The extinction path of global nation states
By: Michael Rynn
Tags: Global Heating Denial, Australia, Extinction Rebellion, Leading Coal Exporter, Climate Change

I was listening to parts of the Australian Federal Parliament house of representatives session on radio, 22nd October 2019. It was like trying to make sense of the inmates of a lunatic asylum, given the actual predicaments that Australian Fossil Fool Civilisation now faces. Nearly every speaker requires a mental illness diagnosis.

There were a couple of sane adults in the room, but everyone else seems to be living in a delusion bubble, set by the major party lines controlling the puppetry.

Infographic of Australian Political Climate Dissocciation

I checked late in the evening the corresponding Hansard of 22nd October 2019, which gets promptly published in for each day. I searched for the key word “emergency”, as I had heard a “climate emergency petition” was being tabled. I have signed quite a few of these in the past.

The Hansard PDF text indicates how far away government politicians have strayed from reality. The government seemed more interested in mouthing the holy mantras of economic growth, and pumping for more emissions export growth, despite a massive climate emergency petition, growing activist disruptions in the streets, ongoing worse droughts, collapse of Australia’s farming sector, signs of ecological collapse, and warning signs that the entire real fossil fool system is heading for economic collapse.

An E-Petition asking the parliament to declare a climate emergency, with just over 400,000 signatures, was presented, and was completely ignored by the government. Very much like the effort to declare a climate emergency from the Labor Opposition only a few days previously.

The member for Jagajaga (Ms Kate Thwaites — Labor) got in first with a motion of support, for the petition, ending with the words “Let’s set the culture wars aside and all get on board with a genuine approach to combating climate change”.

The independent member for Warringah, Ms Steggall, presented the petition formally. She read it, and noted it had been approved by the standing committee on petitions.

What followed from government members, was as if it had never happened. The most disgusting member for Hinker (K Pitt, LNQ), soon after carried on like a regional radio jockey reading advertisements for the local shopping mall.

“I say to everyone out there who might be listening to this on the broadcast: if you’re spending at Christmas time and you want to get your purse or wallet out, get downtown and make sure you’re shopping local. I know, Mr Deputy Speaker Hogan, you are waiting with anticipation to see what in my electorate you can buy from local shops. Firstly, you need to bang at the door of Buck’s Butcher Shoppe in Childers — their speciality is Buck’s ducks. That is what they are very keen on in Childers. There’s Nanna’s Pantry — not your mum’s mum but Nanna’s Pantry, the shop, “ — and so on.

— I was disgusted.

A Western Australian member expressed concern about slowing economic growth.

— Economic growth builds infrastructure which requires yearly energy consumption which creates more greenhouse gas emissions. Economic growth defeats climate mitigation again, and always will, until resulting global systems failures pull civilisation down faster than it can be maintained, as a catabolic collapse.

Mr Simmonds wanted to celebrate 75th anniversary of the Liberal Party — “The Liberal Party has always represented a broader cross-section of the Australian public than any other political grouping. Labor would seek to pigeonhole us for political purposes. But, in truth, we are for the upward movement of all ambitious Australians, regardless of race, religion, sex or income.”.

— Yes, that is right, the party for only people on the make. No global heating petitioners allowed.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter — as coal mining electorate — Labor — but a global heating denier) asked about the drought — “Prime Minister, why won’t you listen to the member and, more importantly, to farmers and rural communities and convene a cross-party drought cabinet to adequately respond to the growing drought crisis?”

— Same reason Prime Minister doesn’t listen to climate emergency petitions, I guess.

What followed was a lot about how much aid money is being targeted at drought assistance relief. No mention of global heating likely to continue on worsening drought impacts in Australia. This was reported the next day by requests from drought — afflicted farmers for “quit packages”.

Question from Ms Sharkie, (Mayo — Centre Alliance ) My question is to the Prime Minister. As of July this year, Australia had just 27 days supply of automotive fuel physically in the country. This leaves us incredibly vulnerable. When will Australia increase our stocks to the recommended 90-day supply of automotive fuel physically held in the country?.

— Now there was a good question. If only we can get the supply and consumption close to zero days of fuel, permanently, then this would be something to help the climate emergency.

In Angus Taylor’s answer as Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction — “There is one other certain way to improve our fuel security, and that is to make the most of Australia’s ample oil and gas reserves. The Northern Territory Labor government have shown great leadership on this, with the work they are doing on the Beetaloo Basin. We have contributed $8.4 million to getting that very prospective basin for oil and gas into operation. I call on all states, including the Victorian state Labor government, to remove blanket bans and moratoria on gas and oil exploration. I also acknowledge the great potential for oil and gas developments in the great state of South Australia. It’s time to get on, and deliver on Australia’s oil and gas potential in the coming years.”

— Yes, Angus and his on the make friends want to exploit all of Australian for our great potential for increases in national and exported emissions. The Minister of pretending to have emissions reductions. No chance of global heating mitigation from this minister and this government.

“Since we have come to government, the economy has continued to grow” — Treasurer Josh Fryedenberg, in response to a Dorothy Dixer. (Question from member of one’s own party) — Not growing quite so well, with rural economy collapsing with drought, and global economy collapsing with always increasing energy costs of mining fossil fuels, passing costs with increasings debt along to all businesses, and only surviving the debt bubble as interest rates are now scraping into the negative.

— Definitely more greenhouse gas emissions then.

Another Dixer from member for Wentworth (Dave Sharma, Liberal) “My question is to the Minister for the Environment. Will the minister outline to the House how the importance of the Morrison government’s stable and certain economic management is ensuring the protection of our environment?”

— Now some listeners may have already reached their puking tolerance level.

Matters of public importance — more serious stuff, longer speeches.

Dr Andrew Leigh — Growing casual work and unemployment in Australia.

Scott Morrison — Response of government to royal commission into child sexual abuse.

I skipped much stuff — hours have gone by.

— At least the inland railway is a lower emissions cost mode of transport, compared to truck. With drought, is it only going to be servicing the mining industry?

Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Bill 2019

— Many have noticed the Australian Stationary Energy network supply is still pricey and emissions intensive — -

Mark Butler, — ALP — attacks the lack of coherent energy transition policies, giving details.

Adam Bandt — AU Greens — who says the point of this unnecessary bill is to protect coal fired power stations from early redundancy. He manages to place the climate emergency petition in context.

“The people from all walks of life who are marching in the street know that the government doesn’t have global warming under control. What they are all begging for from this government is a plan to bring down pollution and address the crisis in global warming and the climate emergency, but also address the crisis in the energy system, which the government has broken. Because of the government’s intervention in the energy system, it’s worth noting one fact: this comes from the government’s independent Australian Energy Regulator; not from the Greens, not from the commentators but from the Energy Regulator.”

With this government resisting changes while we progress on the collapse of industrial civilisation, it looks like Australian government will carry on regardless until Australian becomes drastically crippled, and population wiped out, by 3 degrees plus of warming, with frequent unlivable heat and droughts, way beyond the current imaginations of the Canberra politicians.

— Much the same comments and tripe were coming from the radio the next day’s parliament session about a draconian fossil fuel bill for our grid energy system. The government had given non-binding “promises” potential punitive measures wouldn’t be used to push coal and oligarch interests. Doesn’t matter what it says, this government only carries out the will of coal and gas oligarchs, and doesn’t listen to anybody else.

Since national governments are incapable of taking sufficient climate mitigation action, and are under the control of vested fossil fuel interests, it is about time that such governments, where-ever they may be, are divested of such powers that allow them to impose global ecological suicide on all of their subjects, and all other global nations. Powers to veto new fossil fuel projects need to reside in the people, not in absolutely corrupt governments. Billionaire bought elections do not constitute a peoples mandate.

Monumental social changes (and troubles) in the 21st century will be misunderstood (and thus worsened, I believe) insofar as people … continue interpreting events according to a [pre-ecological] worldview that insufficiently recognizes human society’s ultimate dependence on its ecosystem context. - William R. Catton Jr — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Catton_Jr.#cite_note-Catton-2008-3 When the earth’s deposits of fossil fuels and mineral resources were being laid down, Homo sapiens had not yet been prepared by evolution to take advantage of them. As soon as technology made it possible for mankind to do so, people eagerly (and without foreseeing the ultimate consequences) shifted to a high-energy way of life. Man became, in effect, a detritivore, Homo colossus. Our species bloomed, and now we must expect a crash (of some sort) as the natural sequel. — Overshoot — p170 — Downloadable PDF - https://monoskop.org/images/9/92/Catton_Jr_William_R_Overshoot_The_Ecological_Basis_of_Revolutionary_Change.pdf

— detritivore : an animal which feeds on dead organic material, especially plant detritus.

This is the Australia Federal Parliament , mostly lost all over the wrong places, without the benefit of a restraining ecological worldview. They have a world-view, of “national government” exploits first, which is a very common global social disease, contracted by fossil fuel usage. This is typical, not exceptional.

Extinction Rebellion — motto is “Tell the truth” and “Act like it is real”. XR presents a simplified ecological world-view, which is why they are treated as terrorist threats to national democratic government. They frighten the lack of wits out of extreme right wing conservatives and authoritarians. Bow down and go extinct, we are told.

World view of most global national governments, including so-called representative democracies, is dreadfully simple. — “Hide the truth”, “Pretend it isn’t real”. Exploit all economic resources first, let others suffer consequences later. Torture and imprison any and all inconvenient truth-tellers. The cruelty of human punisher instincts tends to be unbounded, ignores and abuses existing human rights law, because this protects the punishers in power from suffering the emotional costs of their actions. A vicious feedback, like the French Revolution, leading to the extermination of the upper classes and royalty. You have been warned. Humans have violence thresholds, and most nation-states lead by example and frequently exceed them.

Extinction Rebellion apparently has caused far greater policing costs in the city of London, than the long police vigil for that other abused truth-teller, Julian Assange, when holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy. Compared to XR, Julian Assange so called revelations and so-called “secrets” are trivial, null-surprise, and caused no lasting harm to any exploitative imperial government, apart from proving them to be absolutely police states, bent on murdering in secret. Julian Assange’s current awaiting extradition, because Australian and UK are abject vassals of the US, and are only too willing to exact royal revenge entirely for the sake of global exploitative vested interests of the fossil fool rich.

Unfortunately for general naive homo sapiens, these global police states haven’t learned any real lessons, because they are getting much worse, as fossil fool economics stagnate and decline. XR simple truth is that Global Heating threatens survival of all large multi-cellular species on this planet, even the ones that never started to burn fossil fuels. We need to protect from extinction, all those slow reproducing and none-ecological thinkers like humans, and even the idiotic detritivores whose exploitative lifestyle are still protected at all costs by national governments. Or should we just let these extinction consequences run to completion?