devolution
19/09/08
Stealing words from NoFX it seems more and more these
days that someone has dropped a steamer in the gene
pool, evolutionary-wise we seem to be taking a step
backwards as we move forwards. Celebrating stupidity
and celebrity more than achievement and innovation.
Big Brother, X-Factor, you name it, it's all about
pointing the finger at stupid people for
entertainments sake. Clever people are labeled as
nerds, geeks and dull all too often (How can
Stephen Fry, surely one of the most intelligent
people in the country also be one of the funniest if
intelligence is dull?) - you know what, bugger
it, I may not be the brightest person in the country,
but I'd rather be labeled as a geek than resort to
the mind numbing level of the masses. I'm off out to
buy some horn rimmed glasses, a pocket protector and
a number of pens for my white short sleeved shirts.
I'm going to develop an unhealthy obsession for
beautiful women and spend my evenings playing world
of warcraft but dammit, I'm going to enjoy being away
from the inane stupidity of our celebrity obsessed
media.
Ohh, I seem to have gone off on one again. I sit here and write whatever tumbles from my jumbled head, look back and think, oh! did I write that? I don't tend to edit it once I've written, just write publish and then worry.
What brought it on though was spending 2 days on Brownsea with a group of young environmental volunteers. We looked at all sorts of issues on the island and then spent some time mapping sea level rise on the island with surveying equipment. It was quite apparent, that these guys all had similar experiences at school to me (OK, some were less likely to drop out than me...) and felt in no small amount isolated by being passionate about the planet we live on. It's a funny world where people who care enough to work at things are labeled as nuts.
The photo shows you the current sea level (mean high tide marked by the seaweed and the post), the tape is at the 1m above current high tide and the string is at the 4m above current high tide. That shows you the very best estimate for sea levels in 100 years at 1m above current levels and the NASA prediction for the same period at 4m. The slope is a 45 degree pitch by the way, seeing it from the other side makes it far more scary (faces blurred to protect the innocent...)
When you start to look at this stuff against infrastructure - buildings, generators, sewage plants Etc it becomes very alarming, very quickly...
anyway, on a fishy front the rivers have been in pretty good shape all things considered, as I type the Nadder has cleared right down and all the others are clear as a bell, enjoying the last gasp British Summer. I snuck off to the Monnow again for a day and as, always, am amazed at just how good this river system could be. I love it, even if I do look grumpy in the token glory shot. In my defense, I'd just taken 4 and a bit hours to do an hour and three quarters drive... The fish was maybe 2nd or 3rd cast so the rivers magic was just starting to happen and the stressy journey was just beginning to fade - oh, and Dave, I pinched some of your photos!
ooops! Butterfingers...
Ohh, I seem to have gone off on one again. I sit here and write whatever tumbles from my jumbled head, look back and think, oh! did I write that? I don't tend to edit it once I've written, just write publish and then worry.
What brought it on though was spending 2 days on Brownsea with a group of young environmental volunteers. We looked at all sorts of issues on the island and then spent some time mapping sea level rise on the island with surveying equipment. It was quite apparent, that these guys all had similar experiences at school to me (OK, some were less likely to drop out than me...) and felt in no small amount isolated by being passionate about the planet we live on. It's a funny world where people who care enough to work at things are labeled as nuts.
The photo shows you the current sea level (mean high tide marked by the seaweed and the post), the tape is at the 1m above current high tide and the string is at the 4m above current high tide. That shows you the very best estimate for sea levels in 100 years at 1m above current levels and the NASA prediction for the same period at 4m. The slope is a 45 degree pitch by the way, seeing it from the other side makes it far more scary (faces blurred to protect the innocent...)
When you start to look at this stuff against infrastructure - buildings, generators, sewage plants Etc it becomes very alarming, very quickly...
anyway, on a fishy front the rivers have been in pretty good shape all things considered, as I type the Nadder has cleared right down and all the others are clear as a bell, enjoying the last gasp British Summer. I snuck off to the Monnow again for a day and as, always, am amazed at just how good this river system could be. I love it, even if I do look grumpy in the token glory shot. In my defense, I'd just taken 4 and a bit hours to do an hour and three quarters drive... The fish was maybe 2nd or 3rd cast so the rivers magic was just starting to happen and the stressy journey was just beginning to fade - oh, and Dave, I pinched some of your photos!
ooops! Butterfingers...