consumption of cheese, olives and goon (in white, red and sparkling varieties). The music was awesome, the weather was kind, and the picnic blanket on the grassy fields of a winery was a perfect vantage point to enjoy all of our hedonistic pleasures.
Those of us into that sort of thing went for a few wine tastings both before and after the concert, and the general consensus amongst the wineries up there was that APEC provided a much-needed injection of money to the local economy, as Sydney-siders scrambled to escape the sound of police boots and temporary fencing. In fact, it just about managed to get the region back on track after the rather devastating floods of a short while back.
So, for that, if for nothing else, APEC is to be applauded.
'Till next time.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
APEC On The Cheek
Hello Oh Rambling Masses,
Let me just say that I am overflowing with pride at the performance of our fine government during the APEC summit here in Sydney. What a magnificent effort. For just 300 million taxpayer dollars, the obtrusive lockdown of the CBD, significant discontent amongst the general populace, harm to the public relations standing of the police force and continued erosion of our liberties and rights, Beige Howard has been able to clinch quite a winner on the environment front.
He has been able to get the APEC-member governments to tentatively agree in principle to the initial postulation that a proposed notion of aspirational emission targets should perhaps be a possible consideration at some nebulous time in the future, just as long as it doesn't affect the continued (obscene) economic growth or prosperity of those self-same nations.
Well done, Johnny. Give yourself a big pat on the back. You've certainly far exceeded my expectations.
Let me just say that I am overflowing with pride at the performance of our fine government during the APEC summit here in Sydney. What a magnificent effort. For just 300 million taxpayer dollars, the obtrusive lockdown of the CBD, significant discontent amongst the general populace, harm to the public relations standing of the police force and continued erosion of our liberties and rights, Beige Howard has been able to clinch quite a winner on the environment front.
He has been able to get the APEC-member governments to tentatively agree in principle to the initial postulation that a proposed notion of aspirational emission targets should perhaps be a possible consideration at some nebulous time in the future, just as long as it doesn't affect the continued (obscene) economic growth or prosperity of those self-same nations.
Well done, Johnny. Give yourself a big pat on the back. You've certainly far exceeded my expectations.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Welcome To The Child Killer
Hello Rambling Masses,
This is just a quick post to mark the arrival of that great American war criminal George Dubya to our fair shores. Welcome George, and I hope that you wear your bib, because Beige Howard will be salivating all over you during your stay. It might be a good idea to wear the ice hockey shin pads too, just in case little Johnnie gets a bit too keen with the old leg-bonk.
I would like to resurrect and paraphrase an old protest chant from the Vietnam war days, if I could. Back in those days they used to sing:
Until next time, oh Rambling Masses...
This is just a quick post to mark the arrival of that great American war criminal George Dubya to our fair shores. Welcome George, and I hope that you wear your bib, because Beige Howard will be salivating all over you during your stay. It might be a good idea to wear the ice hockey shin pads too, just in case little Johnnie gets a bit too keen with the old leg-bonk.
I would like to resurrect and paraphrase an old protest chant from the Vietnam war days, if I could. Back in those days they used to sing:
Hey, hey, LBJ,It seems to me that we have not learnt a hell of a lot in the 30- or 40-odd years since then, for now we can just as validly be chanting:
How many kids did you kill today?
Hey, hey GWB,Keep up the good work, George, and before you know it, fundamentalist Christians will be carving the biggest slice of pie and gorging themselves on the fat of the land.
How many kids in your killing spree?
Until next time, oh Rambling Masses...
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