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Now that the Glasgow Global Climate conference is almost at an end, Australia was represented once again by a cheesy grinning dinosaur leading us down the same path to extinction. Yet poll after poll, year after year shows more than 70+% of the Australian population want firm action on climate change. But here is a conservative government claiming they have a mandate to only window dress climate policy. To give Scott Morrison his dues, he finally did get behind the mass vaccination programs for COVID which resulted in us being one of the most vaccinated places on earth. But you don’t get to cherry pick science, however this small band of conservatives in government seem to think that it can. Using the insane logic of believing in the science that can protect you against a pandemic while at the same time dismiss the science that says the planet is under threat. Fear based politics is what conservatism excels at but only when it’s about protecting the status quo. If that same fear based threat involves a massive rethink on economic modelling then it runs from that as far as it can. Scott Morrison’s speech at COP26 was an embarrassment. The classic used car salesman trying to promote a lemon as a ripe peach. No one bought it, what’s worse his other lies caught up with him as well. Just ask the French on the submarine deal. Don’t expect him to be holidaying on the French Riviera anytime soon. The most common sense approach to climate action in my view has always been a global price on carbon and that way countries who don’t comply with the global standards then their exports would be punished by import taxes. It has gone way past allowing developing countries to keep going open slather treating the atmosphere like an open sewer. There are solutions with technology to allow those countries to develop with clean energy like everyone else. Globally the West should be playing a role in this as well, if nothing else as an equaliser for past sins. However there is a mentality in some countries to treat global solutions like it is an infringement on their sovereignty, placing emphasis on faith & culture rather than science and here in lies the hurdle. Earth & it’s Environment couldn’t care less about countries, nor does Physics. Faith will never solve any problem, nor will any faith based cultural opinion change a fact. Lies are much easier to sell as it’s geared around a message people want to hear, especially when aligned with their world view. There is nothing more confronting than finding out your world view is not what you perceived it to be. The likes of Trump exploited this cultural trait like no else has done before repeating lie after lie until it eventually sounds like truth. Meanwhile Science can only deal with reality, nothing else

Enlighten Canberra has come and gone for another year, although this year was the first event back following a cancelled year in 2020. While it still had restrictions on numbers and social distancing it was a pleasant change to walk amongst crowds again. It was also good to hear live music at various venues, it almost felt like life was returning to normal. 🙂

With interest rates being the lowest in history, the money being poured into the Stock-market at unprecedented levels is also alarming. By most expert opinions stocks are over valued by around 30% or more which means at some point a correction will happen. This is the million dollar question because no one can truly predict when this correction will come. Only that all the factors are now there for it to happen. There are relatively few companies that have made money during this global pandemic and these are mainly tech companies. The rest are struggling, especially bricks & mortar retailers along with tourism and everything else. The video below shares some light on this subject as it’s not the sort of opinion your local stock broker would ever share. Keep in mind it’s only an opinion we have seen enough of these opinions in 2020 that keep defying gravity.  However an interesting four part documentary has surfaced since this post was made on Wall St Power & Money that is produced by PBS Frontline. This is an excellent insight into the mechanics of how the world of high finance is run. It can be heavy going at times (4 hrs) but it highlights just how powerful lobby groups become in order to get away with what is effectively massive white collar crime that is unchecked by governments. It is a lot more devastating than any terrorist attack and not only that, the tax payer gets to foot the bill for all the collateral damage as well. Links to the documentary can be seen here. Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four