How Gorseinon Got It’s Name.
In the year 991, there were two Princes – the Prince of South Wales, Prince Ithol and the Prince of Glamorgan, Prince Meredith. They fought a bloody battle on Garngoch Common and the Prince of South Wales, who was a brutal man, was defeated. Amongst those who took up arms against the Prince of South Wales was a man called Hywell, Einon meaning “leader”.
After the battle Einon Hywell camped his men on the Gorse, near Penllergaer. The name of Gorseynon was then created, later changed to Gorseinon.
How Gorseinon Developed.
Religious Development
In 1840 the population of Gorseinon was barely 250 people. There were only two churches in the area. One was the “Church on the Marsh” (Left), also known as Loughor and Llandeilo (Talybont) – this has now been restored and rebuilt at St. Fagan’s Folk Museum. The other church was – Brynteg Chapel, the only Non-conformist chapel for miles. This was built in 1815 and can still be seen today. The first church to be built in Gorseinon was Holy Trinity Church (Right).This was built in 1882 – just opposite where Somerfield stands today. It was the first church in Wales to be lit by electricity. Seion Baptist Church was opened in 1886. It was built on the banks of a river at the bottom of Gorseinon, but by 1902 a new Seion was built in High Street. The old Seion was taken over by the English Methodists – but this eventually became the Moose Hall. Bethel English Congregational Church (Evangelical) celebrated it’s centenary on Saturday and Sunday 9th and 10th July 1894 –1994. Holy Trinity Church was extended in 1884. The English Congregationalist built a Church in Masons Road, now known as West street- Bethel Chapel. Then progress seemed to stop for a few years.
Ebenezer, the Welsh Congregational Chapel (Left) opened in 1887, but by 1909 a new chapel was built near Seion Capel.
St. Catherine’s Church was built in 1913 and the Salvation Army in 1910. The Roman Catholic Church was built at Pontardulais Road in 1932 but a new Church (Right) was built on Alexandra Road in the 1960’s.
The architect of the Catholic Church was Robert Robinson a local Gower man.
Agricultural & Industrial Development
Gors Eynon first appeared on an ordinance survey map in 1813, but in 1830 it was known as Gorseinon on the maps.
The monks of Neath Abbey paid many visits to this locality, and evidence of this were several mills built on the banks of our rivers.
Cadle Mill, on the Lliw, Pontlliw, Melyn Mynach and and Loughor Mill.
There was one weaving Mill and two flour mill on the river. These were worked by the monks to provide food and clothing for the Abbey, wool being brought here from Gower sheeplands.
By the end of the Thirteenth Century the monks at Melyn Mynach owned vast acreage devoted to sheep farming. They produced high quality wool at Cwrt Y Carnau, which was traded in Flanders and Italy.
With the arrival of the black death and bubonic plague in the fourteenth century, labour became scarce and the monks were forced to sell or rent to the local farmers. Eventually, during Henry VIII’s reign, the few monks that were left were pensioned off, as their land passed into crown hands.
Mr. John Pryce, a legal gentleman, who was originally from the area but had moved to London, returned to raise a family at Cwrt Y Carne. In 1575 he purchased the Manor and land, and also the Mill at Melyn Mynach. The whole estate totalled over 130 acres. Pryce tried to squeeze every penny out of his tenant farmers and many disputes followed. The Pryce family prospered and by the early eighteenth Century, the name had changed to Price.
The last owner of the Melyn Mynach was the husband of a Price family member. He was called Nathaniel Cameron – Mayor of Swansea. He also owned the Mountain Colliery but sold the Mill after getting into financial difficulties to Mr. William Lewis, the founder of Gorseinon.
There were few industries but coal was plentiful. A drift was opened in 1846 and became known as “The Mountain Coal”. This coal was transported on a narrow gauge railway line to Loughor, where it was loaded onto barges and sent to Llanelli for transportation all around the world. The drift mine continued to be worked until 1900, when a shaft was sunk.
In 1860 the L.N.W.R. wanted to extend the line from Pontarddulais to Swansea. William Lewis, a young industrialist sold them the land and a station was erected in 1870 – this became known as Gorseinon Station.
The Mountain Colliery laid a siding from the Colliery to the Station and coal was redirected to Swansea Docks.
The first day-school was opened in 1880 at Penyrheol. The Headmaster, Mr. Jones afterwards transferred to Gorseinon. As Gorseinon’s industries grew so did its housing and streets, with the development of Mill Street, Gorseinon Terrace, Eynon Street and High Street.
In 1886 the Grovesend Tin Works was built and the Lewis Family built many houses around the area to house the workers. The Grovesend Steelworks opened in 1890, but in 1891 all Tinplate Workers in South Wales were involved in a seven month strike and times were very hard for the workers.
Gorseinon had two Public Houses, the Gorseinon Hotel (Bottom Hotel) and the Station Hotel (the Gyp). It was said that the Bottom Hotel was for miners and the Gyp was for Tinplate workers and it was a mortal sin to encroach on another man’s territory. Then in 1892 the West End Hotel was built and the Mardy in 1901 bring the number of Public Houses to four.
Gorseinon Institute was opened in 1904 and in 1908 the Bryngwyn Sheetworks was opened.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dalai Lama's threat shakes Buddhism
If he quit as political leader but still headed the faith, it would go against his religion's centuries-old tenet of church-state unity.
By Ching-Ching Ni, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 26, 2008
BEIJING -- As the world's most famous Buddhist, the Dalai Lama is a monk juggling two jobs. One is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, and the other is the political head of his government in exile.He was chosen to serve these dual callings through an arcane process based on signs that he was reincarnated from a long line of Dalai Lamas who were considered embodiments of the Buddha of Compassion, the holder of the White Lotus.
Photo Gallery
Protests over Tibet
Photo Gallery
Protesting in support of Tibet
Photo Gallery
Tibet protest in Lhasa spurs violence
Photo Gallery
Tibet protest march
Related Stories
-
First foreign journalists arrive in Tibet since riots
-
Analysts expect China security to get tighter
-
Tibet's anguish felt by expatriates
-
Pelosi visits the Dalai Lama and offers words of support
-
Witnesses to Tibet violence describe scenes of horror
-
Chinese troops pour into Tibet
-
China steps up verbal attacks on Dalai Lama
-
Tibet unrest tests India
-
Dalai Lama threatens to resign
-
A blow against Beijing's security
-
Tibet witnesses describe 'mayhem everywhere'
-
Tibet protests spread in China
-
China cracks down in Tibet and beyond as protests spread
-
10 reported dead in Tibet rioting
-
Tibetan monks protest Chinese rule
-
Forces surround 2 Tibet monasteries
-
Some basic facts about Tibet
-
Tibet - some travel companies canceling tours over violence
So when the 14th Dalai Lama threatened last week to resign in response to the violence in Tibet, he seemed to throw into question the ancient process that gave him power.Whether he can quit and what that would mean remain unclear.The only known case of a Dalai Lama who didn't want to be one was the sixth incarnation, a man who supposedly preferred romantic poetry and courtesans over scriptures and chastity.Staff members of the current Dalai Lama were quick to explain that the 72-year-old monk had no plans to abandon his people at a time of crisis. The revered god-king was merely expressing his commitment to peace, they said, and saying that if his people continued to commit violence he would have no choice but to relinquish his secular duties."He would resign as the political leader and head of state, but not as the Dalai Lama. He will always be the Dalai Lama," said Tenzin Taklha, a top aide.That would suggest breaking from Tibetan Buddhism's centuries-old tradition of church and state as one and, more important, would open the possibility that a Dalai Lama could choose his own successor."These institutions are made by people; the rules can change from time to time," said Lee Feigon, author of the book "Demystifying Tibet: Unlocking the Secrets of the Land of the Snows." "If he were to resign in frustration, it will create worldwide sympathy for him. If he could choose his own successor, he would be around to help train him and give him legitimacy. Even the threat of doing it should give the Chinese government pause."The government in Beijing, which is officially atheist, has the final say in the appointments of high lamas and their reincarnations, a source of Tibetans' simmering resentment of Chinese rule.A 6-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama to be the second-highest priest in Tibetan Buddhism vanished in 1995, and another child handpicked by Beijing was appointed in his place.The Chinese government could install its own puppet after the death of the Dalai Lama, whom it blames for masterminding this month's uprising, Tibetans' largest and most sustained anti-China protests in decades, and for promoting "splittism." The exiled Tibetan leader has long contended that he advocates greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence.If the Dalai Lama could designate his own successor, however, it would be difficult for a competing Chinese candidate to win much legitimacy, observers say."The whole world knows the Chinese communist government doesn't believe in religion. How can these atheists be expected to select a Tibetan lama?" said Tsering Tashi, the London representative of the Tibetan government in exile.The current Dalai Lama was chosen at age 2 by a team of high lamas because he identified items that belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. Since fleeing to India in 1959 after a failed Tibetan uprising, he has embraced Western democratic values and built the government in exile, with an elected parliament and prime minister.The Nobel laureate, who always seems open to new ideas, has even suggested injecting an element of democracy into the tradition of reincarnation."The Dalai Lama has said before, 'If the people decide there will be a reincarnation of me in the form of the 15th Dalai Lama, then there will be a 15th Dalai Lama. If the majority does not want a reincarnation of me, then there will not be a 15th Dalai Lama,' " said Tendon Dahortsang of the Tibetan Youth Assn. in Europe. "I can't imagine the people won't wish for a 15th Dalai Lama."Some observers say he can't resign."If the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation, then he can't really change that," said Justin Wintle, London-based author and cultural historian. "It's like a woman saying you are giving up being a woman."If he chooses to keep his role as a spiritual leader and give the political mandate to someone else, Wintle says, he also risks undermining a pillar of Tibetan Buddhism."He is acknowledging the political leadership is a secular concern," Wintle said. "That's a major shift from Tibetan history, where the spiritual and the political leaderships are assumed by the same person."Either way it will be a challenge to fill the shoes of the charismatic holy man whose full name is Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom). Even if he could choose his replacement, it could take years to identify a boy and wait for him to grow up, leaving a potential power vacuum and no clear form of alternative leadership.But the threat of the Dalai Lama leaving his political post is real, according to Robbie Barnett, Tibetan expert from Columbia University."He's always said he prefers to get out of politics, go into a cave and meditate," Barnett said. "He's talking to people inside Tibet, asking will they please give up violence."The question is how the Chinese government can clear the static in the air so people in the rural areas inside Tibet can hear him."
If he quit as political leader but still headed the faith, it would go against his religion's centuries-old tenet of church-state unity.
By Ching-Ching Ni, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 26, 2008
BEIJING -- As the world's most famous Buddhist, the Dalai Lama is a monk juggling two jobs. One is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, and the other is the political head of his government in exile.He was chosen to serve these dual callings through an arcane process based on signs that he was reincarnated from a long line of Dalai Lamas who were considered embodiments of the Buddha of Compassion, the holder of the White Lotus.
Photo Gallery
Protests over Tibet
Photo Gallery
Protesting in support of Tibet
Photo Gallery
Tibet protest in Lhasa spurs violence
Photo Gallery
Tibet protest march
Related Stories
-
First foreign journalists arrive in Tibet since riots
-
Analysts expect China security to get tighter
-
Tibet's anguish felt by expatriates
-
Pelosi visits the Dalai Lama and offers words of support
-
Witnesses to Tibet violence describe scenes of horror
-
Chinese troops pour into Tibet
-
China steps up verbal attacks on Dalai Lama
-
Tibet unrest tests India
-
Dalai Lama threatens to resign
-
A blow against Beijing's security
-
Tibet witnesses describe 'mayhem everywhere'
-
Tibet protests spread in China
-
China cracks down in Tibet and beyond as protests spread
-
10 reported dead in Tibet rioting
-
Tibetan monks protest Chinese rule
-
Forces surround 2 Tibet monasteries
-
Some basic facts about Tibet
-
Tibet - some travel companies canceling tours over violence
So when the 14th Dalai Lama threatened last week to resign in response to the violence in Tibet, he seemed to throw into question the ancient process that gave him power.Whether he can quit and what that would mean remain unclear.The only known case of a Dalai Lama who didn't want to be one was the sixth incarnation, a man who supposedly preferred romantic poetry and courtesans over scriptures and chastity.Staff members of the current Dalai Lama were quick to explain that the 72-year-old monk had no plans to abandon his people at a time of crisis. The revered god-king was merely expressing his commitment to peace, they said, and saying that if his people continued to commit violence he would have no choice but to relinquish his secular duties."He would resign as the political leader and head of state, but not as the Dalai Lama. He will always be the Dalai Lama," said Tenzin Taklha, a top aide.That would suggest breaking from Tibetan Buddhism's centuries-old tradition of church and state as one and, more important, would open the possibility that a Dalai Lama could choose his own successor."These institutions are made by people; the rules can change from time to time," said Lee Feigon, author of the book "Demystifying Tibet: Unlocking the Secrets of the Land of the Snows." "If he were to resign in frustration, it will create worldwide sympathy for him. If he could choose his own successor, he would be around to help train him and give him legitimacy. Even the threat of doing it should give the Chinese government pause."The government in Beijing, which is officially atheist, has the final say in the appointments of high lamas and their reincarnations, a source of Tibetans' simmering resentment of Chinese rule.A 6-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama to be the second-highest priest in Tibetan Buddhism vanished in 1995, and another child handpicked by Beijing was appointed in his place.The Chinese government could install its own puppet after the death of the Dalai Lama, whom it blames for masterminding this month's uprising, Tibetans' largest and most sustained anti-China protests in decades, and for promoting "splittism." The exiled Tibetan leader has long contended that he advocates greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence.If the Dalai Lama could designate his own successor, however, it would be difficult for a competing Chinese candidate to win much legitimacy, observers say."The whole world knows the Chinese communist government doesn't believe in religion. How can these atheists be expected to select a Tibetan lama?" said Tsering Tashi, the London representative of the Tibetan government in exile.The current Dalai Lama was chosen at age 2 by a team of high lamas because he identified items that belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. Since fleeing to India in 1959 after a failed Tibetan uprising, he has embraced Western democratic values and built the government in exile, with an elected parliament and prime minister.The Nobel laureate, who always seems open to new ideas, has even suggested injecting an element of democracy into the tradition of reincarnation."The Dalai Lama has said before, 'If the people decide there will be a reincarnation of me in the form of the 15th Dalai Lama, then there will be a 15th Dalai Lama. If the majority does not want a reincarnation of me, then there will not be a 15th Dalai Lama,' " said Tendon Dahortsang of the Tibetan Youth Assn. in Europe. "I can't imagine the people won't wish for a 15th Dalai Lama."Some observers say he can't resign."If the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation, then he can't really change that," said Justin Wintle, London-based author and cultural historian. "It's like a woman saying you are giving up being a woman."If he chooses to keep his role as a spiritual leader and give the political mandate to someone else, Wintle says, he also risks undermining a pillar of Tibetan Buddhism."He is acknowledging the political leadership is a secular concern," Wintle said. "That's a major shift from Tibetan history, where the spiritual and the political leaderships are assumed by the same person."Either way it will be a challenge to fill the shoes of the charismatic holy man whose full name is Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom). Even if he could choose his replacement, it could take years to identify a boy and wait for him to grow up, leaving a potential power vacuum and no clear form of alternative leadership.But the threat of the Dalai Lama leaving his political post is real, according to Robbie Barnett, Tibetan expert from Columbia University."He's always said he prefers to get out of politics, go into a cave and meditate," Barnett said. "He's talking to people inside Tibet, asking will they please give up violence."The question is how the Chinese government can clear the static in the air so people in the rural areas inside Tibet can hear him."
Humanity is the problem
COMMENTARY
Humanity is the greatest challenge
Posted: 15 Jan 2008by John Feeney
The growth in human population and rising consumption have exceeded the planet's ability to support us, argues John Feeney, writer and editor of growthmadness.org. It is time, he says, to ring the alarm bells and take radical action in order to avert unspeakable consequences. "We're out of our league, influencing systems we don't understand" he says.
We humans face two problems of desperate importance. The first is our global ecological plight. The second is our difficulty acknowledging the first.
Despite increasing climate change coverage, environmental writers remain reluctant to discuss the full scope and severity of the global dilemma we've created. Many fear sounding alarmist, but there is an alarm to sound and the time for reticence is over.
We've outgrown the planet and need radical action to avert unspeakable consequences. This - by a huge margin - has become humanity's greatest challenge.
If we've altered the climate, it should come as no surprise that we have damaged other natural systems. From deforestation to collapsing fisheries, desertification, the global spread of chemical toxins, ocean dead zones, and the death of coral reefs, an array of interrelated declines is evidence of the breadth of our impact.
Add the depletion of finite resources such as oil and ground-water, and the whole of the challenge upon us emerges.
Barring decisive action, we are marching, heads down, toward global ecological collapse.
Web of life
We're dismantling the web of life, the support system upon which all species depend. We could have very well entered the "sixth mass extinction"; the fifth having wiped out the dinosaurs.
Though we like to imagine we are different from other species, we humans are not exempt from the threats posed by ecological degradation.
Analysts worry, for example, about the future of food production. Climate change-induced drought and the depletion of oil and aquifers - resources on which farming and food distribution depend - could trigger famine on an unprecedented scale.
Billions could die. At the very least, we risk our children inheriting a bleak world, empty of the richness of life we take for granted.
Alarmist? Yes, but realistically so.
The most worrisome aspect of this ecological decline is the convergence in time of so many serious problems. Issues such as oil and aquifer depletion and climate change are set to reach crisis points within decades.
Biodiversity loss is equally problematic. As a result of their ecological interdependence, the extinction of species can trigger cascade effects whereby impacts suddenly and unpredictably spread. We're out of our league, influencing systems we don't understand.
Turning pointOne thing is certain: continued inaction or half-hearted efforts will be of no help - we're at a turning point in human historyAny of these problems could disrupt society. The possibility of them occurring together is enough to worry even the most optimistic among rational observers.
Some credible analyses conclude we've postponed action too long to avoid massive upheaval and the best we can do now is to soften the blow. Others hold out hope of averting catastrophe, though not without tough times ahead.
One thing is certain: continued inaction or half-hearted efforts will be of no help - we're at a turning point in human history.
Though few seem willing to confront the facts, it's no secret how we got here. We simply went too far. The growth which once measured our species' success inevitably turned deadly.
Unceasing economic growth, increasing per capita resource consumption, and global population growth have teamed with our reliance on finite reserves of fossil energy to exceed the Earth's absorptive and regenerative capacities.
Getting a grip
We are now in "overshoot"; our numbers and levels of consumption having exceeded the Earth's capacity to sustain us for the long-term.
And as we remain in overshoot, we further erode the Earth's ability to support us.
Inevitably, our numbers will come down, whether voluntarily or through such natural means as famine or disease.
So what can get us out of this mess? First comes awareness. Those in a position to inform must shed fears of alarmism and embrace the truth.
More specifically, we need ecological awareness. For instance, we must "get" that we are just one among millions of interdependent species.
It's imperative we reduce personal resource consumption. The relocalisation movement promoted by those studying oil depletion is a powerful strategy in that regard.
We need a complete transition to clean, renewable energy. It can't happen overnight, but reliance on non-renewable energy is, by definition, unsustainable.
But there is a caveat: abundant clean energy alone will not end our problems. There remains population growth which increases consumption of resources other than energy.
We have to rethink the corporate economic growth imperative. On a finite planet, the physical component of economic growth cannot continue forever.
Hiding the truth
In fact, it has gone too far already. As a promising alternative, the field of ecological economics offers the "steady state economy".
We must end world population growth, then reduce population size. That means lowering population numbers in industrialised as well as developing nations.
Scientists point to the population-environment link. But today's environmentalists avoid the subject more than any other ecological truth. Their motives range from the political to a misunderstanding of the issue.
Neither justifies hiding the truth because total resource use is the product of population size and per capita consumption. We have no chance of solving our environmental predicament without reducing both factors in the equation.
Fortunately, expert consensus tells us we can address population humanely by solving the social problems that fuel it.
Implementing these actions will require us all to become activists, insisting our leaders base decisions not on corporate interests but on the health of the biosphere.
Let's make the effort for today's and tomorrow's children.
Dr John Feeney is an environmental writer and activist in Boulder, Colorado, US. His online project is growthmadness.org. This viewpoint article first appeared in the BBC Green Room, a forum for a series of opinion pieces on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website. It provoked a large response. Click here to read these.
Reproduced with permission
Humanity is the greatest challenge
Posted: 15 Jan 2008by John Feeney
The growth in human population and rising consumption have exceeded the planet's ability to support us, argues John Feeney, writer and editor of growthmadness.org. It is time, he says, to ring the alarm bells and take radical action in order to avert unspeakable consequences. "We're out of our league, influencing systems we don't understand" he says.
We humans face two problems of desperate importance. The first is our global ecological plight. The second is our difficulty acknowledging the first.
Despite increasing climate change coverage, environmental writers remain reluctant to discuss the full scope and severity of the global dilemma we've created. Many fear sounding alarmist, but there is an alarm to sound and the time for reticence is over.
We've outgrown the planet and need radical action to avert unspeakable consequences. This - by a huge margin - has become humanity's greatest challenge.
If we've altered the climate, it should come as no surprise that we have damaged other natural systems. From deforestation to collapsing fisheries, desertification, the global spread of chemical toxins, ocean dead zones, and the death of coral reefs, an array of interrelated declines is evidence of the breadth of our impact.
Add the depletion of finite resources such as oil and ground-water, and the whole of the challenge upon us emerges.
Barring decisive action, we are marching, heads down, toward global ecological collapse.
Web of life
We're dismantling the web of life, the support system upon which all species depend. We could have very well entered the "sixth mass extinction"; the fifth having wiped out the dinosaurs.
Though we like to imagine we are different from other species, we humans are not exempt from the threats posed by ecological degradation.
Analysts worry, for example, about the future of food production. Climate change-induced drought and the depletion of oil and aquifers - resources on which farming and food distribution depend - could trigger famine on an unprecedented scale.
Billions could die. At the very least, we risk our children inheriting a bleak world, empty of the richness of life we take for granted.
Alarmist? Yes, but realistically so.
The most worrisome aspect of this ecological decline is the convergence in time of so many serious problems. Issues such as oil and aquifer depletion and climate change are set to reach crisis points within decades.
Biodiversity loss is equally problematic. As a result of their ecological interdependence, the extinction of species can trigger cascade effects whereby impacts suddenly and unpredictably spread. We're out of our league, influencing systems we don't understand.
Turning pointOne thing is certain: continued inaction or half-hearted efforts will be of no help - we're at a turning point in human historyAny of these problems could disrupt society. The possibility of them occurring together is enough to worry even the most optimistic among rational observers.
Some credible analyses conclude we've postponed action too long to avoid massive upheaval and the best we can do now is to soften the blow. Others hold out hope of averting catastrophe, though not without tough times ahead.
One thing is certain: continued inaction or half-hearted efforts will be of no help - we're at a turning point in human history.
Though few seem willing to confront the facts, it's no secret how we got here. We simply went too far. The growth which once measured our species' success inevitably turned deadly.
Unceasing economic growth, increasing per capita resource consumption, and global population growth have teamed with our reliance on finite reserves of fossil energy to exceed the Earth's absorptive and regenerative capacities.
Getting a grip
We are now in "overshoot"; our numbers and levels of consumption having exceeded the Earth's capacity to sustain us for the long-term.
And as we remain in overshoot, we further erode the Earth's ability to support us.
Inevitably, our numbers will come down, whether voluntarily or through such natural means as famine or disease.
So what can get us out of this mess? First comes awareness. Those in a position to inform must shed fears of alarmism and embrace the truth.
More specifically, we need ecological awareness. For instance, we must "get" that we are just one among millions of interdependent species.
It's imperative we reduce personal resource consumption. The relocalisation movement promoted by those studying oil depletion is a powerful strategy in that regard.
We need a complete transition to clean, renewable energy. It can't happen overnight, but reliance on non-renewable energy is, by definition, unsustainable.
But there is a caveat: abundant clean energy alone will not end our problems. There remains population growth which increases consumption of resources other than energy.
We have to rethink the corporate economic growth imperative. On a finite planet, the physical component of economic growth cannot continue forever.
Hiding the truth
In fact, it has gone too far already. As a promising alternative, the field of ecological economics offers the "steady state economy".
We must end world population growth, then reduce population size. That means lowering population numbers in industrialised as well as developing nations.
Scientists point to the population-environment link. But today's environmentalists avoid the subject more than any other ecological truth. Their motives range from the political to a misunderstanding of the issue.
Neither justifies hiding the truth because total resource use is the product of population size and per capita consumption. We have no chance of solving our environmental predicament without reducing both factors in the equation.
Fortunately, expert consensus tells us we can address population humanely by solving the social problems that fuel it.
Implementing these actions will require us all to become activists, insisting our leaders base decisions not on corporate interests but on the health of the biosphere.
Let's make the effort for today's and tomorrow's children.
Dr John Feeney is an environmental writer and activist in Boulder, Colorado, US. His online project is growthmadness.org. This viewpoint article first appeared in the BBC Green Room, a forum for a series of opinion pieces on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website. It provoked a large response. Click here to read these.
Reproduced with permission
Boris Johnson for Mayor ~ according to MSN
London mayoral election
Who do you think should be the next mayor of London?
Ken Livingstone: so good, we had him twice - so why not make it a hat-trick?15%
Boris Johnson: he may be bonkers, but at least he isn't boring...53%
Brian Paddick: he's big, brave and not afraid to push political boundaries6%
Siân Berry: she's the only one who could make London air clean enough to breathe1%
Gerard Batten: who says you can't trust a (BT) salesman?0%
Lindsey German: she's a woman of action, as well as words1%
Richard Barnbrook: he's clearly a man of culture who wants to put Britain first4%
Matt O'Connor: and not just because he looks great in a superhero suit14%
Damian Hockney: who can say no to a high-shine smile like his?0%
Chris Prior: the congestion charge is pure evil and should be abolished RIGHT NOW!3%
Alan Craig: what our capital needs is to get back to biblical basics1%
Winston McKenzie: anyone with two knock-outs to their name is worth a look0%
Dennis Delderfield: he'll abolish the post if he's elected? Genius!2%
2304 responses,
Who do you think should be the next mayor of London?
Ken Livingstone: so good, we had him twice - so why not make it a hat-trick?15%
Boris Johnson: he may be bonkers, but at least he isn't boring...53%
Brian Paddick: he's big, brave and not afraid to push political boundaries6%
Siân Berry: she's the only one who could make London air clean enough to breathe1%
Gerard Batten: who says you can't trust a (BT) salesman?0%
Lindsey German: she's a woman of action, as well as words1%
Richard Barnbrook: he's clearly a man of culture who wants to put Britain first4%
Matt O'Connor: and not just because he looks great in a superhero suit14%
Damian Hockney: who can say no to a high-shine smile like his?0%
Chris Prior: the congestion charge is pure evil and should be abolished RIGHT NOW!3%
Alan Craig: what our capital needs is to get back to biblical basics1%
Winston McKenzie: anyone with two knock-outs to their name is worth a look0%
Dennis Delderfield: he'll abolish the post if he's elected? Genius!2%
2304 responses,
Safest places to live in UK ~ Lowest burglary rates
The top 10 least-burgled cities are:
1 - Guildford (82.0% below average)
2 - Dundee (55.3% below average)
3 - Norwich (54.1% below average)
4 - Swindon (49.4% below average)
5 - Bath (45.8% below average)
6 - Aberdeen (45.7% below average)
7 - Preston (35.7% below average)
8 - Exeter (34.9% below average)
9 - Chester (33.6% below average)=
9 - Belfast (33.6% below average)
1 - Guildford (82.0% below average)
2 - Dundee (55.3% below average)
3 - Norwich (54.1% below average)
4 - Swindon (49.4% below average)
5 - Bath (45.8% below average)
6 - Aberdeen (45.7% below average)
7 - Preston (35.7% below average)
8 - Exeter (34.9% below average)
9 - Chester (33.6% below average)=
9 - Belfast (33.6% below average)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Learning French
French language course from the BBC
HERE is a another handy resource for those people keen to improve their French, this time care of the BBC.
They are promoting a 12 week course, delivered via email, which will offer tips and advice over a three month period before finishing with an 'end of course' assessment.
All you do is sign up with your email address, confirm your registration and then each week a lesson lands in your inbox - great for those keen to improve their language skills.
HERE is a another handy resource for those people keen to improve their French, this time care of the BBC.
They are promoting a 12 week course, delivered via email, which will offer tips and advice over a three month period before finishing with an 'end of course' assessment.
All you do is sign up with your email address, confirm your registration and then each week a lesson lands in your inbox - great for those keen to improve their language skills.
What are Jazz Funerals?
African Funeral and Memorial Traditions in America
By Elizabeth M. Holland
Despite enslavement and the suppression of African culture, many African Americans have maintained distinctly African funeral and memorial traditions based on the African belief that death is not the end of life, but a transition into an active spirit life. The majority of African belief systems are monotheistic and based on a hierarchical pattern with God at the highest point, then Spirits, then human beings, animals and plants, and phenomena. When people die they are elevated to the status of Spirit and exercise more control or authority over those still living.Thus proper burial is of the utmost importance.The New Orleans jazz funeral derives from both the Dahomean and Yoruba cultures of West Africa. The joyful music land exuberant dancing which follow the funeral rites reflect the belief that death is a gateway to the domain of the spirits. Rejoicing at death also has been the African-American's response to a life of enslavement and oppression.Death was a triumph of redemption, an escape to freedom and an end to weary troubles. Although jazz funerals are rarer today, they still take place especially for jazz musicians.The jazz funeral follows a detailed formula.The band accompanies the family, friends and the casket from the home or funeral home, to the church. Then the mourners either march to the cemetery, or they "Cut the body loose" (send the hearse off to the cemetery). Up to this point the procession is solemn and the band plays dirges adopted from French martial music.As soon as they "cut the body loose" or leave the cemetery, however, the band strikes up a joyous sound and everyone dances back to the lodge hall with others joining in along the way.For many African-Americans, the grave has been a powerful point of contact between the worlds of the living and the dead.In the American South, grave traditions of the Bakonga culture survived. A variety of objects were placed on graves to assist the spirits in their "journey home" and to discourage spirits from haunting the living. These included objects owned by the deceased such as clocks, dishes, and other objects which were broken to free the spirit. White objects, especially shells, were common grave decorations because the world of the dead was thought to be "white and watery."Even in the North, non-Christian burial traditions persisted. The recent excavation of a 19th-century African-American cemetery in Philadelphia revealed that shoes, coins, and plates had been placed in some burials, possibly reflecting African beliefs in the use of such items by the deceased on their journey to the spirit world.
By Elizabeth M. Holland
Despite enslavement and the suppression of African culture, many African Americans have maintained distinctly African funeral and memorial traditions based on the African belief that death is not the end of life, but a transition into an active spirit life. The majority of African belief systems are monotheistic and based on a hierarchical pattern with God at the highest point, then Spirits, then human beings, animals and plants, and phenomena. When people die they are elevated to the status of Spirit and exercise more control or authority over those still living.Thus proper burial is of the utmost importance.The New Orleans jazz funeral derives from both the Dahomean and Yoruba cultures of West Africa. The joyful music land exuberant dancing which follow the funeral rites reflect the belief that death is a gateway to the domain of the spirits. Rejoicing at death also has been the African-American's response to a life of enslavement and oppression.Death was a triumph of redemption, an escape to freedom and an end to weary troubles. Although jazz funerals are rarer today, they still take place especially for jazz musicians.The jazz funeral follows a detailed formula.The band accompanies the family, friends and the casket from the home or funeral home, to the church. Then the mourners either march to the cemetery, or they "Cut the body loose" (send the hearse off to the cemetery). Up to this point the procession is solemn and the band plays dirges adopted from French martial music.As soon as they "cut the body loose" or leave the cemetery, however, the band strikes up a joyous sound and everyone dances back to the lodge hall with others joining in along the way.For many African-Americans, the grave has been a powerful point of contact between the worlds of the living and the dead.In the American South, grave traditions of the Bakonga culture survived. A variety of objects were placed on graves to assist the spirits in their "journey home" and to discourage spirits from haunting the living. These included objects owned by the deceased such as clocks, dishes, and other objects which were broken to free the spirit. White objects, especially shells, were common grave decorations because the world of the dead was thought to be "white and watery."Even in the North, non-Christian burial traditions persisted. The recent excavation of a 19th-century African-American cemetery in Philadelphia revealed that shoes, coins, and plates had been placed in some burials, possibly reflecting African beliefs in the use of such items by the deceased on their journey to the spirit world.
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