The planet is not about to be destroyed!
What may happen is that life as we know it will cease to exist but the planet will still merrily spin. Other life forms will evolve. This will probably happen even if we we go back to a stone age existence.
So none of your exaggerations please.

"If we want the planet to survive, nothing should be off limits - especially nothing that the rich have. "

Ah Pete - an uplifting and mind-awakening article. As smart as paint and as bitey as cheese. I'm surprised it hasn't attracted more comment - or maybe the silence is the noise of people thinking.

- hope so.

Meanwhile, on a neighboring noisy article, the Captain of the Vogons is assuring everyone that resistance is useless, while preparing to destroy the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass by intoning his mind numbing rational econo-poetry.

- a good dose of Deek would be just the tonic, but little old ladies and bald headed babies should avoid this video if they object to fruity language being used in the name of good old truth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB5CC16C0Sc&feature=related

Good night all, and best wishes Pete.

I thought, that just to try and keep the discussion on this side of reality, I would relate a personal story about death duties, so that the pinko idealists might realise the fundamental forces they would be fighting.

I remember, many years ago, a relative of mine who was suffering from stomach cancer, and who had been given three months to live.

At the time, there was this terrible death duty applicable in NSW, which meant that his son would be unable to inherit his large rural property after his death.

Having taken advice, I remember him walking up the steps to the office of a large country newspaper, wincing with pain at every step, to lodge an advertisement.

The newspaper normally would not accept advertisements of this sort, but they took this advertisement.

The advertisement said something like:

"My son is a lying thieving cheat, and no person should have business dealings with him."

Of course, his son sued for libel. The local jury was in on the plot, and awarded damages equal to the value of my relative's property.

The property was transferred in satisfaction of the court ruling, and the state government didn't even collect stamp duty.

As soon as Sir Joe Bjelke-Petersen abolished death duties in Queensland, all the other states had to follow, or face mass emigration of their more affluent inhabitants to Queensland.

Thank heavens we live in a world of independent sovereign states, and that the United Nations has no power under our Constitution to make any laws concerning Australia.

Anyone who thinks that the Australian people would ever vote to give the UN, or any other body dominated by third world nations, power over Australia, needs their head examined.

Anyone who thinks we should deprive our defence forces to fund any of these wild schemes should also think again. Throughout all of history, whenever any item becomes scarce, we have a little war to decide who will get the scarce resource, and who will get nothing.

Peirdsus
What's your first point? That because people can be creative law breakers, we should have no law? People often get away with creative murder, robbery, fraud and tax evasion of all kinds. No point in laws against them? Is that what you are saying? Or do you just mean international law? Why not go the the whole hog with lawlessness and settle all of our domestic differences by means of brute force as well?

Your second point: "Throughout all of history, whenever any item becomes scarce, we have a little war to decide who will get the scarce resource, and who will get nothing." I don't think you have read any climate science at all. I don't know anyone on any side of any scientific debate who would refer to planetary life support and stable climate systems as an an "item". You can't win control of it as if were a piece of land and have it on your side of the world -while the other side goes without. Or do you know something that no-one else knows. If continuting life in your objective then guns are the fanstasy here. Co-opeation is the only realistic thing.