Thanks to the efforts of left-wing Western elites, Third World economies are avoiding transformation through the economic miracle known as “sustainable development”;
A leaflet from the charity Practical Action recently solicited donations for some “real cutting-edge technology” to give to African farmers: namely, a plough.
Ploughs might cut the earth, but they haven’t been “cutting-edge technology” for more than 400 years. Nor have water pumps, operated by pulling on a rope or laboriously treading on a wooden platform, which are being pushed onto communities from Ghana to India by carbon-offsetting charities like Climate Care, as replacements for diesel-powered machinery. Some of the treadle pumps are even disguised as roundabouts to exploit child labour.
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Eco-activists managed to slash €4bn worth of EU aid to Third World industries in 2007 alone. They have sabotaged World Bank funding for infrastructure projects, like a hydro-electric dam in Gujarat province, India, which would have provided power for 5,000 villages, industries and sewage-treatment works, irrigation for crops and clean water for 35m people – all because, as one activist said, it would “change the path of the river, kill little creatures along its banks and uproot tribal people”
I’ve often discussed the question of whether or not things are improving on this small planet of ours, and I have often encountered the response “Things keep getting worse.” When I hear that response I will ask one simple question: “At what point in the history of this planet would you rather live?” After some back and forth debate on how we might measure “worse” we inevitably come to the conclusion that pretty much NOW is the best time to be alive on this planet. Which then makes me ask “Help me understand how things are getting worse for human kind? Life expectancy has increased dramatically, poverty levels and starvation levels continue to decline, and people have more freedom than ever before.” Of course I don’t mean to suggest there is not more work to be done, but the notion things are getting worse is simply not supported by the facts.
i’m sure you can bet, that not one of their swords or guns will be melted down to cast a single plow! Kate, why do we always have to give away our high tech innovative ag advantage, let them master the plow as our pioneers did, maybe they’ll eventually be inventive and engineer an air drill of their own!
This is just like the stuff Suzuki promotes – I remember him doing a special on Cuba and going on and on and on about how sustainable Cuban agriculture is because it uses people to do the work. He thought this was fabulous. Well I was in Cuba and most people in Cuba think its nuts to use people when a machine can do it. At that point I realized environmentalists would have us all living in huts growing our own litte gardens, weaving our own clothes – like something out of the 13th century. No wonder Islam is on the rise – same period of time.
There is nothing wrong with giving people old technology if it suits their needs, but it really should suit their needs and the decision shouldn’t be made in order to make an overfed liberal in Toronto feel better about themself.
An ox and plow are (probably) a far less expensive and easy/inexpensive to maintain in comparison to much newer technology; this (obviously) means that an individual can not manage as much land but (for the most part) the countries where this aid is given have no shortage of labour.
The horrific death rate by malaria wasn’t compelling enough for this typical advocate for no pesticides to remark “It behooves us to advocate the phase-out of this chemical around the world and find solutions to malaria that go to the cause of infestation.” His impractical solution is “to focus more on eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, such as standing pools of water.” Fat chance of that alone ever working in Africa.
I’ll take a dead bird any day over a child’s life.
It’s sickening to imagine the consequences of the utter arrogance, ignorance and cruelty that goes into promoting organic farming in the Third World as the article mentions.
I say give them a hammer and some coking coal, then let them fashion a sickle.
Now they can harvest their crops with the sickle.
Now who would have thought that a hammer and sickle would revolutionize agriculture!?!
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht,Commander in Chief
Frankenstein Battalion
2nd Squadron: Ulanen-(Lancers) Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden(Rheinisches) Nr.7(Saarbrucken)
Knecht Rupprecht Division
Hans Corps
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
“change the path of the river, kill little creatures along its banks and uproot tribal people”
My question is are those little creatures tasty when properly served? I bet those tribal people taste like tasty little creatures that were served properly, when served properly….damn, I getting hungry, anyone have some ketchup to spare?
Well the diesel driven pumps and what not are only any good if they are given to someone who knows how to maintain it, who can get spares anfd fuel, and who makes money off it to continue the above.
The problem too many times with do-gooder stuff the profit motive is considered unclean so when the do gooders move on – things break and no one can afford to maintain it.
Manually/animal driven pumps may have a better chance of survival AND give the locals a little more crops to allow them to earn a little more. Boot strapping them a little.
People the 3rd world aren’t dumb, but the system is stacked against them because they don;t have access to information, they don’t have any money, they can’t plug into a reasonbly efficent capitalism – they live in crony/monopoly infested command economies
You can’t bring people along too quickly without sustainability. That mistake has already been made in Africa. Case in point: An African country (can’t remember right now) used to have a functional, but antiquated (by our standards)steam locomotive railway. One of these international agencies (can’t remember that either)came in and replaced the steam locomotives with diesel. All was well and good, but no one thought about training locals as diesel mechanics, or providing funding for maintenence. By now you probably figured out how the story ended…this country ended up with NO railway any more, its all about perspective. In the West, proper health care means reasonable wait times for CAT scans, in the 3rd world, it means clean drinking water.
You want to see real racists or bigots? These are them. In the name of there Nature god they condemn thousands to poverty. I have said all along these nuts will not be satisfied till where back in caves. The politics of low expectations. Keep em barefoot & reliant on the ecophiles . Parish the thought that these people want to live in the 21st century. They don’t know better would be the rejoinder. Sound familiar?
This radioactive mutation of beliefs has killed millions already with false claims, like DDT being bad when it could have saved lives. In fact one comes away with the impression they feel the whole human race ought to die.
Progress is the result of new wealth creation due to the collective sum of hard work and innovation from individuals working together. New wealth creation results in lifting society to a higher level of existence where benefits emerge such as free market enterprise, knowledge access, democracy, individual freedoms and common law. With progress free societies can exist. That is where I see emerging countries like China and India eventually heading, given their recent records of wealth creation.
However, the policies that these Enviro-wackjobs are pushing down the throats of the third world poor is to restrict access to innovation. This removes a key ingredient for real progress and stagnates societal advancement. On a micro scale this keeps individuals in their place with no hope of a better life. In short, it enables continuation of caste-like slavery in the poorest areas of the world. The KKK couldn’t do a more effective job. I wonder if David Duke’s jealous?
I have often stated that environmentalists have committed more crimes against humanity than any other type of group, including nations. This ranks up there with the groups that work to prevent poor countries that wish to exploit their mineral resources, leaving people literally sitting on billions, while living in crushing poverty.
Kate, isn’t that what children are for? To peddle the environmentally responsible bicycle pumps that irrigate the fields?
If they weren’t gainfully employed doing that, who knows what trouble they’d get up to! Hell, they might even learn to read! Horrors!
How you going to keep them down on the farm when they’ve learned to read?
The best thing we can do for struggling countries is get the NGOs out. Let the locals regain their self sufficiency. And I have to say, with a herd of East Indians, some becoming U. S. citizens, but still, native born East Indians, building incredibly complex and sophisticated applications for us, it is time they took care of their own infrastructure at home. They’re as intelligent and industrious as anyone on the planet and more so than many. Yet its hard to respect a country that has little civil infrastructure. Touring their villages is a return to the dark ages. Mittal Steel is consolidating the planet, Tata motors buys Land Rover and Jag yet there are no toilets or communications in the hinterlands. Puh-lease. Have some shame.