As the applause for the guest speaker subsided, the static in the air almost crackled. The anticipation of the debate itself had electrified the audience in the comfortable atmosphere inside the auditorium, while the sub-zero December temperatures of this north European country persisted outside.
“All this climate change rhetoric. Politically plausible, but it's wrong,” began Dr. Damion Kennedy. “Have any of you thought about the growing population? We all breathe out carbon dioxide, but this is being paraded as being a toxic gas that is destroying the world. What rubbish.”
Some murmurings of dissent could be heard.
“And compounding everything through our incessant need for paper by destroying the very trees that sustain us. The trees that are the lungs of the Earth that generate oxygen for us all to live. How can carbon dioxide be a poison? We can't breathe this gas, but trees do and through photosynthesis they generate new oxygen. Mankind's contribution to climate change and global warming can easily be summed up: the population becoming larger and creating more and more carbon dioxide as a consequence. And then deforestation. Destroying the very thing that keeps us alive. We are a parasite killing ourselves by staying alive. Now there's a paradox.”
The level of chattering had increased.
“The atmosphere on Venus is more than 95% carbon dioxide and by virtue of being closer to the sun has an estimated atmosphere temperature of over 450°C. Hundreds of degrees hotter than Earth. The real scaremongers would have it that Earth will become like Venus. That's as ridiculous as it is impossible.”
A brief pause allowed voices of derision to clearly be heard.
“The new technology of the wind turbine is doomed to fail though it generates vast amounts of revenue by taxing the people on the back of a lie. Something that will fail requires something to be developed later. Another new technology and probably even more expensive. And when that predictably fails, something else will take its place. In the meantime, the global situation continues to deteriorate in the grip of a debt-based financial system, this itself based upon virtual money. Just throwing unreal money at ghosts.
“What's virtual money? Get a loan from a bank and the electronic credit instantly attracts interest payable. Before anything is actually paid the potential yield on this electronic debt is lent onwards in other loans that have interest applied. This is the sustainable growth politicians talk about. And no actual money is required. Just a computer and borrowers' accounts. These are just some of the real reasons for all the crises today. Then, of course, there are too many people chasing too little work that has been hijacked by automation. Again, driven by computers.”
Objectors' shouts were now increasing in their number, but Dr. Kennedy remained quite cool in his composure even though tempers in the auditorium had become heated.
“The burning of fossil fuels is blamed for making more of the natural carbon dioxide. It's not a toxic gas, yet travel by aircraft continues to increase, every flight dumping many tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Moving on to another, though connected issue: animals produce methane gas. Peat bogs produce methane and as a greenhouse gas methane is much more capable at trapping heat than carbon dioxide by about 20 times. Natural methane production has become known as the 'fart of the Earth' and this should be the focus of attention.”
The volume of Kennedy's voice had increased a little in an attempt to overwhelm the louder mutterings within the audience.
“There are crazy ideas of some elements of mankind. Starting wars to sell weapons of war to those countries that need them. Weapons are big business that generate huge amounts of revenue and it's all about money. The growth of one thing always needs the destruction of something else. The thorium cycle that powers the core of the Earth is a relatively safe generation of nuclear power. Without this power, billions of years ago Earth would have become just another frozen rock in space, but weapons of war cannot be made using this element. This defines the reason why it will never be used to fuel mankind's energy needs. The heat generated within the Earth reaches temperatures similar to that at the surface of the sun of about 6000°C. This is never mentioned in the global warming debate. It's not only about the heat from without, but the heat from within.”
The audience remained quite noisy, though a change in the atmosphere could be sensed.
“You see, the real Earth-bound problem comes down to an ever-growing population that depends more and more on energy. The political desire is to create more nuclear power stations. However 'safe' and secure such a building may be to cage the beast, and however small the chances of a natural disaster releasing the beast, it remains the same beast. And it cannot be destroyed. You can't burn it. You can't chemically neutralise it. Only bury it or try to encase it in some other cage, but once the beast has been created the process cannot be undone. It's regarded as being 'clean'. Nuclear waste is only a bi-product of the beast. A sort of mutated beast. But still a beast that has the power to decimate all living creatures and it will live for thousands of years. It's almost biblical. The Devil. And that's wherein lies the detail.”
A scuffle had broken out on the left side at the back of the theatre and curiously the voices of dissent had quietened somewhat.
“Have you ever thought about the prevalence of cancers today? Cancer is simply an uncontrolled growth. Like the population on Earth. The human population in particular represents Earth's cancer. Until humankind wakes up to see its fate rushing towards it, the inevitable must happen and all of this can be blamed squarely at the door of human greed and stupidity. Have you heard of the 'tipping point'? It's that time when correcting an error can no longer happen. We're already past that option.”
Dr. Kennedy continued to a now captivated audience, though there were still some who obviously disagreed.
“The Moon offers the most promise. It's been up in the sky for billions of years quietly looking down on Earth like a parent watches over a child. The Moon will probably be around for billions more years as it continues to control the tides. This should be seriously examined as a priority for a long-term and highly sustainable source of power. Tidal power. And it's free. It costs nothing to allow the Moon to operate itself. If the global population were being properly informed, it would gladly fund developing such a sustainable and free source of energy instead of some business simply profiteering. Not on a commercial basis, but purely as a means for survival. Water has sustained the Earth and all forms of life since they began on this planet.
“Maybe we should really start with the ignorant and money-orientated politicians who know nothing else but controlling the people and helping commercial enterprises 'make money'. Remember, money isn't created, but perceived wealth just redistributed. Perhaps that's inciting anarchy, though education should be a more peaceful and effective way forward.
Sounds of derision had been replaced by the occasional cheer as the audience had settled into a warmer and generally more thoughtful appreciation.
“A nuclear-powered future is a certain way of increasing our chances of destroying ourselves. The irony here? Mankind destroys itself and the planet recovers and starts again. Earth can wait a few millions of years while it heals itself without any interference from an extinct species. The use of uranium-based nuclear power sources is crazy. But to make fissionable materials to create nuclear weapons of war, a nuclear power station is necessary. It's the laboratory and production suite all rolled-up into the same entity. An 'elephant in the room', hiding behind the need to energise this ever-growing population. More and more new developments need electricity and this can only make the situation worse by more people needing more power.”
“However, these are still only the arguments on the periphery. The reality is that as Earth goes around the sun in its annual orbit it gradually gets nearer to it and further away depending on the time of year. Summers get hotter and winters become colder. The tilt of Earth also changes over thousands of years altering the heat-capturing capacity of the planet. ”
Rapturous applause started as Dr. Kennedy finished his delivery. This continued for several minutes before he exited the stage.
A shot rang out from the right-side of the auditorium as Dr. Kennedy entered the shadows.
© Louis Brothnias (2011) Words: 1450
