Do we believe yet that Capitalism has failed?

Why are world food prices so suddenly on the rise? I mean, I know it can't be so suddenly as it seems, but it is suddenish. Is this rise unusual? I mean as I understand it, prices should rise, that mean the capitalist economy is working...doesn't it. Of course they shouldn't raise too quickly. That's like dropping a frog into boiling water. But slowly slowly, the value of symbols should decline, as thus we should require more of these valueless things in exchange for goods. Of course it is an exponential rise, isn't it. Things move like the Yeatsian gyre, slow at first from side to side extreme through extreme turning over, each time a little fast, a little further. Maybe I am only just noticing the gyre for the first.

But are things, like the increase in agricultural space being used for biofuels, really a cause? What about the rapid deforestation leading to the desertification of much of the globe? And why is deforestation happening? To make room for people, and for homes, and to make wood for pencils and chopsticks...of course there are just more people. We are, like the deforstation, like the desertification, like population growth, like the capitalist economy, all growing exponentially in our different directions. Maybe we just need a good alpha predator to come and make living more difficult for us.

I think it is interesting to think that any alpha predator to attack humans would have to be invisible to human sight. If we can see the source we seem pretty good at doing something about it. Spontaneous combustion might work. It's these things we can't see. Like what is causing the appaerntly sudden upward spiral in the price of food.

And at the same time it seems easy. Our own hubris led to this.

It good to be back!

My goodness, what a total high!!! So i played 7s today. How totally awesome! All the greatest parts of rugby, with 7 minute halves! Score 7 for the good guys.

So of course, I am not one to shirk any tradition, and came off 3 minutes into the first game with a nose bleed. I love it, that would be the first game of every season of rugby i have ever played has begun with the traditional nosebleed...granted this time there were no tampons involved. So once we got the guizer under control, it was back out to rock and run it hard.

It was a pretty physical game as we are mostly new to the sport, or 15s converts, so it was a pretty rough game! But wow, how sweet it is to be tearing it up on the mudtracks once more. And i do mean mud tracks. As perhaps I have mentioned, there is no such thing as grass in Korea, its just one of those things like cheese that they just don't understand how to use. I was at a plant shop today and they had stacks of dry yellow sod cut into 4x4 inch squares...i don't know what they were to be used for... but clearly they don't really know either.

So we played on a mud/sand pitch. Which I actually quite liked, except that spandex have this amazing funneling power, what ever gets into a pair of spandex always seems to funnel right into the crotch...I must say, in that respect i wish we had been playing on grass. But I can't compain. Course my boots were too small, so I sold them and borrowed a pair. But that's fine.

As for the play. It was awesome, went for a couple awesome runs, scored a couple tries, set up some nice play and had a smashing time.

Ahh...what a high. Right. I need a beer and then its off to bed (there is more rugby in the AM!!!)

All the wrong reasons

I get all hot and bothered when I read about the incredible damage humankind all by themselves are doing to this planet. I mean I know we suck and all, but we are not the only factor...I mean how could we be. And this is what gets me so upset. The fact that it seems we scientists, academics and people who want to know more can't quite accept. No matter how much more we know, we can't know everything. We can't account for it all.

I think if we could accept that one point, or concede that one point, or somehow manage to bring within our grasp that one point, we would recognize that we should just proceed with caution. This doesn't mean, stop progressing. That is dumb.

Don't just stop using oil, or stop using electricity, or stop buying everything, or stop being part of the human race. It just mean's procede with caution. With each progressive step assess does this work, how well does it work. Does this put myself or my family under unnecessary risk? Does this put my city or country at risk? Does this put strangers at risk? What about the water I drink...does it affect that? Does it impact on my favourite places to walk and play?

If my answer is I don't know...well I should have a look around as see. If the answer is maybe...well then I should have a look, but also keep in mind I should look for new ways too...just in case. If the answer is yes...well then I should ask then do I really want to be using it. And if the answer is proudly loudly no, then I should still look around, continue finding new ways, because everything is always subject to change, or rather everything is change. Always.

But here is the thing. We need to be real about that...we need to start globally embracing the possiblity that we can and do change. Maybe. That whatever our impacts and affects, big or small, they are subject to change. They are going to change. So lets stop arguing about the affects and impacts and look for the most exciting ways to going about changing. It's evolution baby.