I’d like to write about the bigger issues which affect our lives and the lives of our cat companions. These issues are at the top level, where politicians and powerful businesses often operate together. They have the greatest impact on us and therefore our cat. What affects us affect our cats. Also what politicians and business do or don’t do affects cats directly sometimes.
There are thousands of examples. Here is one in the Times today.
India is the home of the Bengal tiger and the Bengal tiger is “the” tiger living in the wild. There are some Bengal tigers in Bangladesh too and there are Siberian tigers in the far east of Russia but the survival of the tiger in the wild is really down to how Indian politicians and the directors of large Indian companies treat the Indian landscape. Do they protect it and the reserves? Or do they gradually erode it for commercial gain?
India says that Greenpeace is a threat to their economy. Greenpeace wants to curb India’s coal mining. Coal feeds powers stations and power stations generate electricity. But it is crude technology because it relies up natural resources under the ground. Mining for coal leads to destruction of the environment both in the air and the forest. Forests are where many wild species live. Kill the forest and you kill the forest dwelling animals.
Greenpeace handed a 1,00,000 signature petition to the Indian government urging an end to deforestation for coal mining. It targeted India’s most powerful companies.
In January protestors wearing tiger suits scaled the offices of the Essar Group. They placed a banner on the building, “We kill forests.” Essar’s response was to initiate a defamation action in the courts for $50 million against the activists. Heavy handed? Typical business.
The protestors were campaigning against Essar’s plans to develop a coalmine at Mahan, a densely forested are of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Essar has not yet received government approval. What chance do you think there is of the government blocking the development? None. Money will exchange hands.
Debi Goenka, the leader of the Conservation Action Trust says,
“It’s corrupt politicians and corrupt industrialists who are poisoning this country….This kind of model of development that is being pushed down our throats comes at the expense of the poor in India and the country’s biodiversity”
At the end of the day it is the bigger issues, the behavior of our “leaders” in conjunction with relentless and often corrupt international businesses who dictate our welfare and therefore the welfare of our cats. They often affect the welfare of wild cats directly.
Note: Essar is an Indian multinational conglomerate.
Shoot, Michael, this is exactly what I was about to send you this morning. I was once again watching my DVD on “Living with Tigers” –my favorite documentary, filmed by John Varty. I was just burning you a copy, since I have paid for it. Please research John Varty and “Living with Tigers. These two who made this documentary are two of the wunderkind who truly care about the plight.
We think alike! I’ll have a look.
Michael, i myself could be very high on the “GOVERNMENTS BLACKLIST” as i blog my opinions and also debate on the internet about “FOREST CONSERVATION” for preserving our wild tigers and its environment.One important fact is that i am “SELF-EMPLOYED” and hence not receiving any “Foreign Funds” for spending approx 6 to 8 hours daily on the internet for writing and discussing topics, a blogging philanthropist!I only hope that our forests do not vanish along with its wild-life in the name of development and human progress.India’s Stock market has received a great boost and everyone expects a increase in living standards in India with the new Government.Hope Wild-life and India’s forests are preserved on a parallel footing with Industrial development. I am also a “Capitalist” hence a entrepreneur but also aware of the dangers of mass Industrialization at the cost of destroying forests.
LOL. Me too 😉 Although PoC has made quite a lot of money over the years. For me capitalism and conservation are incompatible.
Absolutely true.
I just read that Yanukovich and his cronies managed to siphon 11 billion dollars out of the public coffers in about 3 years. That amounts to half the entire country’s yearly tax revenue. In most of the world, getting a government job means getting money through corrupt means. Every policeman in Goa took the job because they could then mug tourists and take all their money. Not because they care about enforcing the laws. Just an example. But I believe the same goes in the Europe and North America but just on a lesser scale.
The thing is, this corruption has destroyed people’s future. Mainly poor people of course. People have no hope because of this stealing.
I’m not suprised nobody wants to pay tax anymore – they are’t getting anything in many cases. Isn’t it typical that now that they have gambled away our money into long term debt, that they now want the poor to suffer even more, pay even more, earn even less, so they can try to mop up the mess they made. People’s lives have been ruined. Infact I wish there was a god who would come and set fire to every corrupt official and banker so we could watch them burn.
But these bigger issues, which of course affect everyone, animals, cats, etc – are not something we can do anything about. There’s literally not a thing we can do in this economic political system. The only thing we can do is dissent, and the officials know that, which is why they are so brutal over the smallest acts of dissent.
One day there will be so many dissenters they will just have to stop.
Or I wonder if humans have learned a single thing. I was thinking they might actually continue to try and control using force. In which case we are all screwed. But they wouldn’t would they?
Now to read about Boris’s new water canons.
Oh, and dissent now has a new name: Terrorism
So if you have a problem with GM foods, or you think that pollution is destroying the planet, for goodness sakes keep it to yourself or you might be locked up without trial or council of any kind.
I totally agree with all you say. I find it distressing to be honest. It sours my life. The UK is not immune to the problems described. I have genuine concerns about the world at the moment. With the increasing influence in the Middle East of Al Qaeda and developing chaos together rampart corruption – we are on very thin ice. This issues will affect us all more and more I feel and our cats as a result.
Yes unfortunately our animals will properly be affected. Hopefully will be resolved.
Yea that’s very scarey that kind of stuff. I guess we live in a corrupt world now, where none of us will be free of. I guess we got to protect our cats and all animals at all costs. Thankfully here in New Zealand things haven’t been as extreme, but will definitely go as the rest of the world as gone. It will be a sad day for me, when ill need to put my cats inside. I hope by that day that im able to protect them. Its bad enough now. There’s a hope over here that there be harsher penalties for Animal Abuses but as yet to be seen.