On 2008-02-07 21:50:44 +0000, Ed Sirett said:

On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:06:54 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

The power shortages in South Africa have been addressed; the government
is proposing the following:

* Promoting solar water heaters and solar-power traffic and street
lights.
* Introducing liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas). * Distributing
energy-efficient light bulbs. * Introducing power rationing.
* Putting pressure on the coal industry, which is exporting its best
quality coal, to provide local power stations with a higher quality
coal.

So you see, there is absolutely nothing to concern yourself about -
it's completely under control!

T
Is that the government that reckoned smoking dried banana skins would
cure AIDS?

ROTFL

It's funny in so many ways and so sad in others.

I think that one has to begin by realising that the northern
hemisphere/western Europe way of life is a comparatively narrow
perception of humanity and that outside it the boundaries are hugely
wider.

I've been going periodically to southern Africa for over 20 years and
have numerous friends in various sub Saharan countries. The changes
that have happened and continue to happen are minimally good but
maximally bad from the perspective of the benefit of all of the
population.

For example:

- At a land crossing between South Africa and Botswana a large sign
warning the hapless tourist that the HIV infection rate in Botswana is
1 in 7. This is a country with relatively good economy, education and
small population That was a few years ago. Almost certainly worse now.

- In the men's toilets of a major corporation in South Africa, condoms
in baskets free for the taking, not even machines.

- Street names being changed in order to erase history. Mugabe began
that idea in Zimbabwe.

- People being held up at gunpoint in their homes. Black people in
middle income areas.


Dried banana skins are but a short step from this.

Look across the skyline at any township from about April onwards and it
is thick with smoke from the burning of coal. Look at black fug
belching out of trucks and vans because nobody is policing emissions or
fixing vehicles.

This was the developed world in one sense. Has it moved forward? In
one way yes. In many ways it is moving rapidly in the opposite
direction.

All of that is before the profligate use of fuel in oil producing
nations is considered. Petrol prices in Russia are around a third of
those in western Europe, for example, and in Gulf states even less.

I don't see people in these places giving a **** about carbon
emissions or anything else.

Yet we continue to believe in the north west part of the world that we
can lead by example. Frankly, we are kidding ourselves because the
other three quarters is laughing at our stupidity.