I'm getting sick and tired of environmentalism, quite in general. 1000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per person instead of 9000. That's nine times less and the ETHZ is going to "help" reaching that goal. By solar planes flying at 12000 metres. (The sound of a compressor designed for a solar plane flying at 12,000 metres at night. It's one of the solutions from the Federal Institute of Technology to help combat climate change."). Ridiculously sad this is.

Do you know what this message actually says? It says: we need further funding for our research. Please make sure we get the money. We will even help you to get rid of your climate change worries. Isn't that worth some of your tax payer's money?

That is what it's all about. Because those honourable scientists understand extremely little of sustainability nor of the state of the world we are in nor of the urgency of real measures to be taken. Real measures mean reducing emmisissions now, not tomorrow with technology that still has to be invented. Sustainability means living in a society that can carry on unchanged for a long time.

Well, we are far away from any sustainability level. We have overshot the earth's carrying capacity manifold and economic growth is increasing the speed of resource depletion and our voyage towards th concrete wall of chaos and war over the last resources.

That's the stark physical reality we are facing. And that's why I'm getting sick and miserable of this environmentalism which is less that fairy tales. It is deluding the public with irresponsible stories and false projections, helping to avoid a real turn-around of societal thoughts and goals.

Because if the ETHZ speaks of "by the end of the century" and "without reducing our standard of living" that is stupid nonsense, in view of all environmental developments taken together: overpopulation, overconsumption, depletion of virtually all resources (minerals, top soil, a normal climate, old growth forests, biodiversity on land and in the seas and oceans, drinking water, space).

And you people talk of end of the century whereas the earth population is expected to increase to 8.5 billion by 2050 and fossil fuels are expected to peak wthin the next few years. You talk of electricity replacing fossil fuels, forgetting that electricity cannot replace liquid and gaseous fuels. etc. Tis is only a small part of the comments that can be made to your press release.

"Scientists" should stick to their field of technological expertise and the should NOT mix issues and argue with climate change. Your message is wrong: we cannot save the world with technology. We'll have to reduce and restructure and reorganise on a far lower level of resource use, if we want to survive.

Helmut Lubbers - 26.02.08

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