Home > On 10 October 2010 (10.10.10) 60,000 globally & 770 Afghan infants (...)

On 10 October 2010 (10.10.10) 60,000 globally & 770 Afghan infants will die from US-imposed deprivation

by Open-Publishing - Saturday 9 October 2010
2 comments

Wars and conflicts USA Gideon Polya

Sunday 10 October 2010 - 10.10.10 - is being marked around the World as One Day on Earth to consider global cultural and climate realities. The horrible reality is that on 10.10.10. 60,000 people will die avoidably from deprivation in our US-dominated World, 1,000 children will die avoidably in the American Empire (see “Hey, hey,, USA, how many kids did you kill today? Answer: 1,000”: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?ar... ) , and 770 Afghan under-5 year old infants will perish avoidably in war criminally US Alliance-occupied Afghanistan (see UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry... ).

The organizers of the world-wide 10.10.10 activities state that “On October 10, 2010 (10.10.10), across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the largest participatory media event in history. Founded in 2008, One Day on Earth is creating an online community, shared archive, and film. Together, we will showcase the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occur in one day. We invite you to join our international community of thousands of filmmakers, hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. Through the One Day on Earth platform, we will establish a community that not only watches, but participates” (see: http://www.onedayonearth.org/ ).

According to organizers “One Day on Earth is committed to nurturing a supportive, vibrant, tolerant, and creative community. We hope to be as open as possible and allow you to celebrate your personal perspectives freely. It is exciting and revolutionary to be able to share perspectives of such quality with people across the world in one place.” However they object to any “political” contribution stating “[Do not] proselytize your religion or political agenda through messages or comments to people you don’t know. They may find this offensive” (see: http://www.onedayonearth.org/page/p... ).

The excellent organization 350.org is a participant in the 10.10.10 global event. This US-based organization wants humanity to return atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration to 350 parts per million (ppm) from the current dangerous and damaging level of 392 ppm. However 350.org’s position has been overtaken by scientific research – many top scientists now say that the target should be about 300 ppm (for a detailed compendium of such expert opinions see “300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm” c/- 300.org: https://sites.google.com/site/300or... ).

350.org states: “On 10.10.10, we will celebrate the biggest day of practical action to cut carbon that the world has ever seen. Together, in thousands of communities around the world, we will get to work on projects that will build our clean energy future. But we won’t stop there—we’ll be using the day to pressure our leaders to get to work themselves by passing strong climate policies promoting clean energy and reducing emission.” (see: http://www.onedayonearth.org/page/3... ).

My personal contribution to the 10.10.10 event has been to put up more than 100 posters in Melbourne setting out the number of people dying avoidably each day from deprivation (60,000), the number of people expected to die daily on average in the 21st century if man-made climate change is not addressed (270,000) and what we can and must do to stop climate catastrophe (reduce atmospheric CO2 concentration to 300 ppm ASAP). Thus I have also sent versions of the following letter to Australian and other media with the same humane message.

“Dear Sir/Madam,

Sunday 10.10.10 is being marked as One Day on Earth to consider global realities. In Victoria, Australia, climate activists will protest Hazelwood, the most polluting power station in the World’s worst per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) polluting country.

In One Day on Earth now at an average surface temperature 0.8C above that in 1900, 60,000 people will die avoidably from deprivation, 770 Afghan infants will die from war-imposed deprivation, 27 Australians will die from fossil fuel burning pollutants, 25 Indigenous Australians will die avoidably from deprivation and 1 Australian will die linked to US restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry.

Unfortunately it will get worse and estimates by top climate scientists of deaths due to unaddressed man-made climate change mean a 21st century average of 270,000 avoidable deaths daily.

We can and must reduce atmospheric CO2 concentration to 300 ppm from the current 392 ppm, stop mass species extinction (now 100-1000 times above normal), rapidly cease population growth and GHG pollution (from industry, agriculture and deforestation), implement huge re-afforestation and biochar (charcoal) production and install 100% renewable energy for Australia by 2020 as set out by the Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) Zero Carbon Australia by 2020 (ZCA2020) Plan.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Gideon Polya”.

Another set of 10.10.10 statistics is of “avoidable deaths from deprivation” on the 10.10.10 One Day on Earth in various Territories around the World occupied and/or bombed by the US and/or its surrogates and which can be readily provided from UNICEF infant mortality data (see: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry... ), noting that for impoverished countries avoidable deaths from deprivation are about 1.4 times the under-5 year old infant deaths (see: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqg... ).

“Avoidable deaths from deprivation” on the 10.10.10 One Day on Earth are thus estimated to be 1,190 (Occupied Afghanistan), 74 (Occupied Haiti), 156 (Occupied Iraq), 16 (Occupied Palestinian Territory), 1,780 (US bombed Pakistan), and 290 (Occupied Somalia). Clearly things would improve if the US and US-backed occupying and war-making forces withdrew and ceased active and passive mass murder in these sorely afflicted countries.

However there is a wider, ongoing Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust occurring on Spaceship Earth with the one World superpower the US in charge of the flight deck. The 1950-2005 avoidable mortality totalled 1.3 billion for the World, 1.2 billion for the non-European World and 0.6 billion for the Muslim World (see my book “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”: http://globalavoidablemortality.blo... ).

“Avoidable deaths from deprivation” on the 10.10.10 One Day on Earth are estimated to be 7,000 (India), 700 (Bangladesh) and 4,100 (Nigeria) (from the latest UNICEF data: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry... ) and 51,000 (.for the least developed world excluding China; UN Population Division data: http://esa.un.org/unpp/index.asp?panel=1 ).

However the worsening climate emergency due to Man’s greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution threatens to hugely increase the magnitude of this Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust. Both Dr James Lovelock FRS (Gaia hypothesis; atmospheric gas analysis) and Professor Kevin Anderson ( Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, UK) have recently estimated that fewer than 1 billion people will survive this century due to unaddressed, man-made global warming – noting that the world population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050, these estimates translate to a climate genocide involving deaths of about 10 billion people this century (a daily average of 270,000 avoidable deaths), this including 6 billion under-5 year old infants, 3 billion Muslims in a terminal Muslim Holocaust, 2 billion Indians, 1.3 billion non-Arab Africans, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis (see “Climate Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/clima... ).

One can easily become frozen by pessimism over the condition of the World. However as long there is life there is hope. Thus top US climate scientist Dr James Hansen (head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Spaces Studies and an adjunct professor at 76-Nobel-Laureate Columbia University) was asked before the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit “Is there any real chance of averting the climate crisis?”. Dr Hansen’s reply was “Absolutely. It is possible – if we give politicians a cold, hard slap in the face. The fraudulence of the Copenhagen approach – "goals" for emission reductions, "offsets" that render ironclad goals almost meaningless, the ineffectual "cap-and-trade" mechanism – must be exposed. We must rebel against such politics as usual. Science reveals that climate is close to tipping points. It is a dead certainty that continued high emissions will create a chaotic dynamic situation for young people, with deteriorating climate conditions out of their control. Science also reveals what is needed to stabilise atmospheric composition and climate. Geophysical data on the carbon amounts in oil, gas and coal show that the problem is solvable, if we phase out global coal emissions within 20 years and prohibit emissions from unconventional fossil fuels such as tar sands and oil shale” (see UK Guardian, November 2009: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentis... ).

Dr Hansen is correct – the disaster does not have to happen. Cessation of greenhouse gas pollution and population growth, installation of 100% renewable energy and CO2 draw-down through re-afforestation and biochar production can return the atmospheric CO2 concentration to a safe and sustainable level of 300 ppm for all peoples and all species (see 300.org: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/ ). The recently launched Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) Zero Carbon Australia by 2020 (ZCA2020) Plan shows how well-endowed Australia can implement 100% renewable energy by 2020 and has received many important scientific, industrial and broad spectrum political endorsements (see: http://beyondzeroemissions.org/abou... ).

One hopes that these horrible daily avoidable mortality statistics will help prompt collective action to put a stop to the horrifying carnage of the Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide and ongoing Australian Aboriginal Genocide and also to help avert the worsening Climate Genocide disaster (10 billion people may die otherwise: http://sites.google.com/site/climat... ). Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent people must (a) tell everyone they can and (b) exhort Sanctions and Boycotts against those responsible (principally the US, UK, Apartheid Israel and Apartheid Australia) for these ongoing genocide atrocities.

Forum posts

  • Most readers of this thread will have little trouble preferring the expert advice that climate change is real, man-made and an acute threat from top climate scientists (e.g. atmospheric gas analysis expert Dr James Lovelock FRS), the heads of top climate science institutes (e.g. Dr James Hansen, Professor Kevin Anderson, Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, heads of the US Goddard, UK Tyndall and German Potsdam climate science institutes, respectively), top scientific bodies (e.g. the UK Royal Society, US National Academy of Science, numerous other National Academies of Science, Bureaux of Meteorology, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), IPCC, CSIRO etc) and top scientific journals (e.g. Nature and Science) to unsubstantiated, bald assertions to the contrary by uncredentialled, anonymous interlocutors.

    Thus, for example, 255 eminent US scientist members of the prestigious US National Academy of Sciences (11 of them Nobel Laureates) said of climate change action in a 2010 Open Letter: "Delay is not an option".

    The Synthesis Report of the 2,500 delegate, March 2009 University of Copenhagen Scientific Climate Change Conference concluded re climate change action: "Inaction is not an option".

  • The correct answer is given by www.oppressedpeople.com :

     CRIMINALIZATION of fiat money by central banks and governments and false value creation by big banks & speculative economies !

     CRIMINALIZATION of war systems and war profiteering and weapons trades !

     CRIMINALIZATION of mass-unemployment and all discrimination !

     CRIMINALIZATION of violations of HUMAN RIGHTS and of ’ LAÏCITÉ ’ ( clergy’s interference in social-public laws banned ! )

    Without this sort of ultimate action taken by people to take their destiny into their own hands and formation of the Tribunal of People’s Permanent Power to judge the criminals you cannot hope to get out of the colossal MESS we are in for , and yet to come for the worst in its’ dimensions and of its’ global extension ! Abram