Stephen Barlow Profile picture
Jun 3, 2022 8 tweets 2 min read Read on X
People often ask what I mean by system change re: the climate and ecological crisis. It is very simple. I mean a full shift to a truly sustainable society/economy. This means changing more or less every convention of our modern society.
Sustainable means what it says. A society and economy in balance with the ecological carrying capacity of the Earth. Essentially that means no unsustainable trends, where our impact on the natural systems of the world is growing.
You see, in ecological terms, if there is a component, where it's impact on natural systems is constantly growing. Eventually it will have catastrophic effects, impacting also on the component driving it i.e. human society.
Lots of natural components have growing impacts. Let's say an exploding population of rodents. But this is eventually counteracted, by a sudden fall in the population of that rodent. Often, it produces a cycle or rise and fall.
Humans appear to have got out of this cycle and effect, by using innovation to get around what would cause that contraction in that growth. For instance, the use of fertilisers and pesticides.
But this is at the cost of destroying other ecosystem components and biodiversity, which in a long loop, will eventually have serious impacts on us, that we can't innovate our way out of.
There is no simple recipe for creating a sustainable society economy. However, if we don't want our population, our civilization, our society and economy to crash, it is essential.
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More from @SteB777

Dec 21
I've had a nasty virus for over a week and I'd like to describe it, not for sympathy, because I'm not sure what it is, and I haven't been able to find any information on it.

It's very COVID like, but I have tested negative on several lateral flow tests over the last 5 days.
1/🧵
I can't be pretty certain of when I caught it, it was on 4th Dec, and it seems to have had a 9 day incubation period, with me.

That's because I gave my elderly mother a hand, taking her elderly dog to the vets on that day.
2/
The next day, she phoned to day she'd come down with a cold, and she hoped she hadn't passed it on to me. After a week, I thought, well I didn't get it, but then a couple of days later I was showing symptoms.
3/
Read 11 tweets
Dec 19
It looks like Peter Mandelson a.k.a. Lord Mandelson is going to become UK Ambassador to the US, which is extraordinary given his 15 year secret relationship with international paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which continued after Epstein was convicted.

1/🧵bbc.com/news/articles/…
This is on top of numerous financial scandals "Lord" Mandelson had been involved in. Very questionable dealings with Russian oligarchs, and lots of other dubious figures. Sleaze is his middle name.

2/theguardian.com/world/2000/oct…
Peter Mandelson, was so close to Jeffrey Epstein, that Epstein used to call him "Petie". Yet, Mandelson's secret 15 year relationship with Epstein, only came out in 2023, after a 2019 confidential JP Morgan Chase investigation into Epstein leaked out.

3/independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
Read 8 tweets
Dec 16
This is a change in tack from my normal commenting. I just want to make some points about the latest #drones hysteria.

This is because I have been seeing drone like objects, regularly in the night sky, in North Shropshire/North Wales, for at least 6 years.
1/🧵
I've always assumed them to be #drones because they don't behave like fixed wing aircraft, or your typical nighttime military helicopter activity, which I'm used to seeing and hearing.

I'm just going to describe how they look and behave, with no speculation.
2/
I've mainly seen them from Fenns and Whixall Moss, National Nature Reserve, whilst doing nighttime surveys for birds like Nightjars, Common Snipe, and checking for other nighttime bird activity.
3/
Read 23 tweets
Dec 15
A few more points about the 1%. As I've said, it's not something you're in, or you're not in.

The actual web of key individuals, who can make decisions, which affect millions or even billions, are all in the top 1%. But most in the top 1% don't have anywhere near that power.
1/
Nevertheless, it would be rare, to non-existent, to find a key decision maker, who's decisions can affect the lives of many, who is not in the top 1%.

In other words, it narrows down the search for where to look. If someone is not in the top 1%, it's unlikely they are key.
2/
I'm not meaning to imply that all those in the top 1%, are engaged in some sort of conspiracy against us. However, as they have far more money, have the most to lose from a high top rate tax, they will be far more sympathetic to tax cuts for the rich, and those pushing them.
3/
Read 19 tweets
Dec 15
I find myself variously accused of scapegoating the rich, envy, of being a left wing ideologue etc.

All this is false, everything I say is about sustainability, the long term survival of humanity, and our societies. I'm trying to clarify thinking.

1/threadreaderapp.com/thread/1868193…
I do not claim to have all the answers. However, there are certain core aspects of the problem, which must be addressed, if we are to address the climate and ecological crisis, and to avoid the collapse of our civilization.

2/pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…
I have spent over 50 years, thinking about this in enormous depth. Not thinking I knew the answers, just to understand the overall situation, what was the right thinking, and what was mistaken.
3/
Read 17 tweets
Dec 15
Just some notes about my use of the top 1% of the richest people in the world, being both responsible for the climate and ecological crisis, and in obstructing attempts to address it, to maintain their lifestyles.

1/🧵threadreaderapp.com/thread/1867722…
I always get similar responses, falsely claiming that most people in the developed world, are in the global richest top 1%. Simple arithmetic proves that this is a false claim. The US population alone is 4.23% of the global population.

2/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demograph…
The population of the richest countries, in total, is much bigger than the population of the US. You can't give an exact figure, because of the problem of defining it. But it must be in excess of 10% of the global population, probably by some way.
3/
Read 24 tweets

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