December 21, 2012 is the Maya Calendar's day the world ends.

Dear Editor,
Maybe you can come to Harvard Business School and do a thesis on the building of social/environmental responsibility into a mass market product, something that can be bought and contributes to the consumer's social status, social power, that sort of thing. We're looking for innovative minds for this HOT new intellectual frontier.

Sounds like a great argument for bringing those manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from China. Since we are more developed, we could produce the same goods with a fraction of the pollution. That would also give us the opportunity to replace exploitation of cheap overseas labor with fair paying jobs at home.

It's why I wrote an article titled "Al Gore iPhoney", he sits on the board of Apple, and makes his money from ruining the environment and destroying the American middle class. And why I wrote another article titled "China's goose is cooked and dim sum." When the U.S. economy goes broke, so does China's, because their growth is dependent on our consumption.

I've noticed some articles, and lesser thinkers, chastise China for their energy consumption and environmental destruction. Who's causing it? U.S.

By the same logic that we blame Colombia for our cocaine habit, we blame China for polluting and driving up the price oil. But it is our consumption of their crap that is causing the mess.

China and India are adopting our form of economic growth through hyper consumption. Until and unless we (the U.S.) change our ways, the world will get more polluted and diseased, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Of course, there is a solution, conservation not consumption, and it all starts with you and me.

Ramsay

Hi EZEFLYER, and the Maya predictions have been very accurate to date and their calendar is far more accurate than any we use. But I wonder a little about that prediction, it may come a lot sooner than 2012 at the rate we're going.

If we did that ZYDECO, Wal-Mart, Sears, Target, Hallmark, K-Mart, Family Dollar, Home Depot, AutoZone and many other giants would go bankrupt.

Kem Patrick:
Yeah, that would be a shame. We may see small midwestern farm towns spring back to life, a re-emergence of the American middle class, stronger communities, a better environment etc. A man can dream.
rtdrury: Where did George Bush get his M.B.A.? Oops, community colleges rule, click on my name to see what they produce. We've already enjoyed enough Harvard and Yale graduates screwing up the world. Shock therapy in Russia was another fine Ivy League example. Written with a smile.

Didn't the Maya chop down the jungle, suffer a drought, and go out of existence in three years?

Ramsay

"Since we are more developed, we could produce the same goods with a fraction of the pollution."

Not so.

Because we are so "developed" - meaning the factory workers all driving single-occupant cars to work here, and a greater percentage of our electric power is from coal, the same goods produced domestically will produce more CO2 pollution. Particulate and chemical pollution is terrible in China, but CO2 emissions are far less.

But that could be offset by shorter transportation distances for the goods, and suppliers, so it could still come out ahead.

KEM PATRICK:

"If we did that ZYDECO, Wal-Mart, Sears, Target, Hallmark, K-Mart, Family Dollar, Home Depot, AutoZone and many other giants would go bankrupt."

Wow -- a world where people do business with their neighbors and the corner store (like the one my great grandfather had) returns. I could live with that.

Actually, we probably wouldn't completely lose the mega-store. It's just that your pants will say made in the U.S.A and not made in China. But I think we would definitely see the return of a United States made strong by it's strong communities.

I agree. I mniss the local small family owned hardware store, where you could buy American made nails, sold by the pound and they were put in a brown paper sack that didn't require a jig saw to open the box. No, we wouldn't lose the Mega-Stores. But is would be nice to buy American made products. We would now if we could find any of the items we may need. Hell most of the Chinese made junk has American brand names.

Agree with that PJD, we need to get going on clean energy and do it tomorrow or it won't matter anyway. Tomorrow will not ever get here in that regard however, __ 2012 will.

I think in the not too distant future, smaller, intentional, mostly self-sustaining communities will emerge. It may become the best, if not the only way to remain viable, if we don't become very aggressive in our efforts to address global warming.

Higher energy costs, and they have nowhere to go but up up up, will necessitate the creation and distribution of necessary commodities much closer to home. Bartering, and cooperation will become the norm. The spirit of community will have a renaissance, not that it will be utopian, but hopefully, we will re-learn what it means to live inter-dependently.

This system which I will call a "closer system" will be workable anywhere rural or urban. The point isn't total self sufficiency, or isolation ---just a deep abiding commitment to eliminating waste, duplication, and competition however and wherever it will enhance the quality of life for everyone involved.

Some may want to dismiss this as unrealistic, but I believe it may instead become commonplace. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we already have a model provided us by indigenous peoples everywhere. We don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to put it to more productive, life-sustaining uses than we have been.

Ramsay,

"Of course, there is a solution, conservation not consumption, and it all starts with you and me."

Agreed.

starofthesea,

My my, such elegant validations of my own perspective. As a personal aside, I've taken part in this forum for the last week or so during a retreat that I'm taking, very enjoyable.

This will be my last post, I'm going overseas (to India actually) for around 6 months. I just think your insight, attitudes, and integrity are great. If you ever find yourself doubting the impact that you have on the world around you, keep in mind that the full moon sheds more light than a sky full of stars. So shine on!

As for the post that you just made, I think any intuitive, clear eyed individual will see that the small intentional, sustainable community model (along with the most important steps toward inner fulfillment and peace) unravels every one of the socio-economic/political issues of the day.

It's the blueprint for the future that I've put the lion's share of my energy into for many years now.

Take care.

Sunspot,

I don't understand entirely. Can't you connect to Common Dreams from India? Why would you stop communicating if you had something to say?

KEM PATRICK,

Now I agree with you in principle about the smaller family owned corner stores and so forth, but the other day while you were arguing whether WW2 should be fought or not, Chris Cooper wrote an article about small rural American communities which I found kind of disturbing in a way that I haven't quite been able to pin down yet. Kind of a provincialism. Or an isolationism.

It's like a Hitchcock film, or Orson Welles. Even at the family store level there's something out of place. I need a few more days to mull it over.

This doesn't mean I support stuff that comes from China as an alternative.

sunspot----your input has been most welcome and you will be missed. Have a great sojourn in India,

What's wrong with stuff that comes from China? Most of the recalls in the U.S. of products which come from China are of products which are made to exacting specifications stipulated by the U.S. companies. The fact that so many products are being recalled all at once can only indicate that it is an intentional set-up and attack against China by the U.S. which means that it is a political agenda. No one else in the world believes that even U.S. companies are all so stupid that they could only find all of these problems all at the same time, as if they all just happened overnight. In a large part of the world China has a first class reputation for their products, including hi-tech and automotive, so the fact that the U.S. is suddenly and supposedly inexplicably having issues with a bunch of toys is not going to affect their world-wide export.

Contrary to popular belief, China does not need the U.S. market to survive. Quite to the contrary, many of the U.S. companies rely on Chinese production for them to make money and if the U.S. succeeds in alienating the Chinese connection then they will only succeed in damaging their own economy at a rate which is faster than it is already flushing itself down the toilet. If the Chinese economy is growing at an annual rate of ten percent and the U.S.'s is growing at an anemic two percent or less then it is evident that China does much business in other places and that any effort of the U.S. to damage China's reputation will fall flat.

A tiny point: the actual French equivalent of 'And you?' is not 'Et tu?', but rather 'Et toi?'. 'Et tu?' is ill-formed.

We ought to look forward to and plan for an era of cooperation and community based on sharing, giving, and working together. And also, collaboration. An idea which we are seeing at work even by these posts. Rather than impose a nostalgia on the future.

After the 21st of December in a few years. Or if the calender is off by a couple days here and there due to the fallibility of human kind, then I'm sure we can all try and adapt a little.

The point is change, or perish. That's the true nature of the Darwinian principle. Which may have a little to do with capital at this point, but is also relative to our ideals.

EveningLand: It's Latin.

yeah, but the standard of living in the USA is so NICE

that's why everybody wants to move here

enjoy it while it lasts

the party is still far from being over IMO

Or simply as "Fabius," because this is how we must work.

Decades ago, I started out in "The Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts," in a town called Wellesley, where the likes of Hillary learned the finer points of rhetoric. Enough said there.

This town and a number of surrounding others were considered to be "wealthy," and yet there were many working-class and immigrant families around as well, who were somehow not mentioned.

My own family was "comfortable," but not without constant Old Yankee hard work and vigilance.I count myself among the most fortunate to have been raised under these loving and steadfast ways.

Not to embark on a "Russian Novel" here: I just want to make my main point: To wit, there were many local industries in the area that provided valuable and necessary goods, that also lifted the economic prospects of many hard-striving folks.

There was a Carter Underwear factory and outlet nearby which we patronized, despite (and because of) the usual "fly-by-night jokes. My best friend on the basketball team staged our annual trip to Hudson, Mass., where Converse Althletic Shoes were exclusively made. We had a feast, buying up "slightly blemished" Chuck Taylor All-Stars at 2.50-5.00/pair.

My dear departed father bought tools that came from the Sterrit Tool Foundry in Athol, Mass.--tools still in my possession today, tools that work perfectly.

Where'd it all bloody go?This was the glue that held us together, raised us up, made us proud, and what, pray tell, is left?

Here's a link to a Wikipedia item showing how much GDP per barrel of oil is achieved by various countries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product_per_barrel

EveningLand: It loosely means "Even you?" in Latin, as in "Et tu, Brute?" when Caesar is surprised to discover his assassin is his close friend Brutus.