Just found this posted on the hyatt forums. Interesting point of view.

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/discuss/ubb/Forum14/HTML/002536.html

TORONTO, Dec. 22 (Reuters) - A little Y2K chaos would not be such a bad thing, or so says David Suzuki, a respected Canadian geneticist, broadcaster and environmentalist.

``I hope there is a major glitch. It might give Mother Earth a rest,'' the 63-year-old host of CBC-TV's ``The Nature of Things,'' broadcast in more than 50 countries, told Reuters.

``I think it would be wonderful if things collapsed for a few days. Chaos would happen ... but it would be an amazing opportunity for people to really start thinking about things -- and a global collapse would really make people think.''

Even if Y2K goes gently into the night, Suzuki believes the time is ripe for people to start paying closer attention to the environment. And if interest in his new book, which has hit Canadian bestseller lists, is an indication, he may be right.

``At the end of every century people go nuts. The millennium is even a bigger deal. My message in my book is that this is a moment in time when we can reflect on where we are and where we're going,'' the Vancouver-based environmentalist said.

Where we are is a dismal place, according to Suzuki and his book ``From Naked Ape to Superspecies,'' written with Holly Dressel. ``Water is polluted, the air is polluted, soil is polluted. We've essentially trashed the globe and I don't think there's any question that the major challenge facing us in the coming years is what are we going to do about it,'' he said.

DOOMSDAY PROPHET?

Although seen by many as a doomsday prophet, Suzuki insists that not only he and groups such as Greenpeace are sounding the death knell of environmental Armageddon -- scientists are too.

``From Naked Ape to Superspecies'' refers to a document, ``World Scientists Warning to Humanity,'' signed in 1992 by more that 1,600 senior scientists from around the world, including more than half of all living Nobel Prizewinners.

The document stated that, as of 1992, humans have as little as 10 years to avoid an ecological catastrophe. Since then, Suzuki says, the destruction has accelerated.

``It is crystal clear from what scientists are saying that we have undermined the underpinnings of life on Earth; we have added 30 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which set in motion enormous changes in climate,'' he said.

``We've trashed 78 percent of the world's forests and the remaining 22 percent are found in three countries: Brazil, Canada and Russia. And we're going to decide the fate of the remaining big forests in the next 15 years.''

But are people heeding the warning signs? Suzuki believes so. He quotes a recent poll that showed one of the issues people are most concerned about today is the health of their children, based on the quality of air, water and food.

``In Canada, one out of every five children has asthma. The asthma rate is skyrocketing, as are lymphoma, breast cancer and prostate cancer in spite of billions of dollars spent on medical research. Why? Because we poison the very things that we depend on for survival,'' Suzuki insisted.

Much of his criticism is directed at his own country, which does not warn citizens of genetically modified foods.

``The Europeans are saying, 'If you want to find out if GMOs are dangerous just watch Canada. They're doing the experimenting for us. And I think that you don't put people in an experiment unless they have been told and ask for our permission. We haven't been told or asked. We're guinea pigs.''

ORGY OF CONSUMPTION

Suzuki also takes issue with the fact that Canada is the only industrialised country in the world that does not support public transit. ``If every human being wanted to live like we do in Toronto, we'd need five more planets,'' he said. ``So there is no way our lifestyle can be enjoyed by everybody on Earth, but everybody wants to be like us.''

But all is not lost. Suzuki believes humans can have an immediate impact on the environment by limiting consumption.

``We (in industrialised countries) now consume 20 times as much as every person in China and 100 times as much as a person in Bangladesh. The Wal-Marts, the Home Depots ... the megastores. It's everything,'' he said.

``We are in an orgy of consumption. We very often point to the developing world and say they have a population problem ... but we are the ones overpopulating because we are overconsuming and all the Indians, Brazilians and Chinese want to be like us. And we keep saying, we gotta have more, so we can't tell them no, you can't, you shouldn't, have as much as we have.''

Consumer culture affects not only the environment but the quality of life, Suzuki says.

According to Seattle-based New Road Map Foundation, the average American spends six to eight hours a week shopping and 40 minutes playing with his or her children.

``When you're 85 years old and dying, and you're thinking back on the things that fill you with joy and happiness, that make you proud, what will it be? It's not going to be a Sony entertainment centre,'' Suzuki said.

``It's not going to be a sports utility vehicle or Gucci clothes. It's going to be your family and friends and the things you did together that made your life richer.''

*end snip

-- Interested Spectator (is@the_ring.side), December 22, 1999

Answers

I vote we start with Suzuki. WAW... (What a weiner) :-)

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), December 22, 1999.

In the event of TEOWAWKI, I wonder how receptive the anguished masses will be to offers of euthanasia? Lack of food, medicine, and hope could turn health centers human roach motels.

-- Ocotillo (peeling@out.===), December 22, 1999.

"1,600 senior scientists from around the world, including more than half of all living Nobel Prizewinners"

But what do they know about resources, climate and biochemistry compared to the bulging brained Art History graduates who run business and government? (I know, secret cabals, illuminati and Little Grey Men aside)

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 22, 1999.

If you want to see deforestaton on a massive scale, just watch what happens when several billion people simultaneously switch to wood as their primary energy source.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), December 22, 1999.

Suzuki is an intellectual idiot. He's concerned about children wiht asthma but not the assoicated deaths that could be caused by the chaos he's wanting to occur. What a buffoon.

-- Buster (BustrCollins@aol.com), December 22, 1999.

A cup a da saki a makes me feel a-whacky David Suzuki a makes me want to pukey A flat foot floogie with a floy doy

-- (flatfootfloogie@floy.doy), December 22, 1999.

The ongoing sterilization of all mammal males, including humans, due to estrogen mimicking herbacides, pesticides, & plastics by-products will render most of our arguments and worries moot by 2100.

France has been conducting studies on human sperm volume and viability since the 1930's. We are now well into the curve of sterility. The French studies project the 2070's as the time when mankind will no longer be able to procreate without mechanical intervention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

re what happens when billions burn wood? Hey buddy it has already happened. Check out the Mediterranean, Northern Africa, the mid-East, mid & Northern China, the Eastern European nations, Madagascar, India, Nepal, just to point out a few places ravaged for firewood.

What is the difference whether a forest is ravaged for firewood or for paper & building products? The result is similar.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), December 22, 1999.

Actually, much to everyone's surprise, it will be coal that will be the fuel of choice. Most big city apartment buildings that are 50 years old or more still have coal flues. The one I lived in up in Cleveland was still using coal for heat in the early '80's. Burning coal is far worse than burning wood as far as pollution goes.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), December 22, 1999.