Buzz of the Summer Gone

Living in Corsica, one thing I clearly noticed this Summer - the first Summer I have spent on my grandma's property up in the mountains in approx. 25 years - is the scarce number of pollinators compared to 25 years ago. There was no scientific study on my part; I just pitched my remembrance of those bygone Summers vs. 2016, as flawed an indicator as this might be. As a child and teen coming to the island for the Summer holiday with my family, we would come across a healthy number of bees, wasps, bumble bees, butterflies and other winged creatures in our surroundings, without looking for them. The place was literally buzzing!

Sometimes you would get half a dozen wasps joining us for lunch (a hazardous gatecrashing that would meet its comeuppance, let us it be known!), and you had pollinators and all means of flying insects buzzing around us when we were relaxing on the terrace. Admittedly we had natural pollinator magnets close by, namely a huge bougainvillea and a lush peach tree (now both gone), but even if you ventured outside of the confines of grandma's property, you would come across pollinators without looking for them.

Summer 2016, my first Summer back in the old family holiday house after about 25 years, I was really able to gauge the stark difference in population numbers. What struck me most was the scarcity of honey bees - and alarmingly every single one of them I spotted on the terrace (a paltry dozen in the space of four months), were either dead or dying! Night-time wasn't faring better, as the moths I came across were few and far between compared to 25 years ago! The moths were also very small (the length of a thumbnail) for the vast majority (90%), and rather bland in colour (plain taupe or light grey) and insignificant in looks. What happened to those flamboyant, geometrical moths of my childhood?

WHY THE DECLINE?

Pollinators worldwide are in serious trouble, and I am able to witness it firsthand on my tiny isle without any scientific measurement systems. Pesticides, insecticides (including the notorious neonicotinoids), herbicides and other agribusiness by-products from intensive farming are directly responsible for pollinator decline. In addition to pollution, you have other factors like degraded natural habitats of meadows, prairies, pastures and marshes, the systematic mowing of road verges - underrated buffer zones that act like mini-ecosystems and whose wildflowers (if any left) play a role in feeding pollinators. In the last 25 years, the earth population has increased by 2 billion people, and the galloping demographics coupled to our consumerist ways are tipping the earth's ecology to the point of no return.

"This much is clear: we ignore bees at our own peril. What happens to them will eventually happen to us." - Joel Sartore, photographer, National Geographic

Here in Corsica, the local environmental agencies implement the insecticide-spraying of our resort towns, shorelines and wetlands a couple of times every Summer, late afternoon, supposedly to kill off mosquitoes, but the controversial insecticides are harmful to bees, moths and butterflies. Of course the agencies will not admit to it, while the islanders tend not to question the controversial ecological agenda that is being played out on different levels by the government and corporate interests, leaving our wildlife at the mercy of uncertainty and unsafety.

Queen Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Madison, Wisconsin by Clay Bolt Nature Photography

THE CASE FOR THE RUSTY-PATCHED BUMBLE BEE

Across the Atlantic, award-winning natural history and conservation photographer Clay Bolt - a bee enthusiast - took matters in his own hands when he found out about the near-disappearance of the rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), a native northeastern bumble bee whose very existence, on top of the dangers listed in our above section, has been further compromised by commercially-reared bees imported from Europe (and used for the pollination of greenhouse crops) which infected the rusty-patched bumble bee with fungal pathogens when coming into contact. The sharp decline of the bumble bee is staggering: 90% of its historic range since the mid-1990s!

Female Worker, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Madison, Wisconsin by ibid.

Clay set out to document the fate of the rusty-patched bumble bee, not only by way of investigation but also by raising awareness. He joined forces with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation on their petition to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Environmental Protection Agency in order to save the bumble bee, first by getting it listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Meanwhile his 19-minute documentary, A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, is reaping nationwide and international recognition, having been shortlisted by four film festivals. The best award it garnered though was for the USFWS to finally agree (3 years 8 months after the petition was launched) to propose ESA protection to the rusty-patched!

The Xerces Society

"Pollinators are critical components of our environment and essential to our food security—providing the indispensable service of pollination to more than 85 percent of flowering plants and contributing to one in three bites of the food that we eat. Bumble bees are among the most widely recognized and well understood group of native pollinators in North America and contribute to the pollination of food crops such as squash, melon, blueberry, cranberry, clover, greenhouse tomato and greenhouse pepper, as well as numerous wildflowers." - The Xerces Society

FULL-BLOWN MECHANICALLY-CONTROLLED DARWINISM?

Some might argue that federal protection is too little too late, and that the USFWS and EPA are part of the problem they created in the first place - I agree. On his journey, Clay came to question whether saving one species rather than another made any sense. You cannot just save the one species by disregarding the wider environment because all species are interconnected. If one species is endangered, it is as a result of imbalance in the environment that is also impacting other species. Only a holistic approach can save the world, yet at this point we are too far gone down the path of ecological destruction for a holistic approach to be made possible. We humans are the problem to the decline and disappearance of fauna (and flora).

Male Rusty-patched Bumble Bee resting on Joe Pye Weed, Madison, Wisconsin by ibid.

So what can be done when our world has become what I would describe as full-blown mechanically-controlled Darwinism? How do we disentangle our economic models from the exploitation of nature's resources? How do we reverse the changes and grant nature its power back? If we cannot stop the process, does it mean we should just give up? No. What we can do is salvage what we can, review our consumer habits in order to slow down the process that way. Sounds lackadaisy but indeed all we are left with is damage control. Individually we can take matters in our own hands like Clay did, and it is up to us how we choose to do it. We can, for instance, make our garden, terrace or balcony pollinator-friendly. Go organic and encourage others to do so, shun pesticides and anything GMO-based. 

A Ghost In The Making: Searching for the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee 
from Day's Edge Productions on Vimeo.
Further Resources:

• Honey, Please Bee Lovely! by La Baguette Magique
• Monsanto: Deadly by Name, Evil by Nature by ibid.
• The Raw Deal by ibid.
• Clay Bolt Nature Photography and his bee-specific website, Beautiful North American Bees
• #RustyPatched Bumble Bee by A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee
• Bumble Bees: Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) by The Xerces Society
• Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee Threatened with Extinction by ibid.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes ESA Protection for the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee by ibid.
• The Rusty-Patched Bumbled Bee: The Story of a Declining Pollinator by ibid.
• Fact Sheet: The Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee by USFWS

Inspire Aspire - Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough is a living legend. He harks back from the world of nature conservation and stands at the forefront of the collective psyche, in his home country and overseas! He is one of those rare and endearing national treasures whom we wish would be bestowed the gift of immortality by a nature faerie!

Sir David Attenborough is 90 years young! (pict source)

His passion for the natural world is infectious and we can only bow to his skill and savoir-faire in delving right into the depth of his knowledge base to bring out the right dosage of scientific knowledge which he then effortlessly distills out like with a pipette, translated in plain English to a broad and loyal TV audience, in long wondrous sentences that all to themselves have educated at least a couple of generations of kids outside of school. Sir David has made a resounding success out of his fascinating science-laced story-telling set against high-quality visuals and that makes him, in my mind, the best nature documentary broadcaster ever!

"Your lifelong service has created the most extraordinary educational legacy." - UK Prime Minister David Cameron to Sir David Attenborough, BBC One's Attenborough at 90

I have never come across one single piece of criticism towards the gentleman and that proves something. He is respected in his circles and beyond. He is an institution of fascinating science dissemination all to himself and a pillar of society who thrives by introducing us to nature with a childlike twinkle of awe in the eye.

Smart and passionate about nature! (pict source)

A plethora of members of the wild order have been named after him, as a sign of recognition and honour for his invaluable contribution to wildlife. This includes a dragonfly from Madagascar, and also a wingless beetle, a tiny spider, an ancient pygmy locust, a ghost shrimp, plesiosaurs (prehistoric creatures), a pitcher plant, a daisy, and the Sirdavidia genus! And as further homage to his worthwhile contribution to the United Kingdom, he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 1985. The high number of awards and honorary degrees he has 'collected' along the years matches the uniqueness of the man.

What makes Sir David so popular has to do with his unique way in sharing his knowledge, and in his friendly persona, his humility, courtesy, go-getter attitude and strong work ethics, surrounded by a stellar team of audio-visual colleagues from the BBC  and elsewhere who excel in the art of film documentary of a high calibre à la National Geographic - although it could be that National Geographic got inspired by Team David in the first place...

David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D series, Episode 1: The First to Fly

This is no fly-on-the-wall haphazard camera phone moment. You are talking the Deluxe package of well-researched, well-documented, budgeted high-end productions that take weeks of preparation and filming in often remote areas of the world, in difficult weather conditions. Yet the passion of every member of the crew for the natural world permeates every second of an Attenborough documentary. It is one Heaven of an experience! The end result is a reward to their hard work: superb cinematographic views, captivating story-telling through Sir David's unmissable voice-overs, seamless montage, mastering of light and shade to their best effect, the crisp close-ups captured in their minutiae, the patient time lapses. All fuse together into a finished article of compelling delight to watch and behold!
 
Let us note in passing a few of Sir David's royal credentials. First off, he shares the same birthday year as the Queen (1926), which makes him a cool 90 years young! Like 'Lisbeth', he is not about to retire! Thus don't let his age faze you for Sir David is not your average senior citizen! He's a picture of health and still clocks more miles in a year than the average person half his age would in their lifetime. Globe-trotting the world for wildlife's sake is second nature to him.


Meanwhile Sir David's anti-celebrity status makes him instantly loveable as an ordinary man who just happens to have an extraordinary life and who's old enough to be your grandad. Except this one is still hustling, having fun for a living! His positive attitude and adventurous inclination have inspired anyone with a case of wanderlust to chase the dream rather than stay stuck in the safety of some hapless job. Not everyone will make the journey though because not everyone is cut from the Attenborough cloth. And if David wasn't enough, think about his brothers' contribution to society, actor, film director and producer Richard and motor industry executive John.

Sir David has wide knowledge and wisdom; he cultivates simplicity and honesty like we would garden herbs - daintily. He is no 'look-at-me' show-off. There is no ambiguity as to where he stands: nature is the star of his show, not him. It does help that he has the physical elegance to carry this through and his poised voice is instantly recognisable: he has the clear-cut elocution, the well-balanced pitch and warm tone of a classically-trained actor.

The famed naturalist has had a profound impact on nature lovers like myself. He has turned the combined celebration of biology, ecology, conservation and filmography into an art form with a strong pertinent message. He cultivates a sense of humour but there is no pathos in his speech when, say, a lion kills a wildebeest because he understands nature: life out there revolves around the battle of the fittest.

In good company, with a black noddy. (pict source)

An enjoyable character and an incurable optimist, he casts nonetheless a critical eye on the way man has been treating the planet. He brings to our attention that since he's started working, the Earth population has trebled in size, resulting in exponentional land encroachment and loss of natural habitat. As human demography is exploding, wildlife will suffer even more severe losses.

This is a man who goes beyond the format of traditional wildlife documentaries like only a well-travelled, curious, original adventurer of his calibre would. Education and creativity go hand in hand. He pushes the boundaries of curiosity and nature fascination always. For instance, The Amber Time Machine (2004), part of the Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages series, explores the identity of creatures trapped in amber.

His latest documentary to date, Life That Glows takes us on a journey through bioluminescence, light created by living things. He also launched David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef, an interactive journey.

Two giants! Sir David Attenborough 'rubbing shoulders' with an elephant seal bull. (pict source)

In cleverly bringing together pertinent scientific knowledge, the latest technological prowess, captivating story-telling combined with those spicy anecdotes of the natural world, not to mention an upbeat and warm personality, Sir David has made a success out of nature reporting and created by the same token a captive audience that spans wide and far. From the Royal echelons down to the inner cities, the nature presenter is a social leveller, handing out to us a tasty serving of nature at its best for us to enjoy, understand, learn from, love and respect. Long live Sir David! May your rare talent keep inspiring generations of nature lovers and may the wonder for the wild order, alongside wildlife itself, never go extinct!

Europe's Bogus Green Economy Leaves a Trail of Destruction

If you believe that doing the right thing for the environment is to follow governmental advice and feed wood pellets to your pellet stove/ wood-burning stove, you are buying yet another corporate lie they sold you! Screech to a halt right here and ditch the pellets while I spill the beans...

Forest-based biomass is no panacea. Rather it is an ecological disaster disguised as 'sustainable' replacement to fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) and nuclear energy by our governing puppets. Let me be clear about this: by buying wood pellets, Europeans are contributing to the catastrophic deforestation of Europe, Canada, Brazil and southeastern America, and the utter destruction of (mostly) untouched primeval natural habitats. Besides biofuels are also responsible for Indonesia's vast deforestation, in which case the lowland tropical forests are being eradicated to make way for palm oil monocultures (for bioethanol).

'Struggle Between Heaven and Earth', Mount Rarau, Romania, by Robert U., via National Geographic

Back to the West, not only are mature trees chainsawed en masse in order to produce virgin lumber pellets, but every wildlife component of the woodland is affected too: the undergrowth, flora and fauna, not to mention soil erosion, aquifer and marsh disruptions. Road infrastructures, lumber mills and processing plants effect the landscape further, totally transforming it beyond recognition. And from there onwards is an open-door policy for further looting of natural resources under all its guises and the transformation of natural woodlands into man-made wastelands and monocultures.

"... the benefits of biomass burning for carbon emissions may be bogus, while its consequences for forest ecology are becoming all too evident. The threat to the continent's forests is big and immediate." - Fred Pearce, Up in Flames

To put it simply, woody biomass is Europe's own legalised EU-funded Borneo jungle disaster right on our doorstep - or a few hundreds miles away, depending on where we live. The demand for biomass was engineered by Big Corporate in collusion with governments under the thinly-veiled green revolution nonsense purported by Agenda 21, Al Gore and consorts, in a way that has nothing to do with ecology. It accelerates further the destruction of our planet via lucrative bogus schemes. This is nothing but a big bucks ecological disaster!

Saruman's oeuvre? Enviva facility in Ahoskie, North Carolina (US), supplies Drax power plant (UK)

Prime ancient trees are being felled in places like France's Cévennes, Slovakia's Poloniny National Park, and the Carpathian old-growth forests of Romania all the way to Poland. Likewise across the Atlantic, North Carolina wetland and hardwood forests are reduced to those moulded, compacted sawdust pellets that are then shipped all the way to Europe to produce energy. According to Fred Pearce who conducted research on the wastefulness of biomass, 'Almost half of wood harvested in the EU is now used for energy, while 60 per cent of the renewable energy is generated by biomass burning for electricity and heating. It supplies about five per cent of EU energy needs.' The figures add up to an ecological disaster!

"... this sector [Southeastern US] has been driving the destructuion of wetland forests and conversion of hardwood forests into pine plantations in an area that has already lost most of its unique wetland hardwood forests." - EU Bioenergy

The logged trees are trucked to the plants to be processed: dewatered and pulverised to sawdust - yes to sawdust - then compacted to a paste - yes to a paste - and spewed out into pellets. The process is wasteful, CO2-intensive, and therefore an aggravating factor to climate change. Thus how governments justify biomass as sustainable is beyond me. Wood as renewable energy is another idiosyncrasy because clear-cut old-growth (i.e. the chopping down of secular trees) contradicts the very notion of renewability, itself skewered under a short-term fast-turnaround natural-resource-intensive model that the industry operates under.

Photography by David Marcu (Romania), via Unsplash

This makes UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change and France's Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (to name just two) farcical by name and by nature since they are indeed, like other fellow EU member states - and in compliance with EU's bonkers legislation on renewable energy - to be held accountable (alongside the EU technocrats) for the destruction of European and Pan-American forests.

"Using forests to produce energy is like pouring gasoline to put out a fire." - Larry Edwards, Greenpeace

Meanwhile resilient yet vulnerable protected ecosystems that have survived to this day are already or soon-to-be getting loggers' attention, and this is bad news. The 8,000-year-old Białowieża Forest stretching down the border between Poland and Belarus is Europe's very last primeval European forest, and home to the European bison and a plethora of remarkable pedunculate oaks - some of which have even been individually named as if they were pets. Yet despite its UNESCO World Heritage protection, the forest is under threat:-

"The property protects a diverse and rich wildlife of which 59 mammal species, over 250 bird, 13 amphibian, 7 reptile and over 12,000 invertebrate species. The iconic symbol of the property is the European Bison: approximately 900 individuals in the whole property which make almost 25% of the total world’s population and over 30% of free-living animals. " - UNESCO 

Don't fall prey to governmental garb, they're the ones promoting the destruction of our woodlands! Do yourself and the Earth a favour: ditch woody biomass and stay away from the catchment area of power plants fuelled by such! Spread the word around and share this article.


Further Resources:

• The Uncontacted vs. The Disconnected by La Baguette Magique relates the losing battle of the Guarani Tribe against Big Corporate in Brazil
• Fuelling a BioMess: Why Burning Trees for Energy Will Harm People, the Climate and Forests , a comprehensive 40-page report by Greenpeace
• Up in Flames - How Biomass Burning Wrecks Europe's Forests, a 16-page case study report by author and journalist Fred Pearce
• Green Invasion by Fred Pearce, via EU Bioenergy
• [Case Study] Slovakia - Up in Flames ibid.
• [Case Study] Gardanne, France - How Biomass Burning Wrecks Europe's Forests, ibid.
• [Case Study] Romania - Up in Flames, ibid.
• [Case Study] DRAX, UK - Up in Flames, ibid.
• Bioenergy and Social Injustice in Southeastern US by Linde Zuidema, ibid.
• Uncovering the Truth: Investigating the Destruction of Precious Wetland Forests by Dogwood Alliance 
• American Companies are Shipping Millions of Trees to Europe, and It's a Renewable Energy Nightmare by ThinkProgress
• Menaces sur la Forêt Française : Quand l'Industrie Biomasse Débarque en France et en Europe, a French documentary (teaser) by Benoît Grimont, via Réseau pour les Alternatives Forestières.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Lion Scorned!

Karma avenged Cecil the Lion in more ways than anyone could have bargained for, and Walter Palmer's life will never be the same again. Do we feel sorry for the big game serial killer who also happens to play the dutiful dentist and family man somewhere in Minnesota when he's not out there killing for fun? He overstepped the mark of respect for life and respectability for himself by the distance that separates his locale from Zimbabwe. One of the comments I read sums up how I feel about him: 'This man is a menace to society.'

Cecil, Hwange National Park, photography by Brent Stapelkamp, via National Geographic

I shall leave Palmer with a quote by Rachel Carson which - no doubt - will elude his propensity for ponder but reaffirm to the universe our intention for a compassionate world. Meanwhile everything that had to be said has been said in the media frenzy over the last week or so, and truly the man's ethics are as empty as a blank and that makes him a jerk, so I won't waste my words. In fact, no words will bring Cecil back to life, or the thousands of other trophy hunting casualties for that matter. Please sign the petition for Cecil and for trophy hunting and canned hunting to be made illegal and punishable by law, thank you.

Click to sign PETA's petition

"Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is -- whether its victim is human or animal -- we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing, we set back the progress of humanity." - Rachel Carson

(Pict source)

Getting Used to Less on Agenda 21 - Preamble

If we care to look at the world head on in the harsh reality of life, we are faced with a nightmare. But don't you worry, because the powers that be - the elite above the elite - have got it all sorted for us under U.N. Agenda 21. They created the problem, alongside with their solution to the problem. Their antidote at the ready is insidiously seeping into our lives, while we are being consumed by the lure of mass-consumption, an enticement attached to the pursuit of happiness.

Petropolis: Alberta Tar Sands are the size of England! (pict source)

We are in a state of urgency at this point and we must not kid ourselves that all is fine. We are stood on a planet that has turned into a ticking time bomb, on many levels. Firstly, the world population has more than doubled in the last fifty years, and our planet cannot sustain the pressure of exponential demographics, especially as plant, animal, freshwater and mineral resources are being plundered to extinction. I yet have to hear from governments - aside from China or Japan - taking measures to discourage high birth rates. As far as I understand, high birth rate is being encouraged and incentivised even. Although it seems that behind the scenes, the issue has been taking a sinister Malthusian turn, with certain members of the ultra-elitist Club of Rome, as reported by Australian politician Ann Bressington.

Global citizenship and regionalisation: The rise of globalisation - aided by technological progress and streamlining of competition down to a select core number of global FMCGs and service providers - means the world is turning into 'one big village'. Above all, it implies the loss of personal identity and the erosion of individual liberty within nations, as the latter are being amalgamated under different economic groupings, be they Euro Zone, EU, Schengen States, G20, EMEA, Emerging Markets, TPP, TTIP, or CETA. Those groupings do not serve the interests of the populations concerned. They foster the bully economic supremacy of a chosen few - namely the US.

Jonah Natural Gas Field, Wyoming, USA (pict ©Ecoflight) shows extensive damage caused by fracking

Globalisation aims for a levelled-down semi-homogenous median identikit consumer profile that fits global mass-market requirements. Additionally, our national (federal) governments blur the boundaries of traditional family units and values, and what used to ground us and unite us in terms of heritage, legacy, national pride (patriotism), socio-cultural identity, local folklore and traditions, craftsmanship, creativity, engineering, spirit of enterprise (free enterprise), is now dissolving away. Unelected committee-based governances like that of the EU imply "an erasure of jurisdictional boundaries, an erasure of national boundaries, and that is the goal" [for local Agenda 21.] (Rosa Koire).

As a result, we get fragmented, ostracised and isolated communities that in effect are communities no more. We are forcefully mollycoddled into political correctness that prevents us from calling a spade a spade, without being stigmatised. Our democracies are a shadow of their former selves since they are reinterpreting their Constitutions and turning into police states, attacking our civil liberties, one after the next. Honest and hardworking citizens are being fooled, silenced, ripped off and overtaxed by the rulers. Divide and conquer!

'Chips' New Islington residential development in Ancoats, Manchester (pict source)

Education has become a propaganda tool for governments, and is now nothing more than an impoverished form of knowledge transmission, very limited and linear, that educates just enough so you get a Mickey Mouse diploma that will fit you right into the mould of a Mickey Mouse job. Education has ceased to elevate and enlighten. Ask Sir Ken Robinson.

The manufacturing base in westernised countries has been totally wiped out and the machinery, knowledge base and industrial heritage exported to the Far East. This means that our countries are no longer able to be self-sufficient and economically autonomous and independent. Under the Blair government, for instance, the UK lost one million industrial jobs within a decade. It is pretty tragic for the Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, to not manufacture anymore a piece of textile as trivial and basic as underpants, and being forced to rely on imports!

Nike's sweatshop fabulous! (pict source)

Land management: Prime and fertile agricultural land is no longer destined to feed the population. It is being built upon: highways, retail and leisure parks and those other temples of consumption! Pristine land and ecological havens are being mercilessly and extensively fracked, or turned to huge windpower farms, or extensive bitumen sludges. The ecological disaster projects are conducted by Big Corporate under the complicity of the governments, corporate banking and offshore private equity funds. We are pretty much within a self-destructing model that is set for yield in the moment, without a care for the future.

Let them eat cake and play games: In our leisure-focused society, the need to buy more and consume more has been collectively engineered by marketers and the media and pushed to its limits. Consumers are encouraged (and peer-pressured) to keep up to date with the latest trends and gadgets, with always an eye out on the latest model, the latest colour, the latest gimmick. Planned obsolescence helps to accelerate the process, and keeps people on the hook. You just keep buying. This puts pressure on already stretched resources, and it creates more waste, as yesterday's iPhones, cars, trainers and sofas are discarded.

Broken utopia (pict source)

With our production base relocated to countries with low wages and flimsy labour laws, and where child labour is solicited, slavery has become a rampant by-product of established high-street brands like Nike, Calvin Klein, Gap, H&M, Mango, Primark, Walmart, Ikea and countless others. Low production costs come at the cost of human lives.

Yet as I said earlier, "Don't you worry, because the powers that be - the elite above the elite - have got it all sorted for us under U.N. Agenda 21". (to be continued)

Further Resources:

• The United Nations Sustainable Development, Agenda 21 (Downloadable full 351-page PDF document - please do save a copy in case the document is no longer made available to the public!).
• Trans-Pacific Partnership Seen as Door for Foreign Suits Against U.S. by The New York Times. The article highlights the fact that "the planned deal widens the opening for multinationals to sue in the United States and elsewhere, giving greater priority to protecting corporate interests than promoting free trade and competition that benefits consumers."
• How Schools Kill Creativity, TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson.
• Behind the Green Mask: U.N. Agenda 21, by Rosa Koire, who also heads Democrats Against U.N. Agenda 21. Her short presentation for Open Mind Conference 2013 in Denmark is an introduction to what awaits us under Agenda 21. 
• Ann Bressington, Independent MLC (Member of the Legislative Council), South Australia, exposes Agenda 21, Club of Rome and Origins of the Religion of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW).
• The controversial TTIP Trade Deal and its implications, exposed by The Guardian
• (04-Sept-2015 Update): Inside TTIP, An overview and chapter-by-chapter guide in plain English, by EU Trade Commission (Downloadable full 48-page PDF booklet), issued July 2015.
• (17-Sept-2015 Update): Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by UN Sustainable Development (Downloadable 29-page document).
• (17-Sept-2015 Update): Vision 2050 - The New Agenda for Business by WBCSD, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Downloadable 80-page document), co-chaired by (surprise, surprise!) GMO multinational Syngenta.
• Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives of the Alberta Tar Sands, a Greenpeace film by Peter Mettler (Canada, 2009)
  
• Ban Fracking on Federal Lands - Upper Green River Valley, via Energy Reality.
• Fracking dossier by National Geographic, including an interesting infographic on Who Owns the [American] West? Federal Land as a Percentage of Total State Land Area, with the direct implications of fracking upon freshwater resources. It is estimated that 3,100 wells are hydraulically fractured on federal lands each year.

_________

Getting Used to Less on Agenda 21 is a 4-part series:  Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4

Freedom of Speech - Forever Charlie Hebdo

Visuals are powerful and impactful means of communication. As pictures, cartoons, illustrations, graphics and other forms of visual expression, they are each conveyors of a thousand words, emotions, actions, messages, ideas, wit, humour, innuendo, controversy, that words fail to express in one instant, one shot, one swoop. A French scandal magazine by the name of Paris Match even made the tagline "Le poids des mots, le choc des photos" (weighty words and shock pictures) its trademark - with an ambiguous play on the word 'weight'. Meanwhile let's just pause for a moment and try to figure out the likes of Life magazine and National Geographic without their image stock. This is simply unfathomable.

The power of the internet has from the start capitalised on the power of images (increasingly at the dispense of words), and social media have harnessed their success based on visuals, a perfect fit to wordless transmission, culture on the go and 'live in the moment' inclination. From the advent of the printing press, satirical magazines like Punch and Le Canard Enchaîné have had a field day with cartoons, building their readership around them. Charlie Hebdo did this too, with its star cartoonists Wolinski, Cabu, Tignous, Honoré, and of course Charlie's chief editor Charb.

Charlie Hebdo (pict source)

Since day one of 1970, Charlie Hebdo has been flirting with controversy. Then again, isn't controversy the one-size-fits-all word used to describe the free-thinking members of society, defenders of Free Speech and Free Press? Charlie Hebdo shot its poison arrows in all directions though, with no affiliation to a political party or faith or creed or line of conduct, just depicting the world around us with a streak of - sometimes acute - sometimes oblique - attitude, objectivity, sarcasm, derision, mostly turning to ridicule anything that took itself too seriously and imperiled freedom at large, democracy as a whole, and republican values. This cost Charlie dearly.

With this obituary cartoon by Charlie to Charlie, La Baguette Magique herein self-proclaims to be one of Charlie's guys ("Je Suis Charlie"). By slaying on this very day 12 people at Charlie's HQ and whereabouts, the terrorist low lives that take themselves way too seriously shot our already ailing Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press but they will not sentence them (us) to silence! Meanwhile the ultra-polished, ultra-sanitised politically-biased media brigade that deliver the news should shut up instead of yet again missing the point with their silly verbiage and pretend affliction.

Charlie Hebdo (02 Nov 2011)

Charlie Hebdo (03 Sept 2013)

Charlie Hebdo (29 Apr 2014)

Charlie Hebdo (16 Sept 2014)

Rock the Twitterverse

In case you'd been missing me lately on the blog front - whether here at La Baguette Magique or a hop away at my sister site Mirabelle Design Inspiration, I wasn't actually that far off...

Because if you just can't get enough off me (awww!), surely you're aware that you can catch me in other ways: via Pinterest for my visual boards (I am a closet image bank curator!), and @baguettemagique + @MirabelleDesign for my thought-provoking tweets - and pertinent retweets like those included hereby.

'Fox Glance', photography by Sam Morris

National Geographic Photo Contest 2013 - 39 great images from the entries so far - http://t.co/fZ0BRyYabL #NatGeo pic.twitter.com/dBDCwXdxla
— In Focus (@in_focus) November 15, 2013

I am known to linger on Pinterest on some cosy late nights, lounging with my laptop in bed, chasing inspiration whenever the travel bug bites me: Hit the Road, Jack! is one great escape, or if you wanna hang around the cool crowds, Bohemian Like You does the trick! There's plenty more stylish boards to browse, like Personal Project Café (an ambition I hope to materialise!) or Palm Springs Hideaway, a sleek streamlined atmospheric design-led Southwestern theme with a Stepford Wife/ Barbie Doll vibe to it!

Meanwhile Twitter and I have shared an on-off affair for the last 4 years (sometimes off for weeks on end!) but a few months back I revived my interest in @baguettemagique as a platform to circulate my environmental/ ethical/ ecological information (gleaned via my numerous official newsletter subscriptions), and circulate petitions, most notably against ivory tusk trafficking, shark fin fishing, deforestation, palm oil cultures and animal cruelty.

Orangutan photography by Greenpeace

Holloween in Indonesia and Borneo. Damn #palmoil. Watch "Green". Humanity Strong Films http://t.co/0OpptJDyAi pic.twitter.com/YjbV5dcVs0
— Humanity Strong (@HumanityStrong) October 30, 2013

As a contrast to the seriousness and gravity of the information permeating @baguettemagique - and in pure Gemini duality (two-faced!) style - I decided to keep @MirabelleDesign as the light-hearted twin, solely concerned with all things culture, design, fashion, beauty and fluff... and some meditative quotes and personal insights (cos that's just the way I am!).

So then guys and gurls, I am never that far away from you after all! If I'm not here, you know where to find me.

'Exotic', oil on board by Chris Buzelli

New piece about "gaining access to exotic" funds for PLANSPONSOR magazine. "Exotic"/15"x20"/oil on board pic.twitter.com/S17L6ZgeC1
— Chris Buzelli (@buzelli) September 25, 2013

An Acute Case of the Wanderlust (Part 2)

Where do you start? How soon is soon? How long is a piece of string? As I am preparing myself to step out the comfort zone, I have a thousand questions and very few answers. Thankfully friends have been supportive, no matter how vague I still am about it all at this stage. Somewhere in my mind I have started a process and this is a sign of progress and progression, a massive step forward!

'Lake of the Moon, India', photo by Dhurjati Chatterjee, via National Geographic

The process had been there all along but I was caught in such a spin that I could snap none of the interconnected links that made up the chain I was tied to, or else everything would have fallen off the wayside with harsh consequences. Quit the job with no plan B and la vida loca is likely to take a turn for the worse, as you jeopardise the mortgage and everything home-related, the outgoings, the financial responsibilities, the lifestyle, the prized possessions and the peer pressure that we call The Joneses that keep you in check! It's like a castle of cards crashing down.

At the time I could see no leeway. I envied those who had the luxury to afford a sabbatical with on top of it guarantees from their employer to take them back six months down the line. Now there's a thought. I wonder whether one really wants to settle back into the old job once their travel adventure is over. You have moved on but the old job, old place, old coworkers seem to have remained 'stuck in'. Interesting...

'Coyote, Yellowtone National Park', photo by Timothy Brooks, via National Geographic

The decision to 'jack it in' was eventually made for me via redundancy and everything else is history. Now I've come a long way and I am in a different place. For starters I have the confidence, the willpower, the drive to go travel and push into those new horizons. It's basically now or never. Also I am no longer a 'slave to the wage' (to quote that Placebo song) in the same way I was back in Manchester. At least that's one good thing about island life: less needs, less spending. I have become less materialistic too. And last but not least I'm back at living at my parents like some grown-up teenager and can offload some of that financial pressure (thanks mum and dad!).

Another massive step forward for me is that I am letting go of my house in Manchester. A couple of weeks ago I decided to put it on the market. As symbolic and sensible this is, it is also part of the 'moving forward' process. Yippee, I am ready to let go! After hesitating for the best part of two years it has now become crystal clear that I have no intention of moving back to Manchester, the reason being that I have moved on. So why linger in the past when the best things are yet to come!

P.S: Get a taster of the wanderlust with Benny the Irish Polyglot's fabulously inspirational post: '29 life lessons learned in travelling the world for 8 years straight'!

An Acute Case of the Wanderlust (Part 1)

One day I had a revelation, an epiphany. It had taken me years to come to the realisation that no matter what, I was never gonna be that stereotype woman that media and society define as the embodiement of success: a whippersnapper version of The Devil Wears Prada, with a marriage to boot and 2.1 kids in tow, with the glamorous suburban home, the neat lawn and the picket fence. The settled woman with all her needs met. Once upon a time I might have caressed the thought, especially the one about prince charming. Then I decided who was I to fool, apart from my 'well-wishing' parents and some 'well-meaning' friends?

'Whooper Swans, Japan', photo by Stefano Unterthiner, via National Geographic

Personal events gradually took me away from the shadow of that ideal life idea. For starters a miserable marriage that eroded the concept of that perfect family setting. I divorced. A few years later the economic recession further shook up our career woman. These were to be blessings in disguise as I would find out later. Such events give you wings to think on your feet and take charge of your direction in life in a bolder more assertive way. Because if you are not the master of your own destiny, at least be sure to be the actor, play an active part and get involved in your own life rather than be the victim.

I am a free spirit, there is no denying. You can't tin it, cage it, clone it. Like wordsmith William Wordsworth would put in verse, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' over a field of golden daffodils, free and fancy-free, untroubled... As a child I used to revel in adventure books and in the Kuoni travel brochures that promised you Heaven on Earth twenty thousand miles away from home. American Far West period dramas and films like Out of Africa had me hooked. It was clear to me that one day I would unshackle from the obligatory rat race, travel the world and shack up with like-minded people. After deciding at a young age that air hostessing could be the way forward in order to satisfy my wanderlust, I ambitioned to become a photo journalist/ travel writer for the likes of National Geographic. I even imagined the possibility of becoming an actress, in fact combining innate creativity outlets with travel.

'Limestone Towers, Madagascar', photo by Stephen Alvarez, via National Geographic

I never became any of the above. I tamed up for a while. I played the career game. I tried to believe in home and marriage. I yearned stability and normality. Occasionally I did get itchy feet though. I remember vividly those British newspaper adverts from New Zealand authorities inviting emigration candidates to the New World. I saw emigration to faraway places as the answer to happiness. I wanted to make the move but got scared and just backed off. I needed that nudge to tilt me forward, that back-up. Or was that just an excuse to stay put and nurture regrets instead?

For the last year or so, I have been mingling with a crowd of world travellers and free spirits, some of whom with a guitar as weapon of mass seduction, who will never tick any of the boxes of our first paragraph and don't give a monkeys about it. These guys made me understand that you shouldn't base your self-worth on your salary figure and that no business, no company will set you up for life. You need enough money to get by and you need to make things and think outside the box. You need a job that is meaningful, where you give back to society and the world at large.

'Quiver Trees, Namibia', photo by Franz Lanting, via National Geographic

Scale back the volume of your belongings. Maybe home ownership is not your solution after all. Maybe being a no-strings-attached nomad is meant for you. You need to understand what motivates you, what gives you a kick, what makes you tick, and then act accordingly. Have an open mind and a smile to conquer the world, be tolerant of differences and be acceptant. You need to seek happiness always and encourage exchange with others. Contribute a difference to that world, no matter how modest. Substantiate your life with personal growth experiences from ethics to travel to charity, via ecology and sustainability. Now this talks my language as an 'armchair' ecologist. Giving a meaningful meaning to your life is what this is all about. This is part of my quest. My quest for wisdom. (to be continued)