War on Climate Instead of Iraq

by Simone Tucker
(Darwin, Australia)

Strike a light!

Recently the Nobel-winning economist professor Stiglitz calculated that the eventual total cost of the war in Iraq will be about $3 trillion. From a purely dollaristic point of view that works out to almost $5,000 every second! And, what about the human toll?

Imagine if we spent that money on climate change? We would be so much further down the track. For that sort of money we could have provided renewable energy for many small nations. We could have researched new technology undreamed about... we could have...

“By 2040, the world population of more than six billion will have been culled by floods, drought and famine,” Sarah Sands of The Daily Mail (U.K.) wrote in an article published on March 22. “The people of Southern Europe, as well as South-East Asia, will be fighting their way into countries such as Canada, Australia and Britain." http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080322133812.aspx

"People frequently fret that we can't afford the measures necessary to fight climate change. That is false. We are an enormously rich country. We're in the midst of spending trillions on a war that is providing no benefits whatsoever, just to stoke the imperialist fantasies of our ruling class. We can afford whatever we want. It's whether we really want it that's the question." http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/3/19/17517/9956/


What will it take for us to really buckle down and confront reality?